You Say “Pietà,” I Say Po-TAH-to…

78 Comic Covers Featuring the Classic “Pietà” Pose

And lo, the Wikipedia did doth decree: “The Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture.” First appearing in Christian iconography around the 1300s, the most famous example is Michelangelo’s Pietà sculpture in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City (as seen here).

Sometimes Mary is shown in a highly emotional state, pleading to the heavens as if to ask why she has to bear the terrible burden of holding her dead son in her arms. Other times, Mary is shown in quiet repose, conveying a dignified grief that acknowledges one’s helplessness in the face of death.

Either way: a seemingly dead body slumped in someone else’s grieving arms? That, my friend, is comic book gold…