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Punk Rock Jesus #1-6
Punk Rock Jesus
A reality TV show starring a clone of Jesus Christ causes chaos across the U.S. of the near future in PUNK ROCK JESUS, a new graphic novel written and drawn by Sean Murphy, the acclaimed illustrator of JOE THE BARBARIAN and AMERICAN VAMPIRE.
J2 causes both outrage and adulation. Religious zealots either love or hate the show, angry politicians worry about its influence on the nation, and members of the scientific community fear the implications of cloning a human being at all, let alone the Son of God.
Thomas McKael is the clones's bodyguard and former IRA operative, who despite his turbulent past is hired to protect the new Jesus—a baby who captivates the world, but grows up to become an angry teenager.
When falling ratings force the network to cut Jesus's mother from the series the young star runs away, renounces his religious heritage and forms a punk rock band. And what starts off as babysitting for Thomas becomes an epic battle, as Jesus goes to war against the corporate media complex that created him.
Along with his artistic credits on JOE THE BARBARIAN and AMERICAN VAMPIRE: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST, Murphy also wrote and illustrated the graphic novel OFF ROAD (Oni Press), and cowrote OUTER ORBIT (Dark Horse Comics).
J2 causes both outrage and adulation. Religious zealots either love or hate the show, angry politicians worry about its influence on the nation, and members of the scientific community fear the implications of cloning a human being at all, let alone the Son of God.
Thomas McKael is the clones's bodyguard and former IRA operative, who despite his turbulent past is hired to protect the new Jesus—a baby who captivates the world, but grows up to become an angry teenager.
When falling ratings force the network to cut Jesus's mother from the series the young star runs away, renounces his religious heritage and forms a punk rock band. And what starts off as babysitting for Thomas becomes an epic battle, as Jesus goes to war against the corporate media complex that created him.
Along with his artistic credits on JOE THE BARBARIAN and AMERICAN VAMPIRE: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST, Murphy also wrote and illustrated the graphic novel OFF ROAD (Oni Press), and cowrote OUTER ORBIT (Dark Horse Comics).
207 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
89 people are currently reading
2068 people want to read
About the author
Sean Gordon Murphy
224 books414 followersAfter breaking into the industry at a young age, Sean Gordon Murphy made a name for himself in the world of indie comics before joining up with DC. In his tenure, he has worked on such titles as Batman/Scarecrow: Year One, Teen Titans, Hellblazer, Joe The Barbarian, and the critically acclaimed miniseries American Vampire: Survival Of The Fittest and The Wake with Scott Snyder. Murphy also wrote and illustrated the original graphic novel Offroad and the popular miniseries Punk Rock Jesus.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 460 reviews
April 22, 2018
I felt like I was reading something written by an angry teenager.
You know the kind I'm talking about...all angsty and earnest, because they know how the world works. And if 'we adults' would just listen to them, then everything would be sunshine and roses.
Poof!
Say goodbye to hatered, war, famine, and poverty!
Mr. 17-And-Knows-It-All has the answers!
Because everything is black and white, right?
Right?
All Republicans are evil, all Christians are bigots, & America is a country brimming with the fat, lazy, and stupid. I mean, these are just facts, right?
Right?
All Democrats fart rainbows, all Atheists are intelligent, and Punk Rock is the ultimate form of rebellion. Again I say, these are facts.
Right?
This read like a jumbled mess of incoherent ideas.
Granted, the ideas behind the jumbled mess had massive potential.
A reality tv show based around a clone of Jesus? Whoa! Now that sounds like a really cool premise. There were a lot of delicious slimy worms that could have crawled out of that newly opened can!
Reality tv and religion?
Think of the amazing story that could have been told for a minute.
Now flush all your expectations down the toilet.
Fuck Religion! Yeah! {insert guitar riff} Fuckity-fuck-fuck Religion!
Ok, here's the part where I tell you that I don't have a horse in this race.
I don't have a religion.
However, I'm not some angry atheist who feels the need to push my beliefs in someone else face. In fact, unlike most non-believers, I don't even get up early to go knocking on doors in order let people know the Good News! 'Cuz that would be rude and annoying.
And nobody likes it.
All joking aside, I know tons of people who believe in God. And guess what?
They don't have below-average intelligence, they don't hate me for not believing in their God, they don't shun my children, and they don't picket my house. In fact, most of them dig deep in their pockets to support charities, volunteer for shit jobs to help out the community, and spend their free time with their families.
Nefarious behavior!
So, obviously, the problems of the world lay that their feet, right? I mean, if we could just get rid of their damn belief in God, then the world would be a better place. Break the chains, you evil morons!
Uuuuugh.
Unlike this comic book, our human issues are not black and white. There are obnoxious & evil people of every race, sex, and religion. It's just the way it is, Mr. 17-Year-Old. God is a source of comfort and hope to millions around the world. I can't personally offer that to them, can you? Why take that away? Do you want to start making public service announcements that Santa Clause isn't real next? I mean, those poor little kids are getting duped into being good, so the fat guy doesn't find out, right? Sure, some kids game the system. They act like vile brats until December rolls around. Then they clean up their act, comb their hair, and climb onto Mall Santa's lap and promise to change their ways.
There will always be assy children. Doesn't mean Santa is an evil ideal.
As a collective group, those of us who don't believe in God need to stop acting like belligerent teens and start acting like the intelligent, thoughtful people we claim to be. The next time that Jehovah's Witness is standing on your doorstep, maybe you should offer them a bottle of water before sending them on their way?
No! Do not slip a laxative in it first! You're better than that.
I think...
Ok, enough of my rambling.
Besides the wah-wah-wah I hate God mentality, this just didn't make sense. I couldn't swallow that this production company managed to sign a deal with the Vatican to even get access to the Shroud of Turin, much less let them swipe some DNA to clone Christ. If anyone believes that would ever happen, they're too dumb to be on this planet sucking up oxygen.
I also don't understand how I'm supposed to believe that somehow this evil corporate dude was able to hold Chris & his mother hostage for years with the cameras running. And then basically kill people who got in his way without any interference from the government or police agencies.
In fact, I stopped reading this just to check the publication date, and make sure that this thing wasn't written 20 years ago as some futuristic warning story or something.
Unless I'm wrong, this thing was published in 2013.
Whuuuuut? Someone tell me I'm wrong.
But hey, just in case you start to notice all the unbelievably stupid plot holes, Murphy randomly tosses in a genetically manipulated polar bear in the story to throw you off track.
Why?! Why the fuck do we need a snuggly goddamn pet polar bear to rescue the kid from drowning? It's ridiculous and unnecessary!
Yes, Sean, I get it. Animals are good. People are bad.
And don't get me started on the redneck militant Christian group. They wander around the entire story toting military-grade weapons out in public. Are you for fucking real, Murphy? I mean, I know this is 'Murica and all, but we do have laws here. It's not the Wild West, you idiot. You're not allowed to rove around in large groups making death threats, scaling buildings with grappling hooks like Batman, or running cars off the road.
Usually of a group of religious zealots hoarding guns don't have to wait too long before they meet their maker...'round these here parts.
Remember Waco?
Another honorable mention goes to the hysterically funny idea that Israel somehow allowed this highly volatile punk rock group to have a concert in Jerusalem. Bwahahahahahaha!
See, the Israeli government isn't known for its stupidity when it comes to things like this, and granting access to their holiest city, especially when it is virtually guaranteed to cause an international incident, just isn't something I can see happening. They wouldn't give a fuck about whether or not this kid really was the second coming of Jesus, because they don't acknowledge the original version of Christ.
But I guess (since we're all stupid Americans, anyway) we can just swallow down that little scene.
The ending was unbelievably anti-climactic. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but prepare yourself for a turd. It felt like Murphy had about 10 minutes left to wrap the whole thing up and just rushed through the motions.
Maybe Murphy was counting on the 'blasphemous' shock value of cloning Jesus to carry this plot. And it probably will work on some level for people who haven't already figured their own lives out.
Me?
I've seen too much to find any of these ideas shocking, I'm too happy to hate someone else's beliefs, and I'm too old to relate to a pimply kid's stunning manifesto on how to fight the system.
You know the kind I'm talking about...all angsty and earnest, because they know how the world works. And if 'we adults' would just listen to them, then everything would be sunshine and roses.
Poof!
Say goodbye to hatered, war, famine, and poverty!
Mr. 17-And-Knows-It-All has the answers!
Because everything is black and white, right?
Right?
All Republicans are evil, all Christians are bigots, & America is a country brimming with the fat, lazy, and stupid. I mean, these are just facts, right?
Right?
All Democrats fart rainbows, all Atheists are intelligent, and Punk Rock is the ultimate form of rebellion. Again I say, these are facts.
Right?
This read like a jumbled mess of incoherent ideas.
Granted, the ideas behind the jumbled mess had massive potential.
A reality tv show based around a clone of Jesus? Whoa! Now that sounds like a really cool premise. There were a lot of delicious slimy worms that could have crawled out of that newly opened can!
Reality tv and religion?
Think of the amazing story that could have been told for a minute.
Now flush all your expectations down the toilet.
Fuck Religion! Yeah! {insert guitar riff} Fuckity-fuck-fuck Religion!
Ok, here's the part where I tell you that I don't have a horse in this race.
I don't have a religion.
However, I'm not some angry atheist who feels the need to push my beliefs in someone else face. In fact, unlike most non-believers, I don't even get up early to go knocking on doors in order let people know the Good News! 'Cuz that would be rude and annoying.
And nobody likes it.
All joking aside, I know tons of people who believe in God. And guess what?
They don't have below-average intelligence, they don't hate me for not believing in their God, they don't shun my children, and they don't picket my house. In fact, most of them dig deep in their pockets to support charities, volunteer for shit jobs to help out the community, and spend their free time with their families.
Nefarious behavior!
So, obviously, the problems of the world lay that their feet, right? I mean, if we could just get rid of their damn belief in God, then the world would be a better place. Break the chains, you evil morons!
Uuuuugh.
Unlike this comic book, our human issues are not black and white. There are obnoxious & evil people of every race, sex, and religion. It's just the way it is, Mr. 17-Year-Old. God is a source of comfort and hope to millions around the world. I can't personally offer that to them, can you? Why take that away? Do you want to start making public service announcements that Santa Clause isn't real next? I mean, those poor little kids are getting duped into being good, so the fat guy doesn't find out, right? Sure, some kids game the system. They act like vile brats until December rolls around. Then they clean up their act, comb their hair, and climb onto Mall Santa's lap and promise to change their ways.
There will always be assy children. Doesn't mean Santa is an evil ideal.
As a collective group, those of us who don't believe in God need to stop acting like belligerent teens and start acting like the intelligent, thoughtful people we claim to be. The next time that Jehovah's Witness is standing on your doorstep, maybe you should offer them a bottle of water before sending them on their way?
No! Do not slip a laxative in it first! You're better than that.
I think...
Ok, enough of my rambling.
Besides the wah-wah-wah I hate God mentality, this just didn't make sense. I couldn't swallow that this production company managed to sign a deal with the Vatican to even get access to the Shroud of Turin, much less let them swipe some DNA to clone Christ. If anyone believes that would ever happen, they're too dumb to be on this planet sucking up oxygen.
I also don't understand how I'm supposed to believe that somehow this evil corporate dude was able to hold Chris & his mother hostage for years with the cameras running. And then basically kill people who got in his way without any interference from the government or police agencies.
In fact, I stopped reading this just to check the publication date, and make sure that this thing wasn't written 20 years ago as some futuristic warning story or something.
Unless I'm wrong, this thing was published in 2013.
Whuuuuut? Someone tell me I'm wrong.
But hey, just in case you start to notice all the unbelievably stupid plot holes, Murphy randomly tosses in a genetically manipulated polar bear in the story to throw you off track.
Why?! Why the fuck do we need a snuggly goddamn pet polar bear to rescue the kid from drowning? It's ridiculous and unnecessary!
Yes, Sean, I get it. Animals are good. People are bad.
And don't get me started on the redneck militant Christian group. They wander around the entire story toting military-grade weapons out in public. Are you for fucking real, Murphy? I mean, I know this is 'Murica and all, but we do have laws here. It's not the Wild West, you idiot. You're not allowed to rove around in large groups making death threats, scaling buildings with grappling hooks like Batman, or running cars off the road.
Usually of a group of religious zealots hoarding guns don't have to wait too long before they meet their maker...'round these here parts.
Remember Waco?
Another honorable mention goes to the hysterically funny idea that Israel somehow allowed this highly volatile punk rock group to have a concert in Jerusalem. Bwahahahahahaha!
See, the Israeli government isn't known for its stupidity when it comes to things like this, and granting access to their holiest city, especially when it is virtually guaranteed to cause an international incident, just isn't something I can see happening. They wouldn't give a fuck about whether or not this kid really was the second coming of Jesus, because they don't acknowledge the original version of Christ.
But I guess (since we're all stupid Americans, anyway) we can just swallow down that little scene.
The ending was unbelievably anti-climactic. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but prepare yourself for a turd. It felt like Murphy had about 10 minutes left to wrap the whole thing up and just rushed through the motions.
Maybe Murphy was counting on the 'blasphemous' shock value of cloning Jesus to carry this plot. And it probably will work on some level for people who haven't already figured their own lives out.
Me?
I've seen too much to find any of these ideas shocking, I'm too happy to hate someone else's beliefs, and I'm too old to relate to a pimply kid's stunning manifesto on how to fight the system.
November 9, 2017
Jam-packed with badassery and wicked anarchy fun. As poignant as Watchmen, though more accessible & a 'lil less serious.
The punk rocker is one of those authentically unforgettable figures. I still have the searing image of an extremely handsome young dude on the cover of my Punk-O-Rama Vol. 5 CD in my brain... yeah, yeah. I know. Sporting the ever-elusive Mohawk, wearing metallic bracelets, (perhaps some eyeliner?,) a leather jacket, a Black Flag torn-up T (the result of the almighty-albeit-insipid mosh-pit). I'm blatantly aware of the resulting sex appeal: somewhere between a 81 & a 100%.
The punk rocker is one of those authentically unforgettable figures. I still have the searing image of an extremely handsome young dude on the cover of my Punk-O-Rama Vol. 5 CD in my brain... yeah, yeah. I know. Sporting the ever-elusive Mohawk, wearing metallic bracelets, (perhaps some eyeliner?,) a leather jacket, a Black Flag torn-up T (the result of the almighty-albeit-insipid mosh-pit). I'm blatantly aware of the resulting sex appeal: somewhere between a 81 & a 100%.
April 30, 2013
I feel like I should qualify this review as it deals with a major religion in a clearly blasphemous way and I wouldn’t want anyone thinking I didn’t like this book for religious reasons: I’m not a Christian and I’m not religious in any way. If I had to label myself anything it’d be secular humanist.
Ok, now that that’s out of the way: Punk Rock Jesus is a dumb book. It’s dumb like Point Break except it’s not nearly as funny and I get the feeling it’s trying to be intellectual and profound which makes it worse.
But let’s start properly. A TV company creates a show called J2 where they use 2000 year old DNA from the Shroud of Turin to clone Jesus. They select a telegenic virgin female and impregnate her with the DNA and the pregnancy, birth, the subsequent years raising the child, everything, is filmed for reality TV. The baby boy - Chris - lives a kind of Truman’s Show life where he grows up on the J2 island in front of the cameras. That is until his mum dies, he hits puberty, and he discovers punk music. He becomes the frontman of a punk band called The Flak Jackets and rebels against Christianity by becoming an atheist.
Here are my problems with this book:
How would a TV company get away with keeping a young woman and her baby prisoner? That’s the premise for most of the book. Gwen (Chris’s mum) eventually becomes sick of the TV show and wants to leave but she’s stopped at every turn, essentially becoming a hostage. The cameras show her desperately begging to leave but no-one, not the government, no-one at all, allows her to leave. So we’re supposed to believe that a TV company is allowed to suspend human rights in America and no-one is going to say boo?
Gwen trying to escape is, by the way, fully half of the book! The first half is all about Gwen trying to escape this super-Christian island. We only see the Punk Rock Jesus at the halfway point of this book.
We’re also supposed to believe this Jurassic Park crap about cloning Jesus from the Shroud of Turin and then we’re supposed to believe that everyone buys into this! Look, we’ve really cloned Jesus, this kid is definitely him, don’t look at any evidence or think for a second, just believe us - oh you do? Great. The people that populate this world are monumentally thick and gullible.
All of the Christians are one-dimensional caricatures. To even say they’re characters is giving Sean Murphy way more credit than he deserves. Murphy is simply a terrible writer - he doesn’t understand nuance or subtlety, so his characters, all of them, are pathetic creations that are totally unconvincing. All Christians are apparently super-crazy, gun-bearing, sign-toting loonies, and atheists are all intelligent, bar none. Like I said I’m not a Christian but I thought this was such a broad and unbelievably dumb swipe that I felt bad for any Christians reading this tripe.
The TV exec who set this J2 show up, Slate, is of course insanely evil. This is guy who in public is transparently “nice” and behind the scenes is literally trying to drown babies! All for the sake of ratings. Murphy just has no idea. The other characters are just as moronic. Thomas, the ex-IRA bodyguard, is maybe the one guy who’s got more than one dimension to him though that only manifests in the final act - up until then he’s your basic unstoppable tough guy character.
But the worst character of all is Chris himself. Besides being this obnoxious teen who decides to become a punk rocker, we’re supposed to believe that a 14/15 year old is the perfect voice for a band. Yeah, pick a kid whose voice is modulating from high to deep - that’s who you want as a singer! There’s also this laughable scene where an intellectual (and an atheist of course) says, quite seriously, “Chris’s anti-theist lyrics are incredibly well-written and extremely moving - clearly the product of his massive IQ.” What’s that writing rule - show, don’t tell? So rather than actually write some “well written and extremely moving” lyrics, Murphy has a “credible” character tell us that the lyrics are “well written and extremely moving”. Hack writing alert!
In an even more laughable scene is Chris’ realisation of a world outside Christianist dogma - the only world he’s known up til now because crazy-evil Slate has kept all that information from him and yet at this convenient point in the plot, is unable to stop Chris from finding out about Darwin, etc. We get this potted history (1 page) of thinkers from Galileo to Lincoln to Darwin to Carl Sagan - Chris literally says “Sagan was awesome!” and Sagan is drawn way cooler than he actually was. Hmm, I wonder how we as readers are supposed to feel about Carl Sagan?
Chris’ “shocking” speech where he comes out as a non-Christian is an intellectually lightweight gumbo of generalisations and banal phrases: “Religion is dangerous - it impedes human progress like a virus. It’s a global opiate for the masses, it numbs us with feel-good magical thinking and inflates our egos”. Gee, thank Chris, the veil has been lifted and I see clearly now for the first time.
I won’t say how it ends but the story gets even stupider culminating in a scene that’s as anticlimactic as you can get. I was left wondering what book other critics had been reading. These are actual quotes about the book: “Belongs in the same league as Watchmen, it’s a complete game changer” - Craveonline; “Sean’s work is flawless...” - Pop Matters; “In more ways than one, this is a legend in the making” - Comic Book Resources. Well, I know which sites to avoid for comic book opinion at least. Suffice it to say, they’re all hopelessly wrong.
I enjoyed Sean Murphy’s work with Grant Morrison on Joe the Barbarian and his artwork in this book is fantastic - it’s easily the best quality of the book and it’s saving grace - but he just can’t write. He has no clue how to create character, the dialogue was stilted - every page I was mentally rolling my eyes at yet another badly written conversation - and he has no sense of plotting. The book ambles along at the best of times and the story is muddled and frequently boring. It’s a 222 page book that feels twice as long.
I don’t know what this book was supposed to be about - some kind of representation of Murphy’s own journey through his feelings on religion maybe - but from what I read I can say this is one of the least affecting, most boring Jesus-returns stories I’ve ever read. If you want to read a good Jesus returns story, check out John Niven’s “The Second Coming” where Jesus comes back and goes on an American Idol-type show, which is genuinely funny, clever and moving. Or even check out James Frey’s flawed but interesting “The Final Testament of the Holy Bible” where Jesus returns as a homeless man told from the perspectives of his various followers.
This book is about as punk rock as Avril Lavigne, as edgy as a spoon and a crap comic to boot.
Ok, now that that’s out of the way: Punk Rock Jesus is a dumb book. It’s dumb like Point Break except it’s not nearly as funny and I get the feeling it’s trying to be intellectual and profound which makes it worse.
But let’s start properly. A TV company creates a show called J2 where they use 2000 year old DNA from the Shroud of Turin to clone Jesus. They select a telegenic virgin female and impregnate her with the DNA and the pregnancy, birth, the subsequent years raising the child, everything, is filmed for reality TV. The baby boy - Chris - lives a kind of Truman’s Show life where he grows up on the J2 island in front of the cameras. That is until his mum dies, he hits puberty, and he discovers punk music. He becomes the frontman of a punk band called The Flak Jackets and rebels against Christianity by becoming an atheist.
Here are my problems with this book:
How would a TV company get away with keeping a young woman and her baby prisoner? That’s the premise for most of the book. Gwen (Chris’s mum) eventually becomes sick of the TV show and wants to leave but she’s stopped at every turn, essentially becoming a hostage. The cameras show her desperately begging to leave but no-one, not the government, no-one at all, allows her to leave. So we’re supposed to believe that a TV company is allowed to suspend human rights in America and no-one is going to say boo?
Gwen trying to escape is, by the way, fully half of the book! The first half is all about Gwen trying to escape this super-Christian island. We only see the Punk Rock Jesus at the halfway point of this book.
We’re also supposed to believe this Jurassic Park crap about cloning Jesus from the Shroud of Turin and then we’re supposed to believe that everyone buys into this! Look, we’ve really cloned Jesus, this kid is definitely him, don’t look at any evidence or think for a second, just believe us - oh you do? Great. The people that populate this world are monumentally thick and gullible.
All of the Christians are one-dimensional caricatures. To even say they’re characters is giving Sean Murphy way more credit than he deserves. Murphy is simply a terrible writer - he doesn’t understand nuance or subtlety, so his characters, all of them, are pathetic creations that are totally unconvincing. All Christians are apparently super-crazy, gun-bearing, sign-toting loonies, and atheists are all intelligent, bar none. Like I said I’m not a Christian but I thought this was such a broad and unbelievably dumb swipe that I felt bad for any Christians reading this tripe.
The TV exec who set this J2 show up, Slate, is of course insanely evil. This is guy who in public is transparently “nice” and behind the scenes is literally trying to drown babies! All for the sake of ratings. Murphy just has no idea. The other characters are just as moronic. Thomas, the ex-IRA bodyguard, is maybe the one guy who’s got more than one dimension to him though that only manifests in the final act - up until then he’s your basic unstoppable tough guy character.
But the worst character of all is Chris himself. Besides being this obnoxious teen who decides to become a punk rocker, we’re supposed to believe that a 14/15 year old is the perfect voice for a band. Yeah, pick a kid whose voice is modulating from high to deep - that’s who you want as a singer! There’s also this laughable scene where an intellectual (and an atheist of course) says, quite seriously, “Chris’s anti-theist lyrics are incredibly well-written and extremely moving - clearly the product of his massive IQ.” What’s that writing rule - show, don’t tell? So rather than actually write some “well written and extremely moving” lyrics, Murphy has a “credible” character tell us that the lyrics are “well written and extremely moving”. Hack writing alert!
In an even more laughable scene is Chris’ realisation of a world outside Christianist dogma - the only world he’s known up til now because crazy-evil Slate has kept all that information from him and yet at this convenient point in the plot, is unable to stop Chris from finding out about Darwin, etc. We get this potted history (1 page) of thinkers from Galileo to Lincoln to Darwin to Carl Sagan - Chris literally says “Sagan was awesome!” and Sagan is drawn way cooler than he actually was. Hmm, I wonder how we as readers are supposed to feel about Carl Sagan?
Chris’ “shocking” speech where he comes out as a non-Christian is an intellectually lightweight gumbo of generalisations and banal phrases: “Religion is dangerous - it impedes human progress like a virus. It’s a global opiate for the masses, it numbs us with feel-good magical thinking and inflates our egos”. Gee, thank Chris, the veil has been lifted and I see clearly now for the first time.
I won’t say how it ends but the story gets even stupider culminating in a scene that’s as anticlimactic as you can get. I was left wondering what book other critics had been reading. These are actual quotes about the book: “Belongs in the same league as Watchmen, it’s a complete game changer” - Craveonline; “Sean’s work is flawless...” - Pop Matters; “In more ways than one, this is a legend in the making” - Comic Book Resources. Well, I know which sites to avoid for comic book opinion at least. Suffice it to say, they’re all hopelessly wrong.
I enjoyed Sean Murphy’s work with Grant Morrison on Joe the Barbarian and his artwork in this book is fantastic - it’s easily the best quality of the book and it’s saving grace - but he just can’t write. He has no clue how to create character, the dialogue was stilted - every page I was mentally rolling my eyes at yet another badly written conversation - and he has no sense of plotting. The book ambles along at the best of times and the story is muddled and frequently boring. It’s a 222 page book that feels twice as long.
I don’t know what this book was supposed to be about - some kind of representation of Murphy’s own journey through his feelings on religion maybe - but from what I read I can say this is one of the least affecting, most boring Jesus-returns stories I’ve ever read. If you want to read a good Jesus returns story, check out John Niven’s “The Second Coming” where Jesus comes back and goes on an American Idol-type show, which is genuinely funny, clever and moving. Or even check out James Frey’s flawed but interesting “The Final Testament of the Holy Bible” where Jesus returns as a homeless man told from the perspectives of his various followers.
This book is about as punk rock as Avril Lavigne, as edgy as a spoon and a crap comic to boot.
May 19, 2013
“I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows.”
Bart Simpson
What a great concept!
Let's take DNA from the Shroud of Turin and clone us a new messiah! And make it a reality TV show to boot! Leapin' Lazarus! How can we go wrong?
I don't know...but you did.
I didn't find this book offensive.
Just very, very boring.
Bart Simpson
What a great concept!
Let's take DNA from the Shroud of Turin and clone us a new messiah! And make it a reality TV show to boot! Leapin' Lazarus! How can we go wrong?
I don't know...but you did.
I didn't find this book offensive.
Just very, very boring.
February 24, 2018
One of the greatest works of social commentary on organized religion, fundamental Christianity, and the entertainment industry in American culture I’ve ever read. Sean Murphy is one of my all time favorite illustrators, so this being written by him is a bonus, and it being a full length book is a real treat, even in black and white.
April 17, 2015
Umm...I had no idea what to expect, I purely reserved it based on the title...
and for once? I made a good choice!
Imagine the Truman Show, except with a clone of Jesus Christ, made with DNA samples taken from the Shroud of Turin...and implanted in a Teenage Virgin.
24/7 Cameras document his entire life...
Now imagine, this boy is protected by a former IRA Terrorist, hoping to atone for his sins...a killer known as the Cemetary, due to all the crosses tattooed on his back for every life he's taken...(Imagine the Punisher as an Irish Catholic from Belfast, but bigger, and looking for redemption)
Throw in a hugely manipulative media director, who controls everything, and is wholly evil beyond belief.
OK? Now imagine what could possibly go wrong with a teenaged girl giving birth on TV...Teen Mom? Yup. Times a billion.
Oh and imagine that the young man loses someone very close to him in such a traumatic way that he rebels against his religious indoctrination, embraces philosophy, atheism, and punk rock.
This book is soo good it's scary.
Social commentary on the Christian Fundamentalism of Middle America, the addiction to reality TV, the name of profit, the nature of belief versus science, sin and redemption, family, manipulation, mega-corporations, Mass Media over-consumption, and freedom.
If you don't read this book, you're cheating yourself.
and for once? I made a good choice!
Imagine the Truman Show, except with a clone of Jesus Christ, made with DNA samples taken from the Shroud of Turin...and implanted in a Teenage Virgin.
24/7 Cameras document his entire life...
Now imagine, this boy is protected by a former IRA Terrorist, hoping to atone for his sins...a killer known as the Cemetary, due to all the crosses tattooed on his back for every life he's taken...(Imagine the Punisher as an Irish Catholic from Belfast, but bigger, and looking for redemption)
Throw in a hugely manipulative media director, who controls everything, and is wholly evil beyond belief.
OK? Now imagine what could possibly go wrong with a teenaged girl giving birth on TV...Teen Mom? Yup. Times a billion.
Oh and imagine that the young man loses someone very close to him in such a traumatic way that he rebels against his religious indoctrination, embraces philosophy, atheism, and punk rock.
This book is soo good it's scary.
Social commentary on the Christian Fundamentalism of Middle America, the addiction to reality TV, the name of profit, the nature of belief versus science, sin and redemption, family, manipulation, mega-corporations, Mass Media over-consumption, and freedom.
If you don't read this book, you're cheating yourself.
February 29, 2016
What if a private corporation cloned Jesus and recreate the circumstance of his birth; virgin conception, Christmas birth date, and a twist. Give him a televised upbringing in a reality show. Jesus clone or J2 or Chris is essentially a Kardashian raised in a conservative and fundamentalist Christian environment with a creationist education. That sums up the main story of Punk Rock Jesus.
Sean Murphy initially conceptualized Punk Rock Jesus as an OGN or original graphic novel; his editor, the great Karen Berger, suggested he break it down into chunks as a miniseries, which gave Murphy more pages to tell his "A" story and "B" story. The "A" story is his Jesus clone story but in this reader's opinion, the "B" story is much better than it.
The "B" story is about a former IRA terrorist seeking redemption as Chris' bodyguard. When Thomas first came into the story, the reader's first impression would be that this stern guy is a Punisher clone. Thomas ends up more nuanced than Frank Castle. Though his name may suggest the doubting disciple, he's a believer, this Thomas is.
The story isn't perfect and it has religious tones that I'd rather do without, but this was Murphy's first attempt at his own creator-owned work and his editor managed bring out the best he could do at that time. The art, without a doubt, is superb. This book, more than his past work, ensconced Murphy into the reader's consciousness that this guy is at the top of his art game.
This is also a excellently produced book. This is the deluxe edition hardcover and thus it has a lot of back matter, as much as there are story pages I think. The extras include the original pitch, character descriptions, layouts and tons of sketches. The reader would also enjoy the pulpy textured pages as its holds the inks much better than the usual slicker pages.
This book will look good on any comic book fan's shelf and read it if one wants to understand why one should care about Cola.
Sean Murphy initially conceptualized Punk Rock Jesus as an OGN or original graphic novel; his editor, the great Karen Berger, suggested he break it down into chunks as a miniseries, which gave Murphy more pages to tell his "A" story and "B" story. The "A" story is his Jesus clone story but in this reader's opinion, the "B" story is much better than it.
The "B" story is about a former IRA terrorist seeking redemption as Chris' bodyguard. When Thomas first came into the story, the reader's first impression would be that this stern guy is a Punisher clone. Thomas ends up more nuanced than Frank Castle. Though his name may suggest the doubting disciple, he's a believer, this Thomas is.
The story isn't perfect and it has religious tones that I'd rather do without, but this was Murphy's first attempt at his own creator-owned work and his editor managed bring out the best he could do at that time. The art, without a doubt, is superb. This book, more than his past work, ensconced Murphy into the reader's consciousness that this guy is at the top of his art game.
This is also a excellently produced book. This is the deluxe edition hardcover and thus it has a lot of back matter, as much as there are story pages I think. The extras include the original pitch, character descriptions, layouts and tons of sketches. The reader would also enjoy the pulpy textured pages as its holds the inks much better than the usual slicker pages.
This book will look good on any comic book fan's shelf and read it if one wants to understand why one should care about Cola.
June 12, 2019
So I guess my opinion on Murphy’s work is nearly the opposite of what many say about it.
I know I see a lot of people on this site love Batman: White Knight but think this is stupid. Yeah, I actually really enjoyed this book despite hating White Knight.
What’s it about?
In the futuristic world of 2019 (this comic was written a few years ago) there’s a new reality TV show coming: J2. The producers have a plan to clone Jesus Christ. They’ll have this big thing where they film his life on camera, not giving him any privacy, get a bunch of viewers and advertising money from all the Christian folks bound to tune in to this controversial program. Well, Chris (the Jesus clone) gets more anti-social and pissed off at everyone as he gets older leading him to be against the establishment, especially religion.
Pros:
The story is pretty interesting. There’s no denying it’s unique. I also think it’s interesting as sure, it is sacrilegious science fiction but it’s also oddly fitting. As this story points out, Jesus was against the government and religions of his time so in a more modern setting it makes sense to make him punk. Not to mention, all the stuff about the show and controversy before he becomes punk is fairly interesting.
The characters are pretty interesting. Chris is certainly interesting for many reasons but the side characters grabbed my attention throughout too.
There are some really exciting, bad-ass action scenes throughout.
This comic is pretty humorous in how batshit crazy it is!
This book is not predictable at all. I didn’t see a lot of the twists coming and twists are pretty frequent.
The commentary is quite clever IMO despite not 100% agreeing with all of it. For one, right from the start we get some humorous bits. As the book goes on it has an interesting plot about a more modern anti-establishment Jesus. I think it really in some ways has a point that it’s quite likely that Jesus would be against modern religion (as many of my followers know I believe in God and accept Christ as my savior but think organized religion sucks cock). It also asks questions, the main one that stuck out is probably the question of whether or not hardcore atheism is really any better or worse than batshit crazy religion in terms of if they’re both just as closed minded (notable that the author is a former Christian, now atheist).
(On one hand Jesus loves everyone, on the other hand he is probably pretty fucking angry and saddened by the things I often see so called “Christians” do)
Cons:
I’m not a fan of Murphy’s art. It’s not terrible, hell it often works for action scenes and it’s better in black and white than it is in color. That being said it’s still often messy and I can’t help but think the characters look like angry muppets half the time.
I think there’s some confusion in this book on the difference between killing and murder. I say this regarding
The villain is kinda cheesy and similar to a lot of other villains.
The ending... Yeah, not a fan. It’s kinda anti-climactic and I wasn’t a fan of the results
Overall:
If Murphy’s other work is this clever I’m interested. It has a very interesting story, it has pretty interesting characters that I cared about, there’s some sweet action scenes, it’s pretty humorous and there’s some clever, interesting social commentary. However, there are quite a few flaws.
In the end though, this is quite a bit better than I expected a comic called “Punk Rock Jesus” to be. I mean, first time I heard of this it sounded ridiculous but I enjoyed it once I read it.
If you’re interested in this I would recommend it but if these themes don’t appeal to you, this book most likely won’t.
4/5
I know I see a lot of people on this site love Batman: White Knight but think this is stupid. Yeah, I actually really enjoyed this book despite hating White Knight.
What’s it about?
In the futuristic world of 2019 (this comic was written a few years ago) there’s a new reality TV show coming: J2. The producers have a plan to clone Jesus Christ. They’ll have this big thing where they film his life on camera, not giving him any privacy, get a bunch of viewers and advertising money from all the Christian folks bound to tune in to this controversial program. Well, Chris (the Jesus clone) gets more anti-social and pissed off at everyone as he gets older leading him to be against the establishment, especially religion.
Pros:
The story is pretty interesting. There’s no denying it’s unique. I also think it’s interesting as sure, it is sacrilegious science fiction but it’s also oddly fitting. As this story points out, Jesus was against the government and religions of his time so in a more modern setting it makes sense to make him punk. Not to mention, all the stuff about the show and controversy before he becomes punk is fairly interesting.
The characters are pretty interesting. Chris is certainly interesting for many reasons but the side characters grabbed my attention throughout too.
There are some really exciting, bad-ass action scenes throughout.
This comic is pretty humorous in how batshit crazy it is!
This book is not predictable at all. I didn’t see a lot of the twists coming and twists are pretty frequent.
The commentary is quite clever IMO despite not 100% agreeing with all of it. For one, right from the start we get some humorous bits. As the book goes on it has an interesting plot about a more modern anti-establishment Jesus. I think it really in some ways has a point that it’s quite likely that Jesus would be against modern religion (as many of my followers know I believe in God and accept Christ as my savior but think organized religion sucks cock). It also asks questions, the main one that stuck out is probably the question of whether or not hardcore atheism is really any better or worse than batshit crazy religion in terms of if they’re both just as closed minded (notable that the author is a former Christian, now atheist).
(On one hand Jesus loves everyone, on the other hand he is probably pretty fucking angry and saddened by the things I often see so called “Christians” do)
Cons:
I’m not a fan of Murphy’s art. It’s not terrible, hell it often works for action scenes and it’s better in black and white than it is in color. That being said it’s still often messy and I can’t help but think the characters look like angry muppets half the time.
I think there’s some confusion in this book on the difference between killing and murder. I say this regarding
The villain is kinda cheesy and similar to a lot of other villains.
The ending... Yeah, not a fan. It’s kinda anti-climactic and I wasn’t a fan of the results
Overall:
If Murphy’s other work is this clever I’m interested. It has a very interesting story, it has pretty interesting characters that I cared about, there’s some sweet action scenes, it’s pretty humorous and there’s some clever, interesting social commentary. However, there are quite a few flaws.
In the end though, this is quite a bit better than I expected a comic called “Punk Rock Jesus” to be. I mean, first time I heard of this it sounded ridiculous but I enjoyed it once I read it.
If you’re interested in this I would recommend it but if these themes don’t appeal to you, this book most likely won’t.
4/5
April 11, 2019
4.5 STARS
No soy fan del arte en blanco y negro... pero la historia OMG la historia es como un puñetazo en el estomago.
"Hello America! The most Christian Nation on Earth! The one that God has blessed! This is Jesus Christ, coming to you live from lower Manhattan, telling you all..."
No soy fan del arte en blanco y negro... pero la historia OMG la historia es como un puñetazo en el estomago.
September 12, 2016
This book was ultimately a disappointment, I'm not entirely sure what the point was other than there is no God and religion sucks. The problem is that this story proved to be just as narrow minded and didactic as the author claims religion to be.
Ultimately the premise of the story could have been something really thought provoking and different but it was very one sided and ironically all independent thought is smothered by the author's obvious opinions. He does not ask you to think, he tells you what to think.
I wanted the author to make a statement about society but all he gave me were cliche characters.
There seemed to be a lack of logic since I'm supposed to believe that every greedy millionaire and corrupt politician is a result of Christianity, that's a bit ridiculous. The parts of this story that should be grounded in reality are so far fetched that it lacks the punch of great science fiction.
Also, I don't think I've seen a real "punk" since the 1980's, the term, fashion, and lifestyle is out of date yet this is supposed to take place in the near future, but I guess HIPSTER JESUS doesn't have the same marketing appeal.
I give it 2 stars because it was somewhat entertaining and a great idea, in the hands of a competent writer it could have been something great.
Ultimately the premise of the story could have been something really thought provoking and different but it was very one sided and ironically all independent thought is smothered by the author's obvious opinions. He does not ask you to think, he tells you what to think.
I wanted the author to make a statement about society but all he gave me were cliche characters.
There seemed to be a lack of logic since I'm supposed to believe that every greedy millionaire and corrupt politician is a result of Christianity, that's a bit ridiculous. The parts of this story that should be grounded in reality are so far fetched that it lacks the punch of great science fiction.
Also, I don't think I've seen a real "punk" since the 1980's, the term, fashion, and lifestyle is out of date yet this is supposed to take place in the near future, but I guess HIPSTER JESUS doesn't have the same marketing appeal.
I give it 2 stars because it was somewhat entertaining and a great idea, in the hands of a competent writer it could have been something great.
April 9, 2020
A multinational entertainment company starts a project called J2, which creates a clone from Jesus Christ's DNA, and make a 24 hour live reality show on clones daily life from birth. Half of the world considers it as the second coming of christ, and other half names him as the Antichrist and declares war against him, and the show TRP keeps getting higher and higher. The story unfolds with different characters around the project, and each of them has different reasons to be in this story.
Definitely an intriguing premise, And the story starts with much potential. it dwells with the philosophy of creationism and contrasts it with agnosticism and atheism. This contrastful storytelling was going quite well through the first half, but later it almost blantly takes a side, without a much convincing plotline. I get it, the name of the book is Punk Rock for a reason. and it has to get it to that point somehow.
The ending is okay, but to me the build up of the first half was very well done. the protagonist's conversion a to something quite contrasting with his upbringing afterwards, was quite rushed comparing to that. This was a 6 issue mini series, if the creator told the story in 10 issues i think it might have done the work.
And talking about Sean Murphy's art, his is one of the most unique styles of the industry nowadays. I just love he works with ink and brushpens and fleshes out characters and background, just treats for the eyes, Specially the spread pages, damn.
Was checking out his Eisner Award winner 'Batman: White Knight' run, i think i like the style here more than that.
It's nice that despite being an acclaimed artist, he has his own stories to tell. Hope to read more from him in the future.
3.5/5
Definitely an intriguing premise, And the story starts with much potential. it dwells with the philosophy of creationism and contrasts it with agnosticism and atheism. This contrastful storytelling was going quite well through the first half, but later it almost blantly takes a side, without a much convincing plotline. I get it, the name of the book is Punk Rock for a reason. and it has to get it to that point somehow.
The ending is okay, but to me the build up of the first half was very well done. the protagonist's conversion a to something quite contrasting with his upbringing afterwards, was quite rushed comparing to that. This was a 6 issue mini series, if the creator told the story in 10 issues i think it might have done the work.
And talking about Sean Murphy's art, his is one of the most unique styles of the industry nowadays. I just love he works with ink and brushpens and fleshes out characters and background, just treats for the eyes, Specially the spread pages, damn.
Was checking out his Eisner Award winner 'Batman: White Knight' run, i think i like the style here more than that.
It's nice that despite being an acclaimed artist, he has his own stories to tell. Hope to read more from him in the future.
3.5/5
July 16, 2022
I like Sean Murphy a lot. I dig his style of writing and I like what he has to say. This book definitely speaks my language.
I'm very anti-religion. Almost to the point of irrationality. But I won't delve into the boring minutiae of my theological ideas. I just mean to preface that this story outlines a lot of my issues with religion, and the abuse of the faith behind it.
This book can be a bit on the nose, but I think it's intentional. With dealings of blind faith, you sometimes need a more direct approach. Sometimes you need to spell out what you mean in simple terms, because in this world people will twist reality for their own means without a second thought.
The only reason this is a 4 and not a 5 is that I felt the end was a bit abrupt. Some of the fat could've been trimmed in the middle to flesh out a more meaningful close, in my opinion.
Overall, a great read based on a pretty interesting foundation.
I'm very anti-religion. Almost to the point of irrationality. But I won't delve into the boring minutiae of my theological ideas. I just mean to preface that this story outlines a lot of my issues with religion, and the abuse of the faith behind it.
This book can be a bit on the nose, but I think it's intentional. With dealings of blind faith, you sometimes need a more direct approach. Sometimes you need to spell out what you mean in simple terms, because in this world people will twist reality for their own means without a second thought.
The only reason this is a 4 and not a 5 is that I felt the end was a bit abrupt. Some of the fat could've been trimmed in the middle to flesh out a more meaningful close, in my opinion.
Overall, a great read based on a pretty interesting foundation.
December 2, 2023
Una chaladura que fusiona un escenario al estilo de "The Truman Show" con alguna idea sobre la juventud y la rebeldía de "La naranja mecánica". Con diferente acierto, se adentra en varias encrucijadas relacionadas con los límites éticos de la ciencia, el alcance de la telerrealidad, el terrorismo o el fanatismo religioso.
Me ha gustado especialmente su lado más macarra (¡Jesús os odia!) y el impactante dibujo. En cambio, hay momentos en que la trama se desarrolla de manera atropellada y el final me ha parecido demasiado abrupto. No toda la serie está al mismo nivel. El planteamiento, sin duda, es lo más destacable.
Me ha gustado especialmente su lado más macarra (¡Jesús os odia!) y el impactante dibujo. En cambio, hay momentos en que la trama se desarrolla de manera atropellada y el final me ha parecido demasiado abrupto. No toda la serie está al mismo nivel. El planteamiento, sin duda, es lo más destacable.
July 8, 2020
artwork great, story eh, nihilistic worldview childish
October 11, 2024
Reading it in one sitting was a blast!
July 12, 2022
Jesus, this is one of the my best readings of the year! (No pun intended)
On this one, a major company with some hands on genetic, hires a great geneticist to bring a clone to earth. But just not an average one, the clone of Jesus Christ. And this same company, just want to make a reality show of everything. So, we follow the life of this new messiah named Chris, his mother Gwen, the promoter Rick Slater, the doctor responsible for everything Sarah Epstein, and our main guy, our big guy, an ex- IRA named Thomas.
And then, everything starts to fall apart, until the moment where Chris became what you see in the cover of the book.
Amazing story, man. With so many layers telling the truth about religion, the midia, conservadorism, woman rights and some stuff that, unfortunaly, we will keep telling stories about. Amazing writing by Sean, with a just beautiful and gritty art. I don't if we had colors on it, it would improve the book, but black and white as great.
Jesus lives, aaaand he loves punk rock!
On this one, a major company with some hands on genetic, hires a great geneticist to bring a clone to earth. But just not an average one, the clone of Jesus Christ. And this same company, just want to make a reality show of everything. So, we follow the life of this new messiah named Chris, his mother Gwen, the promoter Rick Slater, the doctor responsible for everything Sarah Epstein, and our main guy, our big guy, an ex- IRA named Thomas.
And then, everything starts to fall apart, until the moment where Chris became what you see in the cover of the book.
Amazing story, man. With so many layers telling the truth about religion, the midia, conservadorism, woman rights and some stuff that, unfortunaly, we will keep telling stories about. Amazing writing by Sean, with a just beautiful and gritty art. I don't if we had colors on it, it would improve the book, but black and white as great.
Jesus lives, aaaand he loves punk rock!
July 25, 2014
Jesus has been cloned. Unfortunately, the world he's been living in believes that the only ways of life are watching reality TV shows, waging wars and attending punk rock concerts.
There is one ridiculously wrong setting premise in Punk Rock Jesus: that everybody has gone dumb. Everybody, even the Jesus clone are all one-dimensional. There is no character development and depth. J-clone going all rebellious and punk is not worth the hype.
There is so much blasphemy in this material. I'm okay with that on a literary level, but I think that putting Jesus' character here as a marketing ploy is offensive, considering the shallowness of the story.
If there is any redeeming element, it is the art. Sean Murphy's artistic skill is top notch. There's details in each panel, consistent from the start to finish. Sean shines drawing action. He just got to be under the reins of a good writer, like Snyder.
There is one ridiculously wrong setting premise in Punk Rock Jesus: that everybody has gone dumb. Everybody, even the Jesus clone are all one-dimensional. There is no character development and depth. J-clone going all rebellious and punk is not worth the hype.
There is so much blasphemy in this material. I'm okay with that on a literary level, but I think that putting Jesus' character here as a marketing ploy is offensive, considering the shallowness of the story.
If there is any redeeming element, it is the art. Sean Murphy's artistic skill is top notch. There's details in each panel, consistent from the start to finish. Sean shines drawing action. He just got to be under the reins of a good writer, like Snyder.
March 11, 2014
In a near future, a reality television show begins - starring the clone of Jesus Christ.
Honestly, it doesn't feel that far off. It's a Truman Show-like concept, plus the added religious fervor.
I found the author's note at the end about his own personal convictions very interesting. The scientist and polar bear which live on the complex with "Chris" were my favorite characters.
I was a little disappointed that a big chunk of the plotline focused on the head of security for the show. He had an interesting story, but I didn't pick this up to read about the IRA. I wasn't sure I would finish it, until I did.
Heavier on the violence and the action than on the introspection and deep concepts, there's something of a missed opportunity here. But it is thought-provoking nonetheless.
Honestly, it doesn't feel that far off. It's a Truman Show-like concept, plus the added religious fervor.
I found the author's note at the end about his own personal convictions very interesting. The scientist and polar bear which live on the complex with "Chris" were my favorite characters.
I was a little disappointed that a big chunk of the plotline focused on the head of security for the show. He had an interesting story, but I didn't pick this up to read about the IRA. I wasn't sure I would finish it, until I did.
Heavier on the violence and the action than on the introspection and deep concepts, there's something of a missed opportunity here. But it is thought-provoking nonetheless.
June 20, 2019
The Shroud of Turin is a fake, but let's assume it's real. DNA from the Shroud could only have remained viable if frozen and vacuum-sealed - did they have fridges and vacuum cleaners in Jesus's time? How about for the following, say, 1900 years? No? OK, but it's a story, right? I mean the scientist claims to have developed a method to undo 2000 years of damage to the DNA, so there you go. She also mentions pheromone production as important in a child's development. Humans can't detect pheromones like animals in the wild can. That's just something perfume companies use in commercials. Seriously, what scientists worth his salt believes these things? Unless they are blinded by money. Then again, it could just be faith or something, so maybe I'm full of crap.
More propaganda is thrown at the reader than should be allowed by law, but it's a story, I guess. Feminists will be glad to see all sorts of strong, independent women sticking it to the man with sarcasm and emotions. Atta, girl! Unfortunately, the patriarchy has its talons deep in the company that cloned and then televised Jesus Christ the TV show, so women aren't recognized as the superior sex. Keep fighting, girls!
Ophis Corporation's J2 project has successfully cloned Jesus Christ and made a wildly successful TV show about it. A virgin young woman named Gwen Fairling is chosen to bear the cloned egg to term. The New American Christians are the perfect ignorant rednecks to protest the Second Coming. Former-IRA Thomas McKael, a man with a dodgy past, will ensure nothing goes wrong even if he has to bash some heads in. The only thing that goes wrong is that, instead of a baby Jesus, Gwen has twins. The twin sister is kept a secret known only to Slate the Ophis CEO and Sarah. Slate kills it, but Sarah secretly witnesses it.
More propaganda is thrown at the reader than should be allowed by law, but it's a story, I guess. Feminists will be glad to see all sorts of strong, independent women sticking it to the man with sarcasm and emotions. Atta, girl! Unfortunately, the patriarchy has its talons deep in the company that cloned and then televised Jesus Christ the TV show, so women aren't recognized as the superior sex. Keep fighting, girls!
Ophis Corporation's J2 project has successfully cloned Jesus Christ and made a wildly successful TV show about it. A virgin young woman named Gwen Fairling is chosen to bear the cloned egg to term. The New American Christians are the perfect ignorant rednecks to protest the Second Coming. Former-IRA Thomas McKael, a man with a dodgy past, will ensure nothing goes wrong even if he has to bash some heads in. The only thing that goes wrong is that, instead of a baby Jesus, Gwen has twins. The twin sister is kept a secret known only to Slate the Ophis CEO and Sarah. Slate kills it, but Sarah secretly witnesses it.
April 22, 2020
The complete book version of this is pretty thick but, unknown to me at the time, it’s half filled with post-story drawings, character write-ups, cover gallery, etc. Since this was only 2 stars, I finished it a lot sooner than anticipated by skipping the entire second half.
One thing I can say is that it’s anticlimactic. Considering I did have a whole half of the book left to read, I was still shocked when I saw “the end.” I was kind of just like “...that’s it?” Felt like a small buildup to absolutely nothing. While I respect Sean Murphy for writing and illustrating this, I hate the artwork. The plot was kind of interesting but it really is just a fresh teenaged atheist angst-fest filled with all the idealism and “let’s completely destroy religion” opinions that completely disregard human rights.
Would I recommend this to anyone? No. I don’t really regret reading it because it was mildly entertaining and only took me a day. And I gave it an “it was okay” 2 star rating, so really it all just feels like a mild disappointment.
P.S. I know each social critique the author was trying to make with all the wild plot details here, but I still didn’t really like it. I agree with all of his observations about society and politics, and usually enjoy metaphors and extreme portrayals of societies shortcomings and stuff (absolutely love Black Mirror). And yet... still a miss for me.
One thing I can say is that it’s anticlimactic. Considering I did have a whole half of the book left to read, I was still shocked when I saw “the end.” I was kind of just like “...that’s it?” Felt like a small buildup to absolutely nothing. While I respect Sean Murphy for writing and illustrating this, I hate the artwork. The plot was kind of interesting but it really is just a fresh teenaged atheist angst-fest filled with all the idealism and “let’s completely destroy religion” opinions that completely disregard human rights.
Would I recommend this to anyone? No. I don’t really regret reading it because it was mildly entertaining and only took me a day. And I gave it an “it was okay” 2 star rating, so really it all just feels like a mild disappointment.
P.S. I know each social critique the author was trying to make with all the wild plot details here, but I still didn’t really like it. I agree with all of his observations about society and politics, and usually enjoy metaphors and extreme portrayals of societies shortcomings and stuff (absolutely love Black Mirror). And yet... still a miss for me.
July 25, 2025
Świetny pomysł wyjściowy: „obrazoburczy” i prowokujący. Jezus Chrystus zostaje sklonowany z tzw. całunu turyńskiego, który jest raczej fejkiem, ale to autora nie zajmuje, jest potrzebne jako źródło DNA to nie ma co rozkminiać. 😀 Wszystko ku uciesze mas - pomysł z niby potencjałem komercyjnym: powtórne przyjście i dojrzewanie zbawiciela na oczach mas, w reality show. Fabuła nie jest oczywista, ma w sobie punkowy, brudny vibe. Ale jej obrazoburstwo jest tylko powierzchowne (aczkolwiek serio, nie mam żadnych wątpliwości, że gdyby istniała możliwość sklonowania Jezzy to ludzie by ją wykorzystali - na miliarderów zawsze można liczyć 😂). Wszystko ma tu swój cel, raczej prosty i jasno wyłożony. Bo czy takie powtórne przyjście musiałoby się wydarzyć według jakiegoś oczywistego scenariusza? Czy Jezus z Nowego Testamentu nie jest przecież buntownikiem, podważającym ustalone zasady i porządek społeczny? To jest, ja nie wiem, ale takie interpretacje też można spotkać. Ten komiks jest taką dziką wariacją na ten temat. Czy głęboką? Raczej nie, bo wszystko jest tu wyłożone. Obrazoburczą? Litości. 😂 Już starszy od niego „Kaznodzieja” ma w sobie więcej „szatańskiego” ognia. Może dałbym piątą gwiazdkę, ale kreska mi nie przypadła. Jestem przywiązany do koloru i „porządku”.
June 7, 2024
This book was as beautiful as it was heartbreaking. As I devout G-d loving Christian, I empathised a lot with both our main characters Thomas and Chris, and it did bring up a lot of issues I too find with extremist organised religion nowadays, especially in America. My G-d is one of love and forgiveness, not one of hatred and judgement, to see Chris’ frustrations with his upbringing and the way this mirrored Thomas’ is really what kept me tied to this book. The character dynamics between the two of them were really interesting and well developed and it makes a good critique of totalitarianism within religion. The art was absolutely breathtaking and I’m only sad it was so short, the plot twists and gut wrenching moments really hit me hard, getting some out loud reactions and I can’t remember the last time a book got this out of me. Brilliant
September 29, 2017
This is a good graphic novel. The art and characters were very well posed for the frames and you can tell this book was meticulously planned and designed.
The story however while promising, is not written well. This was a missed opportunity to put this book amongst the greats.
Almost but I enjoyed it
The story however while promising, is not written well. This was a missed opportunity to put this book amongst the greats.
Almost but I enjoyed it
May 22, 2023
This is probably closer to a one and ahalf star for me if I was 16 or 18 I probably would’ve liked this a lot more art work isn’t bad in this but it’s far from great story felt like some angry anxiety teenager wrote it. One part spirit the movie one part evil corporation one part religious Banana schism Dad a bunch of violence and this is pretty much what you got out of this
June 24, 2017
I fell head over heels in love with Sean Murphy's wild style when I read Tokyo Ghost, one of my absolute faves.
So when a friend recommended me PRJ I jumped to the chance after I spend the night at his and needed something to read while waking up over a cup of tea.
Is it great breakfast reading material? Well, it is when your partner in breakfast is reading the newspaper and political & religious turmoil is almost radiating off the pages. Chris' anger made all the more sense to me with the current state of worldy events and I'm weirdly happy I didn't read it during its release.
I will have to give it another read to truly judge the story, but the art got me hooked and every page is a piece of art. How he manages to show so much emotion with those rough, broad strokes will forever keep me in awe.
So when a friend recommended me PRJ I jumped to the chance after I spend the night at his and needed something to read while waking up over a cup of tea.
Is it great breakfast reading material? Well, it is when your partner in breakfast is reading the newspaper and political & religious turmoil is almost radiating off the pages. Chris' anger made all the more sense to me with the current state of worldy events and I'm weirdly happy I didn't read it during its release.
I will have to give it another read to truly judge the story, but the art got me hooked and every page is a piece of art. How he manages to show so much emotion with those rough, broad strokes will forever keep me in awe.
February 18, 2020
Found this graphic novel at my local comic book store. Been wanting to read this for a while.
May 20, 2013
I really liked the drawings, and the layouts are really good. The story starts well, but there´s something in the rythm of it that does not work for me, sometimes things feel rushed, and some other things happened to easyly.
SPOOOOOILERS AHEAD:
Maybe this could´ve worked better as a bigger arc, (with someone aiding Murphy in the writting dept.) like Ex Machina or Y the last man, It could´ve been interesting to see Gwen´s life before accepting her role in this whole show. Also the Punk band comes out of nowhere, and the leave in the same way, with a longer format they could have gotten more relevant part. When they mention that the band got the Nobel Prize, what was that all about? a punk rock band with teenagers winning a nobel prize and that gets just one panel of our story?! that was unnecesary. What`s strange is that this story feels way longer than the 200 pages it has.
Although this story has some interesting ideas, and it roots in some real problems of religion and mass media, the main characters are not strong enough or well developed to support a story of the level of the criticism it attempts to make. Chris is accuesed of being preachy and this is how the story feels sometimes. (May it be noted that I am an active Atheist who shares almost all of the ideas Chris preaches about, but they are not quite fitted in the story). Also the general audience opinion of the whole show is never adressed, and we never see a moderate religious person, all of them are one dimensional characters.
Murphy tangles the story in some really absurd parts, "there´s no alcohol in the island, but we have seen Gwen become and alcoholic before and the audience digs that"
There´s never an interesting dialog between characters, the atheists ar always intelligent, the theists are always numb or plain. The most developed one is Thomas, but there´s a moment in between the story where we almost lost track of his backstory.
Our antagonist starts great, (though somewhat archetypical, the mass media tycoon who will do anything for the ratings) but in the middle of the story gets lost and then Murphy seems to almost forget about him,
What I found interesting is that you get to read 15 years of story in a book that is not that long and I really felt that time was well described, you could feel the passing of it.
The whole organization of the Island felt vague, it´s very similar to Jurassic Park´s Island in some ways, the whole lab is in there, there are these huge safety and security voids, and the offices entertainment part of it is in there as well. In the Island Sometimes Thomas is a one man army, but other times there seems to be a big security organization in the island, to which Thomas never adresses.
There are other moments where certain events obscure others that could´ve been greater. When the polar bear gets injured, that was so shoking that when Gwen gets trapped into the two doors was not as shoking as it cuold´ve.
When the Helicopter is going down, Chris and Co. are all together, but when it crashes, Chris is death between the choppers while the rest of the gang is perfectly safe far from him, how?! (also did you noticed the "apologies to michelangelo" not in that panel? that was funny, I didn´t see it the first time, I think I was really in the story).
After so many violence though the whole book the death of Rick Slate is really unimpressive and somewhat anticlimatic.
In the end there are some questions left unanswered, What happened to Tim? What happened to Dr. Epstein research? was some of it lost in the island fire? Is it getting implemented? What did the audience of the show think about the death of the protagonist?
Nontheless, I really celebrete the attempt that secular themes lare approached in comic books, but this story is far from what secularism is about.
SPOOOOOILERS AHEAD:
Maybe this could´ve worked better as a bigger arc, (with someone aiding Murphy in the writting dept.) like Ex Machina or Y the last man, It could´ve been interesting to see Gwen´s life before accepting her role in this whole show. Also the Punk band comes out of nowhere, and the leave in the same way, with a longer format they could have gotten more relevant part. When they mention that the band got the Nobel Prize, what was that all about? a punk rock band with teenagers winning a nobel prize and that gets just one panel of our story?! that was unnecesary. What`s strange is that this story feels way longer than the 200 pages it has.
Although this story has some interesting ideas, and it roots in some real problems of religion and mass media, the main characters are not strong enough or well developed to support a story of the level of the criticism it attempts to make. Chris is accuesed of being preachy and this is how the story feels sometimes. (May it be noted that I am an active Atheist who shares almost all of the ideas Chris preaches about, but they are not quite fitted in the story). Also the general audience opinion of the whole show is never adressed, and we never see a moderate religious person, all of them are one dimensional characters.
Murphy tangles the story in some really absurd parts, "there´s no alcohol in the island, but we have seen Gwen become and alcoholic before and the audience digs that"
There´s never an interesting dialog between characters, the atheists ar always intelligent, the theists are always numb or plain. The most developed one is Thomas, but there´s a moment in between the story where we almost lost track of his backstory.
Our antagonist starts great, (though somewhat archetypical, the mass media tycoon who will do anything for the ratings) but in the middle of the story gets lost and then Murphy seems to almost forget about him,
What I found interesting is that you get to read 15 years of story in a book that is not that long and I really felt that time was well described, you could feel the passing of it.
The whole organization of the Island felt vague, it´s very similar to Jurassic Park´s Island in some ways, the whole lab is in there, there are these huge safety and security voids, and the offices entertainment part of it is in there as well. In the Island Sometimes Thomas is a one man army, but other times there seems to be a big security organization in the island, to which Thomas never adresses.
There are other moments where certain events obscure others that could´ve been greater. When the polar bear gets injured, that was so shoking that when Gwen gets trapped into the two doors was not as shoking as it cuold´ve.
When the Helicopter is going down, Chris and Co. are all together, but when it crashes, Chris is death between the choppers while the rest of the gang is perfectly safe far from him, how?! (also did you noticed the "apologies to michelangelo" not in that panel? that was funny, I didn´t see it the first time, I think I was really in the story).
After so many violence though the whole book the death of Rick Slate is really unimpressive and somewhat anticlimatic.
In the end there are some questions left unanswered, What happened to Tim? What happened to Dr. Epstein research? was some of it lost in the island fire? Is it getting implemented? What did the audience of the show think about the death of the protagonist?
Nontheless, I really celebrete the attempt that secular themes lare approached in comic books, but this story is far from what secularism is about.
April 4, 2021
Esta es la segunda vez que leo esta obra, mientras la leía, me di cuenta que recordaba pocas cosas de la trama; pero sí recordaba que no me había gustado tanto, no me había impresionado, creo que la primera vez que lo leí esperaba algo con más referencias bíblicas y aunque la premisa era interesante, no ahondaba mucho. También pensé que quizá la había evaluado con tres estrellas.
Pero en esta segunda lectura, consideré que era una historia más sólida de lo que recordaba y que ameritaba unas cuatro estrellas.
La premisa aborda un mundo moderno donde una televisora, unida con un laboratorio científico logran clonar a Jesús y hacen un reality show sobre su crianza. Murphy aborda una crítica severa al fanatismo religioso y también al fanatismo que se le da a la Reality TV actualmente. Es una crítica directa y dura sobre Estados Unidos y sobre la sociedad de consumo en la que vivimos.
El protagonista es Thomas Mckael, un Ex IRA que es el guardaespaldas de Chris, el clon de Jesús. Como protagonista Thomas es muy débil, tiene una construcción interesante y varios giros trágicos, además como siempre el diseño de personajes de Murphy es atractivo, pero Thomas carece de una personalidad realmente. Sus interacciones con los otros personajes se limitan a observar y hacer cosas arriesgadas. Algunos momentos claves de la trama giran a las emociones y la sensibilidad de este personaje, pero esos momentos se sienten un poco anticlimáticos tomando en cuenta que su desarrollo emocional durante el resto de la historia es muy limitado.
El resto de personajes, específicamente Chris y Gwen, son interesantes. El desarrollo Chris de un pequeño niño, al clon de Jesús, a un ícono punk, me pareció muy interesante. También, esta segunda lectura noté muchas más referencias biblícas de manera sutil y muchas escondidas en el arte. Resalto, obviamente, una referencia clara a la crucifixión que me parece bellísima.
El final no es exactamente feliz y Murphy deja algunas cosas abiertas que bien pudieron haber sido exploradas en una secuela. La historia me satisfizo lo siguiente como para leer una segunda obra sin problema.
El arte de Murphy es muy bueno, quizá mi único problema es la ausencia de colores, la obra está en blanco y negro; y aunque Murphy puede manejar una gran cantidad de detalles sin que se confunda el lector o la página se sienta saturada, en estos años he podido disfrutar de obras del mismo autor a color como Batman the White Knight, Tokyo Ghost y The Wake y las tres lucen espectaculares; me lleva a imaginar cómo se vería esta obra a colores y lo mucho que resaltaría la visión de Murphy, quizá una reedición en el futuro nos de esta obra a color y sería una compra segura para mi.
Pero en esta segunda lectura, consideré que era una historia más sólida de lo que recordaba y que ameritaba unas cuatro estrellas.
La premisa aborda un mundo moderno donde una televisora, unida con un laboratorio científico logran clonar a Jesús y hacen un reality show sobre su crianza. Murphy aborda una crítica severa al fanatismo religioso y también al fanatismo que se le da a la Reality TV actualmente. Es una crítica directa y dura sobre Estados Unidos y sobre la sociedad de consumo en la que vivimos.
El protagonista es Thomas Mckael, un Ex IRA que es el guardaespaldas de Chris, el clon de Jesús. Como protagonista Thomas es muy débil, tiene una construcción interesante y varios giros trágicos, además como siempre el diseño de personajes de Murphy es atractivo, pero Thomas carece de una personalidad realmente. Sus interacciones con los otros personajes se limitan a observar y hacer cosas arriesgadas. Algunos momentos claves de la trama giran a las emociones y la sensibilidad de este personaje, pero esos momentos se sienten un poco anticlimáticos tomando en cuenta que su desarrollo emocional durante el resto de la historia es muy limitado.
El resto de personajes, específicamente Chris y Gwen, son interesantes. El desarrollo Chris de un pequeño niño, al clon de Jesús, a un ícono punk, me pareció muy interesante. También, esta segunda lectura noté muchas más referencias biblícas de manera sutil y muchas escondidas en el arte. Resalto, obviamente, una referencia clara a la crucifixión que me parece bellísima.
El final no es exactamente feliz y Murphy deja algunas cosas abiertas que bien pudieron haber sido exploradas en una secuela. La historia me satisfizo lo siguiente como para leer una segunda obra sin problema.
El arte de Murphy es muy bueno, quizá mi único problema es la ausencia de colores, la obra está en blanco y negro; y aunque Murphy puede manejar una gran cantidad de detalles sin que se confunda el lector o la página se sienta saturada, en estos años he podido disfrutar de obras del mismo autor a color como Batman the White Knight, Tokyo Ghost y The Wake y las tres lucen espectaculares; me lleva a imaginar cómo se vería esta obra a colores y lo mucho que resaltaría la visión de Murphy, quizá una reedición en el futuro nos de esta obra a color y sería una compra segura para mi.
July 21, 2024
I'm giving this four stars primarily on the strength of the originality of the story.
Sinister corporation harvests DNA of Jesus Christ from Shroud of Turin, impregnates virgin teen with said DNA, producing the "second coming of Christ" via virgin birth no less. But the JC, who goes by Chris, decides religion is a bunch of bunk (spoiler alert: author is an atheist), and forms a punk rock band to rid the world of the evils of religion, because who could argue with the voice of the second coming, aka J2.
This was a nice ride, with tons of violence and strong tie-ins to the Irish Republican Army, Libyan terrorist training camps, American evangelical Christians, etc.
Pretty entertaining read. Better than average graphics. Okay, great, but not true 5-star.
Sinister corporation harvests DNA of Jesus Christ from Shroud of Turin, impregnates virgin teen with said DNA, producing the "second coming of Christ" via virgin birth no less. But the JC, who goes by Chris, decides religion is a bunch of bunk (spoiler alert: author is an atheist), and forms a punk rock band to rid the world of the evils of religion, because who could argue with the voice of the second coming, aka J2.
This was a nice ride, with tons of violence and strong tie-ins to the Irish Republican Army, Libyan terrorist training camps, American evangelical Christians, etc.
Pretty entertaining read. Better than average graphics. Okay, great, but not true 5-star.
February 25, 2023
Ripensando al fumetto ad un mese di distanza, il ricordo è ben peggiore della reazione a primo impatto. Il voto è circa 2,5, ma proprio non potevo lasciare le 3 stelle. Storia confusionaria, che trova il suo protagonista citato nel titolo troppo tardi, e che in generale subisce molto la scrittura di un autore alle prime armi. Ho perso la voglia di leggere qualunque cosa abbia scritto Sean Murphy. I voti positivi sono per i disegni, quelli li sa fare, anche se il bianco e nero con disegni molto complessi e dinamici rende abbastanza difficile il colpo d'occhio
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