The Comic Torah: Reimagining the Very Good Book

by Aaron Freeman, Sharon Rosenzweig (Illustrator)

A hilarious, gorgeous, off-beat graphic version of the Bible's first five books! In the Comic Torah, stand-up comic Aaron Freeman and artist Sharon Rosenzweig reimagine the Torah with provocative humor and irreverent reverence. Prepare to meet God (referred to by the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH) imagined as a female with green skin, a love of grilling (see Leviticus for menus) and a bloody awful temper. Moses plays her romantic lead, part of a multi-ethnic cast of characters featuring celebrities such as Barack Obama playing Joshua ( Yes, we Canaan! ). Each weekly portion gets a two-page spread. Like the original, the Comic Torah is not always suitable for children. This is a Torah experience like no other.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction

106 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2010

Reviews

[Emilia P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huhhhh. Whattttt. This is Reconstructionist, right? Or something? Just like super-liberal, super-out-there Torah commentary from an energetic and opinionated married couple? Who is this by? Who is this for? I am puzzled. God is a green, short-haired lady, Joseph is a real jerk, Moses is pretty cool and hard-working and Aaron is pretty sneaky. Oh, and the Land of Milk and Honey is a sexy lady who lady-YHWH has a crush on.... As the Torah goes on, God becomes more and more war-like, eventually wearing what appears to be an Israeli military uniform (hmmmmmm yeah). Also, the book is pretty hard on the 600+ commandments thing.

I think there is a lot to take issue with here, but it's so vibrantly drawn and colored and put forth that, perhaps taking issue with it, asking questions, having a conversation or even an argument about the scriptures and the Jewish faith, is the intention! So yeah! You've done a very good job of that, odd little book.

[Howard Salmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great and highly readable version of the Torah. The comics make possible to actually read the Torah. Better than Cliff Notes! Does a great job of condensing the weekly parsha to a single comic book page. Herculean effort! Impressive, useful, funny, and in full color!

[Halie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was interesting, and I appreciated the concept, but it could have been fleshed out better. Mostly, my overall review of this is that it's weird. Some sections go into minute detail, whereas others are summed up in one or two pages.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initially, accepting Yhwh as a woman was a challenge for me, if only because I've always naturally imagined him as a young man. As it turns out, however, this seemingly drastic gender-bender has very little effect on him, and The Comic Torah is bu far the most honest, tell-it-like-it-is English "translation" I have ever read. It is partly this honesty, partly the remarkable insight/understanding and genuine (unique!) faith on the part of its creators, that breathes such vibrant life into The Comic Torah. Yhwh in particular retains every bit of his (her?) one-of-a-kind, enchanting presence-- nothing of his personality has been "lost in translation" or obscured from us. Many (open-minded) readers of this book will find themselves experiencing for the first time the magical shock and peculiar delight of his uncensored self. Amazingly, this short graphic novel manages to deliver the essence of the Torah, and even on its own, it is deeply moving, tongue-in-cheek, intelligently hilarious, tragic, wise, and inspiring.

[Joey Gremillion · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very sharp, vivid illustrations, Lynda Barry-style. The only thing good I can say about this book. Being provocative is good, if you have a reason for provoking. I fail to see the authors' desire to shock. Crass and vulgar, but not in a good way.

[Ollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

not sure if this was a weird retelling or if i just don't like the bible. i definitely learned something though. i also liked the choices to diversify the characters.

[Ollie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I didn't like this book or if I just don't like the bible. I've never read any bible before so I definitely retained some information from this, and I appreciated the genderbent god. But it was pretty grotesque.