Holy Controversy! The JesusFreak Spoiler Free Review

The most disappointing thing about JesusFreak in my opinion is the fact that I will never be able to use it as canon at any religious school! With that being said, JesusFreak is a fun and wild ride that I absolutely enjoy! So before I talk about this amazing graphic novel, I need to get on my soapbox and explain a few things! This book actually found me. I was scrolling through Facebook and saw a news site report how bad this book may be to those who believe in Jesus. As a man who believes in Jesus, I did a second take, and clicked on the article. Basically it boiled down to people judging a book on it’s title as opposed to the content in the book. So I contacted my editor to see if Image would be kind enough to send over an advance review of this book, and wouldn’t you know who won the pony, Image was kind enough to send over the book. For me it basically boils down to these factors. If you can live in a world where Abe Lincoln is Vampire Hunter, or where the Washingtonians exist, then this book can exist as well. Religious and historical characters are meant to be explored in all forms. What I respect about this book, is that they flat out tell you what their goals are in writing and drawing this novel. Did they need to? No, but is very nice that they did. At the end of the day, sometimes it’s just nice to read something outside of the box. Now that I am off my soapbox, let’s talk JesusFreak!

The Story:

What happens when you mix Conan the Barbarian, kung-fu specials, and a very loved religious figure? Well you get JesusFreak. A story written by Joe Casey! Mr. Casey tackles the story of Jesus in a fantastic way, and the best part is that you don’t need to read the Bible to enjoy the story. What I have taken away from this book is a story of a man discovering who he is. As you see Jesus wrestle with who he should become, the story is well paced and feels alot like a good television show, in how it flows with the words. Mr. Casey allows both non believers and believers of Jesus alike to enjoy the person, just in a different light. Plus a Jesus who does some crazy action stuff is poetry in motion. The big point I want to make about the writing here is that it not only respects religion, but really makes a great effort not to preach about to the reader, or in my opinion, disrespect the source material. It just goes into a fun and wild epic story,and that is what makes it joy to read.

The Art:

Usually I am a fan of writing over art, but in this case, both art and writing hold equal footing. The talent team of artist Benjamin Marra, the vintage color scheme of Brad Simpson, the lettering of Rus Wooton, and the epic design of Sonia Harris, paint a beautiful book! The book has a 70’s Conan look mixed in with those more adult looking comic strips found in the Sunday newspaper that escape my memory. And that is something that is really great eye candy. Plus anyone who can nail down a crocodile demon warrior that battles Jesus, is artist that deserves an award. For me, the art, the words, the design, and the colors help take a great steak(words) have the right amount of sizzle. I can honestly say it’s never a dull moment looking at this book page by page, and that in itself, is an art form that is lost.

Conclusion:

The sad thing about this book is that so many people who narrow view, or even a sense of unwillingness to step outside of the box, will never pick up this book. Instead they will judge the book based on it’s cover, and never realize that a talented group of people took the time to put something that doesn’t hurt religion, but instead something that does it’s own thing that doesn’t take away from the teaching of Jesus. If you are looking for this book to be that last minute Sunday School lesson, maybe you should leave it at home. However, if you want to show people how comic’s are more then just regular superhero stories, then this is a good choice to explain that. Do yourself a favor and read it if you can find it. I enjoyed and it will be buying the book. And if you want to have a lot of fun while reading this book, put on the Conan the Barbarian soundtrack and turn the page! 5/5!

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Joe Casey (A/CA) Benjamin Marra