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jdkander's review
5.0
The art is just amazing. I found myself touching the pages and tracing the lines and shapes as I read (a sign that I've gotten really engrossed!) Jake was less than joyed to see me touching the pages with my "grubby hands" but it was my Channukah gift, so he'll have to deal. I was truly amazed with the skill in which Crumb told these familiar stories (and unfamiliar stories) and the honesty with which he approached it all. He did not shy away from the touch scenes and worked hard to depict the characters realistically. I highly recommend this reading for the not overly religious (as those who take the Bible/Torah too seriously will probably be offended-which is a discussion for another time;) ).
jamesd3313's review
3.0
This is a hugely ambitious work and the quality of Crumb's art seldom falters. It's just a shame that so much of Genesis (basically everything except the famous bits) is so dull.
unladylike's review
3.0
As I had read in reviews before getting this from the library, Crumb kept his illustrated version of Genesis very straight-forward, and ends up highlighting the humanity of some of the most famous mythologies and histories of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
The entire time I was reading this - the first time I had read Genesis or any other book of the Bible in years - I had the same thought running through my head as when looking into the recorded genealogy of Jesus: "Wow, the chosen people of God are constantly doing some fucked up shit!" Kudos to Jews and Christians for preserving their sacred texts even when they reveal one heinous act, perverted theology, or paradox after the next.
The entire time I was reading this - the first time I had read Genesis or any other book of the Bible in years - I had the same thought running through my head as when looking into the recorded genealogy of Jesus: "Wow, the chosen people of God are constantly doing some fucked up shit!" Kudos to Jews and Christians for preserving their sacred texts even when they reveal one heinous act, perverted theology, or paradox after the next.
arf88's review
2.0
An interesting idea in that it shows just how gruesome the Book of Genesis is, but also just how boring it is.
kevin_shepherd's review
5.0
“And the Lord regretted having made man on earth, and it grieved him in his heart. And the Lord said, “I will wipe out from the face of the earth the men whom I have created …from man to cattle to crawling things to the fowl of the heavens, for I regret that I have made them!”” ~Genesis 6:6
Robert Crumb may be slight in stature, but to me he is a Herculean God. His underground comics and graphic novels are the stuff of legend. If you have experienced his biography of Franz Kafka then you already know the perverse nirvana of Crumbdom that fuels my nerdgasms. I ask you, who better to illustrate the book of Genesis, with its disjointed mythologies, incestuous couplings, and holy hypocrisies, than an iconoclastic maverick?
“And a male with a foreskin, who has not circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people! He has broken my covenant!” ~Genesis 17:14
*why is it that the creator of the universe, the omnipresent, omnipotent overseer of a bazillion trillion stars and planets and nebulas and quasars and mysterious black holes, is so enamored with male genitalia? (asking for a friend…)
Robert Crumb may be slight in stature, but to me he is a Herculean God. His underground comics and graphic novels are the stuff of legend. If you have experienced his biography of Franz Kafka then you already know the perverse nirvana of Crumbdom that fuels my nerdgasms. I ask you, who better to illustrate the book of Genesis, with its disjointed mythologies, incestuous couplings, and holy hypocrisies, than an iconoclastic maverick?
“And a male with a foreskin, who has not circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people! He has broken my covenant!” ~Genesis 17:14
*why is it that the creator of the universe, the omnipresent, omnipotent overseer of a bazillion trillion stars and planets and nebulas and quasars and mysterious black holes, is so enamored with male genitalia? (asking for a friend…)
amanda_y8s's review
4.0
Say what you will, but the Bible is not, objectively, a good book. Lots of scandal and intrigue, sure, but also lots of family tree record keeping and mapping. Crumb does a good job of painting the picture and adding the emotion that the text lacks.
aront's review
5.0
Many have written Crumb off as a leering mysoginist cartoonist. But the depth of his intelligence and human insight come to full bear in this book.
Starting with his choice of the Alter translation, a work of art in itself, the investment he made in scholarly research (read the endnotes as well) and finishing up with his own artistic insights, this is the best edition of the book I have ever read.
I found Crumb's interpetations among the most insightful I have ever encountered, whether traditional or scholarly. Crumb shows why this work a human endeavor of the highest magnitude and helps make clear why, as he notes, this book is the oldest text in continuous use in Western civilization. I just hope he does Exodus next!
C
Starting with his choice of the Alter translation, a work of art in itself, the investment he made in scholarly research (read the endnotes as well) and finishing up with his own artistic insights, this is the best edition of the book I have ever read.
I found Crumb's interpetations among the most insightful I have ever encountered, whether traditional or scholarly. Crumb shows why this work a human endeavor of the highest magnitude and helps make clear why, as he notes, this book is the oldest text in continuous use in Western civilization. I just hope he does Exodus next!
C
rachelhelps's review
4.0
The book of Genesis, in comic form: "everything graphically depicted, nothing left out!"
Reading this comic version of Genesis made me think about how... bizarre some things in Genesis are. Lot's daughters, the "she's my sister" act, the concubines, etc. Crumb, the author/illustrator, makes a few notes in the back about how remnants of a matriarchal culture are still intact, which makes me really curious about matriarchies for one, and also opened my eyes to how little I understand Genesis. Joseph's constant weeping is endearing, but why did he make them go back and forth so much? I was also reminded that the Isrealites became Egypt's slaves because of the famine: they themselves suggested that they could be slaves if they would at least let them live.
A note about the art: There are a few bare-breasted women. Crumb draws some beautifully ugly people, recalling the different standard of beauty they had and how these were just people. Crumb also mentions that he did real research to figure out what people would be wearing, and I appreciate that effort.
Reading this comic version of Genesis made me think about how... bizarre some things in Genesis are. Lot's daughters, the "she's my sister" act, the concubines, etc. Crumb, the author/illustrator, makes a few notes in the back about how remnants of a matriarchal culture are still intact, which makes me really curious about matriarchies for one, and also opened my eyes to how little I understand Genesis. Joseph's constant weeping is endearing, but why did he make them go back and forth so much? I was also reminded that the Isrealites became Egypt's slaves because of the famine: they themselves suggested that they could be slaves if they would at least let them live.
A note about the art: There are a few bare-breasted women. Crumb draws some beautifully ugly people, recalling the different standard of beauty they had and how these were just people. Crumb also mentions that he did real research to figure out what people would be wearing, and I appreciate that effort.