What if the Bible were turned into a manga?

[Yeshua-Knight]

heh heh... if they stuck with the historians' descriptions of Jesus, I doubt he'd fit into the typical Anime-protagonist-male figure.

yeah, but ya know samson and some of the other judges would look pretty hardcore in a manga

kinda like the God's shinsengumi

[Arnobius]

yeah, but ya know samson and some of the other judges would look pretty hardcore in a manga

kinda like the God's shinsengumi

The cleansing of the temple might look interesting with Christ making a whip out cords and knocking over the money changer's tables.

Way back in the 70's there was a sort of paraphrased New Testament and Acts in comic form and added scenes (the martyrdom of Peter and Paul for example). It had some added commentary from onlookers to explain some things to the younger viewers. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the comic so I can't check and see if it can still be purchased. The art was not bad... though that could be my fuzzy memory of a comic I have not seen in 20 years

[Yeshua-Knight]

there's also the picture bible, in which the bible (at least the kid friendly stories) are depicted in american style comic book art

[Arnobius]

there's also the picture bible, in which the bible (at least the kid friendly stories) are depicted in american style comic book art

I wonder if we're thinking of the same thing. The layout of this was kind of graphic novel (US) style, and Jesus looked like most of the traditional artwork, wearing a white robe with a blue (I think) wrap over it. And each chapter had the bible chapters it was taken from. All of Jesus words were from scripture.

[Yeshua-Knight]

probably, it's still sold in christian bookstores, usually in the kids section

[Arnobius]

probably, it's still sold in christian bookstores, usually in the kids section

I'll look for it maybe. I'm feeling kind of nolstalgic about that comic. We do have (or had, it's been awhile) a Christian Megastore a few miles away.

[jon_jinn]

i have a really old picture Bible that i used back in pre-school before i learned to read. the pictures were very kid friendly and very cartoonish. it was almost as if the illustrators weren't putting their full effort into drawing the pictures.

[Rogie]

The Picture Bible actually looks like a huge, hardcover Bible, but when you open it, the stories are illustrated in comic book form. I read that several times as a youngster before actually sitting down to read the traditional Bible. What I found notable was how it managed to condense some of the Old Testament prophetic books into a single picture yet still tell the story in a paragraph for a youngster to understand. For example, it really captured the story of Hosea (whose wife was Gomer the prostitute) and explained it to me in a memorable yet kid-friendly way. I grew up understanding the purpose behind that book without having read the full text, until much later.

In fact, it actually tended to illustrate some of the more obscure Bible stories that I never learned about in Sunday school as a child. Things like David and his men returning home to find their families gone and the city ravaged (from 1 Samuel). As you can tell, it's a very memorable book for me.

Since AH said that the one he remembers is only the New Testament, I doubt he's talking about the Picture Bible.

[Yahshua]

Eh if I remember right I did see an Chinese Bible manga when I was young.

[mitsuki lover]

As far as what Jesus looked like in real life.I personally would imagine that he would have been no taller than around 5'9" or so and would have weighed no more than around 159 lbs. or maybe at the most 169 lbs.I doubt that he would have had the long hair that popular pictures always feature him with.Probably more likely that it was cut medium or short(long hair seems to be too unlikely in the kind of work he did).Like other Jewish men of the day he would have had a beard,but it would have been neatly trimmed(I doubt that the Pharisees and Sadducees would welcome him in their midst,and remember he did have a lot of contact with them in the Gospels,if he looked like a 1960s hippie).His clothes would be neat and clean as possible.
Financially he would have been somewhere between the modern day middle middle class and the upper middle class.
Hair,it could be anywhere between black to red.Remember he did have Gentile ancestry so it might have showed and some people think that David may have had reddish hair,so being a descendant of David it may be possible that Christ might also have reddish or a tint of red in his hair,but that is just speculation as is everything else here.

[CAAOutkast]

A Manga based on The Bible would be really cool.

steve.

[Arnobius]

Remember he did have Gentile ancestry so it might have showed and some people think that David may have had reddish hair,so being a descendant of David it may be possible that Christ might also have reddish or a tint of red in his hair,but that is just speculation as is everything else here.

Gentile ancestry? Where was this? I'm trying to remember my scripture on this, but I don't remember any such reference. Could you refresh my memory?

[rocklobster]

Samson wouldn't have a jawbone to whack people with. He'd have a giant sword.

[GrubbTheFragger]

Samson wouldn't have a jawbone to whack people with. He'd have a giant sword.

XD Inuyasha meets samson ...0,o. Anyways a bible manga would be odd.

[mitsuki lover]

Remember both Ruth and Rahab were Gentiles.

[uc pseudonym]

Samson wouldn't have a jawbone to whack people with. He'd have a giant sword.

Actually, anytime I read something about Samson, Berserk comes to mind.

[Arnobius]

Remember both Ruth and Rahab were Gentiles.

Ah yes, thanks

[jon_jinn]

Actually, anytime I read something about Samson, Berserk comes to mind.

ha ha. how ironic.

[Wise Dragon]

All of a sudden I have this picture of old man mosses standing by the ocean and God says "Ok now you can part it". So mosses throws this huge DBZ style enerygy wave and blows the whole sea appart.

Seriously though they did make a manga about the life of Buddah so I dont think its out of the question of if they could just finding someone that would.

[jon_jinn]

yeah. there are some bibliography mangas out there. like vagabond.

[mitsuki lover]

The more historical stuff would be the easeist part to do.It would be when they got to the prophetic parts of the Bible plus the Wisdom books:Job,Psalms,Proverbs,etc.
that it would be the hardest because of all the metaphores that are used in them.
Plus do you draw Revelation from the Literalist or from the Allegorist school?
And if from the later how do you depict it?
Revelation being the toughest book to do because of the various schools of thought of what it actually represents,etc.
And once the Bible was done I can imagine somewhere on the line the LDS having a Book Of Mormon manga.Then again who knows.

[Bobtheduck]

I still... don't get all the people saying things like "Jesus would go all kamehameha on them" or "samson would use a giant sword" or "MARY WITH CAT EARS!!" True, there have been a few adaptations of literary classics in more clichéd Anime devices, but

1. We're probably talking about a CHRISTIAN production, not just Japanese production. That lessens the chances of a potentially boycottworthy representation using anime clichés.

2. Even if it's not made by Christians, there have been a number of adaptations of historical and classic literature that have been done rather faithfully in both manga and anime, that don't have mecha or catgirls or x-cups or gratuitous fanservice or lasers or explosions (when they weren't called for) or harems or cute hybrid animals or all-powerfull children or cyborg ninjas...

3. There HAVE been Biblical manga and anime that are nothing like what you've said. Two in particular come to mind: Superbook and the Osamu Tezuka Bible Anime...

As far as the LDS goes, I'm sure there are probably allready book of mormon comics... The mormans aren't afraid of different media... I'm not sure about Pearl of Great Price or Book of Abraham, though... Even though those are core to the Morman beliefs, as much as the book of mormon, they're not discussed as frequently with non-mormons, so I don't see much of them showing up in movies or cartoons... Speaking of anime clichés, though, I'm sure that Jesus and Satan being brothers would fit in well there.

[uc pseudonym]

As I see it, this thread really contains two different schools of thought, and there is a slight dissonance between the posts from both. Some people are simply viewing this in terms of a manga-styled adaption of the Bible, showing everything as accurately as possible. This is what I addressed in my first post - I don't really see the need for it.

But others, likely viewing this as too simple, have been looking at it from the angle of what the Bible would be like if it were turned into a cliché series. I don't think they're misunderstanding, merely looking at it through different lenses.

[mitsuki lover]

btw:Just curious but did Classic Comics ever do one on the Bible?

[Steeltemplar]

I still... don't get all the people saying things like "Jesus would go all kamehameha on them" or "samson would use a giant sword" or "MARY WITH CAT EARS!!" True, there have been a few adaptations of literary classics in more clichéd Anime devices, but

I think that the majority if not all of these comments are being made in jest.

[Togira Ikonoka]

what i think is alot more people would be interested in the bible and learn about it more. Just because it was a manga.

[Wise Dragon]

A lot of parts are hard for most people to understand and they need a visuall representaion to help them see someof the symbolism. Example the layout of the temple where the ark of the covenant was held has the shape of a cross. Most people dont know that becuse they havent studied that particular subject and they cant get a very good visual of how it looked. Thats just one example; but there are many stories that would be easier for most people to understand if they could see it.

i think the best thing to do would be to focuss on vital and important stories rather than the whole thing. Theres no reason to go through the whole Begets section in Manga style.

Also about the kamehameah moses thing i was just joking. Dont take it seriously.

[Arnobius]

[quote="Wise Dragon"]A lot of parts are hard for most people to understand and they need a visuall representaion to help them see someof the symbolism. Example the layout of the temple where the ark of the covenant was held has the shape of a cross. Most people dont know that becuse they havent studied that particular subject and they cant get a very good visual of how it looked. Thats just one example]
Well I think the effectiveness of the manga in such a case would be dependent on the level of study they put into their work. If they were focussing more on the story, they could miss that as well. Also, some of the descriptions of the visions (and thus their symbolism) might be masked by a visual rather than a written approach.

I think what we would get out of such a manga would depend on what the artist/writer put in.

[mitsuki lover]

And remember what a writer/artist puts in will always be open to his or her own personal interpretation.

[Animus Seed]

[quote="Wise Dragon"]A lot of parts are hard for most people to understand and they need a visuall representaion to help them see someof the symbolism. Example the layout of the temple where the ark of the covenant was held has the shape of a cross. Most people dont know that becuse they havent studied that particular subject and they cant get a very good visual of how it looked. Thats just one example]


I also had The Picture Bible when I was younger, and an image that has still stayed with me to this day (I'm 20 now, so about 11 years) is the statue of Dagon on its face before the ark.

Ahem.

I'd enjoy a manga version of the Bible, assuming it's accurate. The Picture Bible was just the stories, as mentioned, but a full Bible might be interesting. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes wouldn't be too hard; like someone said earlier, a picture representing the thought would do. The only one I can think of that would be tricky is Psalms. For the prophets, manga could do the visions well. Hey, I had a thought: I think it'd be cool for the messianic prophesies if the picture is the same as the one used in the Gospels later, only with Jesus' face in shadow.

Which reminds me: if it really does have every book, what about the 4 Gospels? How different would they be? Details differ at parts, such as the number of blind men or women at the cross; would each of the 4 have different pictures for the same stories? Or, perhaps, different art styles altogether?

And while I'll repeat that I would want it accurate, I can't resist... if it were up to me, I'd cast the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters in Exodus (Yamiyugi as Pharoah, Jannes and Jambres in the Dark Magician outfit, and so on)