Re-Introducing "Journey to Bethlehem

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Which is my longwinded way of (re-)introducing my 2013 comic, "Journey to Bethlehem," illustrating the holy family, from packing for the taxman-forced trip until the Herod-induced flight into Egypt. Somewhat loosely derived from - I should perhaps say "inspired by" - the UB telling. I re-inserted a shepherd and made a few other tweaks, for illustrated-narrative purposes.

The comic was originally serialized in my "Daily Doodle" series and I got pressed for time. One thing I left out was the presentation of Jesus at the temple, where to Mary and Joseph's surprise, their newborn was praised in song. There is dark comic appeal in the spies of Herod hearing this, bringing back to the monstrous king some scraps of the song which they had heard, but failing to keep track of the holy family themselves. I imagine incomeptent minions getting the foul end of Herod's temper over that one.

Some of the comic may be a touch confusing if you don't know the UB version, or some intended-as-humorous bits might shock you if you are a Biblical absolutist, but I'd like to think it's mostly accessible and readable to all. And, I hope, reverently respectful.

The comic comes in two flavors. Full-size comic panels by themselves, all on a single page, or, a five-page reduced-size display interspersed with the UB's Birth and Infancy of Jesus text. Try the full-size.

That's my Christmas gift to the Book Thread readers. There are, ahem, PayPal donation buttons on the site. Don't know if they work, because nobody's ever used them. But they're there. (What kind of cheapskate hits for payment for a Christmas gift??) Comments may be left on the table of contents page.

http://bit.ly/journey-to-bethlehem-toc