The Bible Really is Graphic!

I was looking at some of the Google searches that have led people to the Sanctuary recently... one of them was a person looking for "spider woman prophecy bible". Hmm I don't recall ever seeing Jessica Drew in the Bible (heh maybe she was one of the Nephilim), but I hope that whoever it was found what they were looking for.

On the subject of comic books, I've recently been pondering buying a copy of the Manga Bible as part of an idea that I am working on. I've volunteered to do a seminar at the Scripture Union camp I am a team member on. With the recent revival of the superhero movie genre, I want to introduce the young people into a new way of looking at the characters they read in comic books and watch in the cinema or on DVD.

In case you hadn't noticed I'm very fond of using analogies from popular culture to illustrate biblical points... in fact it is one of the reasons I enjoy blogging so much. On face value the Manga Bible looks visually stunning. Here is an image from an E card that shows both versions of the New Testament (The Old Testament is still in the pipeline):

I've read graphical representations of the Bible in the past, they are OK... but they tend to be a little lacking in artistic flair... they tend to play it straight and not experiment with visual styles. One of the reasons I loved the old BBC animation series "Testament" and its follow up film "The Miracle Maker", is that they used a wide variety of animation styles to tell different elements of Biblical tales. Another artist whose work on Christian projects I am fond of is Rodney Matthews (even though I am not a metal head, nor do I even maintain any illusions that I could one day pass myself off as one). He adds fantastical elements to his work and adds an ethereal quality to them... something that makes you aware that what you are looking at is exploring subjects that transcend human nature with all it's wonders and flaws.

Having looked at a few spreads of work that you can download from the Manga Bible website, I am suitably impressed... but then the project is the brainchild of Siku, a former 2000AD and Judge Dredd artist, so we are clearly looking at someone who enjoys working with artistic style as much as he loves the scriptures he is trying to portray to his audience.

Ideally, if it turns out as good as it looks... I'd like to hand out copies to all the young people who contribute to the seminar (even if that's just a case of them listening while I speak). I've worked out I can get a basic copy at an Amazon associate dealer for about £2.79 a copy... but I figure I'd probably need 30-40 and then there is postage to consider. So it isn't something I'd consider lightly... not on my budget!

Have any of you read it? What are your opinions on the matter?