Update: For those of you who are saying, “Huh?!?” about the phrase “Cocker Spaniel Savior” (see below) check out the original reference at Nonnus: Cultural Embarrassment II: The Cocker Spaniel Jesus
As you know, I don’t do book reviews and I make fun of bloggers who do. But, I do have a few things to say about the Manga Bible which my Dad was kind enough to send me for my birthday. Thanks, Pop!
- Yes, the Manga Bible is cool. But the question is, “Are you cool enough for the Manga Bible?”
- There is also a version that contains the complete text of the TNIV. A great tool for surviving a boring sermon, I bet.
- There are a few instances of “Hell” used as an interjection. In one of my favorite scenes, the Hebrew midwives say, “I sure ain’t killin’ no baby, hell no!” “Preach it, sister!” Sounds like ABE to me.
- There are several instances of sexual innuendo and some relatively undetailed illustrations of naked women (And Adam’s backside).
- There’s a bit of gore. Change that. There’s a lot of gore. But the Bible’s a bloody book in case you haven’t noticed.
- My kids aged 8 to 12 enjoyed looking through the book but they weren’t crazy about it. We’ve never seen Manga artwork before and it struck us all as slightly dizzying.
- In an interview included at the end of the book Siku, the illustrator, describes Jesus in the desert as “the ‘badass’ that kicks everyone’s butt.” And he is definitely portrayed as a slightly edgy dude. I’d like to see him beat up the Cocker Spaniel Savior.
- Overall, I found the theology of the book to be conservative and well-researched. In fact, I found myself ashamed that a Manga punk has a better handle on the big narrative than I do.
- Besides colloquial speech, there is far less anachronism in this book than I was led to expect.
- Only time will tell whether this book becomes as shredded as my kids’ copy of the The Hobbit, illustrated by David Wenzel.
If you click any of the book links in this un-review they will take you to Amazon and a portion of your purchase will automatically go to my book fund. If you would rather just send some moolah directly to me you can do it here: Donate.
See also my previous post on the Manga Bible: Manga Bible endorsed by Archbishop of Canterbury
I’d like to see him beat up the Cocker Spaniel Savior also. My premature conclusion after living in Israel for a few months is that Jesus was a lot tougher than I am ever going to be. First Century Israel is not really a place where the popular Hippie Jesus would fit in very well.
Jesus is definitely tough in the Manga Bible. He looks a bit like an academic who has gone to seed and spent some time living on the streets.
Ummm…huh?
In a fit of inexplicable collecting mania, I bought both the Manga Bible and the Manga Bible Extreme. The Manga Bible Extreme (with the full TNIV) uses larger paper, so the art is much more enjoyable. However, it is a bit awkward to handle — it is thicker than yellow pages for most major metropolitan areas (Why so thick? Because it uses regular paper, not Bible paper.)
According to Amazon:
Manga Bible Extreme: 10.2 x 6.8 x 2.7 inches; 3 pounds
(Ordinary) Manga Bible: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches; 7.2 ounces
Iyov, thanks for that data. I’d be interested to know/see how they integrate the comics with the text. Are comic pages just inserted into the text? That sucker is heavy!