Yes, one of my Lent books is a comic.
Its author/artist, Si Smith, is a great mate of mine. As well as being a Christian and a brilliant artist, he’s funny, thought-provoking and hugely inventive. Over the years of our friendship, he’s regularly come up with stuff that makes me think or he suggests music that he reckons I’d like (invariably, he’s absolutely right) or he recommends Bristol theatre/gigs (he lives in Leeds!) or he gets me involved in various art projects. I’m constantly amazed by his creativity and the breadth of his abilities.
Well, I’ve read his 64-page comic several times already (and I just know that I’ll be reading it SEVERAL more times this Lent… and well beyond). It’s profound, harrowing, challenging, sad, uplifting, funny and hauntingly beautiful. It reflects on the realities of life and faith in modern-day Leeds: “there is beauty here, if you look for it…but it’s a thin line – love and hate and this city is an ugly place too, with its gaudy excesses… and this compulsion to consume and be consumed”.
But you don’t need to have a faith to appreciate this gem… it contains messages for us all in today’s materialistic, greedy world… (and I just KNOW I’ll gain new discoveries every time I read it – seeing small details that I’d previously missed).
I know I’ll continue to reflect on it for days and months to come.
Typically (and brilliantly), Si has also included a suggested playlist to accompany his comic… and, of course, it really does provide a perfect soundtrack (he’s a very clever man).
So, whether you’re a person of faith, or an artist, or into pop culture, or simply someone who cares about our world… I can’t recommend this publication strongly enough (and, ridiculously, it only costs £6.50, including postage).
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