Read more about Warrior Nun Areala at: Wikipedia

Official Site: Antarctic Press

Warrior Nun Areala is a manga-style American comic book character created by Ben Dunn and published by Antarctic Press. First appearing in Ninja High School #38 1987), she has since appeared in her own comic books beginning with Warrior Nun Areala Vol. 1 #1 in December 1994. The story revolves around Sister Shannon Masters, a Joan of Arc like heroine of the Order of the Cruciform Sword, a fictional military order of Warrior Nun and Magic Priest in service of the Catholic Church. The order was created in 1066 when a Valkyrie named Auria renounced her pagan ways and turned to Jesus Christ for salvation; ever since then, Auria, now Areala, has chosen an avatar every generation to carry on the mission. In modern times, this has grown to a world spanning organization in the service of the Catholic Church with the current Areala, Sister Shannon Masters as the best and brightest. With her friends beside her, Sister Shannon has led the forces of good against those of evil, ever serving the Lord with faith and humility. Appearing on and off for twenty years since her first appearance, Warrior Nun Areala is creator Ben Dunn's favorite character.

With strong continuity telling storylines in a serialized manner, Sister Shannon Masters' cast, powers, and trappings have slowly expanded throughout the years thus creating an entire society within the Church. There has been some controversy towards the character from both religious and non-religious alike, the former for appropriating Catholic imagery and the latter for how the comic book unapologetically shows the Catholic Church as a force for good. While there have been other comic books emphasizing Christianity and superheroes utilizing Christian imagery, Warrior Nun Areala is unique in that it is a mainstream, albeit independent comic that approaches its subject matter with respect and takes its idea seriously.

Website Comicsutra states "That's what makes Warrior Nun Areala so special. At its core, it portrays people who have unshakable faith in God and their religion. .. Its affection for nuns is also evident — and sometimes returned. One real nun asked about Warrior Nun Areala noted that she and her colleagues give poor children college prep-level educations — that they are superheroes. Amen, sister."

The creation of Areala has its roots in the [http://www.fraternitenotredame.com/Pages/EN_Pages/IndexEN.html Fraternite Notre Dame], or the Fraternity of Our Lady, a traditionalist Catholic organization. In 1991, a chapter was established in New York City's East Harlem in order to found a soup kitchen. It was in New York that Sister Marie Chantel who had been a black belt in Judo learned Taekwondo under a Hell's Kitchen martial arts master. Her fellow nuns, including the Mother Superior, also learned self defense hearing that the neighborhoods were dangerous, though they insist that their martial arts training is mostly for sport and that they have had no problems with the surrounding neighborhoods. Their story was ultimately picked up and reported by The New York Times.

Warrior Nun Areala has not been a contender in any CBUB matches.