Well I just finished the final issue of the five-part comic book miniseries MINIATURE JESUS. It is very, very good. This comic book series will take a very special and prominent place in my collection, as one of the best comic books series I have ever read.
The last issue lacks a clear and consistent message, which is fitting given how the overall story arc proceeded. It begins with a beautiful, cosmic vision of God as a giant baby. God offers Chomsky, our protagonist sobriety-seeker a spiritual cleansing as a reward for his willingness to get outside of himself and help miniature Jesus. Chomsky rejects this offer of help, and any possibility of divine assistance in his quest for sobriety. He insists that he can only find peace by doing this on his own, and without faith which he sees as just another addiction. God Himself acknowledges Chomsky's god-given (ironically) right to make this call, and respects.
Chomsky destroys the cat-god that first sought to give him aid, by removing what belief he had in it's divinity. It turns out miniature Jesus was not there primarily to help him in his quest, but the wayward priest who had first tried to destroy mini-Jesus when He awakened. Chomsky expresses anger that God only extends his help to those who seek Him first. A bartender who is witness to the end game of all of this tells Chomsky that God is always there for any who seek him, and that somehow Chomsky will find a path to genuine meaning, but that Chomsky's focus on sobriety first is the right attitude, for truth will not come until Chomsky walks the sober path.
There is, of course, some truth in Chomsky's claim that religion is trading one addiction for another, but really Chomsky has it backwards. Religion is not another drug, but drugs a corruption of religion, really an idolatry. The truth is Chomsky's "I can do it on my own" attitude will just land him in another false worship, one way or another. His commitment to sobriety I commend, his attitude of self-sufficiency I somehow doubt. Chomsky questions why belief in God is any help at all, since all one does is gets trapped in an endless layer of questions and searching, which Chomsky claims robs him of the peace he seeks.
The truth is there is a way in which 'religion' can be something you get addicted to, and the mystery itself can just be a way of ignoring everyday life. Of course, there is no intellectual endeavor that doesn't hold this kind of temptation, and I for one think that any attempt to understand something is worth undertaking, even with that moral risk. But relationship with God is something different. One mistake the comic book makes, that Ted McKeever makes, is creating this cleave between God and Jesus that simply doesn't exist. The historical man Jesus, that inspiring figure, IS God, and God truly understood. Ted's act of giving to God is the very place in which peace and serenity can be found. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God, but it is somehow wonderful to have Him fall into yours. In Christ God is understood. If Chomsky could've pushed the insight from issue #4 as far as it could go, if he could have Chomsky finally find some way to be vulnerable to a being that was yet also vulnerable to him, this would've been the foundation of a love relationship, that was less addiction and more a path to genuine freedom.
The comic book doesn't necessarily leave us with the sense that Chomsky is 100% right in his quest for self-sufficiency, there is an ambiguous but genuine nod to the fact that creative religious paths may actually exist. But Chomsky is the hero, and this is the choice he makes. It need not be ours, and Ted McKeever seems to respect our right to make that choice. In the end, I cannot stand up with Chomsky's approach, it seems to me that he seeks peace outside of the storm, which is easier but not nearly as rewarding as finding peace within the storm. Christians often find their own way out of the storm, but I truly believe that Christ is the best way to find peace without escape.
This book on every level works. The art was some of the best of the series, the imagery was captivating, the ideas were deep and enthralling, and the story ended very well indeed.
If I was going to rate this like a normal comic book it would receive 5 stars across the board. Pick up all 5 issues and read them. *Not for anyone under 18*
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