Megillat Esther

by J.T. Waldman

Megillat Esther is commonly referred to as the Book of but there is nothing common about JT Waldman’s interpretation of this Biblical story. In what may be the world’s first religious, scholarly comic book, Waldman tells the epic tale of exile and redemption in graphic form. When Esther, a Jewish woman, is made Queen of Persia she must keep her identity hidden, all the while maneuvering to save her people from annihilation. This is a story familiar to many Jews who have heard it recounted every year on the holiday of Purim. But readers of all backgrounds will be entranced by what artist Waldman depicts in his interpretation of the text. At once traditional and groundbreaking Megillat Esther will challenge secular assumptions about the Bible. Each page of Megillat Esther is a visual tour de force and features the Hebrew text with original English translation, as well as opulent drawings depicting the story of the Persian Queen. Traditional interpretations of the story are woven throughout the panels. Megillat Esther presents the reader with a topsy-turvey world in which fortunes reverse and nothing is what it seems. This vibrant, edgy retelling of a classic Biblical tale is sure to amaze and intrigue scholars and laypeople of all religions and comic book lovers alike.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Religion, Jewish, Comics, Judaism, Graphic Novels Comics, Art

200 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2005

Reviews

[Daniel Sevitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up after Waldman's contribution to Harvey Pekar's Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me. This is a scholarly and graphic review of the Esther story, beautifully rendered and rigorously sourced. I can't imagine there are too many other works out there that include in their bibliography works by both Adin Steinsaltz and Scott McCloud. I have a deep fondness for the cinematic drama of the Purim story and this was a fantastic telling with a literal twist in the middle.

[Nate]

A comic book adaptation of the Book of Esther. It’s beautifully illustrated, reminding me of Craig Thompson’s Habibi (which came out six years after this). Each page contains the original Hebrew in calligraphy-type script alongside English translations. Some original dialogue is included in lieu of direct translations, and Waldman sometimes forgoes English text in favor of purely visual storytelling. The panelling is very creative; no two pages are structured alike. Every page looks great. You can tell this was a labor of love, that Waldman really took his time with it.

A few things don’t work for me. The game show/competition interludes are out of place, while the flipbook feature feels gimmicky and unnecessary. And some plot points are unclear, though this is partly due to the original text. Negatives aside, this is a nice project, well-realized. It helps that story is good, too.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

we need more graphic novels like this in the world!

Megillat Esther is a graphic novel of the book of Esther that is filled to the brim with rich and complex interpretations of Esther from many generations of Rabbinic literature.

while I’m so grateful for the notes in the back of the book, I wish there were even more of them! this is the type of work that truly needs its own commentary, and the notes often felt way too brief.

overall, Megillat Esther is so worth reading, and I sincerely hope to see more of this type of work in the future—especially in academia!

[A.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Megillat Esther is brave, bold and everything else a comic book should be – oh and it’s a scholarly commentary on the book of biblical book of Esther. For too many the Graphic Novel is a medium to ignore or at least not take seriously. J.T. Waldman forces naysayers to recant by taking scholarly biblical study on the book of Esther and presenting it in a way no other commentary has been presented before.

Sequential Art used to communicate scholarly work will stretch the Graphic Novel / Comic Book mediums in healthy ways. To interact with historical-cultural information, critical textual issues, and theological concepts is no easy task. Waldman makes it look easy by weaving not only his own translation of Esther, but also the original Hebrew characters for the entire book into his art.

Highly recommended: for biblical scholars (because you’ve never seen anything like this!) – and for other comic book fanboys (because what better time is there to think critically about the medium we love, than at “such a time as this?”).

5 stars for being innovative and creative in my favorite story-telling medium!

[Flissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoa, this was very cool. A graphic novel based on scripture with a scholarly spin on it. The artwork was absolutely amazing -- expressive and exciting, with Hebrew text incorporated beautifully. The story of Esther is one of my favorites, and this book did a wonderful job keeping historical integrity in a very contemporary, creative delivery.

[Lisa Feld · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art for this is dizzyingly gorgeous, and brings out the bombast and exaggeration of the Book of Esther. There are interesting midrashic easter eggs/afikomen throughout, but there are also some really weird digressions that aren't tied in fully, even in the notes at the back, which I found disruptive and frustrating. Overall, though, very worth checking out.

[A.A. Rubin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it is done very well, especially for those who get the references and who have previous knowledge/familiarity with the story. I could see how it might be difficult to follow, however, for a reader without the same background knowledge. That said, it’s now my favorite rendition of the Purim story and I will, likely, be returning to it annually for the holiday.

[Yitzchok · Rating 4 out of 5]

The blurb on the back states that it is, "Visually intoxicating." I think that is the perfect description for this graphic novel depiction of Megillas Esther! (Warning! Not suitable for children. Which it a great pity, because they would have loved it!)

[Chava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dubbed as the world's first religious, scholarly comic book, it combines amazing illustrations, creative use of text, and a list of resources from the commentaries. Hailed as a "visual masterpiece," the graphic novel reveals layers of meaning through both the art and the text.

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing combination of graphic novel, midrash, and text! Fantastic modern interpretation

[Katie Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite and so glad I found a copy! Really a treasure of a graphic novel retelling

[Yonatan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and amazing adaptation of the Megillah. I've read this edition on Purim every year for more than a decade.

[Jamey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable! Intense, emotive art, full of sensuality. The story is well told. I loved it!

[Thea Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous

[Joseph R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esther's story is set during the Babylonian Exile, when the nation of Israel was overrun, Jerusalem sacked, and the people taken into slavery. The Jews were scattered over the Babylonian empire and some of the king's men schemed to wipe them out. The king had his own scheme--get rid of his unsatisfactory queen Vashti by, in essence, holding a beauty contest. Esther, a humble Jewish woman, was one of the many brought to Shushan (the capital city) to be judged if she was beautiful enough to be queen. The king fell for her without knowing her nationality. When his adviser Haman leads the attempt to wipe out the Jews, Esther intervenes and turns the tables on him and his conspirators. The story has drama, comedy, and pathos in a fine mixture.

Artist and author JT Waldman makes a fine blend of the story's classical and timeless elements in this graphic novel. Shushan looks like an ancient capital city and the clothing has an ancient opulence evoking the BC era. Some scenes are practically straight out of a reality TV show and Waldman evokes those with a modern sensibility, giving the story a lightness and sense of fun that may not immediately come out when reading an unadorned translation. The Hebrew text is interwoven through the panels lending the work another touch of authenticity. The back of the book has a bibliography, explanatory notes (like "Megillat Esther" means "Scroll of Esther" in English), and some Rabbinic citations.

This book is an interesting, creative take on the text of Esther.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

JT Waldman’s version of the Scroll of Esther, the story behind the Purim festival is a daring and imaginative interpretation of scripture in a graphic novel. The artist incorporates the Hebrew text into the art along with the English narration and text balloons. The drawing and composition run the gamut from horrific to voluptuous as befits a tale of Oriental court intrigue and near genocide. As the story nears its climax the reader must physically turn the story around and switch from reading left to right in English to right to left as in a Hebrew. Thus reinforcing the narrative, as the slaughter and humiliation Haman, the villain, plans for the Jews is instead visited upon him.

Interleaved with this rich spread are parallels to other Biblical tales, genealogical information, messianic speculations, and guest appearance by prominent prophets. Plus the appended to the end matter of the book are a bibliography, rabbinic citations, and other notes. This is a cup that runs over its brim with delights, wonders, and mysteries.

[Kathrin Stacked'n'Painted · Rating 4 out of 5]

J.T. Waldman illustrated and re-told the story of the Book of Esther, in which a young Jewish woman is married to King Achashverosh. When she discovers that the king's evil right hand, Haman (*boo*), wants to kill all Jews, with the help of her father she persuades the king to change Haman's (*boo*) degree.

Now, the Book of Esther (or Megillat Esther in Hebrew) is part of the Bible that not everyone heard of, I assume. At least for me, this was a new one when I first started studying comparative religion (as a minor), but I have come to like it a lot as it is an interesting story. I don't want to give away too much, though.

It took me a bit to get used to the graphics with this graphic novel, but once I got over the unique style, I rushed through the rest of it. Waldman has created a wonderful graphic novel introducing people to the story of Esther. If you have never heard of it - or really like it, you should definitely check out J.T. Waldman's adaptation.

[Hester · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is full of incredible illustration. It made me feel better about the book of Esther because I had not realized that the part where it suddenly became murderous stopped making sense grammatically; they think some Helenizers messed with the ending. It makes me curious as to what the original ending was. Perhaps one day, archaeologists can answer that for us.

Reading this book made be feel disconnected from my heritage, but it also made me feel that that may not be a bad thing. I found parts of the book creepy.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully composed graphic novel of the book of Esther. The art is spectacular and it is respectful of both english and Hebrew writing conventions. The artwork incorporates the Hebrew and the book itself changes from reading left to right (as Western books do) to reading right to left (as Jewish books do).

The art is wonderfully done in black and white. JT Waldman did considerable research in making this text and it really pays off. A great comic to show off the potential for the graphic novel format and to show the modern potential of religious art.

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not great at reading graphic novels, but this one was by far the hardest I have ever tried to understand. It is written in both Hebrew and English and half way through you have to flip it upside down and read it from right to left. I found myself confused and did not enjoy it. I do think it is a fascinating way to write so I won't say I hated it, but I would not read another book like it. I am also not really sure of its value as nothing was clear.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The graphic novel panels are fast-moving, allowing for a quick experience of the story of Esther. The entire biblical book is covered in verse-by-verse fashion. There is also a nice selection of references and rabbinical citations at the back.

The only drawback is the lack of color. It would be nice to see a new edition with some color incorporated into the panels.

[elbren · Rating 3 out of 5]

this graphic rendition of megillat esther aspires to much & accomplishes some.
the art is somewhat interesting, but the printing is poor.
the commentary / elaborations are sometimes awkward & sometimes helpful.
a gimmicky curiousity, but one I'll hold onto & read again.

[Weathergrrrl]

I think this book is aimed at someone who has a more intimate knowledge of Old Testament stories than I do. I'm sure I must have missed a lot of the references. The art work is quite distinctive and very striking. It's cool to see the graphic novel form transcending genre.

[Karla Strand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange Hebrew graphic novel that reinforced my beliefs about violence and hypocritical religions.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this graphic novel. The story and graphics are full of little known (to me anyway) midrash about the scroll of Esther which made the story come alive before me.

[Michelle Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cool retelling of the story of Queen Esther in graphic novel form. Highly recommended if you’re into Purim, midrash or religious storytelling.

[Lmkp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visually stunning. An interesting way to explore history> I really really enjoyed it.

[Molly G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ingenious but bewildering. Which it itself acknowledges. ;-)

[Sawy-o · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting visual description of a complicated story in Jewish scripture.