The Action Bible is a comic book version of the Bible produced by DC Cook. Its 750 pages are filled with comic strip retellings of Bible stories, from creation to Revelation. We gave a copy to Dan Crook for him to try out on his youth group.
The Action Bible is a great alternative to reading the world’s most popular text. It has proven popular with our youth group, both the Christians and non-Christians. It offers youngsters the ability to read the Bible in comic book form and in chronological order.
It is difficult to use in a youth group session if you are discussing a specific part of the Bible, as there are no references to specific verses. Speech bubbles narrate the story and paraphrase large sections of the biblical narrative. It would of course have been impossible to have included all of the original text without expecting to lug the thing round in a suitcase.
However, I think every young person would have a greater insight into the stories of the Bible through reading this version. The illustrations are superb and on par with any mainstream comic making this format highly accessible to a generation so used to learning through a visual medium. They allow the reader to become immersed in stories that could otherwise be overlooked or never understood.
Being chronologically ordered, the Action Bible also offers a format that is vital to young people’s understanding of God’s Word. For example, so often the God of the Old Testament is seen as harsh, in a bad mood or simply as a cold blooded killer. Read in context, youngsters grab a fresh perspective of Israel’s story and can see more of God’s patience, justice and love for his people.
Bar buying one of these for each member of my youth group, I have struggled to utilise this resource in a group session. This said, I believe every youngster could benefit in their own walk with God through having a copy of the Action Bible. It’s an easy pickup and allows every youngster the ability to read large portions of the Bible in no time, at a stage in their lives when most young people would likely struggle to read the whole book by themselves.
Some thoughts from the group:
Laurent, 15, atheist: ‘It’s better to have it in comic form than words. I’d rather read that [than one of the church NIV Bibles].’
Noah, 15, Christian: ‘I’ve read it three times over. I can read it quicker [than the normal Bible]. It’s interesting and exciting.’
Derrick, volunteer leader: ‘Really quick way to skim through the Bible to get an idea of all it contains and all the characters and who they were related to.’
Dan Crook is Youth and Communities Worker at Holy Trinity Swiss Cottage.