One of my main special interest areas has always been high-control/niche religious groups. In the interest of review transparency, I do not believe in any of the LDS church’s claims and do not come from an LDS background at all, so this is not a review from a believing member. However, this book is not a hack job and I think you could read it as a member and not be too upset. Van Sciver was raised in the LDS Church and as he writes in his Author’s Note, “I needed to draw this book because I needed to know who Joseph Smith was.” You can tell the immense amount of research, time, and care that went into his work. This is a beautiful book, from the package itself to the art and the pacing of the narrative. His art is really amazing and highly detailed — it captures the atmosphere and the texture of the 19th century. It made me consider the impact of living in a rural area with no entertainment beyond storytelling and the Bible, the physical and mental isolation and lack of resources.
Van Sciver focuses simply on showing the story of Joseph Smith, without coming off as having a particular strong agenda, which I respect a lot considering how fraught this discussion can be. I follow ex-Mormon spaces so I have a lot of background in the historical basis of the church and its claims, and everything he shows here is pretty much spot on. For me, as a non-believer, it reinforced my thoughts about the highly grift-y origins of the religion, as something about seeing the events drawn on the page brought home to me their nebulous and fragile basis. However, again, this is not a takedown style polemical book and Van Sciver does a great job of capturing the reasons and the emotions behind the act of founding a new religion and the simple human desire for faith. This is not an anti-Mormon/LDS book by any means — the people persecuting them throughout are drawn as ugly and evil-looking, so they are definitely not the good guys of the story.
Overall, I thought that this was probably as fair a depiction of the founding of the church and the life of Joseph Smith that you could get from a non-church source. I especially loved its depth, the art, the amazing coloring, and the overall experience of reading it. I purposefully just read a few pages at a time, because there was so much to think about and take in on every page that I didn’t want to rush it. I also appreciated his note section afterwards, and the interview he gave in Bubbles #13 made for great supplemental reading as well (and he walks you through pages he cut, which I found super interesting). This was one of my best reading experiences of the year. Really highly recommended to anyone who is interested in the LDS/Mormon Church, graphic novels, and just good storytelling in general. A very special book!
Warnings for: sexual coercion, underage marriages, polygamy, religious abuse, physical assault, murder, death, death of children