Today’s Comic> A Child is Born

I'm not making a joke on this one. You should know why.

A Child Is Born

Apostle Arts (November, 2011)

Do I really need to do a synopsis? It’s the first Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. Most of the planet knows this story. The question is how well they told it, and it turns out quite well. Of course, I did gain some extra insight as I was able to interview Tucci himself for the site. (And if I can convince either Blip or YouTube to finally upload the darn thing you may get to see that interview.)

This was Tucci’s dream project and I think he should be proud of it. For one thing this was one of those rare occurrences where going with a painted art style actually benefited the project, when usually the opposite is true (as anyone who has read my reviews already know). The artwork isn’t just beautiful but expressive in all but one or two panels. Or maybe I just didn’t catch it. Reading people’s faces is sadly not one of my strong suits.

Tucci wanted to cover the human angle, especially Joseph. I thought this would mean more “screen time” for Joseph but we didn’t get that. Also, we had his family chime in when Mary tells Joseph about the baby which I don’t recall from the Bible but maybe I just need to reread that part again. He also changes one “fact” from the traditional Nativity story (and your Christmas display) by having the wise men come to Joseph and Mary’s house long after the birth rather than showing up at the manger. This is supposedly more accurate, which come to think of it would explain why Herod ordered two-years old as the cut off point for baby murder.

If I were to have a legit complaint it would be that a couple of sections are two-page spreads but the way the panels are assembled it took a second read to notice that. Once I adjusted it read OK, but a better indicator might have been a good idea. Also, the final page is two-page splash, but you have to hold the book sideways. It’s a nice visual but did it need two pages like that? Linkara has a point about how frustrating that can be.

Overall, this was a rather good presentation and if this is Tucci’s dream project he should be proud of the results. He tells me that next he  plans to do the Easter story, possibly by 2013. I look forward to it.