Archive for May, 2011

Bibles in comic book form seem to be pretty popular right now.  Previously I reviewed the Action Bible and now have the privilege at taking a look at two books in a new series from Apple of the Eye Publishing called The Almighty Bible.  I’ll be reviewing Genesis and Exodus on this blog. Eventually, every book of the Bible will be converted to this comic book form, so keep your eyes open for new releases!

On their website, the makers of the Almighty Bible stress that this version is biblically accurate and engaging for young people.  When I took a look at Genesis, here’s what I thought:

What’s Good:

• I like the realistic nature of many of the stories.  For example, Noah’s ark is portrayed as the true human massacre that it was — not some cute nursery decoration.  Emotions are clearly exhibited in a way that makes the stories touch the heart of the reader.
• The genealogy is included in this book, and portrayed in an interested manner.  Too often, things like this get skipped over when making picture Bibles.
• Finally, some manly looking angels!
• Love the fact that straight Scripture is used as the caption at the bottom of every page.  The passage reference is even included.  It like this much better than little speech bubbles in every frame.
• The highly emotional faces of the Bible characters really helped the story come to life.  The illustrations (which were very well done) cause the reader to pause and reflect on the full story.  The picture of tears streaming down little Isaac’s face after the angel stopped Abraham from killing him has stuck with me for weeks.  It’s helped me to more fully understand what faith and obedience Abraham had to exhibit in that moment.
• The illustrations were stunning.  I was a bit puzzled though why so many characters had funny colored hair.  A number of hand-maidens had blue hair, and I think I spotted a few green heads of hair as well.
• The book was really complete.  Only a few verses were skipped between each page, allowing the reader to experience even the most obscure stories in the book of Genesis.  Too many picture Bibles skip around to the most popular or “big stories”.  This book has them all.

What’s Not So Good:

• Though I like most of the realism, some of the intense details are a bit much for me — such as the bloody animal sacrifices  and bedroom scenes.  It seems a bit PG-13 to me at times.  I understand that the Bible itself is not G-rated, but when you put the stories in pictures, it takes it to a whole new level.
• Some of the emotions portrayed in the storyline seem a bit subjective to me.  At times characters seem angry out of context (p63) or haughty when the Scripture doesn’t explicitly say that’s the case.  However, I do believe the authors tried their best to consider human nature and portray the most likely emotion for the storyline.
• The name Yahweh is used throughout the book, but as far as I could see, there was no explanation about the significance of this name.  New readers to the Bible might not realize this was the Hebrew word for God.

A Few Other Things:

• Kids can go to the website to play games, plant a prayer garden, and interact with the Bible in more ways.
• You can also get these books for the Ipad or Iphone!
• Again, the age these are geared at are a bit obscure.  I thought they were designed for teens, but it seems like teens should be beyond the “picture Bible” phase.  These would be good for preteens, but may be a bit graphic for especially sheltered kids.  For younger kids, it might be too much.  Few details are spared when it comes to battles, blood, death, or romance.  To a mature kid though, the illustrations would probably be fine.  Of course, it’s always a good idea for parents to browse through it first.

Conclusion

The first book in this series, Genesis, was certainly a page-turner.  Midway through the book, I really got into it and finished it in a single sitting.  I think the authors have done a wonderful job capturing Scripture in a way that is accurate, meaningful, and interesting.  Can’t wait to get started on Exodus!

http://thealmightybible.com/the-book

Get Yours

You can pick up your own copy of Genesis on Amazon ($12) or on the Almighty Bible website ($18).  Great summer reading!

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for a review on this blog.  The opinions expressed are my own.