Easter Reads

Okay, Okay, so Easter is only a few days away

I messed up on that one. But I just thought about this last night so I'm trying to make it happen. Bear with me.

Anyway, what examples of graphic literature do I recommend one read to commemorate this holiest of times in the Christian calendar? I thought about it and picked out five titles that one could read around Easter to contemplate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. No, none of them is a comic book adaptation of Mel Gibson's movie (if such a thing exists). But, come to think of it, I would totally read a comic series based on Murtaugh and Riggs from the Lethal Weapon movies. Somebody at IDW should get on that!

Seriously, there was a Die Hard prequel comic.

Back on track! I could have delved into individual issues, but I decided on stories which are readily available in collected editions from retailers such as Amazon or ComiXology (mostly).

Spider-Man Money

We announced last year that we were forming Millarworld Productions and would make 'American Jesus' as our first big theatrical feature, and I've been gradually getting the money together for that outside the US system. All my other books were getting bought and made, but this one, which I had huge affection for, was just never going to happen. Everyone was just too nervous about doing a Jesus movie, and I was like 'Are you kidding me?!?' Mel Gibson made a Jesus movie, and it made $650 million dollars. What's your concern? It made 'Spider-Man' money!

- Mark Millar

Comic Book Resources interview

Like Other Men

I doubt the Israelites had chamberpots, anyway.
Or that our savior was required to relieve himself like other men.

 - Locke & Key: Clockworks #1 

by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Literally

As you get older, you realize you can't take the Bible as literally as you did when you're a kid.
It's more like a guidebook for life, and if you start believing every single word, people are gonna be crossing the street to avoid you, son.

-Chosen #2

by Mark Millar and Peter Gross

2000 Years Ago

Well, suppose I'd been there two thousand years ago when the original Jesus Christ was doing his thing?
Would I have bought all that hocus-pocus about God-made-man, or just stood there and watched while they hammered in the nails. You know what I'm saying here?

- Chosen #3

by Mark Millar and Peter Gross

Temple Moment

When Jesus was twelve years old, it's said the boy was missing and his poor mom and dad had just about bitten their nails down to the knuckles with worry.
Like all good parents, they assumed the worst until they heard he was talking in the Temple with all the scribes and Pharisees and they wondered what the hell was going on.
When they reached the Temple, they saw their twelve-year old son hanging around and holding court with some of the finest minds in Judea in those days.
And that's when it hit them, the Bible says. That's when they realized that everything they'd been told about this kid had been absolutely real.
You see, up until that point they just couldn't be certain. Sure, they'd had visitations and omens and stuff like that, but they'd toilet-trained this little boy.
They'd taught him how to walk and talk: How could this be the Son of God when Mary and Joseph still had to wipe his nose from time to time?

- Chosen #1

by Mark Millar and Peter Gross

Just Like Star Wars

Okay, you got to think of the Old Testament as Star Wars...
Everybody likes it, the characters were great, and its huge success was always gonna change the world forever.
The New Testament is essentially The Empire Strikes Back. Unlike most sequels, the hard-core fans like it better than the original.
There's a lot of cool twists, like the lead guy turning out to be the son of the big banana and the guy we actually like the best looking like he bites it in the end.
The good news, of course, is that he doesn't die and he's back in form in the final part of the trilogy.
We get a trailer for this called the Book of Revelation, and that's what we're living in now, guys--Return of the friggin' Jedi.

- Chosen #2

by Mark Millar and Peter Gross

Singer Losing His Voice

Poor Father O'Higgins... Do you know he hasn't believed in God since that tumor took his mother and that homeless man killed his brother eighteen months ago?
It's every man's right to be agnostic, of course, but kinda unfortunate in his line of work, don't you think? I liken it a lot to a singer losing his voice.

- Chosen #1

by Mark Millar and Peter Gross

I imagine this happens a lot more often to people in ministry than we'd care to admit.

Sacrilegious Comics

I don’t think there’s a built-in conflict or controversial element between comics and religion. But, like film, it’s a visual medium, and it invites spectacle. Unlike film, though, it’s far less policed and less corporately involved, so more extreme — and, yes, more sacrilegious — works can make it through to the market. Frankly, being sacrilegious isn’t a bad thing in and of itself; there can still be a great and entertaining story there. There can even be a useful message to or between religious communities. It’s when a work sets out to insult or persecute another group when the line must be drawn. Personally, I don’t think either Preacher or Chosen crosses that line.

- A. David Lewis