Monday, February 08, 2010

Publishers Weekly Review of Imaginary Jesus

Publishers Weekly just reviewed Imaginary Jesus.

Here's their review:

Imaginary Jesus Matt Mikalatos. Tyndale/BarnaBooks, $14.99 paper (224p) ISBN 978-1-4143-3563-6
The Apostle Peter punches Jesus in the face, then chases him out of a coffee shop. And that’s just chapter 0. In this quirky tale the publisher describes as “not-quite-true,” former missionary and comic book store clerk Mikalatos disguises his critique of Christian life in an action-based quest to find the real Jesus. It’s A Christmas Carol meets Oz, but instead of ghosts and tin men, it’s a talking donkey, a motorcycle rider, and Mikalatos himself. The cast of characters drags the reader through the streets of Seattle and ancient Judea to introduce a host of fake Jesuses: Magic 8 Ball Jesus, Harley Jesus, even Liberal Social Services Jesus. They’re constructs of the human mind. “People invent a Jesus for one specific reason and then discard him when they don’t need him anymore,” says one of the Jesuses (the one with an expensive suit). Peter teaches Mikalatos that he must quiet falsehoods and mold a deeper relationship with the living, historical Jesus. Mixing questions of suffering and free will with “a nexus of weirdness,” Mikalatos throws Christian fiction into the world of Comic-Con and Star Wars. His silly quest is startling, contemporary, meaningful, and occasionally exhausting when the reader is puzzled. It begs for a comic book counterpart. (Apr.)

Anytime a book is compared to the Oz books and Charles Dickens and Star Wars, it has to be good, right? And it is begging for a comic book counterpart.  Did you hear that, Mike Richardson of Dark Horse Comics?  Well, did you?


Okay.  Now that you know it is great from an impartial source, you can go pre-order a copy.  Go on.  I dare you.  You can also order it from Powell's bookstore, which appears in the book.  That would be a nice little piece of meta-fiction for your day.