An interesting look at Jesus' decent into and through hell after being crucified. I had never heard this story before and have little background on it. The coloring and the illustrations were dynamic and well done. I highly recommend giving this a read, even if you are not part of the faith.

This was a mistake. I requested this early in my time on NetGalley, excited and grabbing every little thing. Little did I know The Harrowing of Hell was not a demonic type story, but a christian one. I am pretty anti christianity. I give this only 2 stars because the arts is really well done. It's an impressive way of telling the story, but one that just doesn't work for me.
Apologies to the author and the publisher for not sufficiently reviewing what I requested before hand.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It was just okay for me.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

Jesus's descent into Hell after his crucifiction. I would have preferred the text adopted more modern language than the King James bible. It's an artificial translation since they spoke Aramaic in those days and not Olde English. The art is great. It's slightly cartoonish which actually works in this context. I liked the stark contrast of only using red along with the black and white art.

An interesting look at Jesus' decent into and through hell after being crucified. I had never heard this story before and have little background on it. The coloring and the illustrations were dynamic and well done. I highly recommend giving this a read, even if you are not part of the faith.

"The Harrowing of Hell" by Evan Dahm subverts expectations in this graphic novel dominated by three colors: black, white and red. I am not a Christian so I don't know if this is a biblical story that's closely followed or a creative reimagining for the most part, but in either case, the way the story is crafted draws the reader in and makes it a very quick and enjoyable read.

The language, especially in the chapters about his descent to hell are very poetic with many quoted that encourage thinking deeply about how Jesus or a prophet in general is perceived and what salvation means. Christ, as a character, is very human, fragile, afraid when he should be, yet persevering in the face of danger or even death, quite literally.

As for the art style, the contrast between red and black & white makes red very symbolic and pay attention to the power it symbolizes in its variety.

This graphic novel is the allegorical tale of what happens between the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The drawings and text are clear and easy to read, although some of the language (adopted from various historical texts) can take some additional focus to get through. This story is a darker one and the art fits the telling, well done.

***I was granted an ARC of this via Netgalley from the publisher.***

The Harrowing of Hell by Evan Dahm is a graphic novel that covers Jesus' journey to the underworld during his three days in the grave before his resurrection. In this story, Jesus is confronted by what he claims to be and what that is going to mean going forward for those who would call themselves his followers in the future. Those familiar with the Bible will recognize references to Bible verses not just in what Jesus' says in his various encounters in Hell but also in his actions. I liked the way the author began each level of Hell with a scene from Jesus' life on earth which corresponded to the verbal challenges being given to him by the various denizens he meets in the underworld. I also like the color used in this graphic novel with most of it in black and white but red used for emphasis. I really liked this graphic novel and I think that others will like the story too.

Rating: 4/5 stars. Would recommend to a friend.

I've decided to do this review in two parts, reviewing the story and the artwork separately. First, the story. Whilst this is obviously an age-old and familiar tale, this time around it is represented with a new angle. I won't include spoilers here, but this is a thoughtful interpretation and one that leaves the reader with questions to ponder.

I thought the words were appropriate for the overall feel of the book and added to the sense of desperation and angst that this book is centered on. There is a darkness here that is psychological and existential, the battle for righteousness and truth and Evan Dahm did an excellent job representing that.

As for the artwork, the bold but limited colours the author/illustrator chose worked very well. The images are striking and memorable without being overwrought with details. I enjoyed seeing the words blend with the artwork to tell a story that would have been lacking in intensity if one or the other had not been present. The art itself represents the illustrator's talent at variation and theme.

Whilst I generally enjoy all things to do with visual representations of religions, this one stands out as being particularly creative and thought-provoking. I would definitely recommend this book to those who would like to see a slightly different version of Christ's passage through Hell.

I was impressed with this book and hope to see more works like this in the future.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

<i>I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review..</i>

The Harrowing of Hell is an alternative look into the life and death of Jesus Christ removed from his larger than life mythos. Evan Dahm draws from a wide array of ancient and modern, religious and historical texts to retell the story of a very human Christ and his fervent belief in humanity even at death’s door.

As someone not very familiar with biblical stories this is a version of Christ that I wasn't really expecting. Rather than the savior of the people, larger than life figure that we are used to seeing in biblical narratives, this Christ felt very much human: filled with doubt in the midst of his sufferings calling vainly on God, asking why He has forsaken him. Masterfully conceived and illustrated by Dahm, Christ’s story begins from the day he is condemned to death by an envious Caesar. Dahm layers Jesus’s journey through hell with his own internal struggle against temptation and doubt.

The art style is simplified, creating characters and backgrounds in black and white with bright splashes of red coating blood and the hellish landscape. The minimalist art draws more attention to the character’s facial expressions, highlighting Jesus’s pain and suffering and also his relentless fight for his love of humanity. It makes the meaning of His sacrifice all the more noble.

The biblical texts interspersed within the minimalist art really added to the gravitas of the story giving it an appropriately somber atmosphere.

All in all, this felt like the seeds of a story that would later be passed down the generations to then depict Jesus as the hero and savior that the audience is more used to seeing today. <b>3 stars</b>.

'The Harrowing of Hell' with story and art by Evan Dahm is a graphic novel about Jesus Christ and his journey between crucifixion and resurrection.

After Jesus was crucified, he went to hell to defeat death. This is about that journey, along with reflections of his life on Earth. In his trek, he is mocked by demons, but breaks chains and prisons. The Earth scenes are about the people he encountered and those scenes are done in black and white. The scenes in hell add the color red to create more striking contrasts.

I was really impressed with this graphic novel. I loved Evan Dahm's 'Riceboy' and I find his artistic style really distinctive.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Boom! Studios and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

The book was had some of the best illustrations I had seen. The story line deals with what undergoes when Jesus experiences events after his death in the underworld. I haven't known much about the perspective and that's why it was an enlightening read!

If you are not Catholic, Lutheran, LDS, Reformed or Orthodox, you may not have been taught what happened to Jesus after he was crucified and before he was resurrected. The Harrowing of Hell tells of Jesus descent into the underworld.

Whether you are a believer in the story or not, the art alone is worth buying the book. It is pen and ink. The images have the broad strokes of a woodcut. The dramatic and deep blood red coloring makes the scenes of the underworld pop. 4 stars!

Thanks to Iron Circus Comics, Letter Better Publishing and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I also reviewed this author’s previous graphic novel, Rice Boy, and I loved it too!

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

i gave this a 3.5 stars out of five stars. I really liked the art style and colors. It was different from what i want expecting but i really enjoy it. I would recommend this to a few people that i think would enjoy it.

I received the ARC of this book from NetGalley and the Publisher, in exchange of an honest review.

Let me start by saying this: I am not a religious person. I do not pray or follow any religions (though I might consider myself to somehow follow the Christian holidays, as my entire family is Christian). But I am familiar with the stories in the Bible and especially this one. It was a nicely done fresh take on the now classical tale and the artwork was really good. It was enough to make me read it without stopping and also think about it after I was done.

This was very interesting. It was an automatic approval from the publisher so I had no idea what I was really getting into.

One of the quickest reads ever! The beautiful artwork and compelling story made it impossible to keep turning the pages and I finished this in minutes. The story takes one of the most famous religious figures of our time, Jesus Christ, and puts him in an original storyline from a very different angle. I loved it, can’t wait to read more!

This was such a beautifully illustrated interpretation of the crucifixion of Christ. Despite being religious, I do not have an in-depth knowledge of this event.

Dahm's interpretation from the perspective of Christ's thoughts after being crucified is so interesting. The use of black and white illustrations with red as the only colour was an appropriate and symbolic choice.

Overall, this graphic novel provided me with an intriguing interpretation of Christ's crucifixion that I have not seen before and I would highly recommend it.

The style keeps attention. Whether one believes the apocryphal or not, this is an interesting and quick read! At times, the language of Jesus is a bit more simplified than adult bibles ever are ... this may appeal to some and seem like over-explaining to others. This graphic novel is well thought-out.