REVIEW: The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb

The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb

Graphic novel by R. Crumb 2009

Authorized King James Version of the Bible translated 1611

The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb:

· As this is an illustrated version of the biblical text of Genesis, R. Crumb took many liberties in the depictions of the text in its pictorial representation

· Furthermore, the use of the King James Version would further note the work to have translation biases

· The text and dialogue of the work are taken word for word from the King James Version with no alterations

· Crumb took many liberties to depict God in an anthropomorphic fashion, akin to the depiction of Greek deities. This is notable since he chose to depict God in a non-representational manner and in a more literal sense of being the template to man’s form (Chapter 1, Crumb)

· It is of interest that Crumb also included the two depictions of man’s creation, though both versions are in Genesis it is to note that he depicted them as two versions of the same story as opposed to sequentially one happening after another (Chapter 1-2, Crumb)

· As with R. Crumb’s style, he didn’t held back when depicting sex in the Bible. An example of this would be the ‘pure’ reproduction between Adam and Eve that depicted no sin, as they are seen mating in plain site with such excitement on their faces. In addition, Crumb took many liberties in emphasizing the fertility of female characters by his reflection on their bodily design, as with the perky large breasts of Eve in her full nudity. (Chapter 2, Crumb)

· Crumb also took it to himself to illustrate sequence for the numerous lineage births and rise of nations that were included in Genesis, as with the case of the lineages being told after the murder of Abel by Cain (Chapter 4-5, Crumb)

· It is of interest that Crumb made a little homage to another tale, the Epic of Gilgamesh, in the depiction of heroes of old. (Chapter 6, Crumb) This follows with the text “The Nephilim were then on the Earth… had entered the daughters of men, who bore them children. They are the heroes of old, the men of renown” which follows the depiction of Enkidu and Gilgamesh slaying Humbaba as depicted in the Epic of Gilgamesh. (George, A.R.)

· In Crumb’s style to the grotesque being almost comical, his depictions of unspeakable horrors that mankind had did out of sin in Genesis are commonly depicted in almost a parody form in how inhumanely gross the violence is. An example of such would be the drowning of people in the flood, where people are floating around and looking comically horrified in the face of Armageddon. (Chapter 6, Crumb). This is also seen with the destruction of Sodom by the rain of fire, which has a comical depiction of death in that some people are being burnt in the butt and people are piling over one another with no logical reason to how they got in that state (Chapter 19, Crumb)

· For the Tower Of Babel depiction in the book, it is to note that when the people of the world finally gain different languages, they are speaking in legitimate languages in the Middle East, such as Egyptian hieroglyphs for Egyptian and Sand script for Sumerian. Whether or not they actually translate to something I cannot be certain but if so then R. Crumb took many steps into making this one panel (Chapter 11, Crumb)

· Crumb didn’t held back with the depiction of sexuality in questionable terms in Genesis, as with the incest of Lot’s daughters to him to carry on his name (Chapter 19, Crumb) and the old yet still fertile-looking Sarah with her husband Abraham (Chapter 21, Crumb)

· Interesting is the choice of design for the household gods that are relevant to Genesis, as Crumb chose to depict them in a more pagan design as opposed to the humanistic look of the messengers of God and God himself in the work (Chapter 31, Crumb)

· The grotesque style of Crumb doesn’t limit to people as he depicted the cannibalism of the cows and wheat in Pharaoh’s dream to be just as gross as his depiction of humans (Chapter 41, Crumb)

· An interesting depiction of subtle differences in culture in the time of Genesis was Joseph’s use of Egyptian words and his Israeli translator when Joseph was meeting his brothers. As opposed to merely showing Joseph speak directly to his brothers, it is to note that Crumb kept to the text in that Joseph kept his deception to even this minute detail (Chapter 42, Crumb)

· The looks of terror was worked well with Crumb’s depiction of horror or amazement in Genesis, as with how Joseph’s brothers looked upon him in amazement when they discovered the true fate of their brother (Chapter 45, Crumb)

· When depicting the various persons in Genesis, R. Crumb took it to himself to depict the many details of individuals by designing each person named to look distinct onto his own look. An example would be the lineage of Israel/Jacob who came to Egypt, which included up to forty-eight individuals to be compared to one another as kinsman (Chapter 46, Crumb)

· Ultimately, the series ends with Joseph’s death with implication of continuity. This stays true to the book of Genesis as one is expected to read Exodus afterwards. This means that Crumb took the dedication to even end his series the same way as with the original text (Chapter 50, Crumb)

Bibliography

Crumb, R. .. The Book of Genesis: Illustrated. New York: W.W. Norton, 2009. Print.

George, A. R. The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.