Posted by Arturo Bandini at 66-168-209-20.charterga.net on July 22, 2003 at 10:36:32:
In Reply to: Question about Kevin's comic writing posted by jenos_sith4 on July 22, 2003 at 09:38:02:
I cannot speak for Mr. Smith, but I think that religion has been a part of Daredevil for awhile.
As JH said, I think Frank Miller explored it during his run...at the very least he explored the character's morality (where you came up with that whole "Matt has no morality b/c he is a lawyer" nonsense, I have no idea). One issue dealt with Matt's desire to kill Bullseye (it's been a while, so forgive me if I'm foggy on the details -- no pun intended). Matt sat next to a bed-ridden bullseye in the hospital, playing Russian Roulette, discussing the worth of Bullseye's life. This issue alone spoke volumes on Matt's morality.
As for religion -- well, not to simplify the matter, but Matt Murdock dresses up as a DEVIL, doesn't he? Sure, there's other reason's for chosing the name and costume, but ultimately, if you think that (to use a Batman anology) dressing up as a devil is a good way to strke fear in the hearts of criminals, then you probably have some religious background. Not to mention that he patrols Hell's Kitchen (OK, it may look like I'm clutching at straws, but since I cannot offer firm evidence of the specific use of religion prior to Kevin Smith, I can only show you the general references to religion used in Daredevil.)
As for Green Arrow -- I've only read the first TPB of Kevin's run, but I don't remember any explicit use of Catholicism in Oliver's character. I do remember the use of the concept of Heaven and Satanism, but those concepts have been used heavily in the DC Universe for quite sometime (from the DCU character the Phantom Stranger to Vertigo's version of Lucifer), so if you have a problem with religion in comics, you might want to stay away from DC books.
And as for myself, I am a complete, non-denominational, too-much-of-a-pussy-to-choose-a-god, semi-agnostic questioner-of-faith and I don't have any problem with Kevin's use of religion in any of his works. In fact, Dogma is one of my favorite movies. I like a well-written, thoughtful examination of religion.