EVENTS :: Heroes Discussion Group: R Crumb’s GENESIS
We hope you will join us on Tuesday April 6th when we will dissect and discuss the powerful and challenging Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb.
For anyone planning to attend the discussion group, we ask three things:
1) Please make sure you have read the Crumb version
2) Please take a few extra minutes and read Crumb’s introduction and End Notes
3) Most importantly, please bring an open mind to the discussion.
We plan to examine a rather bold and exciting interpretation of what is regarded to many as a sacred text. We plan to examine Crumb’s Genesis as a work of literature that has been reinterpreted for a modern audience.
Here are a list of just some of the topics we’ll be covering:
How well is the work serviced by the use of sequential art?
Does the stylized art of Crumb overwhelm the text?
Does this version of Genesis provoke an emotional response from the reader?
How does Crumb’s interpretation affect your personal beliefs?
A discussion of Crumb’s interpretation of the Serpent.
Do the “Crumb females” hamper the reading experience?
And that is just the tip of the iceberg. To prepare for the discussion I have been examining two books concerned with the Book of Genesis: “Genesis”— a roundtable discussion of the importance and influence of Genesis in today’s society edited by Bill Moyer; and Testament – an historical over-view that details the creation of the Old Testament written  by famed archeologist and historian John Romer.
We look forward to seeing you! And as always, just mention the Heroes Discussion Group when you buy your copy at Heroes and you’ll get 10% off the cost of the book!
Andy,
I am very excited about this upcoming discussion group. As I may have mentioned to you before (I think at the Umbrella Academy group) I’m a religious studies major at UNCC so this is right up my ally. I have been mentioning this particular group to my professors and fellow students and have gotten a very positive response which hopefully means you may be looking forward to not only a large group but one with considerable knowledge about the text being looked at. I’m also glad to see that you have been doing some extra outside reading on Genesis. One other book I would highly recommend is Who Wrote the Bible by Richard Elliot Friedman. This book is seminal in its establishment of the four source hypothesis – J, P, E, D – this being the four authors believed by scholars to have written Genesis (Moyer may discuss this. Its been awhile since I’ve look at that book of his). Again I am very much looking forward to this group.
I can’t wait.
For those who plan to attend and have more interest in Sequential Art than Bible study, we will examine Crumb’s artistry, his influences– all that make up the choices he made during his three year toil.
In addition to examining Crumb’s version of the Book in particular, I hope to focus on the importance of Genesis and how it has influenced artists throughout recorded history.
I plan to take full advantage of your knowledge of religious studies.
I am a Roman Catholic and I have been having a rather difficult time of late But Moyer and his round-table offer some fabulous insights into spirituality. It examines why the book touches us all on so many levels. I think it is a book that everyone would enjoy reading. For me, it has been a real tonic in turbulent times.
This should prove to be an exciting evening. I am looking forward to seeing you.
I am excited by this, as I always wondered how the Genesis Device worked, and why it was able to bring Mr. Spock back to life. And I’m Catholic.
At your funeral we will ask Phil Collins and the boys to play Amazing Grace because of all the souls we have encountered in our travels, you, Phil Southern are the most (CHOKE!) human.
Phil Collins and I don’t talk, since he usurped Genesis from my friend, love and soulmate, Peter Gabriel. He wrote “In Your Eyes” and “Biko” about me!
I hope to make it to this one. I know next to nothing about the Bible and haven’t had a chance to pick up the Crumb book yet so I run the risk of having nothing to add to the discussion but I’m planning to pick it up soon and cram beforehand.
Hope to see you Rich– it will be really good!