Comics/Graphic Novels, Christian-style.

During the week in my many random internet searches, I found several websites full of Biblical comics of different length: some short others longer, more like a graphic novel. Cartoons are simply a different way of telling a story, though I read them because of the artwork, for some that aren't the best readers it can be a way of getting into reading without simply reading text after text.

I'm a good reader, but sometimes you want something easier to read - cuts to the chase and lets you get into a story without spending weeks or months flipping page of text after text. This week I found a free download of a comic on the Prophet Jonah. I downloaded it straight away and started to look at samples of many other comics by the same publishing company.

I've never really read about Jonah. While I knew he was eaten by a large fish (whale or shark) I didn't know anything else about him, apart from knowing he is a Jewish Prophet of the Old Testament. After reading the whole comic on my iPad, I read a little bit more of factual text in the last few pages.

I'm always amazed when I learn something new from the Bible, and this time was no different. Several years ago I learned, with the help of some Jehovah's Witnesses, about scientific facts found in the Bible, such as the earth being round which wasn't proved until more recent times. Reading on truths of the world - scientific truths - does a great thing for my faith. It confirms it.

I always thought it's a pretty far-fetched story to be eaten by a whale, and live to tell the truth about it. Until this week. I found that it is very possible to have that happen, and two people in more recent times have lived to tell about it. You can be stuck in the whale until it swims closer to the shore and spits you out. Obviously something inside the whale changes your appearance in some way, which is why the people in Nineveh would have seen Jonah as a man from God with a pale complexion and whitish hair.

Considering I've been raised and educated a Catholic, I haven't read too much of the Bible (a fair chunk of it though!) so there are many Prophets writings and teachings I am yet to learn. Though reading comics and graphic novels cannot replace reading the actual Holy Scriptures, it is a fast-tracked way I can learn about them, referring to my Bible as I read.

The publisher of this Jonah comic have a pretty big range of Biblical stories - they even have one on the Book of Revelation! Their prices are fairly cheap too, so come pay day I think I'll buy an iTunes card and buy a few eBooks from the iBook Store!

Here's a link to that particular Jonah comic.

May the Holy Spirit bless and work in me as I continue to grow in faith!