Page - 14 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

14 | Alexander D. Ornella/Christian Wessely www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 9–16 of ultimate concern. As such, the series can be seen as a piece of popular culture but also as a theological text. the Open section features an article by Michael heim, the technophile phi- losopher and translator of heidegger’s works, on the renewed interest in vir- tual and augmented reality, for example, GoogleGlass, holoLens, sony PsVr, and samsung Galaxy Gear. he is interested less in the technological aspects of augmented reality than in the anthropological questions the technology raises: What conditions and prerequisites ensure humans experience virtual and aug- mented reality as natural, familiar and inhabitable environments? in his article heim argues that virtual and augmented realities can transcend the ordinary of the here and now and thus further develops his Metaphysics of Virtual Reality.13 Between 2010 and 2017, many comic book movie adaptations found their way to movie theatres and onto tV screens, with more to come.14 even as we write these lines, Disney/Marvel have announced 26 October 2017 as the U.s. release date for Thor: Ragnarok (taika Waititi, UsA 2017).15 Other announcements hap- pen almost weekly, and the website www.sciencefiction.com, with a dedicated section to comic books, keeps track of some of these developments. the scene – and the business – is thriving, and research on comics, their movie adaptations and their religious motifs will provide a rich field of research for the disciplines of both theology and the science of religion over the coming years. BiBLiOGrAPhy Burke, Liam, 2012, superman in Green. An Audience study of Comic Book film Adaptations thor and Green Lantern, in: Participation. Journal of Audience and reception studies, 9, 2, 2012, 97–119. Chidester, David, 2005, Authentic fakes. religion and American Popular Culture, Berkeley: Univer- sity of California Press. heim, Michael, 1994, the Metaphysics of Virtual reality, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lefèvre, Pascal, 2007, incompatible Visual Ontologies? the Problematic Adaption of Drawn images, in: Gordon, ian/Jancovich, Mark/McAllister, Matthew P. (eds.), film and Comic Books, Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1–12. McCloud, scott, 1993, Understanding Comics. the invisible Art, New york: harper Perennial. sallust, On Gods and the Cosmos 4, in: Murray, Gilbert, 1943, five stages of Greek religion. studies based on a Course of Lectures, London: Watts, Appendix 205. https://archive.org/stream/five- stagesofgree035414mbp/fivestagesofgree035414mbp_djvu.txt [25.4.2017]. 13 Heim 1994. 14 e.g. Thor (Kenneth Brannagh, US 2011); Duck Tales: The Movie (Doug Walker, US 2011); Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia (Laurent Tirard, FR 2012); X-Men: Apocalypse (Bryan Singer, US 2016); Bat- man vs. Superman (Zack snyder, Us 2016). 15 see http://orf.at//stories/2387132/ about the trailer which is said to be record-breaking.