Tag: Comic book

Comic-Book-Christ Dying and Rising: a graphic novel review.

I am a reader of great literature, and by that I mean comic books. I grew up reading comics and still love a great graphic novel. There is something special about artists who are able to pair storytelling with images in a way that is dynamic and compelling. You can’t get a more compelling and moving story of Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. This is the story that Alex Webb-Peploe  and  André Parker tell through their new comic-adaptation, The Third Day.

This is not the first comic adaptation of the Bible. There are a number of recent projects which rehearse biblical themes in graphic novel form. What makes this title unique, is that other graphic novel adaptations veer from the biblical material to explain why things happen the way they did (i.e. why did Judas betray Jesus, why did the High Priest plot against Jesus, etc), The Third Day restricts itself to the biblical account focusing on three chapters from Luke (22-24). The words in this novel come straight form the Bible (HCSB version). Words from Luke’s prologue also introduce the story.

Limiting the text to the Bible alone does not detract from the story-telling. Webb-Peploe helps us hone in on what the Bible tells us about Jesus’ final hours. When speech is implied but not recorded in the biblical account, there are story telling panels with no speech bubbles. This attention to the gospel’s actual words leaves some questions unanswered but also helps us stay tuned into what the Bible tells us.

But Webb-Peploe doesn’t reproduce every word from Luke either. The economy and pacing of the genre demand a certain sparsity in the details. If you read this comic beside your Bible, you will notice some details skipped or skimmed over and other elements of the story left out (i.e.). There is the occasional word or phrase written out of order, but the events themselves follow Luke’s account.  To my mind, this is artfully telling the story by choosing which  elements to emphasize from the text.

I also loved that in addition to being biblically correct, this graphic novel is also ethnically correct. In a world full of white Jesus movies, yellow-haired stained glass Christs, and other pasty renderings,  it is refreshing to see an artistic presentation of Jesus that presents Him as an olive-skinned Mediterranean Jew. This is a marked improvement on the ‘traditional’ blue-eyed Jesus  often imaged through Western media and art. The illustrations in this book are strong and dynamic, well-inked and colored .I am impressed.  I give this book 4.5 stars and recommend it for young adult and teenagers, children and other fans of ‘great literature.’ The publisher suggests this title for teenagers. i I read it was my six-year-old.

Thank you to the Good Book Company for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Brother Duck’s Tell All Tale: a book review

Francis of Assisi is the world’s most popular saint.  His life, his joy and his connection to creation has inspired millions of people. His commitment to the poor and the least of these offers a radical challenge to our materialist age. There are many biographies, collections of stories and children’s books which pay homage to the great saint, but none quite like this.

Saint Francis and Brother Duck: a Graphic Novel by Jay Stoeckl

Cartoonist Jay Stoeckl was an aspiring cartoonist. After traveling to Assisi he became a secular Franciscan.  Saint Francis and Brother Duck is his graphic retelling of the life of Francis. In these pages we meet the young Francis who dreams of being a  glorious knight. His father sends him off to battle arrayed in fine clothes and armor.  But before he sees much battle he rescues a duck from some cruel boys.  He hears a voice telling him that he misinterpreted his ‘dream.’ In Stoeckl’s retelling, the duck he saved returns home with Francis and remains his companion for the nearly twenty years. The duck narrates this story and in the end this is as much his story as it is Francis’s.

Stoeckl revisits most of the famous Francis stories: the rebuilding the church of San Damiano, his trial before the bishop where he gave  the clothes off his back, back to his father, the first followers in Gubbio, Francis preaching to the birds (including a duck),  Clare joining the order, Francis’s overcoming brother wolf, Francis preaching to the sultan,  and his receiving the stigmata and more.

Brother Duck is a simple and earnest character. He is a faithful friend to Francis and goes with him everywhere but doesn’t always understand Francis. Sometimes he asks probing questions which allow Francis to share his grand theological vision. Other times Brother Duck provides comic relief by being  just as slow to understand Francis as the rest of us. In the end the Brother Duck is a faithful interpreter of Francis’s message and legacy.

The back cover says that this graphic novel was ‘designed to inspire ages 8 & up.’ My children are a bit younger than that, and a lot of this book is beyond them; however I found it a fun and imaginative read, full of good humor.  My favorite piece of dialogue between Saint Francis and Brother Duck is the following:

Francis (F): Brother Duck?  What if all living things were brother or sister to me?

Brother Duck (BD): That would make one really big family!

F: Yeah! and Earth would be our mother.

BD (after a pause): What about alligators?  If alligators eat ducks and a duck is your friend would you say, “Brother Alligator, you just ate my best friend brother duck”?

F: I suppose I would simply say, “Brother Alligator, I am so sad you ate my best friend Brother Duck.”

BD (another pause): What about mosquitoes? What if big, hairy creepy Brother Spider catches obnoxious blood-sucking Sister Mosquito–who had just bitten Brother Rattlesnake as he is slowly digesting slimy, disease-bearing- Sister Rat?

F: And the Lord God made them all!

BD: Hmmm.

I would recommend this book to any lover of St. Francis. The childlike-faith of Francis is showcased in this format. Young readers and old readers will appreciate what they find in these pages. I give the book four stars: ★★★★☆

Thank you to Paraclete Press for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for this review. Click here to read an excerpt from this book.