JESUS

In “Miniature Jesus” #1, Ted McKeever, best known for “Metropol” and artwork for many of DC’s Vertigo titles, begins a tale about temptation and redemption, saints and demons in a semi-rural, postindustrial landscape. McKeever’s linework for “Miniature Jesus” has a variety of closely spaced shading techniques, and his black and white artwork is printed on matte paper, resulting in a grungy, charcoal-like look to his line. He also has an odd mix of detail, including some panels with minimal or flat backgrounds and others with highly rendered plants or building details. Overall, the aesthetic is scratchy and messy-looking, and his page and panel composition also feel heavy and inelegant, while still showing off his obvious draughtmanship skills. Some of this detail feels excessive or uneven, though. While separate panels have visual interest by themselves, there’s little sense of kinetic movement or transitional flow across the page as a whole, and thus McKeever’s visual storytelling

Sean Murphy’s “Punk Rock Jesus” has been an incredible ride and it certainly doesn’t stop with this final issue. A clever idea that could have easily gone awry, Murphy’s story of a clone of Jesus Christ raised in the public eye was constantly unpredictable, almost always in a good way. Murphy’s story and characters throughout this mini-series have been surprisingly dense and layered to wonderful effect. Sometimes the jump into a detailed flashback has been jarring, but the emotional beats those back-stories have provided were well worth it. Thomas’ journey with faith and religion in particular is rewarding, especially given the abrupt and violent end of the book, which speaks volumes about where he is (and is not) as a character. Occasionally characters felt a bit too old or too young to me — Thomas felt a bit older than his age, while both Chris and Rachel feel too old to be 15 — but it’s a minor complaint in an otherwise engrossing and beautiful read. Perhaps most impressive beyon

As good as “Punk Rock Jesus” has been so far, I’m still surprised and refreshed by the art, plotting and characters in each new issue. “Punk Rock Jesus” #5 continues Sean Murphy unconventional epic tale that dares to work within the taboo topics of religion and politics. In “Punk Rock Jesus” #5, Murphy’s character development deepens further. Although I’ve previously stated that Thomas was a foil to Chris, in this issue, Rick Slate emerges as a contrast to Thomas in turn. It is no coincidence that both of them muse aloud about having given “unnatural” or “unholy” gifts. One pays lip service to faith, the other is terribly sincere. One is shaken, and the other sure. As Murphy fleshes out both characters through a multitude of techniques, it’s fascinating to trace both men’s paths with their “gifts” and their ultimate intersection. Thomas is no straw man, and his relationship with faith is convincing, both in a “this is how real people believe” way, and in that his faith is accessib

“Punk Rock Jesus” #4 by writer and artist Sean Murphy is right past the halfway point for the 6-issue miniseries, and appropriately, this is the issue where Punk Rock finds Jesus and vice versa. Young Chris, clone of Jesus Christ, grows into a teenager in this issue, and like many teenagers, fictional or real, he experiences a traumatic coming-of-age. Holden Caulfield, Adrian Mole and numerous other disaffected, disenchanted young boys-to-men have nothing on Chris when it comes to facing a true ordeal. Like both his namesake and punk rock, Chris is shaped by rebellion against the established order of his time. Murphy is an unpredictable storyteller, and it’s stunning how much action and rich detail he packs into only thirty-two pages. The heart of the story is Chris. A sweet kid up until this issue, Chris begins to go willfully “out of control” in response to the machinations of his jailer and Big Brother-like manager Rick Slate. Chris changes alarmingly and rapidly in this issue, bu

Sean Murphy’s “Punk Rock Jesus” is one of those great comics where each issue gets bigger and crazier than the previous one, and issue #3 is no exception to that rule. This is, after all, a comic where in the first two issues scientists created a clone of Jesus, staged a fake worldwide search to find a virgin birth mother for him, and then began a reality show of his upbringing. True to form, “Punk Rock Jesus” #3 ups the ante. Gwen’s snapping under the pressure of being trapped on the island and filmed 24/7, Thomas’s position as head of security is being called into question, and as for Chris? Well, we’ve got two words for you, and those are public school. Picking a date for freshman prom never had so much drama, that’s for sure. What’s nice is that at no point does “Punk Rock Jesus” #3 ever feel over the top. Murphy’s carefully built up his story, and with each step it’s following a logical progression from what we’ve learned up until now. Gwen’s downward slide could have come acro

Sean Murphy’s “Punk Rock Jesus” #2, like the standout first issue, is packed to the gills with gorgeously detailed black and white visuals and enough plot to fill two comics. Moving at a breakneck pace, but finding good places for character development, Murphy proves to be both a great artist and a truly interesting storyteller. The idea for “Punk Rock Jesus” is great, but great ideas are only as good as their execution. When I first saw the solicits for “Punk Rock Jesus,” I was interested based on Murphy’s art, but I admit I didn’t expect the concept to be nearly so clever or masterful an execution. In a high-concept book based heavily in the real world (tweaked enough to give plenty of room for creative license), it would be easy to fall into too much world building or vast exposition dumps to get readers the information they need, but Murphy smartly side-steps most of that by just showing readers everything we need to know in real time and flashbacks. Since comics are a visual med

“Punk Rock Jesus” #1, written and drawn by Sean Murphy, is every bit as audacious as its title suggests. But it’s not just audacious — it’s an intelligent and satirical comic fantastically put together. Indeed, there’s not even a hint in this issue of the sneering that the title implies. One of the things that makes this comic such a surprise hit is that the title character barely even appears in it. The series concept — a clone of Jesus Christ stars in his own reality show — provides readers with a single-line pitch that, for all its offbeat candour, is so complete that anyone could pick up on it and produce something that reads like a Garth Ennis comic. Yet, in Murphy’s hands, the high concept offers only a loose guide to the events that unfold. As it turns out, the opening issue is a far more complex look at what such an attempt might entail, not just from a practical point of view, but from a legal, religious and societal perspective, right down to how individuals might be affect