Noah

Aronofsky and Handel adapt their script for the motion picture of the same name, coming in late March, to comics format. This Noah encapsulates elements of the cinematic samurai legend: a deeply conflicted man and warrior, vigorous but aging, wishing only for peace with his beloved family, but drawn into a conflict greater than himself. Henrichon (Barnum!, Pride of Baghdad) applies his beautiful and lush artwork to the tale, infusing vigorous energy into the people, flora, and especially fauna of the age, and adeptly pacing the Ark’s departure against the ticking clock of a warrior invasion. Following the line of the movie, the book reinvents the Bible story as an action epic, complete with PG-rated sex scenes, attempts to symbolize Creationism with depictions of DNA, and a subplot involving a family mutiny against Noah. While it may displease fundamentalists, Aronofsky and company’s work makes for a pretty good comic-book yarn. (Mar.)