Lamb/The Doom That Came to Gotham/Visitations

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal - Christopher Moore (2002)

A fictional retelling of the life of Jesus Christ as told through the eyes of his also fictional best friend Levi (nicknamed Biff, here). In spite of this being only the second Christopher Moore novel I've read, it's safe to say that he completely nailed it here. The first three quarters of the book creates a wonderful backstory for Jesus. We obviously don't know anything about his life shortly after his birth until he begins his ministry in his early 30s, and Moore's imagination really runs rampant here in the best possible way. However, Moore mostly succeeds when he strays a little from his sense of humor and adds some humility and morality to the story. He gets a bit more serious than I ever expected of him, and it's really good stuff. Moore obviously studied up on the Bible amongst other sources, but all the fictionalized details are thoroughly enjoyable. Every single character, major or minor, is portrayed incredibly well. I won't deny that my appreciation for Lamb is boosted by my upbringing in the church, but I think absolutely anyone would be touched, challenged and at the very least find enjoyment in reading this. It is definitely one of the best books I've read so far in 2011.

The Doom That Came to Gotham - Mike Mignola & Richard Pace (2000)

Overall, this three issue mini-series is typical Mike Mignola fare, in my opinion. Rushed story, lots of holes, very cool imagery and religious/mystic symbolism. Visually, the series is quite fantastic. The way classic characters are used in this twist on the Batman story is pretty cool, even when the events they're involved in are completely inexplicable. Harvey Dent's role is the most interesting and disturbing (especially visually). And per usual, Mignola's monsters look pretty amazing. More flawed than I was hoping for, but still solid.

Visitations - C.S. Morse (1998)

Quick and easy to read, eerie, touching, tragic and gorgeous in every way. A tale and character study that questions morality, spirituality and life after death. Pretty heavy stuff for such a short book, let alone for one that features such innocent and attractive artwork. Pretty much loved it.