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Noah #1-4
Noah
From acclaimed filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Wrestler) and artist Niko Henrichon (Pride of Bagdad), Noah is a fresh take on the biblical epic for the 21st Century.
A fantastical world is about to be destroyed and one man is chosen to start a new one. As wicked forces try to take his Ark, Noah must hold his family together while they watch the annihilation of all they know.
Intermixing fantasy and sci-fi with Genesis, Noah both reinvents the elements of the Flood story everyone knows and simultaneously takes the reader beyond them and into the unexpected.
A fantastical world is about to be destroyed and one man is chosen to start a new one. As wicked forces try to take his Ark, Noah must hold his family together while they watch the annihilation of all they know.
Intermixing fantasy and sci-fi with Genesis, Noah both reinvents the elements of the Flood story everyone knows and simultaneously takes the reader beyond them and into the unexpected.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 7, 2011
About the author
Darren Aronofsky
44 books169 followersDarren S. Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He attended Harvard University and AFI to study both live-action and animation film theory, where he met long-time collaborator Matthew Libatique. He won several film awards after completing his senior thesis film, "Supermarket Sweep", starring Sean Gullette, which went on to become a National Student Academy Award finalist.
Aronofsky did not make a feature film until five years later, creating the concept for his debut feature, π, in February 1996. The low-budget, $60,000 production, starring Sean Gullette, was sold to Artisan Entertainment for $1 million, and grossed over $3 million; it won both a Sundance Film Festival award and an Independent Spirit Award. Aronofsky's followup, Requiem for a Dream, was based on the novel of the same name written by Hubert Selby, Jr. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Ellen Burstyn's performance. After turning down an opportunity to direct Batman Begins, Aronofsky began production on his third film, The Fountain. The film was released to mixed reviews and poor box office results.
However, his next film, The Wrestler, rebounded with positive reviews and healthy box office. Both of the film's stars, Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, received Academy Award nominations. Rourke also won a Golden Globe for Best Actor and Bruce Springsteen won for Best Original Song for his title song. Aronofsky's next film, Black Swan, received further critical acclaim and many accolades, being nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, four Golden Globes including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, a record 12 BFCA nominations and a DGA nomination.
Aronofsky did not make a feature film until five years later, creating the concept for his debut feature, π, in February 1996. The low-budget, $60,000 production, starring Sean Gullette, was sold to Artisan Entertainment for $1 million, and grossed over $3 million; it won both a Sundance Film Festival award and an Independent Spirit Award. Aronofsky's followup, Requiem for a Dream, was based on the novel of the same name written by Hubert Selby, Jr. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Ellen Burstyn's performance. After turning down an opportunity to direct Batman Begins, Aronofsky began production on his third film, The Fountain. The film was released to mixed reviews and poor box office results.
However, his next film, The Wrestler, rebounded with positive reviews and healthy box office. Both of the film's stars, Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, received Academy Award nominations. Rourke also won a Golden Globe for Best Actor and Bruce Springsteen won for Best Original Song for his title song. Aronofsky's next film, Black Swan, received further critical acclaim and many accolades, being nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, four Golden Globes including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, a record 12 BFCA nominations and a DGA nomination.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
March 3, 2014
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews
I honestly believe one of the most courageous and difficult things for an artist to do is to “re-invent” a famous story that most people are familiar with. When it works, an artist is given a triumph and a wreath of Delphic laurel is placed upon his/her brow by the adoring mob. When the artist royally screws up, the mob will throw garbage and curse his/her name. Perhaps that sounds unfair, yet it is still very much true and just comes with the territory of deciding to tinker with a fan/believers beloved story, and no doubt, Darren Aronofsky (story) and Niko Henrichon (illustrations) knew that when they decided to retell the Biblical Noah story. (And yes, this graphic novel is based upon Noah, the major motion picture. I did know that.)
Now, I’m sure, most people are familiar with the basics of the Noah tale, but if not, it goes something like this. God creates the universe, the earth, all living creatures, and finally the first man and woman. This father and mother of mankind live in paradise until they sin against their creator. At that time, they are removed from the Garden of Eden and put out into a world now tainted by sin - mankind’s inherent evilness, if you will. Adam and Eve make the best of it though, have some children, and try to live their life. Unfortunately, one of their sons, Cain, kills his brother, Abel, and the avalanche of evilness just keeps picking up steam, as mankind invents more and more ways to ruin the previously “perfect” Earth and commit “sins” against the creator. A fact which soon leads “God” to “grow weary” of mankind’s continued evilness and determine to wipe out all living creatures (air breathers) by a worldwide flood before man’s evilness destroys the Earth. The only “righteous” man spared this watery fate is Noah and his family (wife, 3 sons and their wives) who basically build a huge ark, fill it with two of each kind of animal, and ride out a year long flood of the whole Earth. After the waters subside, the creator promises not to flood the earth again, places the rainbow in the sky as a sign of this promise, and then tells Noah’s family to multiply and repopulate the earth.
Those are the basic facts - as I understand them. (No, I am not a professional theology expert, so please do not lynch me if I have gotten something somewhat incorrect. Thanks for you patience with my human imperfections.) However, there are many facets of the Noah story that are not “fleshed” out in the ancient Judeo-Christian tale. Like what was the pre-flood world like? How were the people so “wicked” back then? What was Noah really like? How did he and his family build such a gigantic ark? How did Noah gather up all those animals and put them on a boat together? What did knowing all of mankind would die except for his family do to Noah’s psyche? What happened when people finally discovered that Noah was right and that only he had a boat big enough to save people from the prophesized cataclysm? And how did Noah’s family survive once the flood was over?
As you can see, Noah’s tale lends itself to becoming a marvelous apocalyptic story/film. It has all the bare bones needed to build an edge of your seat adventure tale for the ages with just a bit of re-imagining and filling in of details, and honestly, Aronofsky and Henrichon start this graphic novel doing just that, penciling in the blank spots of Noah’s story and gifting a reader with awe inspiring images of a legendary world. Noah is exciting. It is action filled. It has emotional impact. It is almost spiritual in many of its pages. Indeed, at the start of this graphic novel, the creative team does a marvelous job of tip toeing down that invisible line of “re-imagining” a story and adding excitement without changing it so much that its “fans/believers” become upset. But -
I mean, you knew there was a “but” coming, right? Honestly, there has to be doesn’t there? This is a book review after all, and any “review” is going to point out good and bad things about the book. Maybe not every reviewer does that, but fortunately for you (Because you obviously are one of those inquisitive people, who would always take the red pill, stay in Wonderland and ask Morpheus how deep the rabbit-hole goes.) I am accustom to pointing out unpleasant things while also dodging rotten eggs from my critics.
So as I was saying, Aronofsky does a marvelous job of providing an exciting, Noah story until he decides to begin providing a “message” to his readers. (Something which is never a good idea in an action story/movie, but which is especially not prudent when retelling a religious story to begin with.) However, Aronofsky is determined to turn this apocalyptic tale of worldwide destruction into a modern morality play, and so he soon casts aside the edge of your seat action regarding the end of the world for “greenpeace” proselytizing. The worst of it no doubt being the de-evolution of Noah, the would-be savior of mankind, into an existential nihilist, whose sole purpose is to ensure the destruction of mankind so that the cancer known as man cannot multiply to harm mother earth anymore.
Did you actually read that last sentence?
Uh-huh, sure you did. Let us take a moment to revisit it just to make sure you understood what I was saying.
Noah, the hero of our story, begins this tale as a fighter for right and is chosen by his creator to warn mankind of the coming apocalypse, build an ark to save his family and the animals, and while doing all this he turns into an existential nihilist. Existential nihilism being the belief that human life has no intrinsic meaning or value and that the entire human species is insignificant, without purpose and unlikely to correct its “sinful” ways if it is allowed to continue to survive.
“What?” Some of your are asking yourself. “Are you serious? An action story about the end of the world is preaching that man should be destroyed to preserve the environment. No way.”
Way, dude. Sorry to say I only wish I was joking, because Noah had real potential: a lost civilization, prophesized end of the world, single man against overwhelming odds, cute animals, epic destruction by a flood, and survivors having to rebuild civilization. Can’t get much better elements for a successful story, but Aronofsky decided to throw all those great plot points to the side and try to sell “greenpeace” existential nihilism in an action story/movie. Just a bad idea. Mainly because most people do not want a theology lesson in their action adventure story. You know, they just want — action and adventure.
In summation, Noah is a graphic novel that starts off great, has great artwork but falls flat as it changes from a pure action-adventure tale into a morality play. Read it at the risk of deciding that your continued existence has no meaning since you are the cause of global warming by refusing to stop eating meat, driving your car and using electricity.
I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank the publisher for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.
I honestly believe one of the most courageous and difficult things for an artist to do is to “re-invent” a famous story that most people are familiar with. When it works, an artist is given a triumph and a wreath of Delphic laurel is placed upon his/her brow by the adoring mob. When the artist royally screws up, the mob will throw garbage and curse his/her name. Perhaps that sounds unfair, yet it is still very much true and just comes with the territory of deciding to tinker with a fan/believers beloved story, and no doubt, Darren Aronofsky (story) and Niko Henrichon (illustrations) knew that when they decided to retell the Biblical Noah story. (And yes, this graphic novel is based upon Noah, the major motion picture. I did know that.)
Now, I’m sure, most people are familiar with the basics of the Noah tale, but if not, it goes something like this. God creates the universe, the earth, all living creatures, and finally the first man and woman. This father and mother of mankind live in paradise until they sin against their creator. At that time, they are removed from the Garden of Eden and put out into a world now tainted by sin - mankind’s inherent evilness, if you will. Adam and Eve make the best of it though, have some children, and try to live their life. Unfortunately, one of their sons, Cain, kills his brother, Abel, and the avalanche of evilness just keeps picking up steam, as mankind invents more and more ways to ruin the previously “perfect” Earth and commit “sins” against the creator. A fact which soon leads “God” to “grow weary” of mankind’s continued evilness and determine to wipe out all living creatures (air breathers) by a worldwide flood before man’s evilness destroys the Earth. The only “righteous” man spared this watery fate is Noah and his family (wife, 3 sons and their wives) who basically build a huge ark, fill it with two of each kind of animal, and ride out a year long flood of the whole Earth. After the waters subside, the creator promises not to flood the earth again, places the rainbow in the sky as a sign of this promise, and then tells Noah’s family to multiply and repopulate the earth.
Those are the basic facts - as I understand them. (No, I am not a professional theology expert, so please do not lynch me if I have gotten something somewhat incorrect. Thanks for you patience with my human imperfections.) However, there are many facets of the Noah story that are not “fleshed” out in the ancient Judeo-Christian tale. Like what was the pre-flood world like? How were the people so “wicked” back then? What was Noah really like? How did he and his family build such a gigantic ark? How did Noah gather up all those animals and put them on a boat together? What did knowing all of mankind would die except for his family do to Noah’s psyche? What happened when people finally discovered that Noah was right and that only he had a boat big enough to save people from the prophesized cataclysm? And how did Noah’s family survive once the flood was over?
As you can see, Noah’s tale lends itself to becoming a marvelous apocalyptic story/film. It has all the bare bones needed to build an edge of your seat adventure tale for the ages with just a bit of re-imagining and filling in of details, and honestly, Aronofsky and Henrichon start this graphic novel doing just that, penciling in the blank spots of Noah’s story and gifting a reader with awe inspiring images of a legendary world. Noah is exciting. It is action filled. It has emotional impact. It is almost spiritual in many of its pages. Indeed, at the start of this graphic novel, the creative team does a marvelous job of tip toeing down that invisible line of “re-imagining” a story and adding excitement without changing it so much that its “fans/believers” become upset. But -
I mean, you knew there was a “but” coming, right? Honestly, there has to be doesn’t there? This is a book review after all, and any “review” is going to point out good and bad things about the book. Maybe not every reviewer does that, but fortunately for you (Because you obviously are one of those inquisitive people, who would always take the red pill, stay in Wonderland and ask Morpheus how deep the rabbit-hole goes.) I am accustom to pointing out unpleasant things while also dodging rotten eggs from my critics.
So as I was saying, Aronofsky does a marvelous job of providing an exciting, Noah story until he decides to begin providing a “message” to his readers. (Something which is never a good idea in an action story/movie, but which is especially not prudent when retelling a religious story to begin with.) However, Aronofsky is determined to turn this apocalyptic tale of worldwide destruction into a modern morality play, and so he soon casts aside the edge of your seat action regarding the end of the world for “greenpeace” proselytizing. The worst of it no doubt being the de-evolution of Noah, the would-be savior of mankind, into an existential nihilist, whose sole purpose is to ensure the destruction of mankind so that the cancer known as man cannot multiply to harm mother earth anymore.
Did you actually read that last sentence?
Uh-huh, sure you did. Let us take a moment to revisit it just to make sure you understood what I was saying.
Noah, the hero of our story, begins this tale as a fighter for right and is chosen by his creator to warn mankind of the coming apocalypse, build an ark to save his family and the animals, and while doing all this he turns into an existential nihilist. Existential nihilism being the belief that human life has no intrinsic meaning or value and that the entire human species is insignificant, without purpose and unlikely to correct its “sinful” ways if it is allowed to continue to survive.
“What?” Some of your are asking yourself. “Are you serious? An action story about the end of the world is preaching that man should be destroyed to preserve the environment. No way.”
Way, dude. Sorry to say I only wish I was joking, because Noah had real potential: a lost civilization, prophesized end of the world, single man against overwhelming odds, cute animals, epic destruction by a flood, and survivors having to rebuild civilization. Can’t get much better elements for a successful story, but Aronofsky decided to throw all those great plot points to the side and try to sell “greenpeace” existential nihilism in an action story/movie. Just a bad idea. Mainly because most people do not want a theology lesson in their action adventure story. You know, they just want — action and adventure.
In summation, Noah is a graphic novel that starts off great, has great artwork but falls flat as it changes from a pure action-adventure tale into a morality play. Read it at the risk of deciding that your continued existence has no meaning since you are the cause of global warming by refusing to stop eating meat, driving your car and using electricity.
I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank the publisher for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.
September 27, 2015
I’m gonna try to keep my Christianity bashing to a minimum in this review even though it’s crazier than Donald Trump’s hair ESPECIALLY the Old Testament!
So it’s ye olden days and 950 year old warrior vet Noah (who looks to be in his 40s) has visions of a global flood. He decides to build a giant floating box for his family and two of every animal IN THE WORLD to wait out the coming storm - but not the other humans because they eat meat and are jerks! You know what happens, we were all five once and heard this story before naptime.
I guess this was a sort of storyboard for Darren Aronofsky’s Noah movie starring Russell “Fightin’ round the werld - c’mon, Tugger!” Crowe, but I can’t say for sure as I didn’t bother watching that movie. I think Hermione was in it too?
Aronofsky and co-writer Ari Handel create a sort of Mad Max-type world that says "this ain't your grandpappy's Bible!" where six-armed fallen angels (at least we know where Goro came from) live in the mountains and all humans are scum because of Eve eating an apple. Aside from the monster angels and some random Hollywood battles (for… zzz... “excitement”), it’s the same old Noah myth and plays out as stupidly as you’d expect.
Noah is a completely unlikeable and idiotic protagonist, or at least he is by the end. You’re sort of rooting for the nine-and-a-half-centenarian to succeed to start with because he’s just trying to protect his family but then once they’re in the ark he goes Old Testamental and starts saying God wants him to murder baby girls but not baby boys. Yeah… that shit’s one of many reasons why religion gets my goat (of which there are none in this book so who knows where they came from!).
It’s not exactly great character development either as there’s no reasoning behind his actions besides "God told me to do it" and we never get to know him as the story progresses. One minute he’s grim and determined, then he’s cynical, wanting everyone dead because they deserve it, then he’s really lost it and recasts himself as this righteous baby-killing beastmaster. Why? Don’t know.
BY FAR the best thing about this book is Niko Henrichon’s art which is nothing short of stunning. The Pride of Baghdad artist brings his A-game and gives the comic so many lush visuals. From the detailed Tower of Babel, to Noah’s apocalyptic visions, the giants, the battle scenes, the numbers of animals - simply breathtaking stuff that really deserved a better script.
The one complaint I’ll give it is the character designs could really use some variation. Noah’s wife and daughter look similar as do Noah, his sons, and some guy - maybe he’s a son too? But then he has sex with Noah’s daughter and knocks her up so hopefully not. Then again there's only 7 or so people alive by the end so I guess we're all the product of unavoidable incest?
The creation myth is retold and sounds as crazy as ever but they also try shoehorning evolution into it as well which doesn’t work - you can’t have evolution and then just have humans suddenly appear! How does Noah and his peeps keep the animals quiet on the ark? Magic smoke which puts them to sleep but somehow keeps them alive. Such lazy storytelling!
We really didn’t need a slightly tweaked retelling of Noah’s ark. The story is dull and silly, the characters are very indistinct and forgettable, and the whole endeavour would’ve been a waste had it not been for Niko Henrichon’s artwork. As part of the framework for a belief system it’s insane, as a fictional story it’s uninteresting - I’m not sure who would find this comic appealing but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone!
So it’s ye olden days and 950 year old warrior vet Noah (who looks to be in his 40s) has visions of a global flood. He decides to build a giant floating box for his family and two of every animal IN THE WORLD to wait out the coming storm - but not the other humans because they eat meat and are jerks! You know what happens, we were all five once and heard this story before naptime.
I guess this was a sort of storyboard for Darren Aronofsky’s Noah movie starring Russell “Fightin’ round the werld - c’mon, Tugger!” Crowe, but I can’t say for sure as I didn’t bother watching that movie. I think Hermione was in it too?
Aronofsky and co-writer Ari Handel create a sort of Mad Max-type world that says "this ain't your grandpappy's Bible!" where six-armed fallen angels (at least we know where Goro came from) live in the mountains and all humans are scum because of Eve eating an apple. Aside from the monster angels and some random Hollywood battles (for… zzz... “excitement”), it’s the same old Noah myth and plays out as stupidly as you’d expect.
Noah is a completely unlikeable and idiotic protagonist, or at least he is by the end. You’re sort of rooting for the nine-and-a-half-centenarian to succeed to start with because he’s just trying to protect his family but then once they’re in the ark he goes Old Testamental and starts saying God wants him to murder baby girls but not baby boys. Yeah… that shit’s one of many reasons why religion gets my goat (of which there are none in this book so who knows where they came from!).
It’s not exactly great character development either as there’s no reasoning behind his actions besides "God told me to do it" and we never get to know him as the story progresses. One minute he’s grim and determined, then he’s cynical, wanting everyone dead because they deserve it, then he’s really lost it and recasts himself as this righteous baby-killing beastmaster. Why? Don’t know.
BY FAR the best thing about this book is Niko Henrichon’s art which is nothing short of stunning. The Pride of Baghdad artist brings his A-game and gives the comic so many lush visuals. From the detailed Tower of Babel, to Noah’s apocalyptic visions, the giants, the battle scenes, the numbers of animals - simply breathtaking stuff that really deserved a better script.
The one complaint I’ll give it is the character designs could really use some variation. Noah’s wife and daughter look similar as do Noah, his sons, and some guy - maybe he’s a son too? But then he has sex with Noah’s daughter and knocks her up so hopefully not. Then again there's only 7 or so people alive by the end so I guess we're all the product of unavoidable incest?
The creation myth is retold and sounds as crazy as ever but they also try shoehorning evolution into it as well which doesn’t work - you can’t have evolution and then just have humans suddenly appear! How does Noah and his peeps keep the animals quiet on the ark? Magic smoke which puts them to sleep but somehow keeps them alive. Such lazy storytelling!
We really didn’t need a slightly tweaked retelling of Noah’s ark. The story is dull and silly, the characters are very indistinct and forgettable, and the whole endeavour would’ve been a waste had it not been for Niko Henrichon’s artwork. As part of the framework for a belief system it’s insane, as a fictional story it’s uninteresting - I’m not sure who would find this comic appealing but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone!
June 18, 2017
the illustration is fantastic but the story make no fucking sense. i think this dude read retarded version of Noah story.
November 26, 2016
Good story with really good art. I enjoyed the movie this is based on so it had a hand up with me. 3.5 stars.
March 24, 2014
This is a graphic novel adaptation of the recent film, which stars Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson. (Side note: the book has a distinctly indigenous peoples look and feel to it, which is not the vibe I got in watching the previews and considering the cast. But I digress….)
Based on the biblical tale of Noah and his vision from the Creator of the world’s destruction by water, Noah, after some struggles with the depraved locals, builds an ark to survive the pending storm, with the help of the Watchers, fallen angels who are seeking redemption.
As the movie trailer suggests, there is a lot of action in this reworked tale, but Darren Aronofsky gives us the added bonus of an internally conflicted Noah who wants to annihilate the human race completely. Or something like that. His digression into a raving lunatic comes across as forced and, well, not particularly of the sense making. Hopefully this is portrayed better in the film.
I did like the artwork and the minimal dialogue used to tell the story. However, when the dialogue does pop up, along with some sparse narrative boxes and the occasional bible quote to point out the obvious of what Noah is doing right now, it almost made me wish there was no text at all.
Based on the biblical tale of Noah and his vision from the Creator of the world’s destruction by water, Noah, after some struggles with the depraved locals, builds an ark to survive the pending storm, with the help of the Watchers, fallen angels who are seeking redemption.
As the movie trailer suggests, there is a lot of action in this reworked tale, but Darren Aronofsky gives us the added bonus of an internally conflicted Noah who wants to annihilate the human race completely. Or something like that. His digression into a raving lunatic comes across as forced and, well, not particularly of the sense making. Hopefully this is portrayed better in the film.
I did like the artwork and the minimal dialogue used to tell the story. However, when the dialogue does pop up, along with some sparse narrative boxes and the occasional bible quote to point out the obvious of what Noah is doing right now, it almost made me wish there was no text at all.
September 2, 2015
لو حابب أو انت من انصار التشنج وضد كل الحاجات وكدا
اوكيه براحتك تماما و وفر علي نفسك المجهود والوقت ومتقرأش القصة لو جت قدامك
لو انت مش متابع ولا تعرف مين دا وشايف انه لازم عليه التزام بالنص التاريخي او الادبي بمختلف انواعه برده نفس الموضوع
Darren Aronofsky
المخرج الرائع قال من البداية انه ملهوش علاقة بالنص الديني وانه هيأخد القصة من منظور البيئة والطبيعة في المقام الأول ف الأمر محسوم وكالعادة اللي بيأخد حقايق تاريخه من افلام او اعمال اديبة ك أمر مسلم بيه وحقائق نبوسه ونحطه علي جنمب
القصة ك عادة كل قصص و افلام
Darren Aronofsky
سوادوية بأمتياز وحتي لما تم سؤاله ليه بتحب دايما افلامك يبقي فيها جانب مظلم
افلامه
بلاك سوان ، باي ، المصارع مش بتاع راسل كرو ، ركويم فوردريم
اجاب انه ميعرفش فيه جانب دايما بيختار الموضوع دا
ف الرواية المصورة هنا الموضوع مستمر الصراع من أجل العودة للجنة بعد ما البشر انهو بها الحياة الصالحة
ولكن التضحيات الواجبة عليه كانتص صعبة للغاية
من عدم السماح بانقاذ احد او عدم العودة للأرض مرة أخري وانهاء الحياة بكافة اشكالها
الموضوع كان صعب للغاية
الجملة قصيرة الرسم رائع والاخراج الفني أكثر من رائع الصراحة عجبتني بشدة
واسلوبه فالكتابة رائع رائع
تجربة جيدة جدا
اوكيه براحتك تماما و وفر علي نفسك المجهود والوقت ومتقرأش القصة لو جت قدامك
لو انت مش متابع ولا تعرف مين دا وشايف انه لازم عليه التزام بالنص التاريخي او الادبي بمختلف انواعه برده نفس الموضوع
Darren Aronofsky
المخرج الرائع قال من البداية انه ملهوش علاقة بالنص الديني وانه هيأخد القصة من منظور البيئة والطبيعة في المقام الأول ف الأمر محسوم وكالعادة اللي بيأخد حقايق تاريخه من افلام او اعمال اديبة ك أمر مسلم بيه وحقائق نبوسه ونحطه علي جنمب
القصة ك عادة كل قصص و افلام
Darren Aronofsky
سوادوية بأمتياز وحتي لما تم سؤاله ليه بتحب دايما افلامك يبقي فيها جانب مظلم
افلامه
بلاك سوان ، باي ، المصارع مش بتاع راسل كرو ، ركويم فوردريم
اجاب انه ميعرفش فيه جانب دايما بيختار الموضوع دا
ف الرواية المصورة هنا الموضوع مستمر الصراع من أجل العودة للجنة بعد ما البشر انهو بها الحياة الصالحة
ولكن التضحيات الواجبة عليه كانتص صعبة للغاية
من عدم السماح بانقاذ احد او عدم العودة للأرض مرة أخري وانهاء الحياة بكافة اشكالها
الموضوع كان صعب للغاية
الجملة قصيرة الرسم رائع والاخراج الفني أكثر من رائع الصراحة عجبتني بشدة
واسلوبه فالكتابة رائع رائع
تجربة جيدة جدا
March 27, 2014
I’m focusing this review on the graphic novel without any comparisons to the biblical tale of Noah or the upcoming film. The illustrations are gorgeous, and I view this as a piece of art that I’ll proudly display with my finest hardcover novels. Also, I’m very pleased with the way the story acknowledges one of the most curious verses in the Bible (Genesis 6:1-4) and borrows from the apocryphal Book of Enoch, creating an intriguing mythology for the novel. The graphic novel tells a compelling story, even if the main character is hard to root for at times. Whether this novel is true to the biblical rendition of Noah’s tale is a separate question. But standing alone, I thought this graphic novel was very well done.
July 5, 2017
I am awarding 4 stars for the artwork alone. Breathtakingly gorgeous!
Noah's appearance in the first half of the book reminds me a lot of Ma Wing Shing's manhua character designs. With his long hair and cape flapping sideways in the wind :)
Story-wise, I didn't quite enjoy this fresh take on a widely known epic.
Noah's appearance in the first half of the book reminds me a lot of Ma Wing Shing's manhua character designs. With his long hair and cape flapping sideways in the wind :)
Story-wise, I didn't quite enjoy this fresh take on a widely known epic.
March 24, 2014
No matter what one believes about the bible, as a series of books it overflows with rich, exciting and exhilarating stories. Within its pages love, life, death, passion, intrigue, triumph, and failure are all to be found. These stories are retold again and again, not just from pulpits but in film, art and drama. The stories in the bible are retold by those with faith and without faith, for those who have faith and who do not have faith. Whether studied for religious purposes or not the stories in the bible ignite both imagination and devotion.
I enjoyed this graphic novel which is based on the movie Noah. I read it because I am looking forward to the film. I am quite open about the film and I am not expecting it to stick to the biblical story. I am expecting a film based on the biblical story but retold with 21st century imagination. I think as long as people know this is a re-telling and not the biblical portrayal then we can appreciate the film for what it is.
I love stories told in pictures and art. I read graphic novels from across the genres from manga to fairytales and so I was quite pleased to see that there is a graphic novel for the film Noah. I think this graphic novel ignites imagination more than it does devotion but it does so in a way that is gripping.
This book does not disappoint. The illustrations in this graphic novel are really good and it is fairly long for a graphic novel, so very satisfying.
The story is not just about Noah. It draws on a variety of characters and stories from the biblical book of Genesis and brings them together for a 21st century audience. So we have Noah and the Tower of Babel together with the character Tubal Cain all in one story. In this way the book tells a story of Noah which is familiar but at the same time very different.
Here we get to see Noah grappling with visions and preaching to the people, warning them of the wrath to come. The story shows Noah as being a mage, someone who has the right to speak to the people, portraying a society and culture which is imaginative and a kind of fantasy. Some of the graphics and world building have a kind of futuristic feel which makes the story kind of edgy, but also reminds me of the Mad Max films. If a reader is hoping for biblical authenticity they won't find it here. This story uses biblical stories but leans towards fantasy in its portrayal.
I liked it because I was not looking for a biblical narrative. I was expecting something imaginative and something that would ignite my own imagination and keep me going until the film. I got what I was looking for.
There is of course violence in this book. It isn't a book for young children and it conveys both images of wildness and savagery. It also depicts mystery. Mysterious beings, mysterious dreams and a quest to respond to the deep callings of the heart.
The film has been criticised for not following the biblical narrative and for having an overtly environmental message but are those really bad things? It opens an interesting debate about faith and scriptures and who those scriptures belong to. Are they the possessions of people with religious belief or do they belong everyone even if people don't believe. An issue for further reflection and one ignited by the imagination of the story.
I liked this story. It is great to have the graphic novel and use it as a sneak preview of the film but it is also a good book and one that I am pleased to have in my collection. Next comes the film!!
I enjoyed this graphic novel which is based on the movie Noah. I read it because I am looking forward to the film. I am quite open about the film and I am not expecting it to stick to the biblical story. I am expecting a film based on the biblical story but retold with 21st century imagination. I think as long as people know this is a re-telling and not the biblical portrayal then we can appreciate the film for what it is.
I love stories told in pictures and art. I read graphic novels from across the genres from manga to fairytales and so I was quite pleased to see that there is a graphic novel for the film Noah. I think this graphic novel ignites imagination more than it does devotion but it does so in a way that is gripping.
This book does not disappoint. The illustrations in this graphic novel are really good and it is fairly long for a graphic novel, so very satisfying.
The story is not just about Noah. It draws on a variety of characters and stories from the biblical book of Genesis and brings them together for a 21st century audience. So we have Noah and the Tower of Babel together with the character Tubal Cain all in one story. In this way the book tells a story of Noah which is familiar but at the same time very different.
Here we get to see Noah grappling with visions and preaching to the people, warning them of the wrath to come. The story shows Noah as being a mage, someone who has the right to speak to the people, portraying a society and culture which is imaginative and a kind of fantasy. Some of the graphics and world building have a kind of futuristic feel which makes the story kind of edgy, but also reminds me of the Mad Max films. If a reader is hoping for biblical authenticity they won't find it here. This story uses biblical stories but leans towards fantasy in its portrayal.
I liked it because I was not looking for a biblical narrative. I was expecting something imaginative and something that would ignite my own imagination and keep me going until the film. I got what I was looking for.
There is of course violence in this book. It isn't a book for young children and it conveys both images of wildness and savagery. It also depicts mystery. Mysterious beings, mysterious dreams and a quest to respond to the deep callings of the heart.
The film has been criticised for not following the biblical narrative and for having an overtly environmental message but are those really bad things? It opens an interesting debate about faith and scriptures and who those scriptures belong to. Are they the possessions of people with religious belief or do they belong everyone even if people don't believe. An issue for further reflection and one ignited by the imagination of the story.
I liked this story. It is great to have the graphic novel and use it as a sneak preview of the film but it is also a good book and one that I am pleased to have in my collection. Next comes the film!!
October 2, 2022
The story is boring, the characters are dull, and the re-telling is uninspired. There simply is no point for this to exist.
October 15, 2019
"Noah" ist im grundsätzlichen Sinne keinesfalls ein Comic für mich, bewege ich mich schlussendlich mit grosser Abneigung gegenüber dem christlichen Glauben durch die Welt und sehe mich als Atheisten. Trotzdem, was Darren Aronofsky zusammen mit Ari Handel aus der Sage des alten Testaments gemacht hat, das ist interessant und reizvoll. Nicht nur schaffen es die Autoren, aus dieser hanebüchen Geschichte ein Fantasy-Epos mit absurden Entscheidungen zu formen, sie bringen gleichermassen eine grosse Portion an Elementen hinzu, welche die Geschehnisse weit von den "Traditionen" wegbringt.
Ob der Himmel nun voller Planeten gezeichnet wird oder sich plötzlich gewaltige Urwesen vor den Menschen erheben, alles passiert mit einer Selbstverständlichkeit, welche bibeltreue Personen ziemlich sicher zur Weissglut treiben wird. Und wenn jemand nun meint, das macht alles keinen Sinn, die Bibel tut dies auch nicht. Schade nur, sind die Zeichnungen von Niko Henrichon nicht immer sorgfältig und etwas kantig. Oft wird dieses Manko zwar durch Splashpanels aufgehoben, etwas hastig erscheint es trotzdem.
Ob der Himmel nun voller Planeten gezeichnet wird oder sich plötzlich gewaltige Urwesen vor den Menschen erheben, alles passiert mit einer Selbstverständlichkeit, welche bibeltreue Personen ziemlich sicher zur Weissglut treiben wird. Und wenn jemand nun meint, das macht alles keinen Sinn, die Bibel tut dies auch nicht. Schade nur, sind die Zeichnungen von Niko Henrichon nicht immer sorgfältig und etwas kantig. Oft wird dieses Manko zwar durch Splashpanels aufgehoben, etwas hastig erscheint es trotzdem.
April 25, 2014
This is based on the movie (which I have not seen) and uses the Biblical story of Noah and the Flood as its inspiration. A great deal of licence has been taken with the Biblical history but then I had been prepared for that and had taken the attitude that this would be a fantasy retelling. So ultimately I wasn't bothered with it not being accurate and I'm not even going to go into comparing it with the Bible. I really enjoyed the tale presented here and found the art absolutely gorgeous. Noah comes across as a powerful character and the story was intense and emotional. The only thing I didn't like was that they turned this into an environmental story where Noah struggles with whether the new world is supposed to be for the animals alone and that he and his immediate family are to be the end of mankind. Noah thinks that God's plan (sorry God is never mentioned, he is called the Creator) may be to exterminate mankind altogether. This is about as far from the real reason of the Flood as one can get. The rainbow was left out as well and it's significance and God's covenant are the most precious part of the Flood for me personally, so I felt cheated of that ending. OK, so I did end up comparing it more than I had intended to but for what this story actually *is*, I did like it very much and found it a compelling read.
February 10, 2024
I loved everything about this book. The oversized nature of the volume made the artwork extra special. The story of Noah and the ark, reimagined by this team, was remarkable. I couldn't put it down and will definitely be checking it out again from the library to re-read. May even purchase this one. We'll see. No spoilers will be given here, other than to say this is not the story from the Bible though you will recognize the characters and the through-line of the plot, but that's it. The circumstances and events around the story are brand new. I'm a little bit mind-blown at the moment, like when I finished Book 7 of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. This is not exactly Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but the author is not restricted by the original. Enjoy.
April 5, 2014
Tomándolo como un director's cut de la versión en cine, funciona, pero cómic independiente también. En 2 tomos de tamaño algo pequeño, hay que reconocer, tenemos recopilados las 4 partes de esta historia sobre un Noé mas belicoso que el de la película, con mas mala leche y con decisiones mas cuestionables. Aparte el prologo es ampliado ahondando mas en la sociedad de la estirpe de Cain, que no es nombrada así en todo el cómic. Vemos incluso la torre de Babel, vemos ampliada la forma en que noé cuenta a sus hijos como fue la creación y en definitiva es una lectura muy recomendable de un cómic bastante oscuro, violento y tremendamente bien dibujado.
May 24, 2014
Book Review by:
Sharon Powers.
Darren Aronofsky's book, Noah, by Darren Aronofsky, was released on March 25, 2014. And, with the film's debut to the big screen scheduled for release in U.S. markets on March 28, 2014, the time between book and big screen was only three short days.
WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT THIS BOOK AND MOVIE? [2]
Some people who are religious will applaud the making of this film. Some atheist or Islamic peoples might condemn it. We might even see some Christians condemn the movie because it is too liberal, or political, or even because it pushes an environmental message instead of a more main stream Christian theme. Some people, undoubtedly, will think it antiquated and boring because it is a story of the past, and some will want to see the movie only because Emma Watson or Russell Crow is starring in it.
Perspective depends on where you are standing (or sitting)!
Perspective is a very curious thing. Everyone who reads the book or watches the movie will have his or her own perspective of things. They will bring a particular attitude, they will have a particular way of looking at it with their own unique point of view. They will make judgments about the story based upon they way they grew up, their education or lack of it, what religion they learned, whether or not they adopted atheism, or whether or not they even read books at all or perhaps think the topic uninteresting, boring, dull, or inane. It is what the reader/viewer brings with them to the story that determines the extent they care about the story.
Inspiration for story-lines can come from anywhere, be anything, anyplace, anyone--even Noah.
So...why should we care about this story? First, I don't think that we should forget that while the inspiration for the story may have come from the Bible (more specifically, the book of "Genesis"), the book and movie, Noah, is, nonetheless, a work of fiction. Noah did not write an autobiography, nor is it a memoir. No one interviewed Noah and then wrote this book. It was inspired by a book--the Bible. Most fiction is inspired by something; authors get their inspiration from many different sources.
Second, every story needs certain things to even be considered a successful novel. A beginning, a middle and an end--a story arc that introduces characters, gets them involved in something dramatic, and then concludes with some sort of resolution.
Does the story of Noah utilize all 7 Elements of Good Storytelling?
Ken Ramsley, in the "Seven Elements of Good Storytelling," lists for us the critical elements of creating a story: (1) A central premise; (2) Strong three-dimensional charac- ters who change over time; (3) A confined space (often referred to as a crucible for the characters); (4) A protagonist who is on some sort of quest; (5) An antagonist of some sort bent on stopping the hero; (6) An arch in everything (everything is getting better or worse); and (7) Conflict (perhaps the most important element of all).
Tangentially related to these critical story elements, I drafted a blog post addressing the hero's journey, and what it entails. That blog post was primarily based upon the work of noted author, Joseph Campbell. I discussed, extensively, what is required for the elements of such a story. That blog post review can be viewed by clicking this link. Campbell talked about how in all cultures around the world, patterns exist in story-telling and that these patterns are found in virtually every culture. That is simply amazing! The story of Noah is one of those kinds of stories.
Campbell tells us that we are the true heroes of our own life. We are the knights slaying the dragon...we are Noah saving mankind. Watch this short eleven minute video about the Hero's Journey (from YouTube) as Pat Soloman (at TedxRockCreekPark) explains to us, Joseph Campbells theory of "The Hero's Journey," in just a few minutes.
If we look at the story of Noah as literature, setting aside (for a moment) all of the personal baggage and biases we bring to the telling of a "religious" story, and instead, analyze it according to Ken Ramsley's criteria, we can force ourselves to be logical and objective and less prejudicial in our approach. For example, just watching the trailer for the movie of Noah (without even looking at the book), I can provide a list of the seven attributes suggested by Ramsley for the necessary elements of a good story. I bet you could, too.
Third, in my blog post about The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel, I had the privilege to write about how a group of wonderful men working and fighting to save artifacts endangered and stolen by the Nazi regime; many of those works were stolen from a people interned in death camps...a beautiful people, those from the Jewish culture (along with other nationalities, religions, and cultures).
Mr. Edsel's book explains how a whole cultural heritage was being threatened with destruction. Stories like those in The Monuments Men and stories about Noah in Darren Aronofsky's Noah are part and parcel part of a culture of a people--it is imperative we preserve all such cultural stories from the past. The story of Noah is one of those kinds of stories that must be preserved; and, it is yet another reason to care about the book and the movie, Noah.
In examining the story about Noah, we might just learn something of ourselves. We can learn how and why we make decisions, how to be disciplined in our daily life, how to stay motivated, and how to show others the way to love. We can ask ourselves, "What is truly important in our lives?" and be able to answer the question.
If we were to examine such a movie critically, perhaps we could come away with tools to be better able to live life. So, whether we are atheist, Islamic, religious, or simply modernist, we should be able to find something in this story that would be of interest, motivation, or inspiration in our own lives.
One last point. Before the movie has even come out, I've heard it condemned because Noah got drunk. In life we can't escape seeing people abuse alcohol (or drugs, or whatever). It is HOW WE CHOOSE TO REACT to those situations that is important.
We see bad examples of how to live life all around us. What are we going to choose? To drink...to use drugs...to be unfaithful to our spouses? No. It is who we are on the inside that is important, what we choose for our own selves. Be disciplined. Be honest. Be sober. Be loving. And if we fall or if we are in need, ask for help. Don't give up on ourselves. We have all suffered in life--all of us. So, I'm telling you, not to give up on yourself. Just don't.
And parents, if you take your kids to see this movie, talk to them about Noah getting drunk. Talk to them about alcohol abuse and make it a lesson. Make it a learning experience. With my children, when some- thing objectionable was on the television, or in the movies, I talked to my kids and explained why the scene was in there. I asked them questions, and listened to them. They in turn, listened to me. Love your kids enough to do this for them.
So, why should we care about this new book and movie?
Well, for all the reasons I mentioned above, for starters. I'm sure you could come up with your own reasons why we should care about this book and movie. If you think of something I haven't listed, please just tell me in the comment section. I really would love to hear from you.
THE BOOK COVER:
The book's cover image (the image, just to the left, here, which is from the upcoming movie) is the back of Noah, facing the sun, his body bathed in, what photographer's call, a "halo" of light (the lighted areas just peeking over the edge of Noah's head, shoulders, and arms--like the silver lining of a cloud.)
This image seems apropos since Noah is, generally, deemed by all, to be a holy man in the service of God. The man, a representative of all mankind, is facing a new day. The sun brings the light of God into the darkness, lighting the day where man lives with the new covenant given man by the Author of All. It is dark everywhere God's light does not shine.
As we see, just above, the book cover image is one from the movie, Noah. The book, obviously, is one created to help promote the movie. Nothing wrong with that. We all want to promote things and products in which we are invested. We must, however, attempt to discern what messages are being incorporated into the book, if...we are to be discerning readers. For example, the "blinding sun" in Noah's and in our eyes seems to convey the idea, that looking upon God is a blinding experience, dazzling and radiant, all at once. Yet, the upright, alone, like Noah, can face God.
Second, the lettering, while very legible, is not in a usual presentation for text. We expect most text to be horizontal. Here, the printed text, "NOAH," is at ninety degrees from what we expect it to be. It appears that the authors wanted, first, an association with the word, "Noah," and the image it rests upon--the man, Noah.
Whether it is a subliminal message, or just good photographic
imaging, when we look at the image of Noah on the front
cover, our eye meanders over and around the center of the
image. It appears that we are meant to consider just how the
image makes us feel and to pause to think.
It seems the creators of this juxtaposed image wish us to work to perceive something beyond what our eyes see: "a man looking at the sun." It seems they wish us to look at the word, "Noah," in an attempt to make sense of the altered environment of the photo.
For example, if we placed the word, "Noah," anywhere else in the photo, how differently would we perceive the photograph? And does placing the text vertically on the image of Noah, make our eyes go back to track over and over, the center of the photograph, examining it repeatedly? How is placing Noah's name in this location meant to make us feel? While the cover, at first blush, appears simple and rather straight forward, it belies the hidden messages and subtlety that the photographic image really conveys.
THE BOOK: Well, finally! On to the book, itself. First, let's look at the physical book, itself:
The book is unique in its presentation. First, it consists of a durable hard cover (far left side of the photo) with photographic images on the front and back cover.
A large portion of the interior consists of photographs from the moviesome of the photos are matte and some are glossy.
Then, at the back of the book, a recessed area, kind of like a photo frame or a mat frame has been included, it holds the second part of the book--a smaller book within the larger book.
This is a very intriguing way to create the book. A book within a book--I think that is kind of cool and unique. What is of even more interest is that the little black book that has been included for the reader...
...is the entire script of the movie about Noah. What? Yes, you heard me right. It is the entire script for the upcoming movie, Noah.
In the photograph on the left that I took so I could show you what the script looked like, you can see who is speaking, what they say, and directions for various actions. You can also see the location of the scene (but the page I selected to photograph for you, unfortunately didn't have that included).
I honestly don't know if this has ever been done before, but I personally haven't seen a book promoting a movie put together in exactly this fashion.
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Most of us already have a good idea of the basic plot of Noah. We've heard about it in church, read about it in the Bible, been taught it in Sunday School (or catechism classes), or even seen movies or documentaries about Noah and the ark.
Basically, in the traditional Christian version, God tells Noah to build an ark to save his family and the animals (two of every kind). Then the rain and waters come, flooding the land and killing the unjust. After a long while floating upon the water, the ark lands on Mt. Ararat, the waters recede, and the land dries out. Then, Noah lets the animals and his family out to begin repopulation of the world.
WHAT I THINK ABOUT THIS BOOK:
CAUTION: BE AWARE--THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION.
This beautiful concept art (not in this book, Noah)
for Darren Aronofsky's Noah movie shows
some of the opening sequences of the book/movie.
First, what I loved about the book:
(1) I loved the cover. The photographic images (front and back) were beautiful and went beyond just being creative. The photograph selected from the movie was inspired. Moreover, it demonstrated a masterful skill at photographic messages and artistic sense that really worked for the Noah concepts;
(2) I loved the photographs utilized inside the book. About the only thing I have to add, here, is that they are just beautiful. The book would fit well on any coffee table;
(3) I really loved the unique concept of creating a book that is more than a novel, more than a picture book, and places the book in a unique position of being a picture book with a movie script included (to tell the story). So, I loved the book within a book concept (See my photographs of the book, above). Very unique!
Second, what I didn't like about the book:
(1) I didn't like what Aronofsky did to Noah's character. Ken Ramsley, in his "Seven Elements of Good Storytelling," said that any good story needs "strong three-dimensional characters that changes over time." [6] While any well-written character will have foibles, weaknesses and limitations, I didn't care for the concept that Noah wanted to kill his family in order to destroy mankind.
Yes, Aronofsky's Noah does eventually change by the end of the movie, but personally, I just didn't buy that he would build the Ark to save all the "innocent" animals and not care to save God's greatest creation, "man."
(2) While I like creativity in a writer, sometimes it hits a jarring note. The "Watchers" are just such a note. On page 23 of the script we get a description of the Watchers: "Staring down on them are thirty Watchers - sixteen-foot-tall six-armed beasts made of rock and mud. SAMYAZA is their scarred and grizzled leader."
While parts of the early books of the Bible may be strange in places, none more so than Aronofsky creating or utilizing, "...these 'Watchers'--who appear to be both fallen angels and giants--[but] will actually be helpers of Noah's" (so says Peter T. Chattaway of Patheos: Hosting the Conversation on Faith puts it.).
They would probably be really great in a sci-fi story, or perhaps a fantasy novel, but here, they just seem out of place. I don't know--perhaps I am way off base, here--after all, Noah lived a very long time, way past the age of the average person, and that's unusual.
(3) And finally, the "shimmering snakeskin" that is referred to as a "talisman." In chapter one, we read, "At first Noah thought it was a length of material....[then] Lamech...began to wrap the item slowly around his arm, Noah realized it wasn't material at all...It was a snakeskin....The snakeskin began to shimmer...and curl up and around Lamech's arm and body of its own accord, undulating as it did so." (p.8) Apparently, the snakeskin is the skin of the serpent from the Garden of Eden and from the time of the downfall of man. I fail to understand how this snakeskin is a "talisman" and a blessing that is passed down from one generation to the next. Maybe watching the movie will make it clearer to me, but I just didn't get it from the book.
Speaking of the movie, perhaps watching the trailer would give us all a better feel for how the book incorporates these seemingly disparate pieces into a cohesive whole. Adaptations of books are curious things, sometimes working out well, and at other times, not working out well at all. Let's take a look and see what we think.
__________________________________
The trailer, or rather, the featurette is from YouTube. The trailer features Emma Watson and Russell Crow from the movie, "Noah." The featurette is only 4:16 (minutes and seconds) long, so all in all, not a long watch, but informative and intriguing.
With Stars Russell Crowe, playing Noah, Emma Watson playing Ila, Jennifer Connelly playing Naameh, Anthony Hopkins playing Methuselah, with Nick Nolte playing Samyaza, Logan Lerman playing Ham, and Douglas Booth playing Shem, and with Darren Aronofsky directing, the movie looks to have a lot of potential to be a box office success. The genre is Adventure/Drama; the reported production cost was about $160 million dollars sans marketing and distribution. Probably the most important information for families with children to consider is the rating--it has been rated as PG-13 and is 138 minutes long. The opening is March 28, 2014 in U.S. theaters.
___________________________________
MY RECOMMENDATIONS AND RATING FOR THIS BOOK:
For a Bible story, this book has an awful lot of violence, physical, sexual, and psychological. I have yet to see the movie, but I think, wisely, the movie makers have labeled this movie as PG-13. Perhaps that should be a guide for the reading of this book as well.
I love many aspects of this book, as I explained, above. You also read about my reservations about the book, as well. Balancing it all out and throwing in my enjoyment of reading the book as a factor, I was able to come up with what I feel is a fair rating for the book.
My rating for Noah.
I award this book 3.5 stars out of 5. Of course, I round off the number for my goodreads rating. I am hoping the movie does a great job graphically to make the script come alive and make sense of the disparate elements.
Thank you for joining me this week to review this exciting new book about Noah in preparation for the upcoming movie, Noah. Please join me next week as we open the pages of another book.
I loved reading this book--even if it did leave me scratching my head in perplexity! This week, I hope you pick up a book and read it. If it isn't Noah, then pick something else you will enjoy...and remember to keep turning those pages.
Sharon Powers.
Darren Aronofsky's book, Noah, by Darren Aronofsky, was released on March 25, 2014. And, with the film's debut to the big screen scheduled for release in U.S. markets on March 28, 2014, the time between book and big screen was only three short days.
WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT THIS BOOK AND MOVIE? [2]
Some people who are religious will applaud the making of this film. Some atheist or Islamic peoples might condemn it. We might even see some Christians condemn the movie because it is too liberal, or political, or even because it pushes an environmental message instead of a more main stream Christian theme. Some people, undoubtedly, will think it antiquated and boring because it is a story of the past, and some will want to see the movie only because Emma Watson or Russell Crow is starring in it.
Perspective depends on where you are standing (or sitting)!
Perspective is a very curious thing. Everyone who reads the book or watches the movie will have his or her own perspective of things. They will bring a particular attitude, they will have a particular way of looking at it with their own unique point of view. They will make judgments about the story based upon they way they grew up, their education or lack of it, what religion they learned, whether or not they adopted atheism, or whether or not they even read books at all or perhaps think the topic uninteresting, boring, dull, or inane. It is what the reader/viewer brings with them to the story that determines the extent they care about the story.
Inspiration for story-lines can come from anywhere, be anything, anyplace, anyone--even Noah.
So...why should we care about this story? First, I don't think that we should forget that while the inspiration for the story may have come from the Bible (more specifically, the book of "Genesis"), the book and movie, Noah, is, nonetheless, a work of fiction. Noah did not write an autobiography, nor is it a memoir. No one interviewed Noah and then wrote this book. It was inspired by a book--the Bible. Most fiction is inspired by something; authors get their inspiration from many different sources.
Second, every story needs certain things to even be considered a successful novel. A beginning, a middle and an end--a story arc that introduces characters, gets them involved in something dramatic, and then concludes with some sort of resolution.
Does the story of Noah utilize all 7 Elements of Good Storytelling?
Ken Ramsley, in the "Seven Elements of Good Storytelling," lists for us the critical elements of creating a story: (1) A central premise; (2) Strong three-dimensional charac- ters who change over time; (3) A confined space (often referred to as a crucible for the characters); (4) A protagonist who is on some sort of quest; (5) An antagonist of some sort bent on stopping the hero; (6) An arch in everything (everything is getting better or worse); and (7) Conflict (perhaps the most important element of all).
Tangentially related to these critical story elements, I drafted a blog post addressing the hero's journey, and what it entails. That blog post was primarily based upon the work of noted author, Joseph Campbell. I discussed, extensively, what is required for the elements of such a story. That blog post review can be viewed by clicking this link. Campbell talked about how in all cultures around the world, patterns exist in story-telling and that these patterns are found in virtually every culture. That is simply amazing! The story of Noah is one of those kinds of stories.
Campbell tells us that we are the true heroes of our own life. We are the knights slaying the dragon...we are Noah saving mankind. Watch this short eleven minute video about the Hero's Journey (from YouTube) as Pat Soloman (at TedxRockCreekPark) explains to us, Joseph Campbells theory of "The Hero's Journey," in just a few minutes.
If we look at the story of Noah as literature, setting aside (for a moment) all of the personal baggage and biases we bring to the telling of a "religious" story, and instead, analyze it according to Ken Ramsley's criteria, we can force ourselves to be logical and objective and less prejudicial in our approach. For example, just watching the trailer for the movie of Noah (without even looking at the book), I can provide a list of the seven attributes suggested by Ramsley for the necessary elements of a good story. I bet you could, too.
Third, in my blog post about The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel, I had the privilege to write about how a group of wonderful men working and fighting to save artifacts endangered and stolen by the Nazi regime; many of those works were stolen from a people interned in death camps...a beautiful people, those from the Jewish culture (along with other nationalities, religions, and cultures).
Mr. Edsel's book explains how a whole cultural heritage was being threatened with destruction. Stories like those in The Monuments Men and stories about Noah in Darren Aronofsky's Noah are part and parcel part of a culture of a people--it is imperative we preserve all such cultural stories from the past. The story of Noah is one of those kinds of stories that must be preserved; and, it is yet another reason to care about the book and the movie, Noah.
In examining the story about Noah, we might just learn something of ourselves. We can learn how and why we make decisions, how to be disciplined in our daily life, how to stay motivated, and how to show others the way to love. We can ask ourselves, "What is truly important in our lives?" and be able to answer the question.
If we were to examine such a movie critically, perhaps we could come away with tools to be better able to live life. So, whether we are atheist, Islamic, religious, or simply modernist, we should be able to find something in this story that would be of interest, motivation, or inspiration in our own lives.
One last point. Before the movie has even come out, I've heard it condemned because Noah got drunk. In life we can't escape seeing people abuse alcohol (or drugs, or whatever). It is HOW WE CHOOSE TO REACT to those situations that is important.
We see bad examples of how to live life all around us. What are we going to choose? To drink...to use drugs...to be unfaithful to our spouses? No. It is who we are on the inside that is important, what we choose for our own selves. Be disciplined. Be honest. Be sober. Be loving. And if we fall or if we are in need, ask for help. Don't give up on ourselves. We have all suffered in life--all of us. So, I'm telling you, not to give up on yourself. Just don't.
And parents, if you take your kids to see this movie, talk to them about Noah getting drunk. Talk to them about alcohol abuse and make it a lesson. Make it a learning experience. With my children, when some- thing objectionable was on the television, or in the movies, I talked to my kids and explained why the scene was in there. I asked them questions, and listened to them. They in turn, listened to me. Love your kids enough to do this for them.
So, why should we care about this new book and movie?
Well, for all the reasons I mentioned above, for starters. I'm sure you could come up with your own reasons why we should care about this book and movie. If you think of something I haven't listed, please just tell me in the comment section. I really would love to hear from you.
THE BOOK COVER:
The book's cover image (the image, just to the left, here, which is from the upcoming movie) is the back of Noah, facing the sun, his body bathed in, what photographer's call, a "halo" of light (the lighted areas just peeking over the edge of Noah's head, shoulders, and arms--like the silver lining of a cloud.)
This image seems apropos since Noah is, generally, deemed by all, to be a holy man in the service of God. The man, a representative of all mankind, is facing a new day. The sun brings the light of God into the darkness, lighting the day where man lives with the new covenant given man by the Author of All. It is dark everywhere God's light does not shine.
As we see, just above, the book cover image is one from the movie, Noah. The book, obviously, is one created to help promote the movie. Nothing wrong with that. We all want to promote things and products in which we are invested. We must, however, attempt to discern what messages are being incorporated into the book, if...we are to be discerning readers. For example, the "blinding sun" in Noah's and in our eyes seems to convey the idea, that looking upon God is a blinding experience, dazzling and radiant, all at once. Yet, the upright, alone, like Noah, can face God.
Second, the lettering, while very legible, is not in a usual presentation for text. We expect most text to be horizontal. Here, the printed text, "NOAH," is at ninety degrees from what we expect it to be. It appears that the authors wanted, first, an association with the word, "Noah," and the image it rests upon--the man, Noah.
Whether it is a subliminal message, or just good photographic
imaging, when we look at the image of Noah on the front
cover, our eye meanders over and around the center of the
image. It appears that we are meant to consider just how the
image makes us feel and to pause to think.
It seems the creators of this juxtaposed image wish us to work to perceive something beyond what our eyes see: "a man looking at the sun." It seems they wish us to look at the word, "Noah," in an attempt to make sense of the altered environment of the photo.
For example, if we placed the word, "Noah," anywhere else in the photo, how differently would we perceive the photograph? And does placing the text vertically on the image of Noah, make our eyes go back to track over and over, the center of the photograph, examining it repeatedly? How is placing Noah's name in this location meant to make us feel? While the cover, at first blush, appears simple and rather straight forward, it belies the hidden messages and subtlety that the photographic image really conveys.
THE BOOK: Well, finally! On to the book, itself. First, let's look at the physical book, itself:
The book is unique in its presentation. First, it consists of a durable hard cover (far left side of the photo) with photographic images on the front and back cover.
A large portion of the interior consists of photographs from the moviesome of the photos are matte and some are glossy.
Then, at the back of the book, a recessed area, kind of like a photo frame or a mat frame has been included, it holds the second part of the book--a smaller book within the larger book.
This is a very intriguing way to create the book. A book within a book--I think that is kind of cool and unique. What is of even more interest is that the little black book that has been included for the reader...
...is the entire script of the movie about Noah. What? Yes, you heard me right. It is the entire script for the upcoming movie, Noah.
In the photograph on the left that I took so I could show you what the script looked like, you can see who is speaking, what they say, and directions for various actions. You can also see the location of the scene (but the page I selected to photograph for you, unfortunately didn't have that included).
I honestly don't know if this has ever been done before, but I personally haven't seen a book promoting a movie put together in exactly this fashion.
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Most of us already have a good idea of the basic plot of Noah. We've heard about it in church, read about it in the Bible, been taught it in Sunday School (or catechism classes), or even seen movies or documentaries about Noah and the ark.
Basically, in the traditional Christian version, God tells Noah to build an ark to save his family and the animals (two of every kind). Then the rain and waters come, flooding the land and killing the unjust. After a long while floating upon the water, the ark lands on Mt. Ararat, the waters recede, and the land dries out. Then, Noah lets the animals and his family out to begin repopulation of the world.
WHAT I THINK ABOUT THIS BOOK:
CAUTION: BE AWARE--THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION.
This beautiful concept art (not in this book, Noah)
for Darren Aronofsky's Noah movie shows
some of the opening sequences of the book/movie.
First, what I loved about the book:
(1) I loved the cover. The photographic images (front and back) were beautiful and went beyond just being creative. The photograph selected from the movie was inspired. Moreover, it demonstrated a masterful skill at photographic messages and artistic sense that really worked for the Noah concepts;
(2) I loved the photographs utilized inside the book. About the only thing I have to add, here, is that they are just beautiful. The book would fit well on any coffee table;
(3) I really loved the unique concept of creating a book that is more than a novel, more than a picture book, and places the book in a unique position of being a picture book with a movie script included (to tell the story). So, I loved the book within a book concept (See my photographs of the book, above). Very unique!
Second, what I didn't like about the book:
(1) I didn't like what Aronofsky did to Noah's character. Ken Ramsley, in his "Seven Elements of Good Storytelling," said that any good story needs "strong three-dimensional characters that changes over time." [6] While any well-written character will have foibles, weaknesses and limitations, I didn't care for the concept that Noah wanted to kill his family in order to destroy mankind.
Yes, Aronofsky's Noah does eventually change by the end of the movie, but personally, I just didn't buy that he would build the Ark to save all the "innocent" animals and not care to save God's greatest creation, "man."
(2) While I like creativity in a writer, sometimes it hits a jarring note. The "Watchers" are just such a note. On page 23 of the script we get a description of the Watchers: "Staring down on them are thirty Watchers - sixteen-foot-tall six-armed beasts made of rock and mud. SAMYAZA is their scarred and grizzled leader."
While parts of the early books of the Bible may be strange in places, none more so than Aronofsky creating or utilizing, "...these 'Watchers'--who appear to be both fallen angels and giants--[but] will actually be helpers of Noah's" (so says Peter T. Chattaway of Patheos: Hosting the Conversation on Faith puts it.).
They would probably be really great in a sci-fi story, or perhaps a fantasy novel, but here, they just seem out of place. I don't know--perhaps I am way off base, here--after all, Noah lived a very long time, way past the age of the average person, and that's unusual.
(3) And finally, the "shimmering snakeskin" that is referred to as a "talisman." In chapter one, we read, "At first Noah thought it was a length of material....[then] Lamech...began to wrap the item slowly around his arm, Noah realized it wasn't material at all...It was a snakeskin....The snakeskin began to shimmer...and curl up and around Lamech's arm and body of its own accord, undulating as it did so." (p.8) Apparently, the snakeskin is the skin of the serpent from the Garden of Eden and from the time of the downfall of man. I fail to understand how this snakeskin is a "talisman" and a blessing that is passed down from one generation to the next. Maybe watching the movie will make it clearer to me, but I just didn't get it from the book.
Speaking of the movie, perhaps watching the trailer would give us all a better feel for how the book incorporates these seemingly disparate pieces into a cohesive whole. Adaptations of books are curious things, sometimes working out well, and at other times, not working out well at all. Let's take a look and see what we think.
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The trailer, or rather, the featurette is from YouTube. The trailer features Emma Watson and Russell Crow from the movie, "Noah." The featurette is only 4:16 (minutes and seconds) long, so all in all, not a long watch, but informative and intriguing.
With Stars Russell Crowe, playing Noah, Emma Watson playing Ila, Jennifer Connelly playing Naameh, Anthony Hopkins playing Methuselah, with Nick Nolte playing Samyaza, Logan Lerman playing Ham, and Douglas Booth playing Shem, and with Darren Aronofsky directing, the movie looks to have a lot of potential to be a box office success. The genre is Adventure/Drama; the reported production cost was about $160 million dollars sans marketing and distribution. Probably the most important information for families with children to consider is the rating--it has been rated as PG-13 and is 138 minutes long. The opening is March 28, 2014 in U.S. theaters.
___________________________________
MY RECOMMENDATIONS AND RATING FOR THIS BOOK:
For a Bible story, this book has an awful lot of violence, physical, sexual, and psychological. I have yet to see the movie, but I think, wisely, the movie makers have labeled this movie as PG-13. Perhaps that should be a guide for the reading of this book as well.
I love many aspects of this book, as I explained, above. You also read about my reservations about the book, as well. Balancing it all out and throwing in my enjoyment of reading the book as a factor, I was able to come up with what I feel is a fair rating for the book.
My rating for Noah.
I award this book 3.5 stars out of 5. Of course, I round off the number for my goodreads rating. I am hoping the movie does a great job graphically to make the script come alive and make sense of the disparate elements.
Thank you for joining me this week to review this exciting new book about Noah in preparation for the upcoming movie, Noah. Please join me next week as we open the pages of another book.
I loved reading this book--even if it did leave me scratching my head in perplexity! This week, I hope you pick up a book and read it. If it isn't Noah, then pick something else you will enjoy...and remember to keep turning those pages.
March 1, 2018
بسم الله
مع كل رواية تاريخية وخصوصاً التاريخية الدينية يظهر بعض المتنطعين اللى يقولوا
"يا جماعة الروايات والأفلام لا يؤخذ منها التاريخ وإنما دى مجرد رواية "
طبعاً دى كلمة حق يراد بها باطل
الحق أن فعلاً الروايات ليست مصادر للتاريخ
والباطل المراد نشره هو المزيد من تزوير التاريخ بحجة أن الروايات لا تعتبر وثائق
المشكلة تكمن فى ثقافة القارئ
ففى ظل مجتمعات غير واعية تصبح هذه الروايات والمسلسلات مصدراً للتاريخ ويتم التعامل معها كحقائق ومسلمات
واضرب لك مثالاً فى ظل حديثى مع أحدهم عن السلفية قال لى السلفيين دول الناس اللى عايزين يطبقوا الشريعة بالقوة
أنا استغربت من هذا التعريف الغريب والذى لا يقول به أحدهم
وعند اشتداد النقاش ��إصرارى على الدليل، لم يجد هذا الشخص بدا من أن يقول لى
"لو مش مصدقنى اتفرج على فيلم الإرهابى دا الدليل على اللى أنا بقولهولك "
أعتقد أن الرسالة وصلت
المجتمعات الغير واعية تصبح فريسة لمافيا الإعلام بشتى صوره من أفلام وروايات ومسلسلات
ثقافة الشعوب تصبح مصدرها مجرد فيلم أو رواية
رواية نوح عليه السلام والتى تحكى عن قصة نوح لم يعتمد الكاتب فيها على المصادر التاريخية الموثقة وإنما هو محض خيال وبنات أفكار الكاتب
فى نظرى الرواية مسيئة للذات الإلهية ومسيئة للنبي نوح عليه السلام وإليك بعض الأفكار داخل الرواية
1.الذات الإلهية قاسية جداً فهى تريد إفناء البش��ية بما فيها من خير وشر لمجرد ظهور الشر
2. نوح شخصية قاسية جداً فهو يترك الفتاة التى يحبها حام لتقل ولا يساعدها مع أنها من الأخيار
3. نوح يتوعد سام بقتل أولاده إذا كانوا من الإناث لأن هذا يعنى استمرار السلالة البشرية وهذا ضد رغبة الإله
4.زوجة نوح والمعلوم أنها كانت كافرة تظهر بمظهر الزوجة المثالية والتى تريد الرحمة بالبشر ولكنها تطاوع نوح رغماً عنها
5.الرواية لا تتعرض لفكرة نبوة نوح وأنه أرسل ليدعوا إلى عبادة الله وإنما مجرد إنقاذ الحيوانات لأن الله سيغرق البشر - الإله سينقذ الحيوانات ولا ينقذ البشر -
6. الطوفان الذى اغرق البشر أغرق الأشرار وأغرق الصالحين عدا نوح وأسرته لدرجة أن جد نوح وهو من الصالحين أغرق فى الطوفان إلى غير ذلك من الضعفاء الذين ماتوا فى الطوفان -والسؤال الذى يسأل هنا ما ذنب هؤلاء؟ !!!-
7.لا تعتقد أن الأشرار فى الرواية يعبدون الأصنام كما نعلم ولكنهم يؤمنون بالله ولكنهم يظلمون الناس
8.الامر المتناقض أن زعيم الأشرار فى الرواية سينجو على سفينة نوح فى ظل غرق كثير من الصالحين الضعفاء
9.فى الرواية يظهر الجميع بمظهر الرحيم عدا نبى الله نوح فهو يفرح بغرق البشر بينما الآخرون فى حزن وحريص على قتل أحفاده بينما الجميع يعارضونه
10. الرواية أبناء نوح سام وحام سيحاولون قتل أبيهم المجرم والذى يريد قتل أحفاده بالإضافة إلى عدم إنقاذ حبيبة حام من الموت
11.الإله فى الرواية لا يتكلم ولا يوحى إلى نوح بأى شئ وفى النهاية نوح سيعارض مشيئة الإله ولن يقتل احفادة البنات لتستمر البشرية وينتصر البشر على إرادة الرب
الحاجة الصحيحة اللى فى الرواية هى وجود الطوفان والسفينة وإنقاذ نوح للحيوانات وهذا يمثل 5%من الرواية وفيما عدا ذلك هو من بنات أفكار الكاتب لم تقل به أى شريعة
مع كل رواية تاريخية وخصوصاً التاريخية الدينية يظهر بعض المتنطعين اللى يقولوا
"يا جماعة الروايات والأفلام لا يؤخذ منها التاريخ وإنما دى مجرد رواية "
طبعاً دى كلمة حق يراد بها باطل
الحق أن فعلاً الروايات ليست مصادر للتاريخ
والباطل المراد نشره هو المزيد من تزوير التاريخ بحجة أن الروايات لا تعتبر وثائق
المشكلة تكمن فى ثقافة القارئ
ففى ظل مجتمعات غير واعية تصبح هذه الروايات والمسلسلات مصدراً للتاريخ ويتم التعامل معها كحقائق ومسلمات
واضرب لك مثالاً فى ظل حديثى مع أحدهم عن السلفية قال لى السلفيين دول الناس اللى عايزين يطبقوا الشريعة بالقوة
أنا استغربت من هذا التعريف الغريب والذى لا يقول به أحدهم
وعند اشتداد النقاش ��إصرارى على الدليل، لم يجد هذا الشخص بدا من أن يقول لى
"لو مش مصدقنى اتفرج على فيلم الإرهابى دا الدليل على اللى أنا بقولهولك "
أعتقد أن الرسالة وصلت
المجتمعات الغير واعية تصبح فريسة لمافيا الإعلام بشتى صوره من أفلام وروايات ومسلسلات
ثقافة الشعوب تصبح مصدرها مجرد فيلم أو رواية
رواية نوح عليه السلام والتى تحكى عن قصة نوح لم يعتمد الكاتب فيها على المصادر التاريخية الموثقة وإنما هو محض خيال وبنات أفكار الكاتب
فى نظرى الرواية مسيئة للذات الإلهية ومسيئة للنبي نوح عليه السلام وإليك بعض الأفكار داخل الرواية
1.الذات الإلهية قاسية جداً فهى تريد إفناء البش��ية بما فيها من خير وشر لمجرد ظهور الشر
2. نوح شخصية قاسية جداً فهو يترك الفتاة التى يحبها حام لتقل ولا يساعدها مع أنها من الأخيار
3. نوح يتوعد سام بقتل أولاده إذا كانوا من الإناث لأن هذا يعنى استمرار السلالة البشرية وهذا ضد رغبة الإله
4.زوجة نوح والمعلوم أنها كانت كافرة تظهر بمظهر الزوجة المثالية والتى تريد الرحمة بالبشر ولكنها تطاوع نوح رغماً عنها
5.الرواية لا تتعرض لفكرة نبوة نوح وأنه أرسل ليدعوا إلى عبادة الله وإنما مجرد إنقاذ الحيوانات لأن الله سيغرق البشر - الإله سينقذ الحيوانات ولا ينقذ البشر -
6. الطوفان الذى اغرق البشر أغرق الأشرار وأغرق الصالحين عدا نوح وأسرته لدرجة أن جد نوح وهو من الصالحين أغرق فى الطوفان إلى غير ذلك من الضعفاء الذين ماتوا فى الطوفان -والسؤال الذى يسأل هنا ما ذنب هؤلاء؟ !!!-
7.لا تعتقد أن الأشرار فى الرواية يعبدون الأصنام كما نعلم ولكنهم يؤمنون بالله ولكنهم يظلمون الناس
8.الامر المتناقض أن زعيم الأشرار فى الرواية سينجو على سفينة نوح فى ظل غرق كثير من الصالحين الضعفاء
9.فى الرواية يظهر الجميع بمظهر الرحيم عدا نبى الله نوح فهو يفرح بغرق البشر بينما الآخرون فى حزن وحريص على قتل أحفاده بينما الجميع يعارضونه
10. الرواية أبناء نوح سام وحام سيحاولون قتل أبيهم المجرم والذى يريد قتل أحفاده بالإضافة إلى عدم إنقاذ حبيبة حام من الموت
11.الإله فى الرواية لا يتكلم ولا يوحى إلى نوح بأى شئ وفى النهاية نوح سيعارض مشيئة الإله ولن يقتل احفادة البنات لتستمر البشرية وينتصر البشر على إرادة الرب
الحاجة الصحيحة اللى فى الرواية هى وجود الطوفان والسفينة وإنقاذ نوح للحيوانات وهذا يمثل 5%من الرواية وفيما عدا ذلك هو من بنات أفكار الكاتب لم تقل به أى شريعة
July 25, 2021
(No Spoilers) I should preface my comments by saying that I am agnostic, have never attended church (unless forced), and am not familiar with the stories in the bible, other than vague generalities. I have also never seen the movie based on this graphic novel.
Writing: I found the story to be interesting, and surprisingly non-preachy. I gather this extrapolates quite a bit on the original myth, but I found that the changes I was aware of to be made in the service of telling a good story. The character of Noah takes an interesting turn late in the story, which adds some interesting tension and probably a lot of controversy.
Art: Overall, I found the art to be quite good, though the action scenes were muddled and confusing, and the artist didn't have the best grasp on drawing realistic human body movement. There were panels - usually action scenes - where the character looked stiff and unnatural.
However, the still scenes more than made up for the minor stiffness in character movement. There are numerous splash pages that are a feast for the eyes. Also, characters facial expressions are well drawn and the emotions conveyed effectively - something that is not always the case with graphic novels.
Overall: A fun if quick read, probably something that would be better enjoyed by people that enjoy new twists on old myths. Perhaps if I'd had a meaningful connection to the original story this adaptation would have been more enjoyable for me. As it is, I don't think I'd read it a second time, nor does it make me want to search out and watch the film.
Good, but not great. Worth consideration primarily for the art IMHO.
Writing: I found the story to be interesting, and surprisingly non-preachy. I gather this extrapolates quite a bit on the original myth, but I found that the changes I was aware of to be made in the service of telling a good story. The character of Noah takes an interesting turn late in the story, which adds some interesting tension and probably a lot of controversy.
Art: Overall, I found the art to be quite good, though the action scenes were muddled and confusing, and the artist didn't have the best grasp on drawing realistic human body movement. There were panels - usually action scenes - where the character looked stiff and unnatural.
However, the still scenes more than made up for the minor stiffness in character movement. There are numerous splash pages that are a feast for the eyes. Also, characters facial expressions are well drawn and the emotions conveyed effectively - something that is not always the case with graphic novels.
Overall: A fun if quick read, probably something that would be better enjoyed by people that enjoy new twists on old myths. Perhaps if I'd had a meaningful connection to the original story this adaptation would have been more enjoyable for me. As it is, I don't think I'd read it a second time, nor does it make me want to search out and watch the film.
Good, but not great. Worth consideration primarily for the art IMHO.
July 6, 2016
OKAY so in my zest to read all the Biblical fiction I can get my hands on I came across this NOAH graphic novel and I am just... in awe?? Okay first of all in my house I have about 4 "Noah's Ark" picture books in my house and as a Christian raised in Sunday School, Bible Study, etc. the story was obviously already very familiar to me. This book just blew me away in its interpretation of the classic Biblical story which has a very unique feel– the desolate desert landscapes and metal city (ruled by the Biblical Tubal-Cain, inventor of industry) in it really gave me a Mad Max-esque feel. I especially loved how well the fantastical elements fit in with the Biblical story–the story of the "Giants", the Nephilim, was beautiful and tragic and their lumbering, otherworldly designs were one of my favorite visuals in the entire comic.
Usually I feel like Biblical fiction can be really hard to do because the characters are usually...so bland?? This was very different, while still feeling (in my opinion) very faithful to its Biblical context and methods.
The world that Noah and his family lives in is a relatively advanced society, with cities full of towering buildings and constant construction. In the comic, mankind was aided after the expulsion from Eden by fallen angels–not fallen like Lucifer/Satan, who rebelled against God and deceived mankind, but fallen as in they pitied man after the fall and voluntarily gave up their place in the heavens to live on the earth and help the descendants of Adam and Eve survive teaching them the technology and scientific knowledge they needed to eke out a living in the world (by the way, what a take on the Prometheus myth!!!!!!). However, mankind perverts that knowledge and "turned [their] girts to war, turned them against the ground, the water, and the beasts," and then finally, against the Nephilim themselves, who now lurk suspiciously on the outskirts of this new, destructive civilization, mourning the wickedness of man and mourning their own fall from grace.... A bit of a stretch, based on a slight mention in the Bible but an extremely creative one I have to say!!!
Now onto Noah's character! The Bible says that Noah was a "righteous man" who was faithful to God. Usually in traditional depictions it just means Noah trusted God with no doubts whatsoever, did everything right, saved his family and all the animals and floated away with godly bliss while the whole earth drowned beneath them. But in this comic, that's interpreted as Noah being someone who is very concerned with justice–both "retributive" and "distributive," to quoteJohn Dominic Crossan – and doing right, weighed down with the guilt of humanity's wickedness towards God, their destruction of the Earth, and unending cruelty towards each other. This concern with righteousness and obedience to God then leads him to feel embittered towards the rest of humanity, as he decides on his own (without consulting God, I might add) that for the survival of the Earth and to eliminate Sin and wickedness for good Humanity itself must die out. The drama that occurs on the ark was one of the fascinating parts–I would say it reminds me of the sci-fi trope of escaping a destroyed planet on a spaceship except for the fact that those stories are probably all, intentionally or not, inspired by the story of Noah as well.
It is a violent story, but well, the Bible is a violent book–it's interesting that I get to read this just as I'm reaching the end of John Dominic Crossan's "How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis Through Revelation, which addresses the seemingly paradoxical portrayal of God as a nonviolent bringer of love, and God as a violent and vengeful bringer of justice. It's a struggle that is felt within this story and contemplates the eternal question, of struggling with the tendency of violence within human nature. It's tragic, but as always in the Bible, ends with hope for a better world.
Ugh I'll write a more coherent review in the future after I've had a chance to read this over again like, ten more times (or maybe just BUY THE BOOK) but it's honestly astounding. it's hard to do original stuff with Bible stories, like I've said, either the fear of being irreverent can be paralyzing to the devout, or the desire to make something new and *edgy* can make things rather...eyeroll worthy. This is neither!!!
Of course with everything I have my minor complaint:
-The book addresses like, every single little detail in the Noah story–the reason why the raven and the dove were chosen, Methuselah as Noah's grandfather, Tubal-Cain as the inventor of metalworking and industry, the origin of the Nephilim, the source of Noah's lumber (and manpower to build the ark), even after the flood, Noah's bout of drunkenness and conflict with Ham. BUT THERE IS NO RAINBOW AT THE END?????????? Did it not...match the gritty aesthetic enough? B-But the Rainbow is supposed to be the seal of God's covenant to never again flood the earth and–well anyway. Just seemed like an unfortunate oversight, for something that's otherwise extremely attentive to Biblical detail. :0
BUT THATS JUST MINOR!
-The art is amazing, love the designs, it's very Moebius-like, aesthetic very influenced by a variety of cultures, just... very not Sunday-school-esque which is refreshing and SO nice. :0 Also Noah retelling the story of Creation was pretty amazing?? I'm just babbling at this point, go read this book if you have the chance if just to marvel at the amazing Nephilim designs okAY
Usually I feel like Biblical fiction can be really hard to do because the characters are usually...so bland?? This was very different, while still feeling (in my opinion) very faithful to its Biblical context and methods.
The world that Noah and his family lives in is a relatively advanced society, with cities full of towering buildings and constant construction. In the comic, mankind was aided after the expulsion from Eden by fallen angels–not fallen like Lucifer/Satan, who rebelled against God and deceived mankind, but fallen as in they pitied man after the fall and voluntarily gave up their place in the heavens to live on the earth and help the descendants of Adam and Eve survive teaching them the technology and scientific knowledge they needed to eke out a living in the world (by the way, what a take on the Prometheus myth!!!!!!). However, mankind perverts that knowledge and "turned [their] girts to war, turned them against the ground, the water, and the beasts," and then finally, against the Nephilim themselves, who now lurk suspiciously on the outskirts of this new, destructive civilization, mourning the wickedness of man and mourning their own fall from grace.... A bit of a stretch, based on a slight mention in the Bible but an extremely creative one I have to say!!!
Now onto Noah's character! The Bible says that Noah was a "righteous man" who was faithful to God. Usually in traditional depictions it just means Noah trusted God with no doubts whatsoever, did everything right, saved his family and all the animals and floated away with godly bliss while the whole earth drowned beneath them. But in this comic, that's interpreted as Noah being someone who is very concerned with justice–both "retributive" and "distributive," to quoteJohn Dominic Crossan – and doing right, weighed down with the guilt of humanity's wickedness towards God, their destruction of the Earth, and unending cruelty towards each other. This concern with righteousness and obedience to God then leads him to feel embittered towards the rest of humanity, as he decides on his own (without consulting God, I might add) that for the survival of the Earth and to eliminate Sin and wickedness for good Humanity itself must die out. The drama that occurs on the ark was one of the fascinating parts–I would say it reminds me of the sci-fi trope of escaping a destroyed planet on a spaceship except for the fact that those stories are probably all, intentionally or not, inspired by the story of Noah as well.
It is a violent story, but well, the Bible is a violent book–it's interesting that I get to read this just as I'm reaching the end of John Dominic Crossan's "How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis Through Revelation, which addresses the seemingly paradoxical portrayal of God as a nonviolent bringer of love, and God as a violent and vengeful bringer of justice. It's a struggle that is felt within this story and contemplates the eternal question, of struggling with the tendency of violence within human nature. It's tragic, but as always in the Bible, ends with hope for a better world.
Ugh I'll write a more coherent review in the future after I've had a chance to read this over again like, ten more times (or maybe just BUY THE BOOK) but it's honestly astounding. it's hard to do original stuff with Bible stories, like I've said, either the fear of being irreverent can be paralyzing to the devout, or the desire to make something new and *edgy* can make things rather...eyeroll worthy. This is neither!!!
Of course with everything I have my minor complaint:
-The book addresses like, every single little detail in the Noah story–the reason why the raven and the dove were chosen, Methuselah as Noah's grandfather, Tubal-Cain as the inventor of metalworking and industry, the origin of the Nephilim, the source of Noah's lumber (and manpower to build the ark), even after the flood, Noah's bout of drunkenness and conflict with Ham. BUT THERE IS NO RAINBOW AT THE END?????????? Did it not...match the gritty aesthetic enough? B-But the Rainbow is supposed to be the seal of God's covenant to never again flood the earth and–well anyway. Just seemed like an unfortunate oversight, for something that's otherwise extremely attentive to Biblical detail. :0
BUT THATS JUST MINOR!
-The art is amazing, love the designs, it's very Moebius-like, aesthetic very influenced by a variety of cultures, just... very not Sunday-school-esque which is refreshing and SO nice. :0 Also Noah retelling the story of Creation was pretty amazing?? I'm just babbling at this point, go read this book if you have the chance if just to marvel at the amazing Nephilim designs okAY
June 17, 2019
I'm no believer, but religions of man have given us plenty of great stories. This isn't one of the best-told, maybe, but it's far from the worst as well.
The art is great, for one, and creates a pretty imaginitive and scary world for us to see. There's a lot of scifi shit in the background that I can appreciate, and the state of the world is suitably bleak to raise the stakes. The main characters are pretty bland, at first, but I feel they picked up a fair bit of personality and good conflict once they'd been stuck out in the seas for a while. The ending got half a star extra.
This is based on a movie, I heard. I haven't seen it and I think I'm going to give it a pass. Based on the images I've seen it doesn't look remotely this good.
The art is great, for one, and creates a pretty imaginitive and scary world for us to see. There's a lot of scifi shit in the background that I can appreciate, and the state of the world is suitably bleak to raise the stakes. The main characters are pretty bland, at first, but I feel they picked up a fair bit of personality and good conflict once they'd been stuck out in the seas for a while. The ending got half a star extra.
This is based on a movie, I heard. I haven't seen it and I think I'm going to give it a pass. Based on the images I've seen it doesn't look remotely this good.
May 26, 2021
As is true of other excellent retellings of classic stories, this one stays true enough to the original to give it a meaningful connection, while blazing new trails of its own to tell a story that rings true and important today. (The worst stories of the sort -- surely you have endured a few -- are either pointless imitators or they wander so far afield there is nothing in common with the old story but the names.) Noah is a good man, who loves the world and all its creatures. But when The Creator directs him through visions to prepare for the end, the pressure is too much for him. He struggles to figure out what to do in the absence of absolute knowledge, and he makes a few really bad decisions on the way. The evil that lurks in the hearts of all humanity lurks even in his, righteous though he be. But at the end, there is a measure of hope.
Of course, we all know how the story of humanity's continued existence is going so far, so we are forced to decide if we are happy with how this episode of our story ended.
Of course, we all know how the story of humanity's continued existence is going so far, so we are forced to decide if we are happy with how this episode of our story ended.
December 26, 2018
Surprisingly good.
April 8, 2024
I like this story of Noah because it’s more logical and humane, although it’s very contradictory to the source material.
May 28, 2014
'Noah' by Darran Aronofsky is the graphic novel adaptation of his retelling of the biblical story. Retelling is definitely safe because short of a few character names and events, the rest has been completely retold including a 'final solution' from Noah as to what should happen to save the earth.
Noah is a good man, bent on saving the world and it's ecology from men. When he sees a herd of beasts being slaughtered for their horns and left to rot, he mourns. He attempts to confront the men and is driven into isolation when they retaliate with violence. He hears or imagines a plan in which the earth is wiped out by a flood (it's never clear if Noah is divinely inspired or a bit of a loon, or a bit of both). He decides to build and ark, and he is helped by rock giants, which turn out to be cast out angels. When the violent men show up to get on board the ark, there is a big fight. Once the water has lifted the ark, Noah reveals his plan. Once the ark has settled on dry ground and all the animals are free, then he will just let man die off. That this plan doesn't go over so well with his wife and children is a pretty big understatement.
There are a couple puzzling aspects to this. If you don't like God or the Bible, why would you choose to tell this story when you could have made up a perfectly good one out of thin air. Don't even involve a story that many know so well. Secondly, if you are so opposed to the supernatural aspects of the original story, why invent new ones? The rock angels are just weird in this context. The only good people are Noah and his family, and I kind of even question that. Perhaps only the few women characters are actually worth saving out of this bunch.
The art by Niko Henrichon is the only reason this gets any stars. It's pretty good (although the eyes are a bit wide and crazy, but maybe that's the idea), and very detailed. The art is better than the story deserves. I want to see Niko do a vast SF story. His art has an otherworld quality that I really liked.
I know this movie got lots of great reviews, but based on this graphic novel, I'd say it's a gamble by a good director that falls a bit short in execution.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Noah is a good man, bent on saving the world and it's ecology from men. When he sees a herd of beasts being slaughtered for their horns and left to rot, he mourns. He attempts to confront the men and is driven into isolation when they retaliate with violence. He hears or imagines a plan in which the earth is wiped out by a flood (it's never clear if Noah is divinely inspired or a bit of a loon, or a bit of both). He decides to build and ark, and he is helped by rock giants, which turn out to be cast out angels. When the violent men show up to get on board the ark, there is a big fight. Once the water has lifted the ark, Noah reveals his plan. Once the ark has settled on dry ground and all the animals are free, then he will just let man die off. That this plan doesn't go over so well with his wife and children is a pretty big understatement.
There are a couple puzzling aspects to this. If you don't like God or the Bible, why would you choose to tell this story when you could have made up a perfectly good one out of thin air. Don't even involve a story that many know so well. Secondly, if you are so opposed to the supernatural aspects of the original story, why invent new ones? The rock angels are just weird in this context. The only good people are Noah and his family, and I kind of even question that. Perhaps only the few women characters are actually worth saving out of this bunch.
The art by Niko Henrichon is the only reason this gets any stars. It's pretty good (although the eyes are a bit wide and crazy, but maybe that's the idea), and very detailed. The art is better than the story deserves. I want to see Niko do a vast SF story. His art has an otherworld quality that I really liked.
I know this movie got lots of great reviews, but based on this graphic novel, I'd say it's a gamble by a good director that falls a bit short in execution.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
November 20, 2014
Aronofsky's last comics effort, The Fountain fell flat (didn't think much of the movie either, come to think of it) and this one wasn't much better. Haven't seen the film, but I suspect this one will work better on screen.
The writing is easy and obvious. The biggest problem is that there's very little actual character development--particularly of Noah himself. The whole thing feels more like a series of vignettes than an actual cohesive narrative: see Noah be sad about the state of mankind (seriously sad--his face sometimes looks like a sad caveman emoticon), see Noah yell at the people, see Noah build an ark, see Noah be a lousy father, see Noah upset about something that the reader never really fully understands because we're never shown or told where his conviction comes from. Nightmares/visions from the "Creator"? Family obligation? Animal liberation? Just crazy? All of the above?
Furthermore, for a character making such an enormous moral decision, we don't see Noah really grappling with the weight of it. When Noah abandons several "good" people to die on a mountaintop it's sort of shrugged off. Everybody else seems to get what's going on except Noah. Even the cardboard cutout bad guy has more more compelling (or at least understandable?) motives.
And in a book full of deus ex machinas (six-armed fallen angels, industrious children, helpful wizards in caves) there's very little actual deus: who is the Creator and why is s/he destroying the world? And why save Noah and his family? Are these the only exemplary shining stars left in the human race? Perhaps the silence of the Creator is intentional? (Again, this strikes me as being something that would work better on screen than on the page.)
I get Aronofsky had to follow a basic storyline and couldn't deviate from the very basic basics (well then again why not?)--but if he was going to embellish and flesh out as he did, it would have been nice to see something a little bit better thought out.
Two stars mostly for the beautiful artwork--particularly the landscapes, animals, [closeups of] faces, and colors.
The writing is easy and obvious. The biggest problem is that there's very little actual character development--particularly of Noah himself. The whole thing feels more like a series of vignettes than an actual cohesive narrative: see Noah be sad about the state of mankind (seriously sad--his face sometimes looks like a sad caveman emoticon), see Noah yell at the people, see Noah build an ark, see Noah be a lousy father, see Noah upset about something that the reader never really fully understands because we're never shown or told where his conviction comes from. Nightmares/visions from the "Creator"? Family obligation? Animal liberation? Just crazy? All of the above?
Furthermore, for a character making such an enormous moral decision, we don't see Noah really grappling with the weight of it. When Noah abandons several "good" people to die on a mountaintop it's sort of shrugged off. Everybody else seems to get what's going on except Noah. Even the cardboard cutout bad guy has more more compelling (or at least understandable?) motives.
And in a book full of deus ex machinas (six-armed fallen angels, industrious children, helpful wizards in caves) there's very little actual deus: who is the Creator and why is s/he destroying the world? And why save Noah and his family? Are these the only exemplary shining stars left in the human race? Perhaps the silence of the Creator is intentional? (Again, this strikes me as being something that would work better on screen than on the page.)
I get Aronofsky had to follow a basic storyline and couldn't deviate from the very basic basics (well then again why not?)--but if he was going to embellish and flesh out as he did, it would have been nice to see something a little bit better thought out.
Two stars mostly for the beautiful artwork--particularly the landscapes, animals, [closeups of] faces, and colors.
January 29, 2015
This is not your typical novel. The graphics are outstanding. It is a great way to get children or even us adults interested in what happened before our time and in particular reading the Bible - the greatest book of all time.
Jeannie Walker (Award-Winning Author)
Jeannie Walker (Award-Winning Author)
July 23, 2014
Well....no.
This was odd, and I don't think it was the graphic novel adaptation of the NOAH movie with Russell Crowe...
probably because RC wouldn't sign on to be such a shitheel. Noah starts off as the great warrior poet with soul of gold, but by the end is possibly the worst human ever. Shows all the worst elements of being a religious person claiming to be led by God's words/visions.
If THAT was Aronofsky's message, then OK I get it. However, if it was more literal, that Man is the cause of all the Earth's issues, and we don't deserve to live as a species...well I sure hope that's not it. Given that he's usually fairly intelligent, I hope it's the former, and a critique of religious fervor of any stripe.
The art is fun, as is the bigger size, but the characters tend to blend into the same 2 people.
Also...Angels came to Earth, became Giants with 3 sets of Arms made of Rock, and helped Noah kill off all of humanity before the flood? Then they ascended to Heaven as forgiveness for their folly???
I wonder if I'm high right now, because this sounds like a trip...or maybe it's just showing how wild the Bible can be if someone tries to flesh out some of the passages without context lol.
Enter at your own risk, it's interesting at times, but then gets so very negative and pessimistic about humanity, I didn't care for it.
This was odd, and I don't think it was the graphic novel adaptation of the NOAH movie with Russell Crowe...
probably because RC wouldn't sign on to be such a shitheel. Noah starts off as the great warrior poet with soul of gold, but by the end is possibly the worst human ever. Shows all the worst elements of being a religious person claiming to be led by God's words/visions.
If THAT was Aronofsky's message, then OK I get it. However, if it was more literal, that Man is the cause of all the Earth's issues, and we don't deserve to live as a species...well I sure hope that's not it. Given that he's usually fairly intelligent, I hope it's the former, and a critique of religious fervor of any stripe.
The art is fun, as is the bigger size, but the characters tend to blend into the same 2 people.
Also...Angels came to Earth, became Giants with 3 sets of Arms made of Rock, and helped Noah kill off all of humanity before the flood? Then they ascended to Heaven as forgiveness for their folly???
I wonder if I'm high right now, because this sounds like a trip...or maybe it's just showing how wild the Bible can be if someone tries to flesh out some of the passages without context lol.
Enter at your own risk, it's interesting at times, but then gets so very negative and pessimistic about humanity, I didn't care for it.
May 4, 2018
Darren Aronofsky & Ari Handel - writers
Niko Henrichon - artist
The graphic novel version of Aronofsky's take on the biblical story of Noah.
In a wicked world bereft of new life, men squander the gifts of God in petty, greed-fueled violence. The last pious man on Earth, Noah descendant of Methuselah, is shown visions of a coming flood. He pleads with the tribe of men to respect the Earth and honor God, but he is rejected. So, with the help of his family and the fallen host of God remaining on Earth, Noah build an enormous Ark to shepherd the animals of the world through the coming storm.
This is a very good graphic novel. I'm not sure if it was adapted from the screenplay, or if Aronofsky collaborated with Handel, but the writing is taught and gripping with powerful elements of mystical fantasy. The art by Niko Henrichon is lovely - the washed, sepia tones of the fallen world contrast sharply with the cool blues of Noah's vision. Henrichon's characters are dynamic and interesting, although the action scenes can be a bit confusing at times. Recommended!
4.5/5
Niko Henrichon - artist
The graphic novel version of Aronofsky's take on the biblical story of Noah.
In a wicked world bereft of new life, men squander the gifts of God in petty, greed-fueled violence. The last pious man on Earth, Noah descendant of Methuselah, is shown visions of a coming flood. He pleads with the tribe of men to respect the Earth and honor God, but he is rejected. So, with the help of his family and the fallen host of God remaining on Earth, Noah build an enormous Ark to shepherd the animals of the world through the coming storm.
This is a very good graphic novel. I'm not sure if it was adapted from the screenplay, or if Aronofsky collaborated with Handel, but the writing is taught and gripping with powerful elements of mystical fantasy. The art by Niko Henrichon is lovely - the washed, sepia tones of the fallen world contrast sharply with the cool blues of Noah's vision. Henrichon's characters are dynamic and interesting, although the action scenes can be a bit confusing at times. Recommended!
4.5/5
April 30, 2014
***I was provided an ecopy of this comic via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
I've read a lot of retellings of classic stories, but I don't think I've ever read a retelling of a Biblical story. The overall story sticks close to its source material, but many elements are added. One thing added is an environmental perspective. There are also giants and angels. The world is fleshed out into a fantastical almost post-apocalyptic world. The artwork is beautiful.
The characters are also more fleshed out than the source material. It reminded me of the Noah story in Children of Eden. many elements were added to make the story more cinematic.
I have not seen the movie that accompanies this graphic novel. Based on this comic, I'm sure the movie has awesome cinematography. I give this graphic novel a 3/5.
I've read a lot of retellings of classic stories, but I don't think I've ever read a retelling of a Biblical story. The overall story sticks close to its source material, but many elements are added. One thing added is an environmental perspective. There are also giants and angels. The world is fleshed out into a fantastical almost post-apocalyptic world. The artwork is beautiful.
The characters are also more fleshed out than the source material. It reminded me of the Noah story in Children of Eden. many elements were added to make the story more cinematic.
I have not seen the movie that accompanies this graphic novel. Based on this comic, I'm sure the movie has awesome cinematography. I give this graphic novel a 3/5.
November 17, 2014
This is an interesting book, but perhaps a little too stiff and serious for me to like unreservedly. This is a grim and gritty take on the Noah story, sort of Noah: The Dark Patriarch Returns. It feels like something out of the early days of Heavy Metal magazine. The men all need a shave, unless they're supposed to be young. The bad guys have facial tattoos and appear not to have bathed recently. There are women in the story, but they don't really do much besides give birth or act as a love interest or die tragically. Aronofsky has adapted the Noah tale, but doesn't always follow it closely; this is not a Bible comic. I imagine Biblical literalists will hate this book, but not many of them will probably read it in the first place. The artwork is lovely, but the tone is just a little more serious than I'm able to take it.
May 16, 2021
The graphic novel was better than the movie, espcially the fallen Angels also known as The Watchers. The book was more visual than anything else with dialogue/text boxes not over used. The graphic novel was a simple story of the Biblical prophet Noah and his wife and sons. Though different from the legit Biblical character, the story of the flood and the arc remain the same. I gave 3 stars because of the lack of depth and character development. The stunning artwork is sometimes a little dull and stays in a certain hue spectrum. I prefer V for Vendetta and Watchmen in my opinion. Still a good graphic novel.
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