''Therefore Repent!'' is a bestselling Canadian

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

written by

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

freelance writer

Jim Munroe Jim Munroe is a Canadian science fiction author, independent game developer, filmmaker, and cultural organizer. Munroe was managing editor at the magazine ''Adbusters'' in the 1990s, before publishing his debut novel ''Flyboy Action Figure Comes ...

and illustrated by Salgood Sam. It is set in a

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

neighbourhood after the predictions of

Christian fundamentalists Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...

concerning

the Rapture The Rapture is an eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Christians who are still a ...

have come true, the righteous have risen to

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

and a society divided between Splitters who believe there will be a second Rapture for those who perform good acts after the first and those who do not. The novel has been called "a progressive, humane rejoinder" to the Christian science fiction novels in the ''

Left Behind ''Left Behind'' is a multimedia franchise of apocalyptic fiction written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, released by Tyndale House Publishers from 1995 to 2007. The bestselling premillennial novels are Christian eschatological narrat ...

'' series.

Storyline

The

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

s of the novel are Mummy and Raven, lovers who used to have a touring act at Raves and Festivals where they dressed up as a

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

and a

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

. The novel opens as they arrive in

searching for somewhere to live following

. They meet a local kid in their new neighbourhood who shows them to an empty apartment vacated by its raptured inhabitants. Settling into the squat, Mummy and Raven are happy to live in a world without

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, unlike Splitters (people who were left behind who strive to become as Christian as possible in order to ascend to

during the Apocalypse). As the story progresses, Mummy and Raven explore the neighbourhood around their apartment, and become disconcerted as the world becomes increasingly unhinged. Militaristic

angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

appear and begin to kill "sinners" using machine guns, the couple's dog begins to speak, while they and other people start to develop magical powers and forms.

Reception

The graphic novel was a critical and commercial success, attracting critical praise from ''

Quill & Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

'' ("an absolutely boundless piece of fantasy that he wisely grounds in very human relationships... say it’s an imaginative work would be an understatement"),

Junot Díaz Junot Díaz ( ; born December 31, 1968) is a Dominican American writer, creative writing professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a former fiction editor at '' Boston Review''. Central to Díaz's work is the immigrant experience ...

, and

Annalee Newitz Annalee Newitz (born May 7, 1969) is an American journalist, editor, and author of both fiction and nonfiction. From 1999 to 2008, Newitz wrote a syndicated weekly column called ''Techsploitation'', and from 2000 to 2004 was the culture editor o ...

of ''

io9 ''io9'' is a sub-blog of the technology blog ''Gizmodo'' that focuses on science fiction and fantasy pop culture, with former focuses on science, technology and futurism. It was created as a standalone blog in 2008 by editor Annalee Newitz under ...

'', reaching the Canadian Top 20 bestsellers list, and garnering Munroe a nomination for the 2008

Shuster Award The Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards (or Joe Shuster Awards) are given out annually for outstanding achievements in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and comics retailers and publishers by Canadians. The awards ...

for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Writer.

Publication details

References

{{reflist

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

.com

Reviews

Warren Peace Sings the Blues

Read About Comics

Sibin Mohan
from ''

Blogcritics Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen (writer), Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn. Blogcritics features more than 100 original articles every week, and maintains an archive of a ...

''
The Guild of Outsider Writers
2008 graphic novels Canadian graphic novels Graphic novels set in Chicago Post-apocalyptic comics Fantasy comics Novels by Jim Munroe Urban fiction Graphic novels about Christianity

Storyline

Reception

Publication details

References

External links

Reviews