British artist creates Japanese comic book form of the Bible
By Jim McLaughlin
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- British publisher released The Manga Bible, illustrated in Japanese comic book style
- Characters have superhero-like personas
- Christian publishers work to appeal to visually oriented younger generations
- Popular culture applied to faith a long-time practice
British artist Siku, creator of The Manga Bible, said on the Bible's Web site that earlier attempts to use Western artwork to attract younger audiences to the Bible were dated. Manga, he said, penetrated into Western pop culture through cartoons, blockbuster movies like "The Matrix" and "Kill Bill" and music group Gorillaz's animated personas. It was the most cutting-edge option for his Bible, he said.
In The Manga Bible, Siku said the depictions of Jesus and other biblical characters were inspired by super heroes. In Jesus' first appearance, he is silhouetted to give him a "hard-edged, gritty, stranger-walks-into-town" image.
Siku said he and the other creators broke down the different books of the Bible to create a continuous, chronological story that is compressed into just more than 200 pages of graphics and text.
While this Bible is consolidated into one storyline, he did include the Pauline letters.
"People ask 'How can you dramatize Paul's letters?' Siku said. "People tend to think of Paul as a hard-nosed man on a mission. We have demonstrated something quite different in (The Manga Bible)."
Laura Minchew, vice president and publisher of Christian publishing company Thomas Nelson, Inc., said sprucing up Bibles with artwork and modern styles is not a new concept.
Kids aren't reading as much as they used to, she said, and innovative methods are necessary to capture and engage them. Two of Thomas Nelson's best-selling children's Bibles include the "Princess Bible," which has a pink sparkly cover with a bejeweled snap, and a Bible for boys that looks like a treasure chest.
A trend in the Christian publishing industry, Minchew said, is to create Bibles that follow a fashion or act as an accessory. BibleZines, for example, look like fashion magazines and contain Bible excerpts with captions to help young people apply biblical themes to their lives.
Published: 2/7/08 Section: News
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