I often credit Neil Gaiman for drawing me into the world of comics, but on a recent visit to my mom’s house, I realized that the true origin of my comics reading was—shall we say a higher power?
On the shelf at my mom’s house among the children’s books was a fat red-bound hardcover book—an epic with a cast of thousands, brutal battles, heroes, wise men, and, my favorite, Old Testament women. Wives of prophets, Egyptian princesses, queens good and evil—each with a distinct personality and story. I read the stories about these women over and over as a child, taking in their movement and expression along with their words.
The title of this book is gold-stamped on the cover, along with my name: The Picture Bible. When I saw it at my mom’s house, I had to take it home with me. Written by Iva Hoth and drawn by Andre Le Blanc and first published in 1978, this adaptation of the Bible was the first graphic novel I ever read—and I read it again and again. The edges of the cover are well-worn and the spine is broken, but the colors and stories inside are just as vibrant as ever.
The Picture Bible is no The Book of Genesis by R. Crumb. Being meant for children, it skips over the more troubling and violent parts of the Bible and lightens others. (For example, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, so vividly depicted by Crumb, is substantially different, as you may imagine. The men of Sodom want to run Lot’s guests out of town because they “look like trouble,” not rape them. And Lot doesn’t offer his daughters in place of the strangers—the same daughters who later think they have to repopulate the earth with their father. Lot’s wife still gets turned into a pillar of salt, though. There is no escaping that.) This streamlining, however, also is the work’s greatest success in how it turns the Bible—which can be impenetrable, especially the Old Testament—into a clear, cohesive, and continuous narrative.
I didn’t realize this when I was a kid, of course, not consciously. What I liked best, as I mentioned before, were the Biblical women. In my June column, I referenced graphic novelist Hope Larson’s survey of comics-reading women. One of the findings of the survey is that “Girls want to see strong, in-control, kick-ass women calling the shots.” I can’t say that any of the women in The Picture Bible literally kick ass, but they are often remarkably resourceful, and in turns defiant, loyal, adventurous, seductive, kind-hearted, brave, treacherous, and loving.
Two queens—one villainous, one heroic—were my favorites (as the condition of the spine will attest). I was fascinated with the exploits of Jezebel, who somewhat resembles Bettie Page, but most of all with Esther, the queen of Persia who saves her people, the Jews, from genocide. There are two images of Esther that have remained with me over the years, a testament to graphic storytelling. In the first, Esther, simply dressed, wistfully brushes her hand against a curtain as she says her husband, the King, has not summoned her in thirty days, humanizing her and showing vulnerability. In the second, Esther is in her royal robes and she sits impassively as a man begs for mercy at her feet.
I picture these two panels planting themselves in my mind like seeds. They’re at the root of my love for the comics medium—two panels that ignited my imagination.
