The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
by R. Crumb
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Book Summary Information
Author: R. CrumbEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-10-19
ISBN: 0393061027
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Book Reviews of The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
Book Review: Beautiful Crumb Artwork Sprinkled with Poisonous Editorial Comments
Summary: 5 Stars
I will give this book a 5-star rating, because I love Robert Crumb with brotherly love, and I want to encourage him to do more Bible study, and 5-stars are well-deserved for the great artwork, but as a Christian witnessing tool this book earns a 1-star rating, so Christians should be aware of the anti-belief editorial content within this book!
For any Christian considering this book, you should know that the author, Robert Crumb, is a very famous and highly regarded underground comic book artist from the 1960s, who has achieved acclaim as a fine artist. Crumb behaves himself in this "Genesis" book, but the main body of his career work is R and X-rated. R. Crumb is sort of like a very famous painter, like Picasso, perhaps, except that Crumb's field is comics art. He became famous for a style of art which is very "cute" in its appearance, yet shocking for its pornography and illegal drug references. Much of his work is his sexual fantasizing on paper, and his amusing or traumatic stories from his own life. Crumb fans really get to know the artist because his work is a tell-all rollercoaster ride!
I know a lot about Robert Crumb, which is very easy for any Crumb fan to do. Part of the appeal of R. Crumb is that much his work is heavily and deeply autobiographical. Many of his books, including this "Genesis," contain a Foreword written in his own handwriting, reminiscing about the contents and the work. There is also the ultimate biographical film, "Crumb," available on DVD, which is a look at a few years of his life circa 1990, where you meet many of the folks in his life and in his extremely dysfunctional family and childhood. I felt like I could understand R. Crumb because his family problems reminded me of my own upbringing, except Crumb's was at least 10x worse, but the feelings were similar. He is also the ultimate, stereotypical comic book nerd, who did things in the comics art field before anybody else. Crumb (Special Edition)
Before I became a Christian in 1998, I was a very big fan of Robert Crumb, but the R and X-rated content of much of his work made it unsuitable for a Christian household.
I wanted this book to be great, to be able to use it as a Christian witnessing tool, to get the attention of non-believers who would identify with the work of R. Crumb, and to then get a foot in the door for talking about Jesus and Bible teachings. Unfortunately, even though the artwork is great, as usual for this artist; Robert Crumb adds too many unbelieving comments which disqualify the book as a Christian witnessing tool.
The book does not necessarily use any standard Bible translation, instead relying heavily on the work of a professor from Berkeley. I think of Berkeley as the ultimate in non-believers, a place where one can study the Bible -- not to believe it better, but rather to debunk it better.
There is no, "In the Beginning," to kick off the proceedings in a classic way. That's too bad. I don't know why it is necessary to rewrite the most famous opening in literature, but that's what this book does. I don't believe that it is more accurate to rewrite it, and believing Bible teachers concur with me on this opening text. Look it up, believing writers don't complain that "In the beginning" is a bad translation.
Perhaps the biggest mistake in the work is when Crumb adds a footnote concerning Abram's meeting with the high priest Melchizedek, praising "El Elyon" whose name Crumb educationally points out is the name of a pagan Canaanite sky god. This is a major boo-boo for a non-believer to make, as Melchizedek is later reverently referred to in the Bible as an important, early type of Christ figure. Melchizedek is IMPORTANT in the Bible, and Abram and Melchizedek do NOT pray to a pagan Canaanite sky god, as the footnote might lead the reader to believe incorrectly.
Psalm 110:4
"The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'"
Hebrews 6:20
"...where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
In R. Crumb's version of Genesis, he unwittingly debunks this important Christ-like figure as if Melchizedek is a merely a pagan Sumerian god. This is right in line with unbelieving scholars who relentlessly try to destroy the foundations of the Bible by teaching how it is just a mish-mash of forgotten pagan beliefs, etc. Is it possible that forgotten pagan beliefs are likely a mish-mash of the true story that God has protected to survive thousands of years, instead of the opposite that non-believers teach?
This is poisonous for believers to be assaulted with while reading Scripture and it is just plain incorrect. A good, believing Bible teacher would confirm that it is certainly NOT meant as a reference to a Sumerian pagan god. John MacArthur, my preferred Bible teaching author, says that exact thing in his study Bible. concerning this verse in question. NKJV MacArthur Study Bible Large Print
This non-believing aspect is admitted by Crumb in his Foreword. Crumb respects the Bible's longevity, but does not believe it to be the Word of God, and Crumb says so in this book. That's turns out to be the problem that I have with the book, because there are too many comments that are negative for believers to truly enjoy Crumb's version of Genesis. It's like being served a truly great steak dinner, but knowing that a little poison has been sprinkled throughout, making it less desirable to enjoy.
To be fair, in this book R. Crumb says he approached the work as a straight illustration job, with no intentions of being disrespectful, and with great reverence for the seriousness which millions of people give to the Bible. He kept his word. The artwork is Crumb at his best, despite his advanced, senior years, (like an old blues musician, Crumb gets better as he ages), but, unfortunately, Crumb admits to being a non-believer in the pages of this book, and he adds many comments that disqualify it from being a good tool for Christian witnessing.
In the back of the book there are further comments from Crumb, mentioning a feminist writer who seems to have influenced his view of the Bible. This is just as bad as the Berkeley author's influence.
There are two kinds of Bible teachers, those who want to encourage and strengthen your belief, and those who want to destroy your faith. Know who you are studying under! The Bible is meant to teach you how to live and how to prepare for your eternal afterlife, through Christ Jesus alone. Why spend time with the Bible if you don't believe it? The Bible itself says that if it is not true, then believers are the most pathetic people and we are all without hope.
1 Corinthians 15:14
"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith."
Crumb dedicates this book to his wife, Aline. It is wise to listen to a wife who has a heart for the Bible and the Word of God, but you can't work your way into Heaven, no matter how nice your work is. The Bible teaches that all adults are sinners and on their way to eternal Hell, but God provides the sole escape -- true belief in Christ Jesus. You cannot please God with good works from an unbelieving heart. The Bible says so.
Hebrews 11:6
"...without faith it is impossible to please God..."
I think Crumb would do better to re-edit this book, removing the anti-belief comments and footnotes, making it suitable for Christian believers, instead of anti-Christian deceivers. I would love for him to do some Bible study from a believing author instead of debunkers who do NOT believe. I would recommend my favorite contemporary Bible teacher and writer, John MacArthur.
Summary of The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
Nominated for three 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards: From Creation to the death of Joseph, here are all 50 chapters of the Book of Genesis, revealingly illustrated as never before.
Envisioning the first book of the bible like no one before him, R. Crumb, the legendary illustrator, reveals here the story of Genesis in a profoundly honest and deeply moving way. Originally thinking that we would do a take off of Adam and Eve, Crumb became so fascinated by the Bible?s language, ?a text so great and so strange that it lends itself readily to graphic depictions,? that he decided instead to do a literal interpretation using the text word for word in a version primarily assembled from the translations of Robert Alter and the King James bible.Now, readers of every persuasion?Crumb fans, comic book lovers, and believers?can gain astonishing new insights from these harrowing, tragic, and even juicy stories. Crumb?s Book of Genesis reintroduces us to the bountiful tree lined garden of Adam and Eve, the massive ark of Noah with beasts of every kind, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by brimstone and fire that rained from the heavens, and the Egypt of the Pharaoh, where Joseph?s embalmed body is carried in a coffin, in a scene as elegiac as any in Genesis. Using clues from the text and peeling away the theological and scholarly interpretation that have often obscured the Bible?s most dramatic stories, Crumb fleshes out a parade of Biblical originals: from the serpent in Eden, the humanoid reptile appearing like an alien out of a science fiction movie, to Jacob, a ?kind?ve depressed guy who doesn?t strike you as physically courageous,? and his bother, Esau, ?a rough and kick ass guy,? to Abraham?s wife Sarah, more fetching than most woman at 90, to God himself, ?a standard Charlton Heston-like figure with long white hair and a flowing beard.?
As Crumb writes in his introduction, ?the stories of these people, the Hebrews, were something more than just stories. They were the foundation, the source, in writing of religious and political power, handed down by God himself.? Crumb?s Book of Genesis, the culmination of 5 years of painstaking work, is a tapestry of masterly detail and storytelling which celebrates the astonishing diversity of the one of our greatest artistic geniuses.
Nominated for three 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards: Best Adaptation from Another Work, Best Graphic Album, Best Writer/Artist.
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