6th August, 2008

KRIS BATHER

Mecha Manga Bible Heroes

"The beauty of MMBH is that it has the potential to allow children tired of the same old Sunday school approach to fall in love with these tales, perhaps for the first time, and I can assure a lot of adults out there that there’s something in here for you too."

It’s almost as good an idea as talking apes that fight crime: you take the Bible’s most well known stories, and replace familiar characters with mechanized robots. Because of such an intriguing concept, Mecha Manga Bible Heroes has received a fair bit of attention from the mainstream press, who would normally ignore anything with the words 'Christian', or 'comic book', involved. The beauty of MMBH is that it has the potential to allow children tired of the same old Sunday school approach to fall in love with these tales, perhaps for the first time, and I can assure a lot of adults out there that there’s something in here for you too.

The first issue is a 36 pager and the bulk of the issue focuses on the retelling of the popular David vs Goliath Old Testament battle. Tom Hall and Joey Endres have adapted the story well, and made it kid-friendly, ditching any obvious signs of decapitation in favour of a fast paced narrative and some great physical humour. For those hard nosed fanboys, this may not replace your love of spandex adventurers, with its simplified plot, and pencils, but it’s a great ministry tool and a fun family read.

Thom Pratt’s manga-like artwork can’t compete with the likes of Marvel and DC’s standard superhero fare, but my guess would be that it’s not meant to. For many, this may be their first comic and unlike many others on the shelves today, parents can rest assured that this is fun and wholesome. Goliath here is a towering dark warrior boasting of his might before the numerous, but well armed Israelites. The setting is futuristic, but recognisable and the robotic sheep and lions are a nice touch. It’s full of action and a few chuckles and Pratt’s page designs are handled with diversity.

There is also a two page story cleverly titled, Bee-Attitudes, by Aussie writer/artist Dean Rankine, which is deliciously ugly. Like a Picnic. The Life and Times of Jehosophat Jones is the last two-pager, also by Rankine, with an amusing message on envy.

The Bible holds up well to two things: scrutiny and adaptation. The creative team have chosen well to kick things off with this old school story with a new school twist. Hopefully it encourages people to read their Word and be entertained at the same time.

If you’d like to purchase MMBH, visit Deeper Shopping, while Christian book store owners can contact Anchor Distributors and comic shop retailers can contact Haven Distributors. It’s a great entry level book for those intrigued by Biblical tales or by the comic book format, and hopefully more issues will expand upon this unique adaptation.

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