Graphic Gospel
 

Among comic book aficionados, the long-form graphic novel is the genre’s pinnacle. Steve Ross, a New York artist and Episcopalian, penned the first Gospel-based graphic novel called Marked (Seabury Books*, 2005), a visual retelling of Mark’s Gospel (www.markedgraphicnovel.com).

Marked’s bleak landscape throws into relief modern interpretations of Mark’s stories and characters (contains mildly disturbing language and images). John the Baptist eats out of trash cans. Temptation arrives in a stretch limo. The 12 disciples include a prostitute and a woman with a mohawk. Jesus gets busted for running an unlicensed feeding program. And Elvis Presley has a one-line cameo.

“It would be a kick if it made more than a few people crack open the book of Mark just to see if I made the whole thing up,” Ross told Emergent UK Media Arts*.

© 2006 The Lutheran * is the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America*