Messiah: Origin

By Matt Dorff, Kai Carpenter, and Mark Arey

By: G. Shane Morris|Published: October 8, 2013 6:21 PM

Topics: Arts & Media, Books, Religion & Society, Youth Issues


So much of what makes the book of Revelation (and adaptations) frightening and awesome is the presence of Jesus Christ, unveiled in stark majesty and ready to do battle to crush the powers of darkness, even as they grudgingly kneel before Him. This is God incarnate. This is the Messiah the Jewish nation expected 2,000 years ago. And this is the Jesus whose second coming we eagerly await as our world groans in birth pangs, waiting for its impending resurrection. (Romans 8:22)

But we mustn’t forget that what the people of Israel longed for so keenly beneath the sandal of Roman oppression was not given them. The warrior-King who would reclaim the throne of David and establish Mt. Zion as His capital did not appear, and would not for some time. (Zechariah 8:22) Instead, God the Son cloaked His glory in a servant’s body and chose to arrive in ignominy and poverty, in a backwater that wasn’t even his parents’ home, in a time when few would receive or even recognize Him as the Lord of Glory. (Philippians 2:7)

That’s where Mark Arey, Matt Dorff, and Kai Carpenter’s new graphic novel, “Messiah: Origin,” transports readers: to the humble beginnings of history’s central figure, and the miraculous events surrounding His arrival.

For centuries, theologians and commentators have produced harmonies of the evangelists, narratives that consolidate the four Gospels into a single chronological story—retelling the life of Christ as it really happened. And when scholars combine the breathless immediacy of Mark, the prophetic purchase of Matthew, the surgical precision of Luke, and the cascade of theological riches in John, the picture that emerges is dazzling.
Now add several hundred hand-painted, impressionistic water-color panels that glow with light and feeling, and the opening chapters of the Gospel story begin to look like much more than black-and-white typeset. Kai Carpenter’s artwork truly upstages previous, more “comic-booky” efforts to visually portray the life of Christ. The Annunciation, the Nativity and the childhood of Our Lord come to life in refreshingly un-Christmaslike fashion, full of dramatic close-ups, flesh-toned warmth and luminous gazes. The visuals feel like stained glass without the lead borders, and alternate so effectively between celestial epiphanies and mundane earthiness that some scenes are humbling just to look at. (Ever seen the birth of Christ reflected in an ox’s eye?)
And of course, with text drawn completely from Scripture and freshly translated by Mark Arey, an Eastern Orthodox clergyman who previously translated Zondervan’s Revelation graphic novel, the story comes through faithfully in virtually every way. Of particular note, the details surrounding Luke’s account of Holy Family’s arrival in Bethlehem, Christ’s birth, and Matthew’s story of the visit from the Magi (who didn’t show up until some time later, and definitely weren’t present at the manger, as frequently depicted), are executed with clarity and dexterity.
As a graphic novel, this will naturally appeal to younger readers. But I want to make a case for “Messiah: Origin” as more than a ploy to persuade middle-schoolers to sit down and read a good chunk of the Bible without the use of Ritalin. As someone who’s spent his life promising to break out the sketch pad and indulge his favorite hobby more than a few times a year, I can testify to the work Carpenter put into his beautiful illustrations, and deeply appreciate the brushstrokes that many readers will spare just seconds to enjoy. In our age of computer-generated imagery, Photoshop, and printers capable of turning out hundreds of pages per minute, it’s increasingly difficult to slip into the artist’s shoes or share the rapture Michelangelo’s patron must have experienced when he first stepped into the finished Sistine Chapel.
Call me old-fashioned, but I think there’s something important and essentially human about falling in love with the way another person has distributed pigment across a canvas. And there’s no question: “Messiah: Origin” offers a prime opportunity for readers of all ages to do so. But more importantly, it places in fresh perspective an account that each year becomes far too closely associated with—or even eclipsed by—a plump, jolly, wish-fulfilling elf and his aerodynamic caribou. Unlike Kris Kringle, however, the characters of Advent really lived, really encountered mysteries and fears that exceeded their understanding, and really witnessed their God step down from His throne and into a woman’s womb.
Yes, this novel’s depictions involve imagination, license and a good deal of skill. But they also tell a story that’s not only historical, but is the basis on which history itself makes sense.
Treat yourself to this little museum of visual talent. Use it to ready your heart for the coming Christmas season. And let it remind you of the unexpected Messiah Who was humbled so that you and I could be exalted.