Holy Fools and Funny Gods: The Hidden Link Between Religion and Humor

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A god and a fool walk into a bar...

InHoly Fools and Funny Gods, philosopher and cartoonist Izar Lunacek explores the surprising intersections between religion and comedy. Many view religion as a monument to eternal truth. Comedy, on the other hand, is the eternal iconoclast. This conflict between jokers and the faithful frequently marks our present-day culture.

But in pre-Christian times, pagan pantheons included holy clowns precariously positioned at the right side of the main deity. Among many tributes paid to gods, at least one ritual was reserved for the trickster who destroyed the world order only to rebuild it refreshed and new.

What if the priest and the jester are enemies only because they are siblings What if they are two sides of the same social taboos When we put gods on pedestals, we also expose them to communal mockery. When we laugh at clowns, we worship their disregard for social convention.

Lunacek'sHoly Fools and Funny Godsskillfully blends philosophy with the irreverence of the comics medium into a treatise that is both hilarious and profound.

Reviews

Praise for Animal Noir:

"Dense and unapologetic, Animal Noir is devious, very allegorical, scandalous, and really creeps into the back of your mind for hours later. It seeps into it with ease, like water into a sponge, and saturates your brain." - Fanboy Factor

Author Bio

Izar Lunaek is a Slovenian cartoonist and philosopher. After years of studying comedy and religion, he has recently retired from academia to focus on comics. His first international success was the IDW-published Animal Noir - a series starring a hardboiled giraffe detective. He lives in Ljubljana with a girlfriend and a kid.