SPOTLIGHT on Rabbi Encounters
Rabbi Encounters is a unique comic.
It portrays the life of Christ, although that does not make it unique, many people have done this (Community Comics produced The Thieves recently, and CC’s Ben is working on a new life of Christ story as well).
It takes Biblical events and puts them in a modern setting, although that also does not make it unique. Al Hartley, the creator of numerous Christian comics in the ’70s and ’80s (including the “Christian Archie” comics) told many different Bible stories in the modern day, including Paul and Noah. More recently, there’s been a crop of people doing “The Bible in Unique Settings” comics — specifically, futuristic and fantastic settings, including Hero!, which asks the question, “What if Jesus were born in Bethlehem . . . Pennsylvania?”
What sets Rabbi Encounters apart from the many, many other Bible comics? It works, that’s what! The setting change isn’t for a “cool factor” or “shock value” (as many of the “sci-fi Jesus” comics tried to do). No, the setting chance makes the story of Christ more relatable, by putting it in a modern context. At the same time, it does so in a logical way, portraying the story not as a shoe-horned metaphor or allegory, but as a convincing story.
The other thing that sets this comic apart from so many of the other “story of Jesus” comics is the art. Rob Woodrum masterfully draws an emotional story, with characters you can connect with. It’s a mature (in the actual sense, not in the “using mature as a euphemism for over the top violence and sexuality”) well-crafted story about a “rabbi” (spiritual teacher) and the people whose lives he touches.
~ Ben
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