by David Wilkie
★★★★
Coffee with Jesus isn’t your everyday comic book. You think it’s easy putting words on the lips of Jesus, while avoiding the sacrilegious? I get the feeling that Wilkie toned it down just a little to take the edge off. He could have been much more pointed. Yet it really is as amusing as it is serious how Jesus pokes holes in our religiosity, just sipping coffee and offering advice. Jesus’ gentle sarcasm hits the mark time after time.
It’s a great book, but I have to point out a couple negatives. The print is small, and the same artwork is repeated throughout. I’m guessing there are maybe a dozen unique frames throughout the book, which differ only in the words printed underneath the character drawings. Whenever Joe, the Pastor, turns to look to the right, the part in his hair magically shifts to his left side … the wonders of mirror imaging. Obviously, you’re not buying the book for physical humor or captivating artwork. This format works well for a daily publication; not so much for a book, where the repetitiveness may begin to wear on you.
Artwork aside, though, you’ll fall in love with the personalities and their many character flaws. How like you and me they are, and how patient Jesus is with each of them! Definitely a feel-good book, whether or not Wilkie meant it to be!
