Holy Hannah

by Will Dinski

Holy Hannah is a graphic novel about belief, selfhood, and indoctrination into a religious cult. Loosely based on the life of the notorious Jim Jones, Will Dinski’s Holy Hannah is a close look at the thin line dividing religious belief from cult worship. The 550 page massive tome is the apotheosis of Dinski's go-to themes where he explores ways in which people's lives become intertwined in unexpected and frequently toxic ways.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Mental Health, Adult

550 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2019

Reviews

[disco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holy ::shit:: Hannah

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holy Hannah started off pretty interesting. It had a unique protagonist in a unique starting point, and then, before I knew it, it was something else. It turned into Jim Jones' storytime extravaganza.

Characters didn't really evolve. Their actions happen seemingly without any reason, or at least no given reason. I'm a fan of "show, don't tell," but if you show me erratic behavior from every character, never show characters' desires or mindset or goals or desires, then it really doesn't matter how much you show. It has to make sense.

For example, one character joins a cult, leaves, and then rejoins and fucks the cult leader. Any of that explained in any way? No. So why did they do it? No idea.

The first 50 or so pages had me, but I became more and more unimpressed as the novel went on. Then, at the end, we're left with a character who seemingly learned nothing from their experience. Who wasn't really shaken or changed or otherwise affected by all they went through. Ugh. Frustrating.

There were good elements overall. Parts of it were interesting, some plot points were done well, but overall it left something to be desired. 3/5.

[Elna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really hoping for an exciting, new take on a cult that sprung up around an anonymous confessional app, but what I got was basically a fictionalized retelling of Jonestown.

Hannah’s app doesn’t even really play that big of a part in the plot, and neither does she up until the end. The cult mindset and escalation is really well portrayed.

Loved that the hardback copy is bible-sized.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's what we do. There is no empirical guiding principal for navigating our world. We believe in a system of rules. But I've learned that's all a fantasy. Culture only works when we say it does, unlike a computer program. In culture, you can cheat. It's only true when enough of us believe it to be so. Belief is how you get a country to go to war. Obedience is how an entire system of government can work. Faith is how we can be there for each other when we most need help. So I've learned to choose more wisely.

What a disappointment this was. Two-stars is me being generous. Will Dinski's Holy Hannah is a gumbo of savory, enticing elements burned on the stove. The characters make no sense and Dinski's drawing is so primitive at points that I couldn't figure out what was happening. I would look at a series of silent panels and think, "Something important is being articulated, but I can't tell what the hell I'm supposed to realize here."

Furthermore, the plot is terrible. Hannah, our reclusive protagonist, is a successful computer programmer who never has to interact with people. She isolates herself, yet she manages to get laid regularly, earn money and fame, and become a vital component of a religious cult--and then, after the book just echoes the main points of the Jim Jones saga (complete with killer kool-aid in South America)--returns to her apartment and lives life as if nothing of significance has even happened.

And that's the main handicap of this graphic novel: Nothing of significance happens. Dinski has a vision, no doubt, but he fails to execute it with the dexterity and finesse warranted. Again, as so often, there's a potential story here which would work wonders in the graphic format--but Dinski is not talented enough to do so.

[Linda Klein · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first thing I found difficult was the font used. Sometimes hard to read (did he print "bean" or "brain"?) So that was frustrating. He did a poor job of indicating whose point of view was being presented. Finally, if you want to tell the story of the Jonestown massacre, then tell that story. Overall, I found this unsatisfying, and kind of a mess.

[Valerie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly don’t even know how to feel.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with other reviews that state the book reads like three separate stories, but the theme of isolation forced and chosen runs from beginning to end. Hannah, herself, is isolating in her actions not just when she removes herself from society, but also when she makes choices to either push others away, then to become part of the “we” in order to keep her mind at a distance from internal reflection.

The book is a fascinating character study with a couple of missteps. In trying to flesh out the Reverend Carpenter I never felt like he was real or that the reader actually got any added insight into the character. Likewise, Noah, begins as a very interesting character, but once truly isolated from Hannah, he just doesn’t matter much to the story anymore. I think with a little work he could have served as a better juxtaposition to her. In the end it doesn’t matter as this is Hannah’s story.

[Dan Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about that forever long search for connection and that insane path people will travel down to find them whether it is a random online anonymous app or a good old fashioned cult. This consists of two concurrent stories featuring individuals who on the outside seem to be on the opposite end of the connection spectrum but as their stories intertwine are both suffering in similar ways.

At first, it seemed like a harmless memoir of a person recounting her story about how early life success pushed her away from life but being a completely fictional tale it goes in strange and disturbing directions. That unexpected path kept it quite captivating however I am still wrestling with how it ended wondering if anything was really said or if it lost itself. Perhaps that was partially the point I am honestly not fully sure

[Hannah Bergstrom de Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I picked this book because my name is Hannah and because my profession is as a pastor. The title made me laugh and then reading the outline of it being a bit about a church/cult I couldn't resist and thankfully I didn't.

I enjoyed this graphic novel. It was original and interesting. I liked the line drawing aspect of the art and found the simplicity calming yet intriguing. There is certainly some heavier themes running through the book around identity and belonging, but I also just found it a parody of modern life in many ways. So a good couple of laughs as well. My favorite page 178, I laughed out-loud cause honestly, sometimes it does feel like heartburn :D.

[Fiore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic novel that says a lot about what loneliness can do to a person and how belief can fuel terrifying things when groupthink is at work. I found the part of the graphic novel prior to moving to the island didn't flow into the following very smoothly. So it lost me a little there but regained my attention once more time was spent with in the cult's new isolated togetherness.

[Romany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrifying and highly original visual analysis of cults and the people who join them.

[Liz Yerby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wild dark ride of a comic love the Bible inspired book design

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A modern and interesting take on cults and how they can begin! I thought the art very much helped tell the story!

[Victors · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels like three different books in one.

[Bexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the plot and the trip into a cult, but after a while the drawing style became distracting and hard to focus on. I'm not sure if that was the point or not.

[Annie Harvieux · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unevocative illustration style with shallow character motives

[P. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't really see the point of retelling the jim jones story in the modern day? also none of the characters were compelling to me.

[Hannahcomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book caught my eye at the library with its print design. It was formatted in hardcover 'bible' size with gold foil circuitry. Who could resist such an attractive and clever format for a graphic novel?

The format of the individual pages is fun and the story moves at a good clip through small, simple layouts. The typography is good, legible, with text spaced out so that it's easy to both read the text and take in the pictures.

Perhaps I am not the best reader but, unfortunately, the book fails to meaningfully explore the connection between apps and cults. The app that the character designs gets discarded halfway through the story and has no effect on the (pretty literal, beat-for-beat) retelling of Jonestown. The main character could have literally been anyone and not designed an app at all. This would be fine for any sort of cult story, because cults are very dangerous that way. But, the advertising copy and the book design was pointing to something about how apps and cults are related, and the two subjects weren't meshed together at all in the plot.

I think what this story needed was to keep the phone app involved in the storyline, and deviate more distinctly from the infamous Kool-aid drinking moment. Make the app move cult members to that deserted island in some sort of Fyre Fest type incident. Either that or, not mention the app at all, and not include the 'technology' aspects in the book cover design. Something like that. Anything to make the technology aspect seem like a more important part of the story. In the end the story didn't deliver what the marketing promised and that disappointed me. The artistic execution is good otherwise.

[Dustin Steinacker]

As somebody who's familiar with the actual events this book fictionalizes, I'm not sure how to feel. I liked how the earlier chapters showed how otherwise smart, perceptive and empathetic people might get caught up in a cult, because they're lacking something. It wouldn't really be possible to write the "cult" reveal as a surprise to anybody who's familiar with the sociology behind this stuff, but anybody who doesn't see it coming a mile away will probably feel like it comes out of nowhere and be dissatisfied.

But then it's just a pretty straightforward depiction of the events of Jonestown which dials down the horror way too much. I wish Dinski had found ways of depicting something like the Peoples Temple and Jonestown without being so literal about it, because for me there may as well have just been a disclaimer saying "insert story of Jonestown and skip to page xxx for the epilogue." You also end up with anachronism because cult dynamics in the online age are different now than they were in the 1970s, and Jonestown simply repeating in its entirety seems unlikely. Overall well worth a read as one of a stack of graphic novels I picked up from the library because it's nice to blow through one of these in an hour between novels, but not something I think I'll want to revisit or add to my collection.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise-but contains several plot gaps/ character shifts that neither the art nor the text adequately addressed. One of the bigger ones is it’s not really clear that Hannah made any deeper emotional connection to the cult members than she did to her limited contacts on the outside, despite the use of her Know Me app- which presumably gives Carpenter even more intimate knowledge of his community to use against them when he needs to. (Not that we see any of that manipulation on the page—and not that Hannah comes to that realization.) Still, if you’re interested in thinking about alienation and community in contemporary life, this story provides a jumping off point- and will only take an hour or two of your time.

[Morvling Bookink · Rating 1 out of 5]

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKING HELL.

Okay I get that it was based a bit off of the Manson's family cult, I think or whatever cult it was, but still. Who thinks this up?

And Reverend Carpenter - ew. Only ew and go away.

There's religion and faith which help and heal people, and then there's Reverend Carpenter ripping tumours out of people's chests. And giving children guns.

THIS IS NOT OKAY. I'm not quite sure what the author was trying to achieve, what message he was trying to make, with this book.

Also I didn't like the art, and the writing was planned confusingly so it didn't make much sense at times.

[Rory · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was an interesting almost retelling of what happened with jim jones’ cult. i tend not to read stuff like this but it was actually really interesting. i don’t quite know how the app was indoctrinating and it didn’t really play into the storyline much. overall tho it was a good read just be sure to check trigger warnings

[Simply · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on other reviews, I think this graphic novel is largely misunderstood. Many will complain about the "lack of character development", but truly that is not the case. We follow our protagonist through his journey, getting a peek into the inner world of how things like this happen. A fascinating read!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of like a slice of life take on a Jonestown-like cult.

Adds a slight twist to who is really in control of a cult. I wish the author would have taken that idea and more fully developed and explored it.

[Colleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sad. Sad and disjointed. Maybe it’s a cohort thing, but I sincerely hope this story is not representative of the mindset of the average 20 to 30 something’s. When I finished the book I wondered who I could even give this to? No one. It left me empty and sad. I would not wish that on anyone.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huh.
I could critique this or that (and I don't love that Dinski indicates that characters are Black by drawing a bunch of lines on their faces), but the damn thing works for reasons that I don't really understand.

[Hailee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending seemed a little rushed in my opinion but all in all it was a pretty good book still.

[Brianna Noelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

O.o

[Birch · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok

[chrisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read. It was just okay for me. It borrows heavily from real life events and after a while I didn't feel the need to read this retelling.