“AND ABRAM LISTENED TO THE VOICE OF SARAI”

Abstract

In 2009, R. Crumb produced a singular work, The Book of Genesis, Illustrated by R. Crumb, which purports to be a faithful, graphic interpretation of the book of Genesis from the Hebrew Bible. Among other sources, Crumb states that he used Robert Alter’s translation and commentary on Genesis to inform his work, along with the King James Version (KJV), the Jewish Publication Society Version (JPS,) and Sarah the Priestess: The First Matriarch of Genesis by Savina J. Teubal. From those sources, he produced his own interpretation together with annotations to explain his interpretive decisions. In this chapter, Zanne Domoney-Lyttle investigates Crumb’s use of various comics tools and resources in his remediation of Genesis, and will argue that his interpretation of the biblical text is presented through careful visual and textual decisions. These decisions in turn present the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah) in Genesis, Illustrated as strong, dominant characters who are cast as potential leaders in an otherwise patriarchal world. This is a characterization which subverts both traditional readings of the women of Genesis, as well as expectations of Crumb as an author. Accusations of misogyny and sexism have followed Crumb throughout his career, but do not stand when the reader is presented with his pro-feminist matriarchal remediation of the biblical text.