Page - 12 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

12 | Alexander D. Ornella/Christian Wessely www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 9–16 outright – any adaptations of their works because they consider the characteris- tics of the medium a crucial part of the narrative and their narrative style.9 Audi- ence satisfaction and identification form a crucial issue, too. Live-action movies have to cater to a larger non-hardcore fan audience (or a dual audience of fans and non-fans).10 Most importantly, however, the translation of the unique visual style of comics into photographic and live-action images poses a challenge: as Pascal Lefèvre has observed, “The different visual ontology may also be the reason why it is extremely difficult to adapt a strongly stylized or caricatured drawing into a photographic image.”11 in short, comic books not only are part of cultural history but also have pro- duced a vibrant material and visual culture. they participate in and contribute to socio-cultural discourses around, for example, ideas of masculinity, the value of art, adult versus youth entertainment and consumption, and identity nego- tiation. Most importantly, the comic universe is engaged in the production of meaning, the discussion of ethical questions and moral order, and questions of ultimate concern. this issue of the Journal for Religion, Film and Media addresses some of these topics. in his introductory paper to the thematic section of this issue, Christian Wes- sely looks at the history of the comic from a european perspective as well as its unique characteristics as medium. in particular, he is interested in the genre’s ability to manipulate, and he considers parallels in the development of the vis- ual culture of the comic and the visual culture of interactive media. he argues that research should adapt the advanced tools and methodologies employed in the study of visual culture, in film studies and the study of comic books for ex- ample, to the study of interactive media such as facebook, instagram or What- sApp. he suggests that these tools are particularly helpful in generating better understanding of leading forms of communication that rely on visual language and the compression of language. the topic of violence is obviously important for comic book screen adapta- tions. Although brutal scenes are widely accepted in comic books, they are a problem in their respective movies. theresia heimerl analyses the role of (sex- ual) violence comparing Japanese movies (especially anime) and hollywood productions. she shows that there exists a strong relationship between a posi- tive or negative portrayal of the protagonists and the staging of their (hidden) sexual desires. in his article entitled “the Problem of evil in DC Universe Animated Movies”, Toufic El-Khoury uses Leibniz’s theodicy to critically analyse productions from 9 Lefèvre 2007, 1. 10 Burke 2012. 11 Lefèvre 2007, 9.