A number of graphic novelists have taken on the Bible in the last several years. Check out “Marked” by Steve Ross, which takes on the Gospel of Mark in both imagery and Word, and pubbed from Seabury books in 2005.
But there’s a new Bible format in town–Manga Bible by Ajinbayo Akinsiku, who “wants the world to know Jesus Christ, just not the gentle, blue-eyed Christ of old Hollywood movies and illustrated Bibles.” It’s recently out from Doubleday and is featured in this weekend’s New York Times article, “The Bible as Graphic Novel, With a Samurai Stranger Called Christ,” by Neela Banerjee. Banerjee writes of Akinsiku’s vision:

Mr. Akinsiku says his Son of God is “a samurai stranger who’s come to town, in silhouette,” here to shake things up in a new, much-abridged version of the Bible rooted in manga, the Japanese form of graphic novels. “We present things in a very brazen way,” said Mr. Akinsiku, who hopes to become an Anglican priest and who is the author of “The Manga Bible: From Genesis to Revelation.” “Christ is a hard guy, seeking revolution and revolt, a tough guy.”

The archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams blurbed it: “It will convey the shock and freshness of the Bible in a unique way,” and Banerjee describes its heroes as “look[ing] and sound like skateboarders in Bedouin gear.”
To read Banerjee’s full article click here. To check out Manga Bible click here.