Warrior Nun Areala
Encyclopedia
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
-style American comic book
American comic book
An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
character created by Ben Dunn
Ben Dunn
Ben Dunn is an American comic book artist. Although born in Taiwan, he grew up in Kentucky, Taiwan and San Antonio, Texas. It was in Taiwan that he was first exposed to Japanese manga. In 1984 he founded Antarctic Press, an American comic book company specializing in Manga-style titles...
and published by Antarctic Press
Antarctic Press
Antarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes "American Manga" style comic books.Founded by Ben Dunn in 1984, Antarctic Press has produced over 850 titles with a total circulation of over 5 million...
. First appearing in Ninja High School
Ninja High School
Ninja High School is a comic book series created, written, and illustrated by Ben Dunn, and currently published by Antarctic Press. It was at first published by Eternity Comics...
#38 (1987), she has since appeared in her own comic books beginning with Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 1 #1 in December 1994. The story revolves around Sister Shannon Masters, a Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
like heroine of the Order of the Cruciform Sword, a fictional military order
Military order
A military order is a Christian society of knights that was founded for crusading, i.e. propagating or defending the faith , either in the Holy Land or against Islam or pagans in Europe...
of Warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
Nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s and Magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
Priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
s in service of the Catholic Church. The order was created in 1066 when a Valkyrie
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...
named Auria renounced her pagan ways and turned to Jesus Christ for salvation; ever since then, Auria, now Areala, has chosen an avatar every generation to carry on the mission. In modern times, this has grown to a world spanning organization in the service of the Catholic Church with the current Areala, Sister Shannon Masters as the best and brightest. With her friends beside her, Sister Shannon has led the forces of good against those of evil, ever serving the Lord with faith and humility. Appearing on and off for twenty years since her first appearance, Warrior Nun Areala is creator Ben Dunn's favorite character.
With strong continuity telling storylines in a serialized manner, Sister Shannon Masters' cast, powers, and trappings have slowly expanded throughout the years thus creating an entire society within the Church. There has been some controversy towards the character from both religious and non-religious alike, the former for appropriating Catholic imagery and the latter for how the comic book unapologetically shows the Catholic Church as a force for good. While there have been other comic books emphasizing Christianity and superheroes utilizing Christian imagery, Warrior Nun Areala is unique in that it is a mainstream, albeit independent comic
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
that approaches its subject matter with respect and takes its idea seriously.
Website Comicsutra states "That's what makes Warrior Nun Areala so special. At its core, it portrays people who have unshakable faith in God and their religion. .. Its affection for nuns is also evident — and sometimes returned. One real nun asked about Warrior Nun Areala noted that she and her colleagues give poor children college prep-level educations — that they are superheroes. Amen, sister."
Creation
The creation of Areala has its roots in the Fraternite Notre Dame, or the Fraternity of Our Lady, a traditionalist CatholicTraditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
organization. In 1991, a chapter was established in New York City's East Harlem in order to found a soup kitchen
Soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, a bread line, or a meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups or community groups...
. It was in New York that Sister Marie Chantel who had been a black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
in Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
learned Taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
under a Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
martial arts master. Her fellow nuns, including the Mother Superior
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
, also learned self defense hearing that the neighborhoods were dangerous, though they insist that their martial arts training is mostly for sport and that they have had no problems with the surrounding neighborhoods. Their story was ultimately picked up and reported by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Ben Dunn, who attended Catholic school
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
s, read that article and was inspired. He states that "Other superheroes, you never know what their faith is. Batman or Spider-Man or Superman, they do all these great things, but what do they believe in?" While not a true Christian comic book as its emphasis is not on directly calling readers to repentance or propagating the faith but on superheroes utilizing Christian imagery and on Christian-based speculative fiction
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
, Warrior Nun Areala takes its idea very seriously.
Part of this was due to the power Ben Dunn sees the Vatican as possessing. He at one point wrote that it may not speak of itself as being a world power but it is. That is because despite being the smallest country on Earth the Vatican's influence on world affairs is disproportionately immense by virtue of its moral and spiritual authority as the headquarters of Earth's largest religion. With over a billion adherents, a headquarters that is a Sovereign nation, a leader
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
that is a world leader, it is a force in the world. Thus, it was only a small step to grant the (fictionalized) church also has a military force that would serve as Heaven's proxy if demons were to attack. In further explaining the concept, he added that "If Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
were an actual physical place with physical manifestations then they would be subject to some of the physical laws of nature would they not? Of course that would mean Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
too would be physical place. While this may not be so in our world it certainly is so in WNA's world. Therefore, things would progress differently. To the Vatican
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
in WNA's world 'thou shalt kick Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
's ass!'." However, in creating the character, Dunn sought to distinguish Areala from scantily clad bad girl
Bad girl art
Bad girl art is a superheroines art form genre coined after the analogy of good girl art which also includes strong female characters in comic books...
antiheroines with which she might be confused. He was also desirous of creating a true hero, not an anti-hero. "I made it a very strong point that she doesn't kill people, only demons", and that "She believes everybody – no matter how bad they've been – can be saved."
Publication
The first appearance of the character Sister Shannon Masters was in Ninja High School #38 1987. She would not appear again until she received her own comic books beginning with Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 1 #1, some seven years later. Beginning in December 1994 and ending in April 1995, it was a three issue limited seriesLimited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
that established the world of Areala, introduced several key characters, and served as her origin story. She was shown having just completed her training in a time when there had been no demonic activity for years and the Warrior Nuns were in danger of being disbanded. Even so she was assigned to New York City and saw that Satan's minions of Earth were planning an assault on Heaven. She foiled their plans of course.
This was then followed by other Warrior Nun Areala mini series some written by Ben Dunn and some not, such as Rituals (1995–1996), Scorpio Rose (1996–1997), and Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 2. Published every two months, they expanded the world and provided more information and depth concerning the characters. There were also one shots such as crossovers
Intercompany crossover
In comic books, an intercompany crossover is a comic or series of comics where characters published by one company meet those published by another...
with heroines of other companies such as Glory
Glory (comics)
Glory is a fictional character originally from Image Comics, and later on from the Awesome Comics comic book series created by Rob Liefeld. The character's full name is Gloriana Demeter, a half-Amazonian, half-Demon warrior.- Rob Liefeld's Glory :...
and Avengelyne
Avengelyne
Avengelyne [uh-venj-ah-leen] is a fictional comic book character co-created by Rob Liefeld and Cathy Christian, and originally published in 1995 by Maximum Press. By the end of the 1990s, Avengelyne had a stint at Awesome Entertainment and enjoyed a short stint at Avatar Press. Avengelyne returned...
. At the time there were other mini-series set in the Warrior Nun Areala universe that were not directly related to Sister Shannon Masters but instead widended the scope of the fictional world. Focusing on other Nuns of her order from past, present, and future; they include but are not limited to Crimson Nun (1997), Warrior Nun Frenzy (1998), and Warrior Nun Dei (1997–1999), respectively. There was also an ongoing anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
series, Warrior Nun Black and White that focused on the whole of the Warrior Nun universe.
It was not until 1999 that Sister Shannon gained her own series. The miniseries Areala: Angel of War which detailed the original Areala and Warrior Nun Areala: Resurrection led up to it. Running from 1999 to 2001, it was simply titled Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 3. It concerned an ongoing threat by Areala's most persistent foe, Helga, as she tried to destroy the Vatican itself. In a battle that put to the test, the promise that the gates of Hell would not prevail. Though it climaxed seemingly with the death of Sister Shannon, she later returned and appeared in another ongoing series, Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 4 though this was written mostly by Craig Babiar.
The current series is Warrior Nun Lazarus.
Sister Shannon Masters
Sister Shannon Masters, the Warrior Nun Areala, given the serial nature of her adventures has developed a wide circle of heroes around her making them into a family she otherwise would not have. That is seen in her foster sister joining the Warrior Nuns and her looking at her fellow Sisters as just that, sisters. Initially uncertain of herself she has developed as a character though she has never lost her idealism or her love of God and Jesus Christ. She has formed strong bonds of affection with her surrogate sisters, Sasuki, Mary, and Sarah; her surrogate son, Jason; her parent figures, Father Gomez and Mother Superion; and with them has fought a wide variety of foes such as Demon Foster, Julius Salvius, and Helga.Her story begins in 1066 when the original Sister Areala was met by the angel who would become her namesake. An American, Shannon Masters was born after 1959 and was orphaned at the age of four where on she was left at the steps of the Our Lady of the Virgin Mary convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
. She stayed there until she was adopted by the Yoma family of Japan. She lived in Japan with the Yomas until she was eleven years old but after showing exceptional academic and athletic abilities, she was chosen for the Silver Cross Program and was raised to be a Warrior Nun at upper New York State's Saint Thomas Academy. Thus her experience at the orphan school
Orphan Schools
- Orphan Schools in the United States :The casualties of American Civil War did more than simply reduce the male population of the country, they also dramatically increased the number of widows and orphans...
was more of a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
.
Growing up at the Saint Thomas Academy, she wrestled with feelings of self worth over how she had been orphaned. However, she over came those doubts and found a purpose for her life in her service to the Church as did her adopted sister, Sasuki Yoma of Japan. It was while she trained there under a young Mother Superion, then Sister Katherine, that she first met and befriended the future Sister Sarah, her best friend; Father David Crowe, her future love interest; and Shotgun Mary. It was at this time that she visited Quagmire High School, also called Ninja High School, though at the time she yet to take her vows and was referred to simply as Shannon and not Sister Shannon. After this, received final training from Mother Superion her at Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
.
Though a rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
, Sister Shannon training was completed and she reported to the New York City archdiocese
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York covers New York, Bronx, and Richmond counties in New York City , as well as Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties in New York state. There are 480 parishes...
. There, she patrolled two sectors from her assigned parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
, Saint Thomas Church in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
on the grounds that she was assigned to an area where there had not been demonic activity since the Purge of 1985. Replacing Sisters Sanguine and Hannah, she soon saw a sustained surge in New York City's demonic activity after her arrival. (A stock situation in comic books wherein the supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
s can appear only after a hero shows up.) She soon received her calling from the first Sister Areala after she was nearly killed in a battle with minions of Satanist and arms dealer Julius Salvius. On recognizing her as the Chosen One of that generation, the original Sister Areala gave Sister Shannon her name and awakened her latent power. It was made official when the Areala confirmed her as her avatar after a battle against the avatar of mad valkyrie Helga.
Supporting cast
Sister Shannon Masters, the Warrior Nun Areala, given the serial nature of her adventures has developed a wide circle of heroes around her making them into a family she otherwise would not have. That is seen in her foster sister joining the Warrior Nuns and her looking at her fellow Sisters as just that, sisters. Initially uncertain of herself she has developed as a character though she has never lost her idealism or her love of God and Jesus Christ. She has formed strong bonds of affection with her surrogate sisters, Sasuki, Mary, and Sarah; her surrogate son, Jason; her parent figures, Father Gomez and Mother Superion; and with them has fought a wide variety of foes such as Demon Foster, Julius Salvius, and Helga.Heaven and Hell in Warrior Nun Areala
As might be expected, the crux of the story is the battle between good and evil.God created space-time along with all reality an indefinite time ago and created out of love for those who would be His children. Ruling from Heaven on high and "working in mysterious ways", He guides Creation to the ultimate good of His creations. All beings are His creations and He looks at them all as His children. Indeed, His Christian worshippers refer to Him as Father. However, not all wish to accept His love and even reject Him and His goodness altogether. In the beginning, one of His creations, Lucifer rejected God's wisdom and, thinking that he could be a superior leader than his omniscient Creator, sought to take the throne of Heaven. Lucifer's War of Heaven and rebellion against God and His goodness led to the creation of evil. To delilver His children whom He so loved of evil, He sent Jesus, His only begotten Son and even sacrificed His life so that whoever believes in Him should not die but have eternal life. Afterwards, God made His will known through the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church that His Son established on Saint Peter.
Catholic Corps
Thus, Areala shows a "cold war" has been fought between Heaven and Hell, with human souls of at stake. At the moment, Heaven is content to leave Hell alone as long as it does not transgress its boundaries or harm the innocent. When that does happen, the Church's Catholic Corps is the means by which Heaven fights a proxy war. While preceded by earlier miracle workers and martial saints, the Corps has its roots in 1066 with the creation of the first Areala and later in 1212 when Pope Gregory VII authorized a new order to train those blessed by God with power to either use them as miracle workers or as warriors. The Corps is the most visible sign of the Church and by extension God on Earth.Controversy
While Warrior Nun Areala in its various incarnations has had its loyal followers, there has been controversy over its use of religious imagery. Some, including comic book fans (including Areala fans) have charged Antarctic press with "nunsploitationNunsploitation
Nunsploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film which had its peak in Europe in the 1970s. These films typically involve Christian nuns living in convents during the Middle Ages. The main conflict of the story is usually of a religious or sexual nature, such as religious oppression or sexual...
" in the character of Areala. There were times when Ben Dunn himself considered changing the name to something more "palatable."
In his review for Daisuke Moriyama
Daisuke Moriyama
is a Japanese manga artist best known for creating the Chrono Crusade series which was adapted into a 24 episodes anime series by the studio Gonzo...
's similarly themed anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
/manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Chrono Crusade
Chrono Crusade
, also known as Chrno Crusade due to a typo in the original logo, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Moriyama. It was originally published by Kadokawa Shoten in Dragon Magazine which began serialization in November 1998. A 24-episode anime television series based on the...
, manga critic Mike Toole likens such ideas to "the old standby of nuns with guns" and makes explicit comparisons between it and Dunn's comic book. Toole states that Dunn's idea of a "woman who slays monsters in a habit
Religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...
and... a bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
" is novel but that it "just doesn't make any goddamned sense." Quite differently, he writes that Moriyama is more restrained and while his fully clothed heroine nun Rosette Christopher may be somewhat comical that she and her fellow characters "otherwise seem vaguely authentic."
Dunn made it a point to focus on escapist storytelling and after Antarctic Press' failed attempts at a "serious version" backfired this was reinforced. The man they chose for this was Barry Lyga who wrote the second series. He writes "The original three series were very tongue-in-cheek... Unfortunately, the audience for the book liked the more tongue-in-cheek approach, and by mutual agreement, I left the series after six issues." Indeed, Lyga's willful decision to reject monster attacks out of hand and focus of "realism" led to less than successful issues that were never even completed.
Despite this, some people wrote in commenting on and requesting stories dealing with current issues in the Catholic Church such as the abuse cases
Roman Catholic sex abuse cases
The Catholic sex abuse cases are a series of convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests and members of religious orders. These cases began receiving public attention beginning in the mid-1980s...
. For example, Lyga's second series featured Sister Shannon asking herself if she should protect the Church from a man seeking revenge for alleged church involvement with the ratlines
Ratlines (history)
Ratlines were a system of escape routes for Nazis and other fascists fleeing Europe at the end of World War II. These escape routes mainly led toward havens in South America, particularly Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile. Other destinations included the United States and perhaps...
. One person noted that the characters' "complaints about the magic priests having more money — even though the warrior nuns, not the magic priests, are on the front lines against demons — ring true after seeing the stories last year [source quoted in 1997] about people "adopting" elderly nuns to help a convent stay afloat or articles about burial costs for nuns being subsidized by the state." Or, when one of Sister Shannon's fellow nuns asked why they could not receive the Magic Priests' training in the supernatural, she replied that it was for the same reason the Church forbids the ordination of women
Ordination of women
Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated . The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity...
, something that causes controversy within the fictional Church of Warrior Nun Areala as it does in the real Church.
Catholic criticism
Such sentiments also extend to members of the real Roman Catholic Church. Real priests and nuns sent their letters in alternately praising and condemning the series. In July–August 1997, the US Catholic LeagueCatholic League (U.S.)
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, often shortened to the Catholic League, is an American Catholic anti-defamation and civil rights organization...
stated that "it does object to the comic strip characters that appear in the Warrior Nuns comic strip, a product of Antarctic Press." In another example Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a speaker for Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
's United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
stated that Areala's costume is "offensive. The habit is something sacred." That is seen in early issues with how the upper half of the muscled, buxom Sister Shannon's ultra-low cut battle habit would show cleavage
Cleavage (breasts)
Cleavage, anatomically known as the intramammary cleft, is the space between a woman's breasts lying over the sternum. Cleavage is exposed by a garment with a low neckline, such as ball gowns, evening gowns, swimwear, casual tops and other garments....
and/or show perpetually erect nipple
Nipple
In its most general form, a nipple is a structure from which a fluid emanates. More specifically, it is the projection on the breasts or udder of a mammal by which breast milk is delivered to a mother's young. In this sense, it is often called a teat, especially when referring to non-humans, and...
s through the cloth while the lower half consists of a loin cloth, if that much in other Warrior Nuns. It was a seeming contradiction in terms with how a nun's habit is meant to hide the body in order to discourage lust
Lust
Lust is an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way.-Etymology:The word lust is phonetically similar to the ancient Roman lustrum, which literally meant "purification"...
. In fact, Ben Dunn wrote that the reason he did that was that "nipples sell." Regardless, Dunn stated the loin cloth is "for mobility" and that is the official in-continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
explanation that the modest Sister Shannon herself unapologetically espoused when confronted on her seeming lack of modesty. (This was resolved by having Sister Shannon's superior assign the Warrior Nuns new more modest battle habits that covered their breasts in the second series to replace the previous ones that she felt were "a bit too revealing!") Dunn himself ultimately did say that perhaps "I think I did go a little overboard" in the earlier issues.
However, this was addressed in an issue that bordered on breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
where Sister Shannon took her ward Jason to the Big Apple Con comics convention where he bought a copy of "Battle Nun Areola
Areola
This article is about the breast tissue. For the entomology term, see the glossary of Lepidopteran terms. For an artistic cloud motif, see aureola. For the cactus feature, see Areole....
." She criticised him and he sheepishly said that it was just a comic book. Ultimately acknowledging that there were bigger problems to face and that she should not take such fantasy too seriously, she decided to let Jason keep his comic. She thought "Why I've never even read the book. .." Indeed, despite such a strange portrayal of religion and Catholicism, the Church and its clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
are portrayed as a force for good and are shown in a positive heroic light, almost without exception. When Areala was accused of being a "bad girl" comic, Lyga countered that the second issue of his Areala series "had not a single punch thrown. When was the last time anyone saw a so-called 'bad girl' comic without a fight scene?" In fact the same Sister Mary Ann Walsh, despite disliking Sister Shannon's battle habit, adds that the creation of Areala comes from someone with "a positive feeling toward sisters."
Chronology
Main series| Series | Writer | Issues | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior Nun Areala: Series 1 | Ben Dunn | 1-3 | December 1994-April 1995 |
| Warrior Nun Areala: Rituals | Ben Dunn | 1-6 | August 1995-June 1996 |
| Warrior Nun Areala: Scorpio Rose | Steve Englehart | 1-4 | September 1996-March 1997 |
| Warrior Nun Areala: Series 2 | Barry Lyga | 1-6 | July 1997-May 1998 |
| Warrior Nun Areala and Glory | Ben Dunn | 1 | September 1997 |
| Areala: Angel of War | Jim Gelvin | 1-4 | September 1998-June 1999 |
| Warrior Nun Areala: Resurrection | THE EYE, Jim Gelvin, & Ben Dunn | 0-3 | November 1998-March 1999 |
| Warrior Nun Areala: Series 3 | Brian Farrens 1-8, Chris Allen 8-12, Nathan Lumm 13-16, Anthony Zicari 16-19 | 1-19 | July 1999-February 2001 |
| Warrior Nun Areala: Ghosts of the Past | 1-4 | March 2001-June 2001 | |
| Warrior Nun Areala: Dangerous Game | 1-3 | July 2001-October 2001 | |
| Warrior Nun Areala: Series 4 | 1-22 | November 2001-November 2003 |
Minor series
In other media
Warrior Nun Areala proved a success and had its franchise.An "Introductory Video" was created by Ben Dunn as a guide to the character.
Two CD single were
made, one by Pink Filth and Bad Habit's Monkeys on the Throne. Songs for Monkeys include,
- Man Is A Threat (Beelze-Bug Theme)
- Lillith
- I'm Connected
- Satans Jester
- Eyes Of The Innocent
- Incantation
- Warrior Nun
- Faith
Like other Antarctic Press characters, action figures containing most of the chief characters in various colors and designs were made. However, in addition to the standard look, there was also an anime look based on a failed attempt by Ben Dunn and Antarctic Press to make a Warrior Nun Areala American anime
Anime-influenced animation
Anime-influenced animation refers to non-Japanese works of animation that emulate certain aspects of the visual style of anime. Due to Western culture, the term anime has been coined to explicitly refer to Japanese animation...
in 1994. There were high hopes and would have been partially fan funded with contributors donating $125 in exchange for their names in the credits. However, that never panned out with the money necessary for Sunrise
Sunrise (company)
is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...
, the hoped for animation studio, to make the series being about $200,000. In 2001 another attempt was made by Darkain Arts though that too failed. The anime was never completed and only the opening credits
Opening credits
In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
are known to exist; they were created by the animators of the X-Men animated series
X-Men (TV series)
X-Men, also known as X-Men: The Animated Series, is an American animated television series which debuted on October 31, 1992, in the United States on the Fox Network as part of its Fox Kids Saturday morning lineup...
. The opening credits can be seen on YouTube.
See also
While Warrior Nun Areala did go the most in depth in the subject matter, anime, manga, comic books, and films have further explored the idea of Vatican affiliated clerical/religious monster hunters. In fact, Antarctic Press has claimed that it created a mini-genre with other comic books imitating its idea.- AvengelyneAvengelyneAvengelyne [uh-venj-ah-leen] is a fictional comic book character co-created by Rob Liefeld and Cathy Christian, and originally published in 1995 by Maximum Press. By the end of the 1990s, Avengelyne had a stint at Awesome Entertainment and enjoyed a short stint at Avatar Press. Avengelyne returned...
(Though she never served the Catholic Church in an official capacity as there it had no anti-demonic program, she was befriended by Catholic priest Father Clifton and stayed with him St. Augustine Church.) - The Order of Magdela from Chrono CrusadeChrono Crusade, also known as Chrno Crusade due to a typo in the original logo, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Moriyama. It was originally published by Kadokawa Shoten in Dragon Magazine which began serialization in November 1998. A 24-episode anime television series based on the...
- The Inquisition from MagdalenaMagdalena (comics)The Magdalena is an American comic book heroine created by Top Cow Productions. She did not have her own on-going series for many years, but had two limited series and has been featured in comics with The Darkness, the Witchblade, Tomb Raider, The Angelus and Vampirella. She first appeared in The...
- The Department of Inquisition and the Department of Foreign Affairs' milder AX from Trinity BloodTrinity Bloodis a series of Japanese light novels written by Sunao Yoshida with illustrations by Thores Shibamoto and originally serialized in The Sneaker. Set 900 years after an apocalyptic war between humans and vampires, the series focuses on the on-going cold war between the Vatican, the human government,...
- The Holy Order from Van HelsingVan Helsing (film)Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
- Solomon from Witch Hunter RobinWitch Hunter Robinis a Japanese anime series created by Sunrise. It follows the STN-J, the Japanese branch of a secret global organization called "SOLOMON" or the "Solomon Toukatsu Nin'idantai" , abbreviated as "STN"....
- Iscariot XIIIIscariot (Hellsing)Iscariot is a fictional organization from the manga series Hellsing.The Iscariot Organization, named after Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, is a top-secret wing of the Vatican charged with the active pursuit and extermination of demons and heretics...
from HellsingHellsingis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. It first premiered in Young King Ours in 1997 and ended in September 2008. The individual chapters are collected and published in tankōbon volumes by Shōnen Gahosha. As of March 2009 all chapters have been released in 10 volumes in... - The Burial Agency from TsukihimeTsukihimeis a Japanese eroge dōjin visual novel game created by Type-Moon, who first released it at the Winter Comiket in December 2000. It was adapted in 2003 into an anime series, Shingetsutan Tsukihime, produced by J.C.Staff and Geneon, and a manga series, which has been serialized since 2004 in...
For information on a very real and very eccentric self professed clerical monster hunter, who research shows was never a Catholic priest as he claimed to be, see--
- Montague SummersMontague SummersAugustus Montague Summers was an eccentric English author and clergyman. He is known primarily for his scholarly work on the English drama of the 17th century, as well as for his idiosyncratic studies on witches, vampires, and werewolves, in all of which he professed to believe...
.
For information on the real Vatican's real chief clerical monster hunter see--
- Father Gabriele Amorth of the International Association of ExorcistsInternational Association of ExorcistsInternational Association of Exorcists is a Roman Catholic organization that was founded in 1990 by six priests including the world-famous exorcist of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth and Father Jeremy Davies.-History:...
.