From Publishers Weekly
One wouldn't imagine that Siku, onetime artist for postmodern bloodfest
Judge Dredd, would be the ideal choice for a manga-style graphic novel adaptation of the Bible, but not many pages have passed before it becomes clear that the Bible is, in fact, the perfect material for him. This audacious little book doesn't make much effort to be authoritative and include every last Old Testament begatting or bloody massacre. Instead Siku presents jazzy and irreverent riffs on the good book, leaping brazenly over whole reams of material and scattering behind numerous Want to Know More tags directing readers to more explanatory chapter and verse. The action is breezy and flip, drawn in a sharp and Anglicized manga style. The dialogue is not just laced with humorously incongruous Britishisms (My maths has never been very good!) but with slangy passages worthy of the CW Network (Cain to Abel, Whassup, bro?). Although the book (already a hit in the U.K.) is being released via Doubleday's Galilee imprint and is clearly targeted at youthful believers, it makes little attempt to sanitize the grottier aspects of the source material, as witnessed in the scene where a crowd of Sodom's citizens bellow, Bring out those men so that we can rape them!
(Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Grade 10 Up–British cartoonist and theology student Siku, perhaps best known for his work on
Judge Dredd, offers a concise, well-staged, and fulsome take on the Bible. Because of the character-driven nature of his art, the accounts tend toward the best story pieces, with lots of Genesis included (Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Abraham and Sarah, and more), as well as stories from other Old Testament books such as Joshua and Ruth, through which readers can become acquainted with the individuals. The New Testament collapses many books into a couple of sections but includes several of Jesus's parables and ends with a surprise twist on the Book of Revelation. While costuming tends toward a kind of storied old Middle East (and women's forms are visible but always clothed), an occasional story line will have some updated visual metaphor attached to it: a mid-20th-century crime boss or a nuclear warhead, for instance. Each story includes a marginal tab directing readers to the book, chapter, and verse where a more traditional account can be found in the Bible. Accessible, respectful, and creative, this is an excellent resource both for manga-loving teens who are familiar with The Book and for teens who have no familiarity with the traditional text and are looking for an engaging overview.
–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
