Wow! Lots of connections to people in the ancient past, also to two different Messiahs: Mashiach ben David and Mashiach ben Joseph, who connected to Mordechai and Esther, Saul, Joshua, Joseph, and Rachel and Jacob. Timna is an ancestor of Amalek and Haman according to the genealogy tree at the beginning of the book; she is in the wordless prologue, which concludes with a quote from Sanhedrin 99b in the Babylonian Talmud. (So we are initially responsible for Haman because our Patriarchs rejected her; just as, according to the Midrash, our being afflicted as slaves in Egypt is because Sarah afflicted Hagar. But I digress. As does Waldman.)
There are endnotes in the back: rabbinic citations* justifying Waldman's words and illustrations and also "The Mystery of the Lotus" notes with "clues towards uncovering more of the mystery surrounding the story of Esther." [p. 163] And halfway through the text, when the story becomes topsy-turvy and things start to turn in favor of the Jews, you have to turn the book upside down and start reading it from right to left. The side margins have page numbers as well as the chapter and verse of Megillat Esther.
It all feels a bit overwhelming and a little chaotic, a bit like a Megillah reading!

*Waldman explains that there is a long rabbinic tradition of citing one's sources and provides a source from Megillah 15a in the Babylonian Talmud: "R. Chanina said: 'Whoever repeats something in the name of one who said it brings redemption to the world.'" [p. 160; also see p. 157] I had always thought, and been amused by the fact that quoting your sources is based on an unattributed(!) verse in Pirke Avot, a book mostly about attributed quotes. (see Avot 6:6) ( )

I picked this up after Waldman's contribution to Harvey Pekar's Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me. This is a scholarly and graphic review of the Esther story, beautifully rendered and rigorously sourced. I can't imagine there are too many other works out there that include in their bibliography works by both Adin Steinsaltz and Scott McCloud. I have a deep fondness for the cinematic drama of the Purim story and this was a fantastic telling with a literal twist in the middle. ( )

Megillat Esther is commonly referred to as the Book of Esther: but there is nothing common about JT Waldman’s interpretation of this Biblical story. In what may be the world’s first religious, scholarly comic book, Waldman tells the epic tale of exile and redemption in graphic form.

When Esther, a Jewish woman, is made Queen of Persia she must keep her identity hidden, all the while maneuvering to save her people from annihilation. This is a story familiar to many Jews who have heard it recounted every year on the holiday of Purim. But readers of all backgrounds will be entranced by what artist Waldman depicts in his interpretation of the text. At once traditional and groundbreaking Megillat Esther will challenge secular assumptions about the Bible.

Each page of Megillat Esther is a visual tour de force and features the Hebrew text with original English translation, as well as opulent drawings depicting the story of the Persian Queen.

Dense. This is likely only a preliminary reviewette, as a work of this nature demands (in a fit of excitation) to be read at least twice.

On the first reading, I would say this is fantastic. I'm not sure what more I can add at this point, without having read through the supplementary material at the back of the book, read the actual Biblical Book of Ruth again, and maybe spent some time on Wikipedia.

A note: The art style seemed a bit messy to me at first— especially the shadows, which I felt a bit heavy and loose. But I had to admit it looked okay when I considered the pages in their totality (usually by just holding the book further away from me and blinking a couple times). After I'd finished the book I realized that the shadows often looked a bit like the Hebrew text which was mixed into the images, and helped to bring the two together seamlessly. The art conveyed an entirely different feeling to me after that. ( )

http://www.bostonbibliophile.com/2008/03/jewish-literature-challenge-5-of-5.html ( )