The local library has had an influx of Christian books. Apparently a donation was offered and agreed to, and then a shedload of books arrived. In amongst the deluge, I’ve spotted three comic books.
Yun: The Illustrated Story of the Heavenly Man is the only one that I’ve heard of before. The credits are confusing. The cover states Brother Yun with Paul Hattaway, with no mention of who did what. The inside states just Hattaway, again without further detail. Then there’s another listing – Story adaptation and illustration: Rico Rival, Script adaptation: Nate Butler, Ed Morris. If you can make sense of that, well done. There’s an additional credit - Graphic Novel Concept: The Edge Group. So now we know who invented the form.
The art isn't bad. On first impression, it reminds me of Joe Kubert. In other places I see some Will Eisner. The figure in the bottom left panel above looks like Gil Kane / Steve Ditko.
Next up is Manga Bible Volume 2 by Young Shin Lee and Jung Sub Hwang. How many Manga Bibles are there out there? This has to be the third version I’ve seen.
This comic incorporates modernisms into the biblical tales. Witness “Are you filming a movie?!” in the following page:
I found the book quite amusing.
Then we have The Lion Graphic Bible by Jeff Anderson and Mike Maddox.
It’s fully painted in the style I always associate with Heavy Metal. Unlike the Manga Bible, The Lion Graphic is very straight. I found it looked very nice, but I didn’t want to read it at all.
In fact the highlight of this library edition was the mood-breaking placement of the barcode and date label:
“In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. Cultural Services 8046 00951 009 This book is to be returned on or before the last date stamped below.”
These books were an interesting diversion, but it would have been nice to get in a copy of Robert Crumb’s new Book of Genesis Illustrated.
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