Messiah: Origin

by Matt Dorff (Adapter), Mark Arey

SCRIPTURE VISUALIZED Messiah: Origin is a beginning, an origin story, and the remarkable starting point for the story of Jesus. Here is a graphic novel that shows, scene by scene, how the very pillars of Christianity were constructed. Witness the prophetic visions, miracles, angelic visitations, wondrous births, and unbreakable family bonds that launched the grand saga of Jesus' life. Origin transports you to the holy land at the dawn of the first century and brings you face-to-face with Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, the Angel Gabriel, and more. It is a riveting journey through the Gospels that is freshly envisioned, brilliantly arranged, and thrillingly brought to life. Origin, the first adventure in Messiah graphic novel series, was translated by Mark Arey exclusively from ancient Gospel manuscripts. Mark, who also translated The Book of Revelation, brings a lifetime of deep study and biblical training to this monumental endeavor. His work has produced a narrative harmony that weaves the four Gospels into a single continuous story, of which Origin is the opening chapter. The magnificence of this foundational literature is realized through the exquisite and enchanting illustrations of artist Kai Carpenter. Adapted and edited into graphic novel form by Matt Dorff (also The Book of Revelation), with letters and title designs by Carlton Riffel, Origin illuminates the story of Jesus' birth and early life through gloriously detailed and inspiring imagery. In embarking on this journey through the pages of Origin, you will find that by pairing ancient verses with original imagery new life is breathed into the accounts of Jesus' story as expressed through the gospel writers Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Genres: Christian

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 24, 2013

About the author

Matt is a Los Angeles native and graduate of the USC School of Cinema He has written, produced, and/or directed movies and miniseries airing on CBS, NBC, ABC, A&E, Lifetime, HBO and other networks. He adapted and edited a graphic novel series for HarperCollins that included THE BOOK OF REVELATION. In May 2021 under the pen name L.R. Dorn (with co-author Suzanne Dunn), his reimagining of Theodore Dreiser's AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY was published by William Morrow under the title THE ANATOMY OF DESIRE. In July 2023, LR Dorn's second novel WITH A KISS WE DIE will be published by William Morrow.

Reviews

[Karie Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each image is so well done, so beautiful on it’s own that in and of itself it could tell a story.
This book has a ability to appeal not just for one group of people or even one age group. I would feel comfortable sharing this with my kids, young adults as well as adults.

Breath taking pictures that command your attenton. It can be used as a personal devotion or a teaching tool as well. It clearly depicts the Jewish culture throughout the book, displaying images that spark the mind to connect it directly to Jewish tradition.



One easily sees also, the artists intention to show the weight and power of names.
Each time a name is uttered you see the Hebraic form of their name in a whispy/smokey type of manner. The Lord gave names for a reason and uses names throughout Scripture to call people into who they are. A perfect example of this is when Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter, taking him from something weak to now something strong…just by renaming him!


I was continually amazed with how a Biblical story/portion of Scripture was used with each section of this book and that the story became visually alive to me verse-by-verse in relation to those Scriptures. If I hadn't pulled out my Bible while reading this I probably never would have discovered that.



I think some children might really love to use this book in their Bible classes when speaking about the verses the book describes about Messiah's life, although I encourage teachers/facilitators to ask the children to follow along in their Bibles if it is used. Adults who like to follow Biblical stories visually would be most likely also appreciate this book.

[Joseph R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of superhero franchise reboots suffer from the same problem. The adapters don't appreciate the source material from which they craft a "new take on" or a "more relevant version of" someone like Superman, who has been ill-served recently in both comic books and on the big screen.

Messiah: Origin takes on a person much more significant than Superman. It retells the story of Jesus Christ's origin as described in the four Gospels. The text in the book is a new translation from the Greek without any new words or ideas added. The translation is happily faithful--the text is at once familiar and fresh. The words harmonize well with the new and striking imagery. Reading the book feels like plunging into history and art. It pulls out wonder and surprise from stories that may have become too familiar to pay close attention to. The reader feels the weight of the prophets pointing to the Messiah and the majesty of the angels who visit Zacharias, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. Facial expressions communicate a lot and draw out the emotion of the events. The art is wonderfully evocative.

The authors of this book have done a brilliant job of weaving the source material into a seamless whole and presenting it in a visually affecting manner. The first page simple says "Messiah - Volume 1," and I can only hope that there are more volumes to come of this fresh and invigorating presentation of the gospel story.

[Lee Harmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you into graphic novels? I’ve never considered them my thing, always picturing such texts as little more than a comic book. So I was surprised to enjoy this one as much as I did.

A graphic novel attempts to communicate on a different level, with penetrating images. The artistic lines and colors, at least in this book, are vibrant, stark, evocative, powerful … this is a visual journey with a serious tone.

Messiah: Origin is the beginning of the gospel story, from the birth of Jesus through the ministry of John the Baptist. I presume it’s the first publication of a series. What sets this “novel” apart is that it contains no words except as translated directly from the Greek of the New Testament. It is a narrative harmony of the four Gospels, translated by Mark Arey, a Greek Orthodox clergyman, arranged in story form by Matt Dorff, and illustrated by Kai Carpenter … an effective partnership.

Definitely recommended as an enjoyable and moving story, though anticlimactic … I do wish I had more of the story of Jesus to read.

[Chris]

This book is fantastic. I loved his Revelation book, and this one is just as amazing. The art is incredible and the translation is wonderful. And the Matt Dorff is one of the nicest guys ever.

[Dustin Tramel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I re-read this graphic novel each year at the beginning of Advent. The artwork is astounding. Each frame of the story deserves attention. This book will stir up your imagination and remind you of the grandeur of God's plan. This is a great visual depiction of the Christmas story that should be shared with young and old.

[Bethany Rose]

I seriously cannot wait for this! I loved The Book of Revelation graphic novel, and I'm sure I will love this as well!

[Paul Harvey]

I really look forward to get my hands on this one, his other book, "the book of revelation" I read last night and it was extremely well done!!

[Edgar Delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is truly amazing. It elevates a story most people are familiar to a cinematic level. The shot compositions are just phenomenal, the illustrations themselves are full of close personal intimate moments where emotions are felt. I absolutely recommend anyone to check this book out especially in this Christmas time, it’s a perfect read. Matt dorff and the team are master storytellers one can hope they will revisit this subject matter again!

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was little we had a similar book that basically told the bible stories as a comic book. I loved that book, it wasn't childish like the other bible story books we had. This reminded me of that.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Messiah: Origin" is a graphic novel version of the Bible that covered Jesus' birth to right before Jesus is baptized by John. It's more like a series of paintings rather than a comic book, and the paintings are very expressive. Some illustrations are of Old Testament events that are being referred to or are related to the main gospel text, but most are of the events occurring in the gospel narrative.

Some details in a few of those illustrations are not historically accurate, but I suspect most people won't notice or care. It's certainly more accurate than most children's illustrated Bibles. I was also uncertain about what theology was intended by some of the pictures, especially the use of stars and comets in pictures referring to God.

The text was translated directly from the ancient manuscripts, and the text was directly from the Bible, which is not true for most graphic novels. The authors combined the accounts from the four gospels to make one chronological account.

Since the author used words like "epiphany," "queried," and "blazoned," I suspect the target audience is adults rather than children. The artwork also seems more worshipful and sometimes symbolic rather than intended to engage children.

I received this book as a review copy from the publisher through Booksneeze.com.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

A graphic novel that combines the gospels into one story. What could be bad?

For me, it was quite a bit. Actually, the illustrations are fantastic. The book looks great! Carpenter has the skill. The issue for me was the writing - there is no dialogue. This is a graphic novel with no text bubbles.

They take the text from Scripture and insert it into the picture.

Now if that's okay for you, then you'll love this series. I, on the other hand, enjoy the dialogue bubbles.

Even in the preface translator Mark Arey writes about how our culture is media-driven especially with TV or movies. You would think they would tap in to the graphic novel craze and make a graphic novel. Am I missing something?

All I could imagine was the teenagers and twenty-somethings picking this book up, flip through it and toss it back because it doesn't read like a typical graphic novel.

So this book, and series, won't be read by me. I'll look for the graphic novel with the dialogue bubbles.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Zondervan Publishing.