Podcast #040 - The Book of Ruth

"The Book of Ruth: An Original Graphic Novel"

Alan and Em discuss the original graphic novel The Book of Ruth, by Meredith Finch & Colin Dyer. The book retells the Old Testament story in the context of the Dust Bowl era. The discussion includes a deep dive into atonement theology, but somehow they manage to reference Babylon 5, Leverage ... and more!

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Link: The Book of Ruth Kickstarter
Link: Meredith Finch on Twitter
Link: The Harry Whodunit Collection
Link: Tomato Bird's Tumblr


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Comic Book Review: Martin Luther

Martin Luther: A Monk Changes the World, by Johannes Saurer & Ulrike Albers. Translated by Christine Gollmart.

Martin Luther lived a very action-packed life, and condensing it into 26 comic book pages is a very difficult task. But this short graphic novel manages to hit all of the high points, and tell the story with the drama that it deserves.

The book rarely stays in one location for more than a few pages, and manages to play scenes in Eisleben, Mansfeld, Erfurt, Augsburg, Worms, Wartburg Castle, Schmalkalden, Torgau, and  (of course) Wittenberg.

The book also manages to include as characters a number of Luther's allies, including Justus Jonas, Philipp Melanchthon,  and his wife, the wonderful Katharina von Bora.

This is an informative and interesting biography. And considering the pace the story has to move at to cover the highlights, it is also quite entertaining.

The graphic novel may be purchased here, from Amazon.

Source: We picked this graphic novel up at a small store in Wittenberg, when we visited Germany during the Luther 500 celebration, which he talked about on a podcast episode here. 

Alan's Christian Comic Corner

The Unforogttens: Mission of Tranquillity #2, Trinity Comic Ministries, 1994. The story, “Of Giants and Dragons,” was created by Timothy A. Gagnon.

Our story continues from issue #1 (reviewed here), where three teenagers discovered that dabbling in the occult had consequences they were very unprepared for. The spiritual warfare continues in the hallways of the local school, with and angel-demon battle. And at the end, we are set up for a face-off between the angelic Unforgottens and the demonic Brotherhood.

I had a problem with the quality of the lettering is the first issue, and that problem exists here, as well. However, there is a two-page feature at the end of the book that has much better lettering, clearly done via computer. If that was meant to test a new lettering process, I hope that it continues into the next issue.

There are moments of decent art, mostly in individual panels and figures. Yes, some are drawn in the over-the-top style of the 1990s, but glimpses of artistic skill are evident. The storytelling aspect of the comic is weak, but that is much harder skill to learn and develop,

This issue has one great advantage over the first. Issue #1 was printed on traditionally-sized paper, but comic books tend to be published on slightly smaller paper. Starting with this issue, the series is produced in traditional comic book size. What that means for me is that the first issue is a little bit of a mess, crunched up at the top, etc … while this issue and the others are in pretty decent shape, even after more than two decades. For what it’s worth, the paper quality is extremely high.

The series contains two more published issues, and they are on the to-be-reviewed list.

Alan's Christian Comic Corner

 The Unforogttens: Mission of Tranquillity #1, Trinity Comic Ministries, 1993. The untitled story is created by Timothy A. Gagnon.

I think it started with the Frank Peretti novel “This Present Darkness,” and its sequel “Piercing the Darkness.” These were published in 1986 and 1989 respectively. Those books both fed on a growing interest in spiritual warfare in the evangelical church, and also contributed to that growing interest. Many evangelical novels and albums of the era reflected this interest, so a comic book featuring similar content makes sense.

Three teens are performing a Satanist ritual in the woods, and summon a demon. They are interrupted by a warrior of God (called Faith), who appears to be an angel, but is in fact a human who has been empowered by God to fight Satan and other evils. Two of the three teens repent of their ways, the demon is expelled, and Faith meets up with two similar beings. At the end of the issue, an unsuspecting hitchhiker appears to be kidnapped by demonic forces.

There is one scene in particular that surprised me. The lead character is Catholic, and his salvation came as a result of a conversation with a priest, in a confessional. Evangelical publishing is not known for taking ecumenical stances, so this scene stood out in a positive way. It had a simple storyline and overly dramatic dialog, but there were also interesting moments and subtle touches sprinkled throughout. Re-reading more than two decades after first buying it was not the embarrassing experience that I had thought it may have been.

Yes, this is a self-published book, produced by an amateur creator. And some parts of it are definitely “amateurish.” The lettering stands out in a negative way, as does the spelling of the word “tranquility,” and the overall 1990s-ish nature of the art. And the book is a half an inch taller than standard comics means that storing this issue has been a challenge. But despite being crunched for more than two decades in bags and boxes and bookshelves, this issue is in remarkably good condition. The paper quality is surprisingly high, and this 20-year-old issue has not suffered a single tear or a rip.  

This black-and-white book contains 30 pages of story, which is at least 5 pages longer than most mainstream stories of the same period. Most comics of his era were priced in the $1.50 - $2.50 range, so this book’s $1.95 cover price was appropriate. There were three more issues of this title published, and they are on the to-be-reviewed list.

Alan's Christian Comic Corner

The Cross and the Switchblade, Barbour Christian Comics, 1972.
Written, drawn & inked by Al Hartley. Cover by Al Hartley.

This is a comic based on Pastor David Wilkerson’s account of his ministry work among the gangs of New York City in the late 1950s and early 1960s. These efforts were chronicled in Wilkerson’s 1963 book (written with John & Elizabeth Sherrill) of the same name.

The young minister feels called to New York City, specifically seeking out the toughest of the gangs. He eventually is able to befriend Nicky Cruz, the leader of the Mau Mau gang, who becomes a Christian and begins his own ministry. Although not part of this comic, Cruz tells the story of his life, including his interactions with Wilkerson, in his own memoir Run Baby Run.

Al Hartley is a longtime comic book professional, so the technical aspect of the book are competently done. I mention this, because professional competence is not always the case with Christian comics. The biggest problem that this comic has is that even with a full 32 pages of story, there are necessary shortcuts taken in the storytelling. But that is always the case in adapting a 200-page book into a single issue of a comic.

Hartley is most famous for drawing Archie comics, and there were moments in reading that I noted how similar some character looked to characters I’ve seen in Archie comics. But that was a minor issue. One of the oddest aspects is that the book’s most famous scene is on the cover of the comics, but does not take place inside the comic. This is when Wilkerson tells Cruz that even if the gang member cut him into a million pieces, each one would continue to love Cruz. This again speaks to Hartley’s struggle fitting all the material from the book into one issue of a comic, that he has to use the cover to portray the book’s most dramatic scene. 

As a comic, the fast pace and Archie-style drawings don’t necessarily age well. Writers of non-fiction also face the burden of their storytelling choices being limited by the actual events being told. But as a 40+ year-old adaptation of a 50+ year-old book, it’s actually … not bad.