The Psychedelic Art of 1970s Christian Hippie Comics

Religion and myth scholar Amy Slonaker will present an illustrated lecture on comic books from the 1970s designed by Christian Evangelicals
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The Psychedelic Art of 1970s Christian Hippie Comics

Religion and myth scholar Amy Slonaker will present an illustrated lecture on comic books from the 1970s designed by Christian Evangelicals to attract hippies to the Christian faith – including local Santa Cruz artist Jim Phillips of the famed “Screaming Hand” logo! These “Christian Hippie Comics” present a psychedelicized version of Christianity where Aquarian ideas of free love and spiritual enlightenment merge with the Christian story of salvation through the love of Jesus. This lecture uses visual examples to explore the artwork of Christian Hippie Comics with their eye-popping array of counterculture iconography grafted onto Biblical narratives. The sources explored in this lecture include, among others, the work of Christian illustrator Al Hartley of Spire Christian Comics; cartoon art from the hippie-oriented Hollywood Free Paper; and issues of the comic book series The Crusaders by Jack Chick and Fred Carter (co-creators of many “Chick Tracts”). This lecture presents not only an historical overview of the genre of Christian Hippie Comics but also engages contemporary academic theories about religion and comics like those developed by religion professor Jeffrey Kripal in his book Mutants and Mystics (2003). These comic book theories present a way to understand Christian Hippie Comics as more than throw-away articles of pop culture and instead as visual manifestations of transcendent mystical truths.

Bio: Amy Slonaker is a PhD candidate at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA, pursuing a degree in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in depth psychology. After a career in law, she now enjoys combining her myth scholarship with her undergraduate degree in Religious Studies from UC Santa Barbara to explore the intersection of religion and myth in both high and low art.

Doors open at 7 PM, lecture at 7:30 PM at The 418 Project, 155 South River Street, downtown Santa Cruz at the Dragons Gate.

$10 in advance, $15 at the door.