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The Kingstone Bible Trilogy #1-3
The Kingstone Bible Trilogy - Complete Series Set
The Kingstone Bible Trilogy is a three book hardcover edition that combines previously released graphic novels/ comics to tell the expansive story of the Bible. It is the most complete graphic adaptation of the Bible ever published. #1 covers Genesis through I Samuel - the time period spanning creation through the life of David. #2 spans the time frame from the death of King David through the Intertestamental Period. #3 begins in the gospels with the birth of Christ, covers the extraordinary life of Christ, the birth of the subsequent church, letters of instruction to the church and closes with a grand finale artistic exposition of the book of Revelation. This one-of-a-kind hard cover graphic Bible is illustrated by top comic artists in stunning, full color art.
Co-writer Ben Avery is a lead writer and editor with Kingstone Comics. His comic book career began when he was selected by Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin to work as the script adapter of the comic book fantasy mini-series The Hedge Knight, based on novellas by the New York Times bestselling author. Post-Hedge Knight, Avery went on to co-write/co-create the critically acclaimed Lullaby and The Imaginaries for Image Comics, co-create and write the children's literature inspired fantasy The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles, develop and write the historical epic Kingdoms for Zondervan, and the sequel mini-series The Hedge Knight II published by Marvel Comics.
Co-writer Art A. Ayris combined a passion for both comics and Scripture in penning large portions of the Kingstone Bible. Ayris' writing spans 25 comics and graphic novels, several film festival wins, as well as Best TV Movie in Hollywood's Next Success contest with his screenplay Alas Babylon.
Kingstone's Voices of the Martyrs: A.D. 34 - A.D. 203 is an addendum to the Kingstone Bible Trilogy. Another hardcover compilation, this title includes the stories of the Apostles (including Paul) and early church leaders that carried the message of Jesus to future generations, and paid with their lives.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Co-writer Ben Avery is a lead writer and editor with Kingstone Comics. His comic book career began when he was selected by Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin to work as the script adapter of the comic book fantasy mini-series The Hedge Knight, based on novellas by the New York Times bestselling author. Post-Hedge Knight, Avery went on to co-write/co-create the critically acclaimed Lullaby and The Imaginaries for Image Comics, co-create and write the children's literature inspired fantasy The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles, develop and write the historical epic Kingdoms for Zondervan, and the sequel mini-series The Hedge Knight II published by Marvel Comics.
Co-writer Art A. Ayris combined a passion for both comics and Scripture in penning large portions of the Kingstone Bible. Ayris' writing spans 25 comics and graphic novels, several film festival wins, as well as Best TV Movie in Hollywood's Next Success contest with his screenplay Alas Babylon.
Kingstone's Voices of the Martyrs: A.D. 34 - A.D. 203 is an addendum to the Kingstone Bible Trilogy. Another hardcover compilation, this title includes the stories of the Apostles (including Paul) and early church leaders that carried the message of Jesus to future generations, and paid with their lives.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
- GenresChristianityReligion
2048 pages, Hardcover
Published October 10, 2016
9 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 24, 2019
Writing: Structure & Style
Overall, I was pleased with the writing. The set provides good summaries of Bible stories and direct quotes of passages in simple language with excellent notes to clarify historical facts. I recently focused on reading through the prophets, and I was impressed with how they handled the text and presented complicated, and unclear, prophecies.
The graphic timelines that open each book are well done. Timelines show the Biblical references above (1445 BC The Ten Commandments) and common secular dates below (1360 BC King Tut). Obviously, some of these dates are disputed, but I appreciated the effort to give a chronology to the Biblical events.
The Tables of Contents are helpful in giving an overview of the passages covered and where to find segments, but even more valuable are the Biblical references that appear on the bottom of each page. This is particularly effective in helping students make connections as the chronology switches between Biblical books, such as Mary’s perspective on Jesus birth in the Gospel of Luke alternating with Joseph’s perspective in the book of Matthew. It is also helpful in prophesy (See the Exodus 13 explanation of why the Israelites didn’t take the shorter route from Egypt through Philistia in the story of Samson from Judges 13, Vol 1, pg 469-471 OR the end of the book of Jonah, Vol 2, pg 569-571 where Jesus’ declaration about Nivevah from Matthew 12 is discussed and illustrated).
Illustration
The general style/ presentation a graphic novel is a huge draw to readers of all ages – even grandparents! Everyone *wants* to read these books. To the negative, a lot of comic book illustration is in a dark tone, and this series is unable to break free of that characteristic. It seems more difficult to illustrate bright colors, heavenly scenes, and glorified visions. Perhaps this is because we are vastly familiar with the evils of our world, and struggle to comprehend a God who dwells in unapproachable light.
Generally, people are portrayed in a variety of skin tones and features. Biblical and other historical figures have unique identities indicated by their features, coloring, hair, and clothing, highlighting that these are unique individuals. Jesus is dark haired, dark eyed, bearded and Jewish. In Revelation, Jesus maintains His facial features and body type, but has no color as His manifest as glowing light.
Given the context is the middle east, I would have liked to see more African representation. The Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10), Pentecost in Acts 2 (didn’t see any people of either African phenotype or coloring), and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8) are each pictured with darker skin tones and European features. Each of these stories portrays the spread of Judaism and Christianity into Africa through key leaders, yet we don’t see African features or coloring represented in the background characters. The Queen of Sheba and the Ethiopian Eunuch were initially drawn to Judaism. It is the prevalence of Judaism in Africa that explains how Africa became a Christian continent for almost six centuries. And today, some 40-45% of Africans are Christian, (not to mention African Americans that identify as Christian and would be a market in the USA). This lack of attention to the global south of the Christian family unnecessarily limits the illustration of this graphic presentation of the Bible. I have noticed that in the Revelation section of Volume 3, the diversity shoots high, with African and Asia representation of among the people both in the temporal and eternal state. Overall, the presentation isn’t egregious enough to be a fail, but clearly a “could have been better.”
Clothing (peasant and royal), jewelry, naval structures (ships for commercial and battle use), military armor and weaponry (shields, swords, siege towers and ramps, etc) appeared to be reasonable, though it would be interesting to know what their review process entailed and whether or not a scholar provided consultation.
Biblical constructions are fairly well executed, including the Tabernacle (Vol 1), Ark of the Covenant (Vol 1), False God’s of the Old Testament (Vol 2), Solomon’s Temple (Vol 2), and Herod’s Temple. However, missed opportunities such as “Later Jesus was walking in Solomon’s Colonade in the Temple” (which features a sort of vague temple gate or even entrance into the Temple instead of a colonnade, see Vol 3, pg 178) indicate difficulties with the architecture in general that render the text out of sync with the illustration. This is disappointing, as even a google image search for “Solomon’s Colonade Temple” will give you better visuals of this section of the Temple structure.
Beyond Biblical construction, architecture is disappointingly flawed. Even allowing for graphic novel stylizing, cities appear too large (in size and height), and decidedly Romanesque, often approaching Byzantine (large domes, etc) and even Middle Age European structures (turrets, towers, castles, cathedrals, etc.), particularly in background skylines (see Vol 1, pg 291 Nile River city). A glaring example of these anachronisms is the city of Ninevah (notice the colosseum or maybe it is a circus maximus?) in Volume 2, pg 582-583. Although cities built into hills were common, four and five story structures were not. This issue seems to fade away in Volume 3, as the Gospel accounts focus on people (lots of emotional close ups) and their response to Jesus, with little background architecture. The Epistles, accounting the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman world (and beyond), have arrived in the time period the artists seem to prefer, and I didn’t notice disconnects of the same magnitude of earlier volumes.
A final architectural comment: I was disturbed by the inclusion of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem when discussing end times, particularly throughout the Prophets in Volume 2. A Solomonic or Herodic Temple would have been suitable, especially given the reinforcement of heavenly forms given in the book of Hebrews. Another option would be to picture the Western Wall, with the Dome of the Rock removed from the background. But clearly, both Jewish and Christian eschatology call for the reclamation of the Temple Mount.
Conclusion
This is an overview of the Bible spanning all 66 books and some 4-5 thousand years of history. I don’t think anyone would 100% agree, in either story or illustration, with all the decisions made to accomplish this ambitious graphic novel project. Nonetheless, the passages chosen, use of summarizations/ quotations, and structure of the three volumes stand out for praise. I would have preferred a chronological ordering of the materials (for minor prophets to appear in context of 1 & 2 Kings, for example) to limit redundancy (telling us where each prophet fits in the timeline, who was king, etc.), as was done with the harmonization of the Gospel accounts in the life of Jesus. However, the by-book format chosen makes it easier to locate specific passages, facilitating reference as opposed to assuming a reader will consume the entire Bible cover to cover.
Finally, parents of children (particularly those who are young, sensitive or struggling with trauma) should be aware that many of these illustrations are quite emotional and vividly striking. These volumes cover the Bible, which is full of the supernatural (miracles, angels and demons) as well as gritty wars, wicked immorality, treacherous betrayals, bloody sacrifices, natural disasters, and confusing prophetic passages. Some children will need help sorting out the interpretive information, and processing images they don’t like or with which you don’t agree. Parents will want to be thoughtful about the appropriate age for their children, as a group, to engage with the visual aspect of this graphic novel series. For us, it was when our youngest was late elementary school (4th or 5th grade), and the books lead to LOTS of excellent discussion.
We are pleased to have another media for studying and discussing the Bible with all ages in our home. Even with my quibbles, you won’t find a better series reaching for such lofty heights. Highly recommended for all ages!
Want to get started? see...
The Kingstone Bible Trilogy Book #1, Ayris & Avery et al, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Overall, I was pleased with the writing. The set provides good summaries of Bible stories and direct quotes of passages in simple language with excellent notes to clarify historical facts. I recently focused on reading through the prophets, and I was impressed with how they handled the text and presented complicated, and unclear, prophecies.
The graphic timelines that open each book are well done. Timelines show the Biblical references above (1445 BC The Ten Commandments) and common secular dates below (1360 BC King Tut). Obviously, some of these dates are disputed, but I appreciated the effort to give a chronology to the Biblical events.
The Tables of Contents are helpful in giving an overview of the passages covered and where to find segments, but even more valuable are the Biblical references that appear on the bottom of each page. This is particularly effective in helping students make connections as the chronology switches between Biblical books, such as Mary’s perspective on Jesus birth in the Gospel of Luke alternating with Joseph’s perspective in the book of Matthew. It is also helpful in prophesy (See the Exodus 13 explanation of why the Israelites didn’t take the shorter route from Egypt through Philistia in the story of Samson from Judges 13, Vol 1, pg 469-471 OR the end of the book of Jonah, Vol 2, pg 569-571 where Jesus’ declaration about Nivevah from Matthew 12 is discussed and illustrated).
Illustration
The general style/ presentation a graphic novel is a huge draw to readers of all ages – even grandparents! Everyone *wants* to read these books. To the negative, a lot of comic book illustration is in a dark tone, and this series is unable to break free of that characteristic. It seems more difficult to illustrate bright colors, heavenly scenes, and glorified visions. Perhaps this is because we are vastly familiar with the evils of our world, and struggle to comprehend a God who dwells in unapproachable light.
Generally, people are portrayed in a variety of skin tones and features. Biblical and other historical figures have unique identities indicated by their features, coloring, hair, and clothing, highlighting that these are unique individuals. Jesus is dark haired, dark eyed, bearded and Jewish. In Revelation, Jesus maintains His facial features and body type, but has no color as His manifest as glowing light.
Given the context is the middle east, I would have liked to see more African representation. The Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10), Pentecost in Acts 2 (didn’t see any people of either African phenotype or coloring), and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8) are each pictured with darker skin tones and European features. Each of these stories portrays the spread of Judaism and Christianity into Africa through key leaders, yet we don’t see African features or coloring represented in the background characters. The Queen of Sheba and the Ethiopian Eunuch were initially drawn to Judaism. It is the prevalence of Judaism in Africa that explains how Africa became a Christian continent for almost six centuries. And today, some 40-45% of Africans are Christian, (not to mention African Americans that identify as Christian and would be a market in the USA). This lack of attention to the global south of the Christian family unnecessarily limits the illustration of this graphic presentation of the Bible. I have noticed that in the Revelation section of Volume 3, the diversity shoots high, with African and Asia representation of among the people both in the temporal and eternal state. Overall, the presentation isn’t egregious enough to be a fail, but clearly a “could have been better.”
Clothing (peasant and royal), jewelry, naval structures (ships for commercial and battle use), military armor and weaponry (shields, swords, siege towers and ramps, etc) appeared to be reasonable, though it would be interesting to know what their review process entailed and whether or not a scholar provided consultation.
Biblical constructions are fairly well executed, including the Tabernacle (Vol 1), Ark of the Covenant (Vol 1), False God’s of the Old Testament (Vol 2), Solomon’s Temple (Vol 2), and Herod’s Temple. However, missed opportunities such as “Later Jesus was walking in Solomon’s Colonade in the Temple” (which features a sort of vague temple gate or even entrance into the Temple instead of a colonnade, see Vol 3, pg 178) indicate difficulties with the architecture in general that render the text out of sync with the illustration. This is disappointing, as even a google image search for “Solomon’s Colonade Temple” will give you better visuals of this section of the Temple structure.
Beyond Biblical construction, architecture is disappointingly flawed. Even allowing for graphic novel stylizing, cities appear too large (in size and height), and decidedly Romanesque, often approaching Byzantine (large domes, etc) and even Middle Age European structures (turrets, towers, castles, cathedrals, etc.), particularly in background skylines (see Vol 1, pg 291 Nile River city). A glaring example of these anachronisms is the city of Ninevah (notice the colosseum or maybe it is a circus maximus?) in Volume 2, pg 582-583. Although cities built into hills were common, four and five story structures were not. This issue seems to fade away in Volume 3, as the Gospel accounts focus on people (lots of emotional close ups) and their response to Jesus, with little background architecture. The Epistles, accounting the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman world (and beyond), have arrived in the time period the artists seem to prefer, and I didn’t notice disconnects of the same magnitude of earlier volumes.
A final architectural comment: I was disturbed by the inclusion of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem when discussing end times, particularly throughout the Prophets in Volume 2. A Solomonic or Herodic Temple would have been suitable, especially given the reinforcement of heavenly forms given in the book of Hebrews. Another option would be to picture the Western Wall, with the Dome of the Rock removed from the background. But clearly, both Jewish and Christian eschatology call for the reclamation of the Temple Mount.
Conclusion
This is an overview of the Bible spanning all 66 books and some 4-5 thousand years of history. I don’t think anyone would 100% agree, in either story or illustration, with all the decisions made to accomplish this ambitious graphic novel project. Nonetheless, the passages chosen, use of summarizations/ quotations, and structure of the three volumes stand out for praise. I would have preferred a chronological ordering of the materials (for minor prophets to appear in context of 1 & 2 Kings, for example) to limit redundancy (telling us where each prophet fits in the timeline, who was king, etc.), as was done with the harmonization of the Gospel accounts in the life of Jesus. However, the by-book format chosen makes it easier to locate specific passages, facilitating reference as opposed to assuming a reader will consume the entire Bible cover to cover.
Finally, parents of children (particularly those who are young, sensitive or struggling with trauma) should be aware that many of these illustrations are quite emotional and vividly striking. These volumes cover the Bible, which is full of the supernatural (miracles, angels and demons) as well as gritty wars, wicked immorality, treacherous betrayals, bloody sacrifices, natural disasters, and confusing prophetic passages. Some children will need help sorting out the interpretive information, and processing images they don’t like or with which you don’t agree. Parents will want to be thoughtful about the appropriate age for their children, as a group, to engage with the visual aspect of this graphic novel series. For us, it was when our youngest was late elementary school (4th or 5th grade), and the books lead to LOTS of excellent discussion.
We are pleased to have another media for studying and discussing the Bible with all ages in our home. Even with my quibbles, you won’t find a better series reaching for such lofty heights. Highly recommended for all ages!
Want to get started? see...
The Kingstone Bible Trilogy Book #1, Ayris & Avery et al, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
March 1, 2025
These people are used to drawing very muscled people and dark creatures in dark settings, and it sometimes surprises to see this style set over biblical stories or books that wouldn't warrant that. Still, quite a great set!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews