Gnosticism in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", and Other Stuff (like zombies!)

It's always a bit of an adventure tackling a topic you really know next to nothing about. When Canadian lit critic Jeet Heer fired up his Twitter essay machine yesterday and starting writing about Captain America: The Winter Soldier as a Gnostic fable, I knew I should respond. I also knew that I knew squat about Gnosticism, so basically there was a lot of of knowing about knowing about knowing going on and I figured I should write something on it. The brief essay I produced is published on Sacred & Sequential's website, along with all of Jeet's original thoughts on the matter. He makes some excellent points about the way the film fundamentally altered Hydra's role in the Captain America narrative, potentially even changing the nature of the narrative itself. I'm not entirely in agreement with Jeet there, but they're ideas worth discussing. Read it, give it a like, come back here and we'll talk.

In the realm of "other stuff", I've finally justified the name of this blog. If you pop on over to www.ajkomics.ca, there is empirical proof that I am now in England and painting watercolour horizons. Or at least, a watercolour horizon.

And if you catch this in the next hour-and-a-half, head over to Kickstarter and give AH Comics a last-ditch boost in their crowdfunding for the wicked cool zombie-head t-shirt that Adam Gorham designed for them. It's a rad shirt. You should buy one.

"A Hope in Hell" UPDATE - Neil Himself Weighs In

I asked Neil Gaiman on Twitter what his thoughts were on the aforementioned Kickstarter for a Sandman fan film. His response was wonderfully straightforward.

@neilhimself a Sandman fan film Kickstarter was recently shut down by DC; I'm wondering where you stand on this, Neil http://t.co/tdL0mF8Wgh
— Asher J. Klassen (@AsherJKlassen) August 8, 2014

@AsherJKlassen I don't own the rights to Sandman, DC does.
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) August 8, 2014

Never one to be satisfied with a straightforward and obvious reply, I prompted him further.

@neilhimself I understand. I suppose I was wondering what your stance as the author is on an undertaking such as this.
— Asher J. Klassen (@AsherJKlassen) August 8, 2014

@AsherJKlassen I think Kickstartering funding for a fan film of something you don't own the rights to is a gutsy but doomed thing to do.
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) August 8, 2014

...which is hard to argue with.

@neilhimself Yeah, I think I have to agree. It's the wrong financial channel for that sort of homage.
— Asher J. Klassen (@AsherJKlassen) August 8, 2014

@AsherJKlassen if you are going to make an unofficial fanfilm, make it, then ask for forgiveness. Public crowdfunding seems doomed to fail.
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) August 8, 2014

@neilhimself thanks for your response, Neil. Glad to hear your thoughts on this :)
— Asher J. Klassen (@AsherJKlassen) August 8, 2014

And that was it, the extent of my conversation with Neil. But let's end this update with a sentiment from Andre Kirkman, the director of Hope in the Abyss.

@neilhimself it was an honor to play in the world you made even if it was for just a minute.
— Andre Kirkman (@AndreKirkman) August 8, 2014

And now it's all been said.