In the near future, with global warming threatening coastlines, geneticist Sarah Epstein secures funding for her plan to engineer carbon dioxide-gobbling plants by participating in a new reality TV program. She implants DNA extracted from the Shroud of Turin into the womb of a young virgin, and so is born Chris, the new Jesus Christ. With holograms for classmates, and a surrogate family including Sarah's daughter Rebekah, who is Chris's age and a former IRA terrorist head of security, Chris grows up in an island compound in front of the entire world, his existence splitting Christians into two factions: those who believe he's the Second Coming, and those who believe the "J2" project is an abomination.
VERDICT Murphy's spiky, detail-rich black-and-white artwork brilliantly illustrates an engrossing and surprising story that achieves a heightened sense of reality: a place where satire turns questioning and abstract, larger-than-life issues and conflicts are concretized on a human scale. An audacious, nuanced, and hugely compelling tale of science and religion, belief and rebellion, damnation and redemption—and, yes, punk rock—this work is highly recommended for older teens and adults.
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