Extended Call: Theology, Philosophy, and Religion in Daredevil

deadline for submissions: 
September 30, 2023
full name / name of organization: 
Fortress Press & Lexington Books, Theology, Religion and Pop Culture Series
contact email: 

Title: Faith, Morality, and the Man without Fear: Theology and Religion in Daredevil

Editors: Taylor Thomas and Regan Hardeman

Abstract, CV, and Proposal due: September 30, 2023

Initial Final Paper due: February 28, 2024

Created by Stan Lee, Bill Everett, and Jack Kirby in 1964, Daredevil is a triumph in comic book writing that provocatively combines the holy militancy of John Brown with the impassioned jurisprudence of Thurgood Marshall. Matt Murdock, commonly known as the blind lawyer from Hell’s Kitchen in the series, upholds the law while Daredevil, Murdock’s masked persona, breaks it when the justice system fails. Murdock’s costumed crusade has long been inextricably connected to a fragile, yet enduring, Christian worldview he engages, and often questions, throughout the series. This distinctively religious element of the character drives nuanced storylines that explore moral, theological, and interpersonal conflicts and raise existential questions about value, purpose, and the threat of nihilism in a seemingly godless world. In Faith, Morality, and the Man without Fear: Theology and Religion in Daredevil, scholars from various specializations related to the study of theology and religion will be invited to examine philosophical,  theological, and religious themes and concepts as they have appeared within the now almost sixty-year-long multimedia world of Daredevil.

The goal of Faith, Morality, and the Man without Fear is to engage interdisciplinary perspectives on topics ranging from (1) theodicy, metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology to (2) theological and ethical reflections on violence, pacifism, and moral duty. The editors want to continue uplifting comic and graphic novels as a narrative art that rewards scholarly analysis. The volume will be thematically grouped along three primary themes of inquiry: (1) Philosophy, theology, and ethics, (2) identity, embodiment, and recognition, and (3) religion, society, and the law. As such, we are seeking scholars from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines who can help us in our goal of designing a multi-author volume that is diverse in its content and broadly accessible to general audiences interested in theology and religion, while maintaining the scholarly merit required to be used as supplementary material in introductory level theology and religion courses. We ask that potential contributors explore Daredevil as the character has appeared both on and, very importantly, off the screen.

Timeframes: Please send a 250-300 word abstract, a paper proposal of up to 1000 words, and a current CV to radicalt@bu.edu. Acceptance notifications will be sent out November 15,  2023. Full manuscripts will be capped at 6000 words a piece and due on February 28, 2024. The completed volume will be sent to the publisher on October 2024.