Like horror and K-Pop Demon Hunters, the Inklings are having a moment in the Evangelical world. Those of us who track trends have seen this rhythm repeat several times–Jonathan Edwards in the early 2000s (I admit to being caught up in that one myself. I mean, I’ve been caught up in all of them, but Edwards a bit more than others), Luther in the late 2010s (the 500th of the Reformation was the obvious cause there), and Spurgeon in the early 2010s, the past few years have seen a renaissance in Inkling studies, particularly focused on Lewis and Tolkien.
In fact, this renaissance has hit the world of graphic novels with the publication of The Mythmakers by John Hendrix.
As I’ve said repeatedly on here, I am not one to judge the artistic quality of something–but it looked good to me. As far as biopic graphic novels, this is a solid one artistically to the best of my knowledge.
More in my wheelhouse, it is an excellent overview of the friendship between Lewis and Tolkien and how that friendship affected their writing. The “mythmakers” encouraged, helped, and nudged each other into being the definitive Christian writers of the 20th century–maybe even the definitive writers, period.
(At least I think we can say that Lord of the Rings is the 20th century work that will certainly last. Lewis’s non-fiction will last as well, I think. But we’ll see on that one. I mean, I won’t. But somebody will someday in the distant future.)
Overall, Hendrix’s book is an excellent intro to the lives and friendship of Lewis and Tolkien. By combining graphics and text narrative, the result is a fun little book that manages to include creative imagery, detailed biography, and the Inkling’s theory of myth all in one accessible volume. If you’re a fan of the Inklings, this is a great addition to your shelf!
Dr. Coyle Neal co-hosts the City of Man Podcast and is an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog). He teaches Political Science, Philosophy, and History in Southwest Missouri.
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