Therefore, Repent! [Paperback]

Jim Munroe (Author), Salgood Sam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2008

What if the religious right... are right? Once the Christians have floated bodily into the sky, life goes on pretty much as usual for the immoral majority... . except that magic works, if you're willing to risk demonic mutations. CNN reports that Mr. Christ and Mr. Bush are on a speaking tour of the red states. And an angelic army appears to have been deployed to mop up the sinners. But through it all, outsiders Raven and Mummy face the possibility of a bigger problem than the end of the world: the end of their relationship.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Those Rapture freaks were right. Left-behind early-twentysomethings Raven and Mummy, named after what they wear, hit Chicago and take a teenager’s tip about an apartment. With a dog, food money, and no rent collector, they settle in. The dog comes home talking, soldiers start loosely patrolling, and people undergo interesting changes; for instance, when Raven takes off her mask, she looks exactly the same. Magic often works now, and the soldiers are angels come to clean up (i.e., terminate) sinners. Despite the angels, one of whom defects to Raven and Mummy’s new crowd, the most annoying post-Rapture phenom is “splitters,” who feel wronged by not being taken in the first wave (as they see it) and expect to be wafted aloft momentarily. Freakier stuff eventually happens, but the quirky, ambling story reaches no conclusions and offers few explanations. Novelist Munroe (Flyboy Action Figure Comes with Gas Mask, 1999) skirts boring us, but his collaborator has more than enough chops to keep us awake with his meaty figures, varied page-layouts, and, as needed, strong background detail. --Ray Olson

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Idea & Design Works Llc (January 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600101461
• ISBN-13: 978-1600101465
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #997,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite Penitent, Nor Exactly Rapturous, August 12, 2008

By 

Matthew Kirshenblatt - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Therefore, Repent! (Paperback)

I'd seen this book quite a few times before and decided to pick it up at a Comicon I went to not too long ago. It was an interesting setting, and idea -- the idea of of those few "pure" souls going up to Heaven leaving the majority of the population -- sinners, I suppose, to live on. And in the process they discover after the Rapture the existence of magic and interesting and useful mutations that serve them well -- so long as they don't attract the attention of "Splitters" (those people trying to get God to give them a "second chance" to get into Heaven) and avenging Angels in army fatigues and machine guns.

Of course, as these things go, nothing is as it seems. I really liked the very distinctive, shade-ridden style of the illustrations, but at the same time they did make distinctions between characters very confusing. Also, the panel movement often seemed to "skip steps between actions." The ending was really cool in an entertaining B Movie sort of way as well, and the characters -- particularly Raven and Mummy seemed really interesting and very real people to me.

I almost gave this a 3/5, but again I like the idea behind it, and the characters as well. I think it appeals to a certain age demographic -- about twenty or so, while at the same time the setting has a lot in common with the modern world and its politics. So it had some immediacy to that regard. So 4/5.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and Quirky, July 3, 2008

By 

Kit "ShifterCat" (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Therefore, Repent! (Paperback)

This is a graphic novel that takes the core idea of the Rapture and runs with it in an entirely different direction. Our central characters, Raven and Mummy, live in a world in which a sizeable number of Americans have floated bodily into the sky, leaving behind a lot of confused heathens, overzealous "Split Rapturists", and prime housing to squat in. The unRaptured must deal with talking dogs, awesome but body-altering magics, mysteriously reanimated corpses... and squadrons of angels who've descended to earth with instructions to slaughter the unfaithful.

The art appears to be subtly-shaded pencil drawings, like you might see on the finished pages of someone's sketchbook. I found this style quite appropriate for the authors' intimate, slice-of-life storytelling approach. The writing is an interesting mix of cosmic ideas and earthy humour. The novel's ending suggests that this is Volume 1 -- I can't wait to see what else they do with this story.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strange, yet very good!, July 2, 2008

By 

ChibiNeko "Sooo many books, so little time!" (Whereever I go, here I am.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Therefore, Repent! (Paperback)

I read this book at a local book market & almost bought it. Now I wish I had.

The premise of the book is that one day the Rapture occurs & much of the world's population was spirited up. Those that are left behind have discovered that magic does really exist, but with a price- anyone who uses it will eventually mutate into something otherworldy (usually demonic) looking. The ones left behind must also deal with the other odd problems of being left behind, such as finding places to stay, food, and avoiding a fleet of angelic looking beings that seem determined to eradicate any magic users. From the description, the book could have easily become an apocalyptic battle comic, yet it chooses to stick more closely to a "slice of life" theme (or as close to it as the subject matter can). It chooses to show that not everyone that has been left behind is "bad", and that many of the magic users are actually quite decent people.

The comic's first impression, that of entertainment, was pretty decent. I was interested enough to read it all the way through. The artwork was a bit offputting, as it was not the type I usually like, but the style was very nice to look at. There were a lot of details & shading to look at. However, what will draw the reader back is the sheer amount of questions & themes such as "what makes us good or bad?", "why should some go to heaven & others not?", "what really is redemption?", as well as many, many others. I've found myself musing over the themes in the book longer after the initial reading, enough so to the point where I'm planning on purchasing the book on my next outing.

This book may not be for everyone, as some people like their heavy themes & their comics to be seperate. Others may be put off by the artwork as I initially was & not choose to finish it. I recommend heavily that the reader gives this book a chance. It's very much worth it.