ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS: Z.M. THOMAS

Z.M. Thomas is the comic book writer behind great books such as ABE THE ABORTED FETUS and THE BIBLE 2, both of which I’ve reviewed here and here, respectively. As you can probably tell, most people don’t get the joke and have said quite a few negative things about his work. Here’s what I had to ask him.

ME: You take on a lot of touchy topics in your work for the purpose of making people laugh, and that tends to rub people the wrong way. What is the worst thing anyone has ever said to you because of your books?

Z.M. THOMAS: Honestly, the hate that people send to me is pretty much the generic rhetoric that you’d expect someone to say if they disagree with you on a fundamental religious level, which usually involves the threat of Hell. As if threatening Hell to an atheist is much of a threat at all, considering there’s a certain level of insanity in trying to justify having an imaginary enemy. But, either way, I’ve been lucky in the sense that there hasn’t been much said in the form of bodily harm or death threats, just a lot of passive aggressive bullshit which appears to have been written by those with the intellectual equivalent of first graders. However, the only time anyone has said anything to me that really pissed me off was when an individual sarcastically tried to ask if “I or anyone I knew had a gun placed to their head and forced into Christianity,” which actually has happened to my family. So I engaged in a long condescending answer which you can find here. Of course he deleted his comment within hours, but that was probably the most offensive thing anyone has ever said to me.

His work can be found here. It is well-researched, as he is a fellow fan of history. If you haven’t read anything of his, despite my reviews, now is the time. He’s planning to have a new book released soon. I won’t say anything about it, but if it’s anything like he’s told me, it’s going to top the awesomeness of ABE and BIBLE 2, hands down.

C2E2 2013 REVIEW: THE BIBLE 2

[DEPT. OF FULL DISCLOSURE:  I know Z.M. Thomas, and I consider him a friend.  That said, I do not give out favorable reviews due to bias.  Luckily, I’ve never had to trash a friend yet.  I think that’s because I’m really good at meeting and befriending talented people.]

Remember how awesome and blasphemous ABE THE ABORTED FETUS was?  Writer Z.M. Thomas has done it again, but he’s upped his game this time in the “official” sequel to the Bible, THE BIBLE 2.  Hands down, this is the funniest trade you could have found in Artists Alley this year.  If you missed it, you’re a fool.

The story starts out on Jesus’s resurrection day, when he reveals to his followers that he’s leaving them to go to a faraway land called Utah, and no one should know that he’s there.  Mary Magdalene then creates a secret society dedicated to protecting this secret.  (Oh yeah, and Jesus gets there by riding a unicorn powered by rainbow farts.)

Fast forward about a thousand years, and Pope Clement V and the king of France are conspiring to draw Jesus out of hiding.  In the meantime, Tsidhqiyah, the descendant of Mary Magdalene and the last surviving member of the JLA (no, not THAT JLA, the Jewish League of Assassins), has come to ask Jesus for his help against the Pope, who is really the Devil himself in disguise.  A reluctant Jesus goes back home to take down the Papacy and save the world.

Yes, you read all of that right.  This is an actual book, and it’s even greater than this description.  Thomas has taken Jesus and turned him into an action hero, one-liners and all.  In fact, this book is so full of awesome one-liners, you’ll find yourself hard-pressed to not quote it to your friends.  This time out, Jesus has rocket sandals and laser eye beams and guns and he even smokes!

This is Jesus as you’ve never seen him before, and thanks to artist Amelia Woo, you get a very clear picture.  She pulls no punches, and she takes no prisoners.  With her help, you buy both the weed-smoking Jesus and the ass-kicking Jesus, even when they’re sometimes mere pages apart.

And yes, before you ask, Jesus does bring the dinosaurs back for his final charge on Vatican City.

If all of this doesn’t convince you to buy this book, chances are you’re a hardcore Christian.  Still, aren’t you curious to find out what happened after Jesus rode off to Utah on his unicorn?  Pick up this book and find out the true story of what happened to your savior in the thousand years after his resurrection.  You won’t be sorry.

THE BIBLE 2

Written by Z.M. Thomas

Illustrated by Amelia Woo

Published by Trepidation Comics

A shit-ton of pages, all of them funny as fuck

$19.99