Tithe Volume 2: Islamaphobia

The Tithe (single issues) #5-8

by Matt Hawkins, Rahsan Ekedal (Artist), Phillip Sevy (Artist)

ISLAMAPHOBIA. Former vigilante hacker Samantha Copeland joins the FBI team of Dwayne Campbell and Jimmy Miller to track down the people responsible for destroying and robbing multiple mega-churches throughout the United States. Fear and anger flares throughout the country, and the race is on for Dwayne, Jimmy, and Sam to find the terrorists responsible for ripping the nation apart.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Adult Fiction, Crime

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 6, 2016

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book has turned into a by the numbers police procedural with a ridiculous villain. A Senator is blowing up churches and blaming it on Muslims so that he can get elected President and bring the country "Back to God". How he talks these "suicide bombers" into pretending to be Muslim and walking in and blowing up churches (one of them with his family in it) is never explained. The only redeeming value is that Hawkins ties in Think Tank and Postal to the book. Hopefully he won't screw those other two up which are better written.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, this was entertaining enough, but Matt Hawkins just isn't...slick? I dunno. His writing isn't nuanced enough for the subject matter, so it was hard to immerse myself in the storyline because I could hear him on his soapbox. I like that he's done research to inform his worldview, and that he aims to bring information to others, but his characters and stories lack depth, and he gives off, whether he means to or not, the pompous vibe that is so off-putting to "middle class America."

[Trike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am always struggling between being non-religious and anti-religion. Almost all of my friends are religious to some degree, and it brings them comfort. Usually. I’m not an atheist, even though that’s how I operate. Nor am I a theist of any stripe. I’m agnostic about god or gods the same way I am about Faster Than Light travel: some say it’s possible, some say it isn’t, but I’m withholding judgement until we know more.

So of course I’m in the bag for this story about politicians using religion as justification for power grabs while also using it to foment hate. But at the end of the day this particular entry has too many niggling plot holes to be really satisfying, and one huge one at the end that’s bugging me. Jimmy the FBI agent is in a basement with multiple bombs and 35 seconds on the clock. The next scene he’s disheveled but fine. HOW?! I asked Hawkins on Twitter just now but he just said that Eden's Fall follows this book. That’s not an answer, man! I gots to know! It better not be a miracle.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the Think Tank, Vol. 1 main character pop up here. I didn’t realize these books were set in the same world, but it makes sense. These books are less sciencey than Think Tank, but as always Hawkins does his research, so that’s cool.

Anyway, I’m down for more, so I’ll be continuing on over the next couple weeks.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume of the Tithe focuses on Muslim/Christian relations, as several prominent religious institutions are attacked by extremists. It does try to be a sensible voice even as it shows the escalation of rhetoric and violence the situation creates, and does go off in a kind of surprising direction. My big problem with this book is that its focus has changed into a police procedural, losing most of the character dynamics the first volume had; Samantha's on the cover, but she's very much in the background in the actual context of the story, which is a little disappointing. Campbell is very much the center of the story, with Miller playing secondary. The story has its twists and turns and some exciting scenes, and tense scenes. But ultimately it really feels like a TV procedural episode, especially as the B-stories of families and relationships all tie into the main themes of the episode. It's good for an example of a procedural, but it's not quite as unique an experience as the first volume was, and doesn't quite have the same kind of edge. Still good, but not as good as before.

[Paul Allard · Rating 5 out of 5]

More religious fanatics get it in the neck

Samantha now works for the FBI and, with Dwayne & Jimmy from Volume 1, helps to defeat a wave of so-called Islamist attacks on high-profile churches in America. Everything is not as it seems and our trio manage to solve the problem – to some extent.

Intelligently written and well-illustrated, this volume is well worth a look and ties in with the Postal and Think Tank series, all coming together, it seems, in Eden's Fall.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one wasn't quite as good as vol. 1 but I still enjoyed it. I'm always a fan of thinking through religion's role in a secular world. Plus, having a woman as the central hacker is also a nice touch that pleases me immensely. I'm intrigued enough in The Tithe/Postal cross-over, Eden's Fall that I will probably pick it up.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love it when a story tackles issues that society tries to brush under the rug. One of my favorite scenarios is the idea of megachurches stealing or lying to take money from the very people that support it.

That's the basis of the Tithe by Matt Hawkins and the execution so far has been top notch. In this second volume, supposed Islamic terrorists bomb three hugely popular churches in the United States. Of course this gets huge publicity and while the agents that are working on the case try to find the culprits they uncover details for an even bigger plot. This forces them to carry out the greatest heist of the series yet. There's prejudice and hypocrisy - both brought to new levels.

It's intelligently written and the illustrations are beautiful. It ties in with the Postal and Think Tank series so if you're invested in those this is a sure pick-up.

This particular volume concentrates on Muslim and Christian relations and the mindset of extremists. There's an escalation of violence that hasn't been matched yet (the first volume was tame compared to this one) but the character dynamic has changed. It's not a bad change but it does take away the magic from the first volume. It feels more like an episode of NCIS…or CSI.

I hope the next volume moves back towards the direction of the first but this is still a great read. Matt Hawkins is a beast and will always be one!

[47Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Syrian terrorist attack leaves a New York Catholic church in ruins. A young man detonated himself in the priest's face while mass was being broadcast live. The bombing is followed by a video from Rising Crescent demanding the removal of troops from Saudi Arabia. FBI agents Dwayne, Jimmy and Sam are investigating this attack. They will uncover a national conspiracy that reaches to the highest level. Too bad I lost some of my interest by the end. Also the artwork is inferior to the first volume.

Two more churches are destroyed. Rival presidential candidate senator McKitrick is behind it all. He is gaining ground in front of the incumbent president because of what is seen as the latter's inability to keep the citizens safe.

With help from David from the Think Tank series - a character I never liked - Sam breaks an encrypted data stream that leads her to a man in McKitrick's employ. Unfortunately, McKitrick gets away.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

5

The Tithe only came across my lists when I realised Hawkins had created a crossover with 3 of his books. This second part is a reboot styled sequel to the first and it's something you can read without the first. I liked this more than the first book and I believe it had more structure and purpose. The book is more about escalation and offers more depth than the first book in the series. I only wish The Tithe was more popular and continued on further but I may eat those words with the finale. I'm saving the third for the conclusion of Think Tank so it'll be a little while before I'm back to this series.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second volume of Tithe falls in quality because the intelligence seems to be missing. The characters aren't nearly as interesting this go around and the plot seemed too unbelievable. I also thought the new relationship was too obvious and easy. The main antagonist is evil and that's intriguing. The ending fell flat as well. The art was a step backwards as well. Overall, the book was still decent but overall the book doesn't have heart.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one almost has to be causing all kinds of political drama. Anything involving the tension and antipathy between Islam and Christianity can't avoid that, no matter how profusely the author states he doesn't want it to. In this particular case, I believe him, but ymmv, so be warned.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary and relevant.

[Tyson Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the topic better than the first but found some of the dialogue tedious.

[Mic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly relevant in this post-Trump world.

[Jason]

Well researched and thought-provoking in addition to being an exciting cop/hacker/corrupt-politician-type story. I like Hawkins' commentary at the end of each issue as much as I like the story itself.