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nixieish's review
2.0
Book Riot 2016 Read Harder Challenge: Read a book about religion. (fiction or nonfiction)
nwhyte's review
4.0
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2970525.html
Thirty years ago, in 1987, Knockabout Comics produced this adaptation of fourteen Old Testament stories by leading comics artists; I got it as part of the Neil Gaiman Humble Bundle a few years back, he being the author of six of the fourteen stories (including Jael and Sisera as illustrated by Julie “Jewelz” Hollings, the only woman artist in the mix, who also illustrates an adaptation of Ecclesiasticus 42:9-11 by Knockabout publisher Carol Bennett).
There are some truly grim and nasty stories in the Old Testament, and while it would be very easy to just point and laugh, the art and stories here are from creators at the top of their game, taking the Bible at its word and confronting us with what is actually in scripture. It was still a bit subversive in 1987 - Knockabout were being regularly harassed by UK authorities for importing subversive comics from the USA, and Outrageous Tales from the Old Testament narrowly avoided legal action in Sweden. We are being challenged to think about why some forms of expression should be allowed if they are labelled as Scripture, and not otherwise. It’s a debate that has of course moved on to non-Christian religions too since 1987.
Thirty years ago, in 1987, Knockabout Comics produced this adaptation of fourteen Old Testament stories by leading comics artists; I got it as part of the Neil Gaiman Humble Bundle a few years back, he being the author of six of the fourteen stories (including Jael and Sisera as illustrated by Julie “Jewelz” Hollings, the only woman artist in the mix, who also illustrates an adaptation of Ecclesiasticus 42:9-11 by Knockabout publisher Carol Bennett).
There are some truly grim and nasty stories in the Old Testament, and while it would be very easy to just point and laugh, the art and stories here are from creators at the top of their game, taking the Bible at its word and confronting us with what is actually in scripture. It was still a bit subversive in 1987 - Knockabout were being regularly harassed by UK authorities for importing subversive comics from the USA, and Outrageous Tales from the Old Testament narrowly avoided legal action in Sweden. We are being challenged to think about why some forms of expression should be allowed if they are labelled as Scripture, and not otherwise. It’s a debate that has of course moved on to non-Christian religions too since 1987.
watercolorstain's review
2.0
Neil Gaiman wasn't involved in writing every every comic included in this anthology (he authored six of the fourteen stories), but it was his retelling of a story from the Book of Judges that came close to having a Swedish publisher jailed.
As the title states, it unapologetically and very graphically illustrates what's written in the Old Testament—it does not interpret, it simply depicts, taking the words and displaying them as images. It's all black and white, ranges widely in drawing styles, and yes, it's probably offensive to most, religious or not, for different reasons; it raises interesting questions about censorship and why certain things are okay to be published and propagated in scripture, but "outrageous" in the context of a comic.
Among many other scenes, it includes a whimsical and cynical retelling of Creation, a recounting of the fall of Man and the expulsion from Eden featuring Gandalf from Lord of the Rings as God, and a gory tongue-in-cheek adaptation of Leviticus... it takes balls to publish something like this, especially at the time of its original publication in 1987, but I can't really say that I enjoyed it much. If I had to pick a favorite it would easily be The Prophet Who Came to Dinner, written by Neil and illustrated by Dave McKean, but as a whole, I felt that it relied almost exclusively on shock value, without much substance.
As the title states, it unapologetically and very graphically illustrates what's written in the Old Testament—it does not interpret, it simply depicts, taking the words and displaying them as images. It's all black and white, ranges widely in drawing styles, and yes, it's probably offensive to most, religious or not, for different reasons; it raises interesting questions about censorship and why certain things are okay to be published and propagated in scripture, but "outrageous" in the context of a comic.
Among many other scenes, it includes a whimsical and cynical retelling of Creation, a recounting of the fall of Man and the expulsion from Eden featuring Gandalf from Lord of the Rings as God, and a gory tongue-in-cheek adaptation of Leviticus... it takes balls to publish something like this, especially at the time of its original publication in 1987, but I can't really say that I enjoyed it much. If I had to pick a favorite it would easily be The Prophet Who Came to Dinner, written by Neil and illustrated by Dave McKean, but as a whole, I felt that it relied almost exclusively on shock value, without much substance.
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