Reviews: The Manga Bible vs. Manga Bible Volume 1

Adding pictures to Bible stories to make them more accessible and entertaining to younger readers is nothing new. I remember reading illustrated Bible stories in my local dentist's office when I was growing up. Jack Chick has been spreading the Christian gospels in his pocket-sized Chick Tract cartoon pamphlets for years. But lately, the buzz in the mainstream publishing world is all about the explosive growth and popularity of manga, so it's little wonder that we're seeing several versions of so-called manga-style Bible stories pop up in bookstores lately.

Doubleday's version of The Manga Bible by British-Nigerian artist Siku is the one that's getting the most press lately, mostly because it's the most recent one out of the gate. But out of the various versions of so-called "manga" Bible stories out there, this one probably has the flimsiest tie to manga-style artwork and storytelling. Just like how wearing a cross doesn't make you a Christian, simply drawing women with big eyes does not automatically make a graphic novel "manga." But no matter how you label it, The Manga Bible commits the worst sin that an author/artist can inflict upon a reader: It offers mediocre visual storytelling that is just not all that interesting or entertaining.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bookshelf is Zondervan Graphic Novels' edition of Manga Bible by Korean manhwa artist Jung Sun Hwang and author Young Shin Lee. First off, it probably would have been more accurate to call it "Manhwa Bible" -- but that's me splitting hairs. Compared to Siku's version, Hwang and Lee's Manga Bible is a bit closer to manga / manhwa visual storytelling style that readers would expect from a book with this title. But that's not the only difference. Besides missing the "The" in front of their title, Hwang and Lee's irreverent, light-hearted take on Biblical stories is also geared for younger readers... or at least a younger audience than the teen/young adult-skewed "Jesus is a bad ass" version of the OTHER Manga Bible.

Confused yet? Wait, it gets better. There's also ANOTHER Manga Bible-type story out there called Manga Messiah, which I wasn't able to review this time around -- but frankly, I'm all Manga Bible-d out right now, so maybe I'll pass on that one. You'll just have to settle for reading my review of The Manga Bible by Siku and review of Manga Bible Volume 1: Names, Games and the Long Road Trip by Lee and Hwang and figure out which one is the greater "manga" version of The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Image credits: © Siku / Doubleday, © Lamp Post Inc.