I thought I was done with Halloween terror but here I am reading about 15th century Christianity.
The graphic novel biography “Renegade,” written by Dacia Palmerino and Andrea Grosso Ciponte, looks at the tumultuous character of Martin Luther and his confrontation of the Roman Catholic Church.
It seems like nothing you’d want in your graphic novel, but by page six there’s a demon skewering people on a tree and I’m wishing that I had high school history with Palmerino and Ciponte because they’re not messing around.
Let’s get some quick background on Martin Luther though.
WHO IS THIS GUY?:
If you thought I was talking about Martin Luther King Jr., I need you to rewind a nice five hundred years. Martin Luther was a young monk who triggered the Protestant Reformation. Luther called the Catholic Church on its shit – and boy howdy was there a lot – in a time where that would get your tongue literally torn from your mouth.
WHAT’S THE STORY:
After a gruesome intro (which I liked, but I’m weird) we’re introduced to Luther’s early life and time in school. Palmerino and Ciponte move through this part quickly.
Though is parents are poor, they’re able to send him to school and Luther thrives. His parents have high hopes for him, crossing their fingers that he’ll become a lawyer. Some things never change.
Internal drama is boiling for this kid though as he questions the state of his soul and justice of his God. This is a time of lepers, starvation, and plague. I imagine it looked a lot nastier than it does in Ciponte’s art.
Like a modern youth, Luther disappoints his family and becomes a monk.
During his time in Germany at the monastery, Luther’s deep seeded anxieties concerning damnation and redemption only grow more pressing.
You shoulda been Jewish Luther, then you wouldn’t have had to freak out about all this hell business.
Oh wait, you were anti-Semitic. Enjoy eternal damnation or whatever.
Even after a road trip to Rome, Luther’s concerns only grow worse until the printed version of a “movie breakthrough moment” leads us to Luther grasping his grand idea: Salvation is granted through accepting Jesus Christ as your savior.
I’m sure you’re familiar with this bit. Well, now you know who to thank/flip off.
Armed with Latin and the printing press Luther starts sharing these ideas and the Catholic Church is not stoked. You see they’ve been pretty much selling salvation and making bank. Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses call this out as a distortion of Christianity and worse for the church, people are listening to the monk.
During his excommunication from the church, Luther ends up translating the bible out of Latin so citizens can actually read the thing. (He also talks to a bird, but I don’t think that’s as important.)
Luther is somehow shocked that people are revolting now that they know the church is full of shit and extorting them. He starts a revolution then condemns those who embrace it.
He’s no Spider-man that’s for damn sure.
REACTION:
The amount of research done definitely comes out through the story. Palmerino and Ciponte create a well-rounded overview of events, if not somewhat disjointed at times. Some of this halting nature comes from the dialogue. At times it’s period appropriate, but then you’re reading words that seem modern and clunky on the page. I needed them to decide: is this a historically accurate retelling or is this a modernized, let’s-make-it-accessible-to-the-youths version.
Something tells me this isn’t verbatim…
The amount of history covered in this one book seemed to require choosing between pacing and data. “Renegade” favors the latter, and maybe that’s not so bad for a historical graphic novel. I personally would have enjoyed a longer book that gave that spent more time in each major event so that I could better connect with the story, but I do tend to read fiction and prize the emotional connections those stories bring to me over non-fiction’s timelines and facts.
There are other strengths to this book than its details. The art style, though not really a favorite of mine, works wonderfully with this genre. It was actually the first time I liked this style. Plus, the cold, hard lines of modern comics would have really felt out of place in “Renegade.”
Another nice touch: in the back of the book there’s a character guide that is particularly excellent. Juxtaposed against the main art of the book, the character portraits are a little less abstract and more defined. With so many major players it was a smart choice by Palmerino and Ciponte to do.
Ultimately I would use “Renegade” as a precursor to any research on the subject. With limited text opportunities in graphic novels, the book sometimes falls short of emotion, but for history buffs, it’ll deliver with the details and legends.
One last note that I think is important to bring up is that Ciponte kinda makes Luther hot. Elector Frederick maybe just didn’t capture Luther’s sexiness? I dunno guys. You decide for yourselves.
The picture they put on Tinder verses what they actually look like
