I enjoyed this creative imagining of the Christ story to some extent. The tale is very different from what is presented in the Bible, but it's grounded in similar events and theology. I was intrigued to see where the story was going to go. I also enjoyed the art. It's illustrated in bold, simple strokes and a very basic color palette, but I felt like it worked well for the story. Ultimately there were some interesting ideas, but it was too short and failed to fully captivate me. ( )

he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead.
-- Apostles' Creed (variant)

Various particulars of the Creed are disputed. I am persuaded the Creed was not written by the Apostles but as a refutation of Gnosticism and other heresies to the Early Church, centuries after the death of the Apostles. The first line quoted above, in fact, was widely elided from modern Christian recitation, whether in the Catholic, Anglican, Epistolic, or other Protestant Church. Not only is the Creed not a fixed entity, preserved unchanged from its beginning, like any example of language it evolves even today.

The Harrowing of Hell relays an account of those three days in Hell. Text is minimal and as obscure (or as transparent, if that is your reading of Biblical passages) as scripture. What text is used, seemingly quotes or closely paraphrases from Old Testament and apocryphal sources. Almost all text is dialogue, the few exceptions taking the form of inscriptions legible in the images, whether as backdrop to Pilate's tribunal, or the placard affixed to Jesus's crucifix. Section headings are labeled with the location in which events take place, e.g. "Galilee", "Bethsaida".

Throughout Dahm's adaptation, a clear statement is repeated by Jesus, indeed in the face of pointed efforts by various others to get him to change this statement, though he never wavers: "I do not tell you by what authority I do these things." [82-83, note the double-spread] Not: "I am keeping a secret!" But: "I make no claim, always it is another who makes any claim regarding my authority." In the end, Dahm's Jesus appears very alike another Socrates, a gadfly, forcing others to face their own decisions and behavior, with any discomfort not of Jesus's making, but their own.

The design is stark, black and white prevailing with spot color in red. Effective and suited to the story, though not as striking as Carroll's similar approach in her Through The Woods.

//

A brief but very useful authorial note summarises the history of the Decensus Christi ad Inferos, and some of the critical literature which helped inspire Dahm's adaptation. I resonate with his comment: "I can't keep up with the dense intertextuality that inaugurated Christianity, but it has been productive to try." [126] ( )

its an interesting concept, but the execution is so weak and uninspired--it does nothing new, very little interesting even, and so offers only either confusion or more of the same hackneyed christian vibes

it tries to take inspiration from pre-nicean teaching, but relies exclusively on language from the king james translation instead of language from aramaic studies or greek studies

the imagery is not particularly inventive or interesting. vague roman ruins in a red cave and some clam-head demons is all

the writing dialogue is awkward, pretentious, and inconsistent; a rather pathetic rendering of the beautiful teachings of jesus. dahm could have at least pulled some more inspiring dialogues directly from the gospels

the critique presented of the post-nicean christianity represented by caesar, the king of glory, relies entirely on critiques of violence. but the author also seems to want to lean into interpretations of christ as an insurrectionist--in the context of josephus' "jewish war", this would b an explicitly violent position. and the really meaty critique of post-nicean christianity has to do w the sacralization of normative wordly powers, which the author hardly touches

the ending is wildly disappointing. dahm believes christ failed to liberate the souls in hell, contra the church fathers, but does nothing w this interpretation. the ending is empty and directionless--the resurrection is meant to b the most hopeful moment in all christian imagination, but for dahm it follows after a moment of ambiguous, unresolved despair without any complicated transition or transformation ( )

A fairly straightforward rendition of Jesus' time in Hell following the Crucifixion with an eye to his pacifism and anti-authoritarian nature, adapted from scripture and apocrypha.

I read a more interesting graphic novel of the Harrowing of Hell a couple years back: Judas by Jeff Loveness. ( )