I Read Comic Books discussion

For this month's read, the 2024 Reading Challenge Finishers have selected The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix!

What did you think of this book?

Tell us all about it in the thread below!

There will be a public episode of the show released on January 15th discussing this book. :)

2024 Reading Challenge is coming next month - Patreon supporters, keep an eye on your Patreon inbox to make your recommendation!

FYI this title is on hoopla, for anyone who has access to that through their library!

I just finished recording the podcast episode about this book with Mike and two guests, Aubrey Lyn Jeppson and C. Solis. We had a good chat about this book toward the end of the episode! It will be available on Wednesday.

This book definitely caused me to reflect on a lot of different things. Lewis and Tolkien discussed creativity, fairy tales, mythology, and religion at length in their friendship and the most impactful of those conversations are paraphrased in this book. I have also wanted to start writing myself again, and seeing how Lewis and Tolkien both had stops and starts in their writing careers is comforting.

I like how meta the book is. The lion references the back matter multiple times and shows concern for if the reader is following along. There are numerous references to other works, and I like how nods to those works are incorporated into the background art.

The reveal at the end of the story wasn't all that surprising for me, but it did make me tear up.

The combination of prose and comics worked for me in this very specific context. I don't think an only-comic story could have gone into the depth that this combination work did, at least not within the already-long (for a comic) page count. The narration and comic writing style flowed together pretty seamlessly, so the jump from one to the other wasn't jarring for me at all.

kaitlphere wrote: "... The combination of prose and comics worked for me in this very specific context. ..."

It feels to me like a "picture book" rather than a "comic". But whatever. It works fine.

I'm halfway through.

Not sure I really need or want this author to give his definitions of "epic", "myth", "fable", "science fiction", etc. I see how it is relevant to discuss how Tolkein and Lewis created something possibly new. But those terms have many, many definitions and I'm kinda tired of trying to pin them down.

I think of it as an illustrated text myself.

As for mythos and logos etc, I think the author included those definitions to tie them to what and the way Tolkien and Lewis created.

I was unaware of this graphic novel beforehand, so I was pleasantly surprised by the unique way that John Hendrix framed the story about the friendship between famed authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Hendrix began the story with two narrators, the lion from Lewis’s Narnia series and a wizard from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. These two introduced the men by sharing their life histories, friendships with one another and other authors, their belief (or lack of) in Christianity and their domestic partnerships. The narrators encourage you to not necessarily read the book front to back but to take breaks and “portal” to other sections, where Hendrix gives additional background information. This made me think of Choose Your Own Adventure books, so it is up to the reader if they wish to delay these sections to the end or intermix them with the rest of the narrative. The biography shares some sad truths about the unraveling of their friendship in later years and continues until the men’s deaths. Yet, the story ends on a heartwarming note, and we are given a fitting end for the two old friends. This creative novel was well worth my time, and I will undoubtedly return to it to read it in a different order and gain further insights. This biography was well-researched and fans of either of the iconic authors should certainly add this to their collections.

Ed wrote: "kaitlphere wrote: "... The combination of prose and comics worked for me in this very specific context. ..."

It feels to me like a "picture book" rather than a "comic". But whatever. It works fine..."

"Picture book" was exactly how I thought of it as well! I agree with everyone that it works well in this specific context.

Your comment about his definitions gave me a chuckle, after just having finished the book and therefore reading Hendrix's comments on p. 206 ("Research and Authenticity"):
"It is worth noting that the distinctions between myth, epic/saga, legend, and folktale are not always so straightforward as I've noted in the story. I'm positive there will be a certain segment of reader that will throw the book across the room with objections to my abridged adaptation."
I happened to be in a good mood while reading these parts, so I personally did not mind the detour, however I can imagine this is what influenced him to create the "portals" in the first place, lol.

All in all, this book was delightful and the perfect start to a year of reading. Going in, I was expecting a kind of light propaganda book, with an attitude of, "two creative geniuses and literary legends worked together to create the best books of all time!" I was not expecting this deep and emotional biography of the friendship, growth, and love of storytelling between two human beings. This book was written with love, and it shows.

As if the ending wasn't emotional enough, the final page of the story, quoting a final sentence from each of the authors' stories, transported me back to fifth grade, reading that same sentence from The Last Battle over and over again, and had me reaching for my beloved copy just to do it once more.

I have recommended this book to several people already, including fans of Lewis and Tolkien, as well as those who find love and inspiration in myth, fantasy, and storytelling in general.

This was such a good pick! I really enjoyed it - its been a minute since I read a comic, and it's got me wanting to dive back in!