A common understanding of “myths” is that they are made up, fantastical stories by which people delude themselves or deceive others. There’s often the consideration that they are created by a power elite to control an underclass. And while that might happen, I’d suggest that quite often myths are in fact very accurate depictions of how people perceive their relation to and interaction with their environment, even if they’re not based in scientific “fact” (keeping in mind that science deals more in working hypotheses than eternal truths – liable to revision when new information comes to light).
From the Age of Enlightenment through the Industrial Revolution, myths, theologies and folk beliefs were regularly denigrated and discounted leading to an overall “de-magification” of Western society. In the late 19th century, a reaction began against that across Western society from the emergence of the “Spiritist” movement in the United States to the French occult revival spearheaded by Gerard Encausse and Josephin Peladan. AND… one could make the case that the great popularizers of reintroducing myth as a positive force in Euro-American culture were the fiction writers J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. They’re writing drew on already extant mythology, updating them, making them seem vivid and alive and rescuing mythology from dry academia. They made the concepts of other worlds feel plausible and perhaps eased the acceptance of serious occult practice. Mebbe. ANYWAY, there’s a new graphic novel about Tolkien and Lewis – The Mythmakers by John Hendrix. The posted description says:
From New York Times bestselling, award-winning creator John Hendrix comes The Mythmakers, a graphic novel biography of two literary lions—C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien—following the remarkable story of their friendship and creative fellowship, and how each came to write their masterworks
Through narrative and comic panels, Hendrix chronicles Lewis and Tolkien’s near-idyllic childhoods, then moves on to both men’s horrific tour of the trenches of World War I to their first meeting at Oxford in 1929, and then the foreshadowing, action, and aftermath of World War II. He reveals the shared story of their friendship, in all its ups and downs, that gave them confidence to venture beyond academic concerns (fantasy wasn’t considered suitable for adult reading, but the domain of children), shaped major story/theme ideas, and shifted their ideas about the potential of mythology and faith.
The Mythmakers also shows the camaraderie and the importance of the social/literary circle of friends called the Inklings, and how the friendship of these two great men fell apart and came together again. Hendrix concludes describing how the writings of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien had re-enchanted the 20th century, after two World Wars. In writing aimed at scholars, adults, and young people, these two tweedy academics altered the course of storytelling and embraced the concept that fantasy writing for an adult audience was an accepted form of literature.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mythmakers-john-hendrix/1144896393
https://www.johnhendrix.com/prints
