Classic Illustrated Special Issue: Moses and the Ten Commandments

I stumbled across this early silver age beauty last weekend during my biannual visit to the flea market at the Fairgrounds in Raleigh, NC. Actually, my wife found it. She knew that I like to collect Gilberton's Classics Illustrated and while this wasn't an official entry in their lineup, it is a spin-off. 

I didn't even know that this book existed. But it was in amazing condition. The price was very nice. And with Passover/Easter coming up, I was thrilled to have a Spring holiday comic read.

This retelling of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt wasn't produced to celebrate Passover or Easter. It was actually a tie-in to Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 Biblical epic The Ten Commandments; although you don't find that out until you get to the inside back cover where there is a full page ad along with photos of Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Pharaoh. 

The movie advertisement claims to have extra material not found in the modern Bible. That would explain some extra material to the Exodus story that seemed unfamiliar to me. I understand artistic license adding scenes and dialogue to the movie. DeMille's epic is over 3 hours long and from what I remember there was a side plot about an Israelite in love with an Egyptian girl. But to claim that the extra material is from newly released documents just seems not to be Gilberton's style. 

A couple of years ago, I read a book about the history of Classics Illustrated. I don't remember reading anything about the publisher releasing movie tie-ins. Was this a one time experiment? Or did they capitalize on other epic films being based on classics of world literature? 

A very appropriate read for Passover with awesome art. But above all, I think the use of a Leroy Lettering Machine in lieu of a human letterer actually works well here. The more formal font in bigger, bolder typeface really exudes the forceful commands of God to Moses and his people.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Simpsons Comics Get Some Fancy Book Learnin'

I was a little skeptical about whether I would like this collection of Simpsons comics or not. I'm not really a fan of the episodes that take place during a different era. But I want to own all the Simpsons Comics there are, regardless of the book being a floppie or a trade. So I gave it a shot. Thankfully, these issues were more like a Treehouse of Horror, spoofing individual works of literature than that god awful episode from 2017 that took place entirely during medieval times. 

There's 5 issues that comprise this volume. Each focuses on a single subject. Hence why I was a little hesitant that I was going to like this one. Greek Myth, Fairy Tales and stories from The Bible are among the classics spoofed. Ian Boothby wrote every issue with artwork and colors being provided by a number of talents. Boothby did a fine job making cramming in numerous references and quick jokes like a standard episode of The Simpsons. And he managed to do it without getting too irritatingly repetitive. Every once in a while a joke from earlier in the issue would reappear. But Boothby used considerable restraint not going overboard with those gags. Too bad current Simpsons writers can't learn from this!

Surprisingly, the issue that I thought was the best was the one which dives into God's holy word. I was a bit on edge thinking it would be blasphemous. But Boothby did something brilliant that lessened some of the irreverence. He had Bart tell the stories! With the Sunday School teacher out sick, Bart retells the story of Noah's ark, Abraham and Isaac and The Prodigal Son to Rod and Todd with hilarious results. Bart getting details wrong isn't so much a criticism of the Bible; it's what kids actually do! It's why I love Little Lulu and Foxtrot so much. It reminds me of the mixed-up adolescents I teach on a daily basis. 

I really was pleasantly surprised by this one. There were several laughs to be had. Some great gags and a few biting commentaries. In a word, it was CLASSIC Simpsons humor and it was very much appreciated in a day where there's getting to be less and less to laugh about.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Picture Stories From the Bible: Complete Old Testament Edition (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In 1942, Max Gaines teamed with 10 religious leaders of Christianity, Catholicism and the Jewish faith to produce comic books presenting stories and scriptures from The Bible to young readers nationwide. Perhaps the most famous person on the advisory board was the Reverend Norman Vincent Peale, who would be known to both Christian and secular readers for his motivational work, 1952's The Power of Positive Thinking.

The first series approved by the panel was titled Picture Stories From the Bible: Old Testament Edition. It was a 4-issue series that covers the creation story from Genesis, through the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, through the life of King David to the many prophets whom arose during the Babylonian captivity of the Jews. Also included in the series was an account of the Life of Judas Maccabeus, whose rebellion against Antiochus lead to the miracle of the restored Temple's altar lights burning for 8 nights, later inspiring the Jewish festival of lights known as Hanukkah. 

The miracle itself is barely mentioned at all; reduced to just a single panel. The inspirational story of Job is also not included. Sex, such as King David's affair with Bathsheba is omitted. However, murder and war are certainly explored in great detail and clearly presented to appeal to young male readers. The first issue shows an unknown man in Egyptian garb punching out another man. Later editions, such as the one this reviewer read, would caption this scene as 'Moses Battles the Egyptians'. Yes, Moses did kill an Egyptian for abusing a fellow Israelite. But he never took on Pharaoh like John Wayne in a saloon on a busy Saturday night.

Before being bought out of his ownership shares of All-American, Gaines and his advisory board completed two follow ups: a 3-issue account of the complete New Testament and a one-shot collection of issues #1 and 2 titled Picture Stories From the Bible: Complete Life of Christ Edition. Both books were released under the National Comics banner, which had absorbed All-American's line under a single publishing house. 

Using his proceeds from the buyout, Max Gaines created a new publishing company: Educational Comics. It was soon know by just it's initials: EC. As the Bible books were Gaines' baby, he was able to eventually retain the rights to those titles, along with the 'Picture Stories' franchise title. Building on his company's promise to promote wholesome, informative comics to children, Educational Comics released Picture Stories titles featuring American history, world history, and science. A pair of massive collected editions of the Old Testament and New Testament series were released. The first couple of prints were published by National. All subsequent prints were from EC Comics. 

Illustrations for The Complete Old Testament Edition were attributed solely to Don Cameron. Although, many chapters look like they were illustrated or inked by others.

Scripts were written by Montgomery Mulford who used the King James version of The Bible, the Catholic Duoay edition of scriptures and the Jewish Publication Society volume of the Torah and Hebrew Bible.

Completing this review completes Task #1 (Comic from the Golden Age (1938-1955)) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 25

We made it to another Christmas. There's one last Advent calendar to explore. I know that I've featured an Advent that had a nativity scene. However, that calendar was more about the angels in the tree above the manager and not the story of Christ's birth. 

There are several Advent calendars out there in which you can build your own nativity scene. Most have figures that look more like Fisher Price people and they're great for little tykes. However I chose the advent from Flivoosh because it looked more like the nativity scene I had when I was younger. My nativity which I bought years ago by piecing together at Woolworth's after-Christmas sale looked like it was sculpted from marble. It had a Renaissance look and feel to it and despite being a Christmas decoration, I played with that thing for hours, arranging and rearranging the figures into the perfect lineup.

This advent has 24 windows which contain scenery, animals, the Wise Men and the Holy Family. There's even a piece that looks like the city of Jerusalem forming the background setting. I imagine that the first couple of days worth of offerings involve making up the set. with the scenery pieces. But hopefully, people like the shepherds will be available quickly. The most important thing is that the Baby Jesus is the gift for day 24. It was a rule in my family that the Christ Child couldn't go in the nativity until Christmas Day. I've heard that's been a tradition for many families as well. I really want that to be the case with this advent but since I don't own this set, I'm merely speculating.

Another thing this advent doesn't seem to have is a small instruction book. The listing on Amazon calls this an educational tool about the story of the First Christmas. However, unless a learned grown-up is available to explain all the parts that make up this nativity, there's not much teaching going to happen. I guess folks could always use a Bible. But I'd also like a kind of fact book that dug a little deeper into each daily addition to the manger scene.

And that's my 2024 Advent. I've hope you have enjoyed my adventures through the world of the advent calendar. Before I close, let's see what I received from the final envelope in my Batman Advent calendar...

What on Earth is Going On? (Signs of the Times Series)

WORTH CONSUMING!

The end of the world- it’s a scary thing. Even for someone like myself who is saved by the blood of Jesus, just thinking about the end times scares me. I fear for those family and friends not saved. I fear for those who will die. Those who won’t have a second chance.

I could’ve picked a much bigger book than this. It’s only 110 pages. But, I’ll tell you a secret- despite my salvation, the whole book of the Revelations of John really freaks me out.

DEAD SEA SCROLLS, 1947-1969 by Edmund Wilson

The Dead Sea Scrolls were announced recently to be making a visit to North Carolina’s Science Museum in Raleigh. So when I found that a book on the Scrolls was in the next level of my Dewey Project readings- I jumped at the chance to prep myself for the exhibit.

(Note: Sadly, I never followed through and didn't go to see the Scrolls!)

The Bible: An Owner's Manual : What You Need to Know Before You Buy and Read Your Own Bible

NOT WORTH CONSUMING  

The concept for this book is brilliant: An owner’s manual to help people better utilize their Bible. Kinda like the manual I got for my stereo, only not in Korean.

  But, after the concept, it all goes down hill from there. True, this book was written 25 years ago. But, the advice in this book is all wrong. Never should you read your Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It’s essential for new readers (believers or not) to start with the Gospels. Everyone I know says start with John, but I think Luke a good alternative.

  At times this book lives up to what it intended, but once you get through the intros for each chapter, it starts to turn into a text book. There’s lots of experts and scriptures quoted, but this should not be used for a devotional. Especially, since I ended the book wondering if the author was a Christian or just a Bible scholar who researches religion for the sake of research. That ambiguity left me hating a book I really didn’t enjoy from the get go.