Official Review: The gospel in Zine form by Aaron Trudgeon

Use this sub-forum to discuss comic books and graphic novels.
Forum rules
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
Scerakor
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2146
Joined: 13 May 2013, 13:43
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 315
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-scerakor.html
Latest Review: Gaslighting & Narcissistic Abuse Recovery: by Don Barlow

Official Review: The gospel in Zine form by Aaron Trudgeon

Post by Scerakor »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The gospel in Zine form" by Aaron Trudgeon.]
Book Cover
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review


Whether or not you are a person with a strong religious (Christian or not) background, it is impossible to deny the impact that the gospel has had on human life as we know it over the last 2000+ years. The story of Jesus Christ has permeated Western culture to unprecedented levels and has significant influence on modern literature, film, music, and educational media. Even if you have no religious affiliation, you are likely still familiar, at least peripherally, with this work. That being said, even many of those that are well read into the bible’s teachings will likely admit that portions of these works are not easily approachable to the layman. This is where The Gospel in Zine form carves its niche for this classic tale.

The Gospel in Zine form by Aaron Trudgeon takes all four gospels and pulls them together into one comprehensive graphic novel telling the tale of Jesus Christ from two generations before his birth all the way to his resurrection. This very large work takes this massive tale and attempts to make it even more approachable to the Western layman through a graphic novel style of media. It combines much of the original text with modern colloquial dialogue attributed to the people involved, and enhances it with modern prose which explains the tale in a language the everyday reader will understand.

The graphic novel / zine is an excellent way to bring a very daunting set of texts to the modern generations. Through the use of images, colloquial dialogue, and modern prose, there is no longer any reason to avoid these quintessential Christian texts. Although not a standard format throughout the book, panels are often a combination of a direct quote from one of the gospels, an image, text bubbles coming out of the “character’s” mouths, and a narrator like description. This approach is excellent in that it keeps some of the important texts from throughout the four gospels, but makes it infinitely more approachable to a variety of modern audiences. The text bubbles are often hysterically colloquial allowing for a chuckle here and there without being disrespectful to the text. What I liked the most about this book was that it really isn’t a watered down version that doesn’t add to already existing works. It doesn’t shy away from providing the reader with a large tome (822 pages!!) that tells the tale in its entirety.

There are several things that really irked me about this book, however, and that unfortunately took away from my enjoyment of it. Most of these items deal directly with the images and texts used within the book. First, due to the massive size of this book (822 pages of images) I had difficulty reading this work on many of my devices. The Kindle cloud reader on all of my computers never did load the book and it took several attempts to get it onto my phone/tablet. Once on the phone and Kindle e-reader, some of the issues were difficult to read due to the size of the text and the amount crammed onto the page. Next, the fact that this book is an amalgamation of many different issues of the Ancient Wisdom Comics series means that there is extensive differences between the different issues. The graphic novel drawings of the “characters” in the issues differ from issue to issue (I assume because of different artists) and the fonts/text choices varied as well. Finally, and what I disliked the most about this book, was the variety of styles and types of images used within the book. To me, a successful graphic novel adopts an image style and sticks with it. The Gospel in Zine form uses a combination of well drawn characters, religious art, religious art interpretations, less-well drawn characters (given then impression they were thrown together in paint in a matter of minutes), line drawings (akin to indigenous cave-wall art), and even a photo of someone (that I assume the author knows) pasted into a drawing used more than once in the book. These different types of images were used throughout the book and many different types within individual issues. To me this quickly became distracting and quite frankly bothered me throughout the read.

After some internal reflection, I am forced to give this book 2 out of 4 stars. The difficulty that I had getting started reading the book, the different characters, and the haphazard imagery were distracting enough to me to merit a two star rating. The book didn’t receive a lower rating as I honestly believe in the format / approach that the author has taken for the book. The content and style chosen is a great way to bring the texts to a modern audience and if you can get past the shortfalls mentioned above, you can get a lot out of this book. If are looking for a fun, easy, and relaxed way to approach the archetypal story of the Christian faith, you might enjoy this book. If you have no interest in the story of the gospel, however, this book will not be for you.

******
The gospel in Zine form
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like Scerakor's review? Post a comment saying so!
User avatar
kandscreeley
Special Discussion Leader
Posts: 11682
Joined: 31 Dec 2016, 20:31
Currently Reading: Believarexic
Bookshelf Size: 486
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kandscreeley.html
Latest Review: The Elf Revelation by Jordan David

Post by kandscreeley »

Wow! I'm sorry this one was so disappointing. Thanks for the review, though. It was good.
A book is a dream you hold in your hands.
—Neil Gaiman
User avatar
ritah
Posts: 588
Joined: 24 Jun 2017, 06:52
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 03345">The Darziods' Stone</a>
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 184
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ritah.html
Latest Review: The Secrets To Living A Fantastic Life... by Dr. Allen Lycka & Harriet Tinka

Post by ritah »

The cover of the book looks enticing, though the subject isn't what I usually read. Thanks for the review.
Scerakor
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2146
Joined: 13 May 2013, 13:43
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 315
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-scerakor.html
Latest Review: Gaslighting & Narcissistic Abuse Recovery: by Don Barlow

Post by Scerakor »

kandscreeley wrote:Wow! I'm sorry this one was so disappointing. Thanks for the review, though. It was good.
Thanks for the reply. To be honest, and like I mentioned in my review, it does have its merits and its place, unfortunately I think the deficiencies that it does have limit that scope of audience.
User avatar
The Researcher
Posts: 563
Joined: 23 Jan 2017, 05:41
Currently Reading: Buried Threads
Bookshelf Size: 101
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-the-researcher.html
Latest Review: "Curve Couture" by H M Irwing
Reading Device: B00I15SB16

Post by The Researcher »

Though the topic is interesting, the length of the book is discouraging. Thanks for sharing your views
What is the most special thing I did today- I was MYSELF. Happy and in love and unapologetically myself.
Latest Review: "Curve Couture" by H M Irwing
User avatar
MsTri
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 1948
Joined: 02 Jul 2017, 12:56
Favorite Author: Miranda Ann Markley
Favorite Book: The Spirit Seeds Book 1
Currently Reading: the Secret of Safe Passage
Bookshelf Size: 1029
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mstri.html
Latest Review: Suddenly Free, Vol. 1 by Yvette Carmon Davis
Reading Device: B07HZHJGY7
fav_author_id: 225682

Post by MsTri »

While I am definitely taking your review under advisement, I think the idea of having the Gospels in graphic novel form is just too intriguing for me to not at least try the 'zine out.
Sabina G
Posts: 99
Joined: 29 Jun 2017, 05:16
Currently Reading: The Scarpetta Factor
Bookshelf Size: 24
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sabina-g.html
Latest Review: "Puffy and the Formidable Foe" by Marie Lepkowski and Ann Marie Hannon

Post by Sabina G »

Nice review. I liked the cover of the book very much. So sad you got disappointed in the end.
Latest Review: "Puffy and the Formidable Foe" by Marie Lepkowski and Ann Marie Hannon
User avatar
Job Njoroge
Posts: 177
Joined: 20 Jun 2017, 09:35
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 46
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-job-njoroge.html
Latest Review: We are Voulhire: Someone Else's End by Matthew Tysz
Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG

Post by Job Njoroge »

This is a great review however the same cannot be said of the book itself as you discussed it.
User avatar
Mercelle
Posts: 1348
Joined: 31 May 2017, 03:44
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 10262">The Wisdom and Peace of the Teachings of the Tao Te Ching</a>
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 204
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mercelle.html
Latest Review: The Future of Finance and Money by K. Braeden Anderson

Post by Mercelle »

What an interesting book. I had a Christian upbringing and I am familiar with the biblical story of Jesus. This graphic perspective is one I would like to explore.
"The minimum requirement for a dream is a safe place to lay your head."
~OluTimehin Adegbeye
User avatar
AmySmiles
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 1268
Joined: 21 Mar 2018, 10:43
Favorite Author: Dana Peters
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 149
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-amysmiles.html
Latest Review: Sex Education for Adults Secrets to Amazing Sex and Happily Ever After Too by John Wilder
fav_author_id: 154082

Post by AmySmiles »

Wow you really had to put some effort into this one, sorry that it was so aggravating for you. Thanks for the review though, I think I enjoyed it more than I would the book. Plus 822 pages is a little to much for my attention span.
Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.
–Author Unknown
User avatar
meadhbh
Posts: 186
Joined: 16 Apr 2018, 18:30
Currently Reading: Serendipity Mystery: Diary of a Snoopy Cat
Bookshelf Size: 29
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-meadhbh.html
Latest Review: The Last Rite by Chad Morgan

Post by meadhbh »

Seems like a really fascinating way to tell the Gospel stories, particularly to a younger audience perhaps. It seems very long though! Maybe they might have been better off editing it down to a shorter collection, even if this meant cutting some of the stories.
User avatar
Rafaella Michailidou
Posts: 352
Joined: 02 Aug 2018, 11:35
Currently Reading: Dark Places
Bookshelf Size: 71
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rafaella-michailidou.html
Latest Review: Killing Abel by Michael Tieman

Post by Rafaella Michailidou »

I feel sorry you had to go through so much trouble into reading this book. It really looked interesting that's why I wanted to read the review, maybe I'll give it a chance if there is a PDF form for it.
“All the secrets of the world are contained in books. Read at your own risk.”
― Lemony Snicket
Mindy Conahye
Posts: 330
Joined: 20 May 2018, 19:44
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1159
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mindy-conahye.html
Latest Review: WIND by Ellen Dee Davidson

Post by Mindy Conahye »

While I think using a graphic novel is a different way to address the gospel, I think I would have a hard time getting into this book. The size of it would be one thing and all the deficiencies you have listed add to it. It was a good try on the author's behalf to bring to a different form though.
Mac :techie-reference:
User avatar
MagensWife1995
Posts: 45
Joined: 27 Sep 2018, 10:49
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 20
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-magenswife1995.html
Latest Review: Escape by Mark Kingston Levin, PhD

Post by MagensWife1995 »

It seems like a great concept for a graphic novel. I would suggest maybe if the author broke it up into smaller books it would be easier. Good concept but the author made mistakes. Thanks for the honest review.
User avatar
sarawebbquest
Posts: 1
Joined: 01 Nov 2018, 20:33
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by sarawebbquest »

I agree. Thanks for the thorough, well-written review. And like you, I adore the idea of the gospels in a more 'approachable' -graphic- format. So it is rather too bad the various drawing styles were included, distracting the reader's attention away from Story.
Post Reply

Return to “NEW: Graphic Novels and Comic Books”