Invincible's Co-Creator Wrote A Two-Fisted, Booze-Drenched Papal Cartoon

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If you thought "Conclave" was as lurid as the papacy can get, think again. 

Robert Kirkman is one of the most powerful writers in American comics today. He's the chief operating officer of Image Comics, and founder of his own company, Skybound Entertainment. Kirkman built that power by writing superhero series "Invincible" and zombie apocalypse comic "The Walking Dead," both running almost simultaneously from 2003 to 2018/2019, respectively. These days, Kirkman is the architect of the Energon Universe, bringing together the Transformers and G.I. Joe; Kirkman himself is writing "Transformers."

But a few years before his one-two breakout, Kirkman's first comic was 2000's "Battle Pope." Co-created with artist Tony Moore (who later co-created "The Walking Dead" and drew its first six issues), "Battle Pope" was published in black-and-white via Kirkman's small press Funk-O-Tron. Once Kirkman found his home at Image, that publisher reprinted "Battle Pope" in color. 

"Battle Pope" is as ludicrous and audacious as its title suggests. One day, God comes to judge his children and finds the vast majority of us very wanting. One of the most disappointing is Pope Oswald Leopold II, who, before "Young Pope" Lenny Belardo did so, forsook his holy duties for a life of sex, cigars, and drinking. (If you're wondering how someone of such moral character became Pope in the first place, you're reading "Battle Pope" wrong.)

So God opens the doors of Hell and leaves Earth to join the legions of the damned. Hell and the mortal realm achieve an uneasy peace, but when Michael the Archangel goes missing in Hell, God summons the Pope to serve him again. Giving him the strength of a superhero, God sends the Pope to find Saint Michael. The real Pope's duties may include fighting evil, but usually that doesn't mean literally punching out demons.

The tagline of "Battle Pope" is: "When he's not leadin' mass, he's out kickin' ass!" The Pope's outfit does resemble a superhero's cape, and the comic features many panels of the Pope leaping through the air, posed like Batman. The Pope's counterpart in his Dynamic Duo is none other than Jesus Christ, depicted as well-meaning but a bit wimpy and immature.

Image Comics

If you can't tell from its blasphemous premise, "Battle Pope" is a gag series. There's filthy humor galore, but the whole comic is a joke built around the absurdity of the Pope being an action hero — and a lecherous one at that. He never even removes his vestments or pointed crown. The non-practicing or lapsed will have to keep in mind that for Catholics, "Battle Pope" isn't just ridiculous, it's mocking the Earthly regent of God's kingdom. It doesn't end there; in "Battle Pope" #11, the Christmas special, the Pope beds the Virgin Mary (when she comes to Earth for her son's birthday).

Yet reading "Battle Pope," it doesn't seem to come from a place of true hatred or anti-religious conviction. The heavenly figures in "Battle Pope" are lampooned, but they're decent at heart (much like the Pope himself). The closest the series comes to making a political point is in issue #11, when Jesus battles Santa Claus for corrupting the meaning of his birthday with gift-giving. Compare this to Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's "Preacher," another black comedy; that series is much meaner and dripping with contempt for organized religion. "Preacher" is poking the church in the eye, while "Battle Pope" is just poking fun.

"Battle Pope" ended at issue #14 (when God and Mary finally tie the knot), a conclusion that really isn't much of one. Kirkman acknowledged the ending was abrupt, explaining in the backpages of issue #14 why he chose to end "Battle Pope" there:

"Numbers on the book had bounced between 2200 and 2500 for the last eight issues of the series with no signs of ever going up. So it didn't really seem like this series was going anywhere sales-wise. It didn't seem fair to me to be doing books at Image that made much more money than 'Battle Pope' with other artists but keep doing 'Battle Pope' with Tony."

Kirkman said he had plans to do "much more" of "Battle Pope," but even now, he's never gone back to continue the series. It hasn't been forgotten completely, though. This year, Image published a 25th anniversary hardcover, or "The Immaculate Edition," of "Battle Pope."

In 2008, Spike TV adapted "Battle Pope" into eight flash-animated webisodes, similar to MTV's out of print "Invincible" motion comic. Since "Invincible" has become a hit cartoon on Prime Video, is there any hope of a proper "Battle Pope" cartoon? I wouldn't bet on it. There only being 14 issues, with no proper ending, means adapting the series probably isn't worth the investment. But it is worth giving the "Battle Pope" comic a read.