Synopses & Reviews
Envisioning the first book of the bible like no one before him, R. Crumb, the legendary illustrator, reveals here the story of Genesis in a profoundly honest and deeply moving way. Originally thinking that we would do a take off of Adam and Eve, Crumb became so fascinated by the Bible's language, "a text so great and so strange that it lends itself readily to graphic depictions," that he decided instead to do a literal interpretation using the text word for word in a version primarily assembled from the translations of Robert Alter and the King James bible. Now, readers of every persuasion--Crumb fans, comic book lovers, and believers--can gain astonishing new insights from these harrowing, tragic, and even juicy stories. Crumb's reintroduces us to the bountiful tree lined garden of Adam and Eve, the massive ark of Noah with beasts of every kind, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by brimstone and fire that rained from the heavens, and the Egypt of the Pharaoh, where Joseph's embalmed body is carried in a coffin, in a scene as elegiac as any in Genesis. Using clues from the text and peeling away the theological and scholarly interpretation that have often obscured the Bible's most dramatic stories, Crumb fleshes out a parade of Biblical originals: from the serpent in Eden, the humanoid reptile appearing like an alien out of a science fiction movie, to Jacob, a "kind've depressed guy who doesn't strike you as physically courageous," and his bother, Esau, "a rough and kick ass guy," to Abraham's wife Sarah, more fetching than most woman at 90, to God himself, "a standard Charlton Heston-like figure with long white hair and a flowing beard." As Crumb writes in his introduction, "the stories of these people, the Hebrews, were something more than just stories. They were the foundation, the source, in writing of religious and political power, handed down by God himself." Crumb's , the culmination of 5 years of painstaking work, is a tapestry of masterly detail and storytelling which celebrates the astonishing diversity of the one of our greatest artistic geniuses. Nominated for three 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards: Best Adaptation from Another Work, Best Graphic Album, Best Writer/Artist.
Review
"Crumb's vivid visual characterizations of the myriad characters, pious and wicked, make the most striking impression. His distinctive, highly rendered drawing style imparts a physicality that few other illustrated versions of this often retold chronicle have possessed." Booklist (starred review)
Review
"We could not expect less from the patriarch of underground comix....Indeed, Crumb's muscular, detailed black-and-white seems ideally suited to Old Testament scuffles and seaminess." Library Journal (starred review)
Review
"[A] tribute to Crumb's immense talents as a draftsman and stubborn adherence to the script. An erudite and artful, though frustratingly restrained, look at Old Testament stories." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[T]he beauty of The Book of Genesis Illustrated [is] how perfectly Crumb's style fits the material.... Indeed, the power of The Book of Genesis Illustrated resides in Crumb's decision to play it straight, to frame this ancient creation myth on its own enduring terms." Los Angeles Times
Synopsis
This eagerly awaited graphic work retells the first book of the Bible in a profoundly honest way. Peeling away the theological and scholarly interpretations that have often obscured its most dramatic stories, R. Crumb — using the actual text word for word — has imagined the Bible as it really was. Now, readers of every persuasion — Crumb fans, comic book lovers, history buffs, and believers — can gain astonishing new insights from these harrowing, visceral, and even juicy stories. Crumb's The Book of Genesis reintroduces readers to Adam and Eve's Eden, Noah's Ark, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Pharaoh's Egypt. Using clues from the text, Crumb fleshes out the parade of biblical originals: from the sensitive dreamer Joseph to the crafty Jacob, to the still-fetching Sarah, to God Himself. The result, four years in the making, is a tapestry of extraordinary detail, the finest work of Crumb's legendary career.
Synopsis
Nominated for three 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards: From Creation to the death of Joseph, here are all 50 chapters of the Book of Genesis, revealingly illustrated as never before.
Synopsis
A signed and numbered limited edition, slipcased and with a signed print: from the Creation to the death of Joseph, here is the Book of Genesis, revealingly illustrated as never before.
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About the Author
born in Philadelphia, R. Crumb is the author of numerous comic works and one of the pioneers of underground comics. He lives in the south of France with his wife and daughter.