It’s been a few years since we last looked at the Manga Bible Series. So it is time to get back to it and review another volume: Manga Metamorphosis. This was the volume that starts off with Peter sharing how before Jesus ascended to Heaven, he told his followers that they will be his witnesses all over the earth. It is almost purely based on the book of Acts and describes the early formation of the Church with Peter and especially Paul as some of the main central figures. Instead of explaining the story, I am just going to share my random thoughts on what I experienced from reading this volume.
The very first thought I had was what exactly does the word Metamorphosis mean? A quick search tells me that it is a change in physical form, structure, or substance. So for example the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. This word is obviously referencing the dramatic change of identity from Saul who once persecuted Christians, into the name of Paul who became arguably the greatest missionary and proponent of Christianity.
I feel a bit embarrassed to say this, but I was blown away to learn that Jesus had four brothers. I honestly thought he only had one brother which was James. But his other brothers was Joseph (not to be confused with his earthly father), Judas (also not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples), and Simon (also not to be confused with Simon Peter, another disciple of Jesus). So to have multiple Josephs, Marys, Judas’, and Simons really confuses people who are reading the Bible for the first time. Also what blew my mind is that Mark 6:3 also suggests that Jesus had at least two sisters. We don’t know how many or what their names are, but I wouldn’t be surprised if their names also began with the letter ‘J’.
I am aware that this reading of Jesus having siblings has been disputed in different ways. One of those ways is that the term “brother” and “sister” was used as a spiritual term. But Mark 6:3 makes it seem clear and indisputable that Jesus did in fact have siblings. Which even begs the question why Jesus’ father and siblings were mentioned so little? Mary and James are really the only family members that are mentioned the most. Anyways I really got off track here. Let’s get back to my other thoughts.
I really do love the subtle comedy these Manga Bibles sprinkle in from time to time. Peter here is yelling boldly about how Jesus is the only way to salvation, and then John is thinking to himself “Wow Peter, tell them how you actually feel.”. A simple yet effective way to make readers have a bit of a chuckle during a serious situation.
A common art style I noticed was how certain antagonist characters are drawn. Some of these examples are Annanias (who lied about giving all of his money when he held back some of it), Simon the sorcerer (who tried to pay Peter money to learn how to use the power of the Holy Spirit for his own wealthy gain), or even Elymas a false prophet and sorcerer (who was trying to sidetrack Paul’s teachings and distract the people). The artist clearly makes these lying and deceptive characters almost look like pigs. They are all portrayed as short with a round head, round eyes, and a round nose that almost looks like the snout of a pig. And I actually like that. Because their actions were just as dirty as a pig.
There are a few scenes where the apostles who were once thrown in jail, an Angel appears before them to open all the doors for them to escape. Shortly after the apostles were summoned to the temple leaders. Instead of being killed, one of the Pharisees mentioned that trying to fight them would be equivalent to trying to fight God. It’s a pointless battle that cannot be won. So instead, they whip them and eventually release them all. It’s no wonder why they were so bold and brave during that time. If I saw an angel help me escape and then see that the leaders could not stop our movement, I too would be emboldened. But what I do wonder is why it took those kinds of events when there were by far so many more events that Jesus did right before their eyes but still did not have that bravery and boldness Jesus wanted them to have.
I liked this completely random scene of Philip meeting an Ethiopian man who just so happened to be reading a scroll written by the prophet Isaiah talking about Jesus. He doesn’t know who Isaiah is talking about, but Philip tells him about Jesus. Right then and there, the Ethiopian man chooses to be Baptized. It is one simple page, and yet it speaks how powerful Jesus’ words are. The Ethiopian man doesn’t find reasons or excuses not to believe. It logically makes sense to him, and he gets baptized. So simple. So beautiful.
Then a page later there is a scene where I kid you not, it reminds me of a scene from Star Wars where Darth Vader comes before Emperor Palpatine. Here we have Saul appearing before the High Priest Annas. One subtle difference is Saul is on both knees and Vader is on one. It literally looked like Saul was some sort of powerful man, and in essence he was, as he had full authority to eliminate the Christian church. It was like he did have the same ruthlessness of Vader.
Then there’s this scene where Herod throws Peter into prison, and the church was praying for his release. What shocked me was that this angel comes and punches Peter in the face. There is absolutely no way an angel from God would do that. That seems to be artistic liberty crossing the line. But low and behold when I actually look up the passage, indeed an angel did in fact strike Peter. I would say the Manga Bible got it partially correct. Although an angel did strike Peter, the passage claims it was “on the side”, which is sort of a vague description of where he was hit. Since the biblical text is not clear on where (or how hard) Peter was exactly struck, It is not accurate to portray Peter being punched in the face.
Another funny moment is that when Peter does escape prison, he flees to Mark’s house where all of the apostles are and is banging on the door to be let in. A servant girl named Rhoda arrives at the door and is so shocked to hear Peter’s voice she actually does not open the door. She then tells John, to which John first thinks she is crazy, then it just turns almost into this philosophical discussion among the men all while Peter is banging on the door and yelling. This was another clever opportunity to sneak in some subtle humour. The only question I have about this moment is that this volume says Peter went to Mark’s house, but scripture says it is Mary’s house. This particular Mary is the mother of Mark, so I guess they both could have owned it, but it is odd that this volume specifically mentions it being Mark’s house when scripture specifically says it is Mary’s. Not a major issue, but that should have been accurately reflected to match the Biblical texts.
Another minor issue with some of the accuracy is when an Angel struck down Herod. This volume says that Herod suffered for five days and eventually died, while the biblical texts say that he was eaten by worms. Now it seems likely that his death was not instant, by why does this volume specifically state 5 days when Acts does not mention that time frame at all? Again, this is not a major issue, but it is odd that this volume leaves out Herod being eaten by worms which the Bible does specifically mention, but then states that Herod died five days later which the Bible does not specifically mention?
And there is yet another scene in Lystra where this volume is a bit off in its accuracy. It shows Paul and Barnabas being carried off to this temple of Zeus where a priest and its people were going to offer sacrifices to this false god. Everything about this is all correct except the Bible makes no mention of Paul and Barnabas being carried the way this Manga volume portrays. I think as I see several of these little inaccuracies makes me once again realize this is more for dramatic effect. I can at least appreciate that these differences do not cause major issues, but I still maintain that some of them are not necessary to add.
There is this cool art style used that I haven’t seen before that shows scenes that are clearly with Paul’s dream. The soft edges with mute colours and pencil drawn outlines made this dream actually look like a dream. Really well done.
I think the last thing that amazed me was how throughout all the different travels and journeys that Paul and his group went on, that those same people could be reunited. I mean these were long journeys where they would split their travels to different locations. And yet somehow they would be reunited. There were no cell phones, no internet, no postal service; Nothing. And yet they were somehow able to find each other. I don’t find that far-fetched. I find that impressive considering how much we rely on technology to meet up with each other.
So those are my thoughts on Manga Metamorphosis. I am very glad to get back into this series which now leaves one last volume left.
