Customer Reviews

Marked

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With my newly revived interest in old and new, well-done comic books-slash-graphic novels (think ASTONISHING X-MEN, think SANDMAN, think WATCHMEN, think SUPREME POWERS), I had to rush here to amazon.com for a copy of MARKED. I first saw it featured at novelist Chris Well's nifty blog. This re-imagination of the gospel of Mark sounded like something I should "taste and see."

It arrived on a Friday. I read it the next Saturday, in one sitting. Loved it.

Why?

MARKED is clever. It's got attitude. It's got gentle moments of compassion. It's got strong visuals that mix a bag of emotions together and toss them at you. It's got humor. It captures the essence of what the evangelist wrote: a very active Son of God, a very troubled world, imperfect followers, even more imperfect antagonists, wisdom, courage, mercy, grace, death, and victory over death.

I recommend it.

I dare you not to laugh at mad-eyed John the Baptizer and the running headlines that cover the main events of that prophet's activities--even as you'll be horrified (rightly so) by the front page spread of his demise and its timeliness given some of our recent front page news. I dare you not to be thrilled at some really fine creative moments, such as the Gadarene's encounter with the Christ or the incident of transfiguration on the mount. I dare you not to feel ferklempt over the incident of Christ's meeting with the leper. I dare you not to holler, "Cool!" every few pages. And do tell me if you've seen the resurrection handled anywhere quite like this, ever. I haven't. I had to actually stop and ...STOP. No, really, I had one of those blank moments of, "What?" And I had to think. I like when creative folk make me stop and think. I like when creative folk stir things up. Steve Ross achieves this with MARKED.

The Mir's thumb is way up.

Side Note: You can also play, "Find the famous person" with this. Can you find a great black leader? Can you find the is-he-dead-or-isn't-he rocker? Anyone else?

Shameless Gift Suggestion: Christmas is upon us. If you have a comic book lover in your family, of if you know a reader who needs to be slapped with a zingy graphical gospel that will whet their appetite for a visit to the original, or if you just love someone and want to thrill them, get this as a gift for that person.

A slightly different version of this review with helpful links to an article with Steve Ross and to Chris Well's Nifty Blog may be found at: http://mirathon.blogspot.com

Mir

As someone who is not Christian and only knows the basics of the New Testement (and doesn't know the difference between any of the gospels), I came into Marked with a lot of expectations. Having read about it in Newsweek, I expected the story of an outsider and to learn about a religion I don't know about. The book is without a doubt meant for Christians. No background is given on the characters, we're supposed to know that Jesus is who he is, that Simon is Simon, and the land is corrupt. I was left confused and slightly frustrated at several moments. Also, a lot of the drama just wasn't there for me. Since this is an adaptation, I guess the reader is supposed to be waiting for certain moments. It just didn't work for me.
That being said, there were some moments I enjoyed. The devil is great, and the pages that lead up to the crucifixition are better than The Passion any day of the week.
Recommended for the Christian graphic novel fan.

As an author who has tackled Gospel translation into the graphic novel format, I commend Steve Ross on a heart-felt effort to bring the book of Mark to life with a contempory feel. It's not an easy task by any means. But Marked is slightly problematic in a couple areas. One, if it was designed to be used as an outreach to the unchurched, I felt like the narrative was not very easy to follow, (if you were not "very" familiar with the work it was based upon, I.E. the Gospel of Mark, and in some places even if you were)! It was the same kind of feeling I had when I first saw the movie, 2001. Secondly, the artwork I would say drifts more toward abstraction in many parts of the story, more than solid storytelling...which is fine and works wonderfully in soome parts of the book, but leaves the reader wondering too much in others, (what the heck just happened there?).

If Mr. Ross's intention was to merely convey how this story personally speaks to him, then he succeeded wonderfully. If he intended to bring those not familiar with the story along for the ride, I'm afraid he might have left more than a few scratching their heads, (which could be good, if it leads them to the original work to find their answers).

Robert Luedke is the author of "Eye Witness: A Fictional Tale of Absolute Truth" and "Acts of the Spirit".

I picked up a copy of Steve Ross's Marked a couple of years ago, flipped through it, and for some reason was unimpressed and put it aside. I read it more thoroughly recently, and it knocked my socks off. Ross has succeeded in re-telling Mark's gospel in a way that avoids sickly piety or slick preachiness. His rejuvenation of biblical scenes that have become too familiar or too institutionalized is incredible. Through his imaginative reconstruction, Ross actually succeeds in making Mark's gospel interesting, relevant, and--mirabilis dictu!--plausible.

Ross's Marked is as much an indictment of contemporary American Christianity as it is a re-telling of Mark. The true believers--the Pharisees of Jesus' day--are drawn as properly attired respectable church-goers. But each of them--clergy included--wears a blindfold. They have eyes, but don't wish to see, and when the Jesus figure of the book, an androgynous figure who looks anything but the typically bearded guy we associate with Jesus, rips off the blindfolds, the sudden light is painful.

And speaking of atypical representations: the twelve apostles are wonderfully drawn as genuine social outcasts. They include a spike-haired punkster, a couple of dimwits, John Deere-capped yahoos, a glamorous hooker, a blind, near-autistic kid, and so on. Losers and misfits, everyone--yet absolutely, unconditionally embraced by this strange man called Jesus. But the Jesus of Marked shouldn't be mistaken for the Jesus meek-and-mild creampuff of Sunday School fame. That's the kind of Jesus that the respectable blindfolded worshippers want. Ross's Jesus is a man who loathes injustice, cruelty, and stupidity, and isn't afraid to attack it. As he shouts while disrupting the Temple moneychangers, "For the last time, I'm Not NICE!"

Ross's visual imagining of Mark's gospel is astoundingly creative, but stubbornly loyal to the spirit and message of the gospel. The Pharisees who try to fast-talk Jesus into a corner are depicted as manic-eyed and creepy game show hosts; the rich young man who asks what he must do to be saved carries a mountain of (oppressive) luxuries on his back; Roman soldiers are depicted as helmeted, sunglassed state troopers; the death and resurrection of Jairus' daughter becomes an exploitable media-moment; and the angel in the empty tomb (which has a street address of 1546, corresponding to Mark 15:46) is the sad clown Canio from the opera "Pagliacci." What creativity!

Read Ross's Marked, then re-read Mark's Mark. Things will be different--but also the same.

Each page is a work of art and all put to good use in the retelling of Mark's Gospel. Action, drama, passion, love and adventure. It's all here. -Scott Carlton, New York City

It's so exciting to actually have a COOL bible-based graphic novel to match the level of quality that's out there in the secular world. I can't wait to see what he'll do next!

Marked's greatest accomplishment is making the most familiar story exciting, surprising and full of the chaos of reality as it is lived. The drawings are witty and gritty. The shellacked-hair gorgon who is losing her patience with the unauthorized miracles is laugh out loud funny - Margaret Thatcher on a good day.

For those who know the gospel of St. Mark, it is thrilling to see it filtered through a new and contemporary sensibility. For those who don't want to read the same-old same-old, Marked succeeds brilliantly in its retelling. It triumphs where Jesus Christ Superstar only thinks it does.

To echo Mr. Grossman, This definitely a book that is for Christians looking for a new way to look at the Gospel of Mark. The wild world that Jesus inhabits within this book brings a fun image of Christ, but does not delve deep into the theological mindset of Mark or the future implications of following Jesus. However, it is a fun retelling of the Scriptures in a way that is serious, but at the same time does not take itself too seriously. Also, it allows one to see those who are considered outcasts in a better light, as we see the disciples in such a different mode than they are typically imaged. This would make a great study for any youth or young adult group, or a great weekend read for anyone open to new interpretations of the scriptures.

As the mother of three teenage daughters, I am always looking for ways to get my kids thinking about what they value and why. I want them to grapple with the "big" spiritual questions that matter most. I don't require them to accept my answers to those questions, but I want them to make time for reflection about what has real value, and to think critically about pop-culture. My teens love this book, and we had some great discussions based on the content. Normally, they shut down when we talk about all things spiritual. However, Marked is cool and engaging, so they stayed open and willing to share their thoughts. My sincere thanks to the author!

I loved this book. I was blown away by the intensity of it and by how much it challenged my previous conceptions of my faith. It's beautifully drawn but it truly grapples with some of the really gritty nasty parts of Christianity. It definitely deepened my faith even as it challenged it. I would highly recommend it for any group, especially a youth group, that wants to grapple with their faith and be challenged.