WP2: Statement of Purpose

Waking up on a Sunday morning and going out side to check the mail and pick up this weeks latest edition of the Omaha World Herald, I was filled with joy because as soon as I stepped inside I knew what awaited me; the comics.

The traditional comics I grew up on were simplistic, clear and concise, anyone who could read could enjoy my little piece of heaven every Sunday. My poison? It was none other than Luann herself; a spunky teenage girl in the throws of hormonal imbalances, pesky brothers and less than informed parental units.
After looking at this comic I, as an audience member, do not feel as though there was some hidden meaning behind it, whereas with the comic I have chosen, The Lord is My Nightlight, after reading it, you know that there is more to this comic than a scared man with his nightmares and a glowy one sulking in the corner.

With the comic I have chosen I want my audience to know that comics have evolved throughout the ages from entertainment purposes to educational ones. In The Lord is My Nightlight, Jeffrey, the man, has been unable to fall asleep because he "remembered how we were floating in space around a medium-sized explosion and everyone is going to die", "the very concept of safety is absurd because at any moment everything could just explode" and "there are people who make a lot more money than me that believe slavery should be legal". The man in the corner is supposed to be a "Jesus" figure with a halo of light around his head or at least a parental figure to quell his fears, either way he is there to make him feel safe, and in the end fails at doing his job. At the end of the comic the "glowy man" asks Jeffrey "would it make you feel better if I told you everybody gets to go to heaven?" Jeffrey retorts with, "Not even a little." With this next essay, for obvious reasons, I believe my audience will not only be my peers and professor but anyone with faith in Jesus Christ and those without it.

In analyzing this comic I will use the institutional context of religion. This context is most fitting, I believe, because of the use of the man with a halo of light, the title, and the reference at the end to heaven.