Review by: Heather Hunt
Edited by: Matt Conner
9/1/06
Acts of the Spirit
written by Robert James Luedke
graphic novel brings early church to life with gritty realism
I have a problem: I love comics and graphic novels, I even subscribe to Publisher's Weekly's Comics email letter. The 8/15/06 issue actually features a full-length news story about Christian comics from the recent San Diego Comic Con - However, I'm not interested in superheroes, manga, or underground raw culture, which together make up the bulk of comics coming out today. But the graphics novel form is so rich. I absolutely adore the series of Classics Illustrated graphics novels that came out several years ago, which included works by Poe, Melville, Verne, Dickens, etc. Great stuff!
I also treasure a series of 6 paperbacks from my childhood called The Picture Bible for All Ages published by David C. Cook. These comic books told the whole story of the Bible from "Creation" through "The Church" and left a big impression on my childish imagination. When you think about it, the Bible is full of action-packed stories, colorful characters, and climactic confrontations that make for lots of visual "Poof! Pow! Bam!" moments.
Robert James Luedke agrees and has taken up the mantle of translating th Christian story into the modern idiom of graphic novels. Acts of the Spirit is the second book in his "Eye Witness" trilogy and deftly combines 1st century tales of Jesus' resurrection and the beginning of His Church with a taut modern-day thriller involving archaeological discoveries, kidnappings, and car bombs.
This full-color graphic novel looks great. Each page layout jumps out at the reader with creative bleeds, color contrasts, muscular heroes, creepy angels, and menacing use of black shadows. According to his biography, Luedke spent 15 years in the secular comic book industry, and his professional skills show up on every page.
Graphic novel readers will love the look and feel of this story and its eerie transitions between flashbacks and current action. The surprise ending to the kidnapping story is a great touch. This book matches up to anything out there today and can be given to friends without embarrassment regarding its quality and professionalism.
Christians will love the accuracy of text and art. The high priest's costume and the second temple renderings fit the common interpretations of what these sacred objects might have looked like. First-century Jerusalem and Emmaus are gritty, dusty, and bustling with life.
Luedke takes a few liberties in conflating some New Testament events, such as the scenes at the garden tomb. But his overall history and characterization make full-blooded characters out of such people as Peter and Saul/Paul, who may have become almost stock characters to some of us after years of reading their stories.
I particularly enjoyed his interpretation of the couple on the road to Emmaus as being Cleopas and his wife. (Luke 24:13ff) I've heard one commentator posit that the book of "Hebrews" may have been written by Cleopas' wife based on what Jesus told them when "beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in the Scriptures concerning himself." (Luke 24:27) After all, isn't "Hebrews" basically a string of Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) passages strung together to explain who Jesus is?
Works for me.
And so does Acts of the Spirit by Robert James Luedke. Get one for yourself, for your Christian friends and family, and for your secular friends and family. In fact, get a copy for anyone aged 10 and over.