Joseph Smtih and the Mormons by Noah Van Sciver

Authors

Scott Hales

Keywords

graphic novel, Joseph Smith studies, Blammo, Joseph Smith and the Mormons, Noah Van Sciver, First Vision

Abstract

Readers have been anticipating Noah Van Sciver’s graphic novel Joseph Smith and the Mormons since 2011, when the cartoonist first published a story about Joseph Smith and Latter-day Saint origins in his indie comics anthology Blammo. In the story, Van Sciver offset a rather straightforward account of the First Vision and translation of the Book of Mormon with his signature visual style, an arresting combination of the primitive and the grotesque. The result was an artistically intriguing retelling of early Church history, and readers wanted more. When Van Sciver subsequently published graphic novels about Abraham Lincoln (The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln, 2012) and Johnny Appleseed (Johnny Appleseed: Green Spirit of the Frontier, 2017), fans wondered if his next biographical work would tackle the life of the Latter-day Saint prophet.

Recommended Citation

Hales, Scott (2023) "Joseph Smtih and the Mormons by Noah Van Sciver," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 62: Iss. 1, Article 12.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol62/iss1/12