50 Word Review: The Covenant #4- Swords and Sorcery, Bible Style

Writer: Rob Liefeld
Art: Matt Horak
Publisher: Image Comics
Released: 14th October 2015



Philistines sacrifice virgins to beasts, an offering to snake god Dagon, the power of the arc, of Jehovah is unleashed, a plague strikes the Philistines, an earthquake causes chaos, true God Jehovah favours the Israelites, is this truth, or Israelite propaganda? We’ll never know, history is an agreed upon lie.



Rating: 8/10

There are lots of beasts, monsters and brutal death scenes in this Bible story, so much so that it reads like a very contemporary swords and sorcery text. There’s even a role for warrior women as well, the kind of role that you get in modern feminist texts like Gail Simone’s Red Sonja, with women fighting as warriors and going toe to toe against the men. It’s an exciting book, but for the first time it’s starting to read like propaganda that a religious group would put out after a victorious battle against their enemies, where they portray the real ‘God’ as being on there side, working with them, and helping them to destroy their enemies. It’s fascinating stuff, and well worth picking up, not just for the big battles, beasts and warrior heroes/heroines, but because it’s a Bible story, it’s teaching you something about world history, something of real importance (even if it is the propaganda of a victorious people), and that’s a lot more than can be said for most comic books.

Comic review: The Covenant #3- Bible story kicks superhero butt

Created and written by: Rob Liefeld
Illustrated by: Matt Horak
Coloured by: Ross Hughes
Lettered by: Chris Eliopolous
Publisher: Image Comics
Released: 26th August 2015


The Covenant #3 is doing what I like my comic books to do. It’s keeping it simple, letting the story unfold and keeping the readers thrilled, excited and in eager anticipation for what is to come next.

They didn’t teach Bible stories at my school, and I never knew what I was missing out on. This story is a superhero story, with all of the constituents that you need to excel within that genre. It has bloodthirsty evil villains, brave heroes and a supernatural angle that makes you think that the humans might be the players, but there’s a bigger game going on here.

The Covenant is a comic book that brings God back into play, in a world that no longer believes in him. I like that. I like the fact that it’s so different, that it’s going against the mainstream atheist grain and telling a fascinating story about the history of the ancient Israelite and Philistine people.

This story can be given to children, but it’s not childish. The art helps a lot. It’s big, bold and uncluttered. It matches the script, which has the same uncluttered qualities. There is nothing needlessly ‘clever’ or ‘ironic’ or Kevin Smith post-modern about this book. It’s a good story, simply told, and clearly illustrated and, dare I say the word, educational.

It’s giving me fascinating, valuable insight into Biblical history, and I’m very appreciative of all of the people that have spent their time and energies on producing the book.

I’m being sincere here. Guys, thank you.

Three issues in and The Covenant is fast becoming my most anticipated book of the month. I shouldn’t be enjoying a story based on a Biblical narrative so much, but I am, it’s as simple as that.

There’s no feeling of emptiness here, a feeling I too often experience after reading mainstream superhero comic books. This is a story that resonates, and I’m enjoying every single second of the time that I spend with it. The Covenant is a Bible story that makes me want to know more about the Bible. It’s great, sorry atheist nation, but it is.


Rating: 10/10 (Revelatory Bible story that reads like a contemporary superhero tale)

Review: The Covenant #2- A Godless Society is a Vulnerable Society

Writer: Rob Liefeld
Artist: Matt Horak
Colours: Jeremy Colwell
Letters: Chris Eliopolous
Publisher: Image Comics
Released: 8th July 2015



I found issue #2 of The Covenant to be far more accessible, easy to read, and enjoyable than issue #1. The narrative is linear, uncluttered and concise, so when events unfold it’s easy to correlate cause and effect, and to enjoy it as it happens.

The theme of the book is about what happens to a people when they become decadent, complacent and lose their faith in God. Loss of faith brings judgement onto a people. A people without faith are weakened and vulnerable to attack. Enemies seize on this weakness and take what is most precious to that people. In this book it is the powerful military weapon, the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of the Covenant

The ark is a devastating weapon on the battlefield. The Hebrew people have used it before, and it has always given them victory, but this time it fails them. They call on its power, but it does not respond. Its carriers are slain, and the ark is captured, taken from the battlefield, and is now in possession of the snake-worshipping enemy of the Hebrews, the Philistines.

‘The ark is but a symbol. Without faith it is an empty vessel.’

The Hebrew people lost faith, and so their great weapon no longer protected them, that is why it was taken, that is why it did not work as it did before. A faithless people that has abandoned their God will no longer be protected, and they will become vulnerable to the enemies that were previously defeated through the power of faith.

Sounds fair to me.

Issue #2 of the Covenant concludes with the defeated Hebrews re-evaluating their defeat, appointing a new leader, and plotting to regain the ark, but will it ever work again for a faithless people who have deserted their God?

We’ll see, and as I’m not as familiar with this Bible story as I want to be, I cannot wait to see what happens next in this fascinating and massively insightful historical story.

I’m very much enjoying this book. It’s teaching me a lot, and as a child raised in a secular/atheistic society I very much appreciate having Bible stories in comic book form where I can read, learn and enjoy the many moral, philosophical and spiritual lessons that were absent in my early life.

The art by Matt Horak helps tremendously, and when I purchased the book today in my comic book shop, the guy working there (Hi Troy) commented that the art looks like some of Becky Cloonan’s friendly faced, accessibly cute work. I agree. It does look like some of Cloonan’s cute and cuddly art-work, and that is a huge plus as it brings an element of accessibility to the book, injecting a ‘fun’ factor that might have been lacking if the art had a darker, ‘edgier’ feel to it.

Because of the accessibility of the artwork you can read ‘The Covenant’ just as you would read any other contemporary, mainstream superhero book. The added benefit is that you are getting a story that is saying something important about man and his relationship with God, and not just another feminist leaning social justice warrior comic book that is pushing politically correct stories that have zero relevance to anybody.

I understand all too well that the atheist, Dawkins reading, arrogant, dismissive, patronising, science knows best, Marxist, feminist, liberal, progressive comic book readers (and that’s 90% of them today) won’t even consider reading a comic book that is based on a Bible story. That’s their loss. I hope they enjoy their teen girl superhero books, but I’m after something with a bit more depth and meaning these days, and a comic book like ‘The Covenant #2’ is perfect for me.

If you take a chance on this book you’ll get some great art and a story that shows the inevitable consequences that will befall a society when secularism, greed and commerce become the driving motivations behind human interaction. Nothing is new under the sun, and what happened before will surely happen again. That’s a lesson that we need to relearn, and that’s the lesson that is being re-told in this essential comic book.



Rating: 10/10 (Insightful, accessible and enjoyable)

Comic Review: The Covenant #1- A Blood Thirsty Cult & the Original Biblical WMD

Writer: ROB LIEFELD
Art: MATT HORAK
Publisher: Image comics
Release Date: 6th June 2015


I enjoyed this book very much, even though it’s narrative construction initially confused me. It begins with talk of the Ark of the Covenant being stolen by the Philistines, and a rescue attempt being planned. It then switches to a history of the Israelites/Hebrews, their exodus, Moses, the Ten Commandments, and the construction of the Ark that contains those commandments.

The book then proceeds to demonstrate the destructive power of the Ark, winning battle after battle, tearing down walls, and safeguarding the Hebrew people. It’s all done in an exciting way and drawn with a style that comes across more superhero than Bible story. It’s not all one point of view though. The Philistines themselves are personalised, and their individual intrigues are explored, as are their motivations for war against the Hebrews.

The book concludes with talk of a ‘Siege,’ so I guess the opening narrative with a small team of Hebrews looking to regain their lost Ark was set AFTER this siege, and that the Ark will be lost during it?

The story then will explore how the Hebrews lost the Ark, and then follow them as they attempt to reclaim it? I think this is what is happening, but it wasn’t easy to decipher, and that’s a problem. It should be easy, and I shouldn’t have to re-read the book just to make sure that I understand what is going on.

Despite the confusion, I’ll keep on reading, as this Bible influenced story intrigued me, a lot. It’s a tale about a decadent society growing complacent and abandoning their God. This sounds very familiar to me. It’s a tale not just of the past, but a tale about humanity as it is today.

What happens to a society when it abandons God? What happens when people work for market forces, and religion is bypassed, treated as a story, as a myth to be told to children?  How can such a people hope to survive, and do they even deserve to survive when all spirituality has been sucked from them, replaced by commerce, greed and complacency?

Does the following scenario sound familiar to you?

A largely Godless society is threatened by a bloodthirsty, human sacrificing, conquest hungry cult of religious maniacs. What should be done, and what would happen if that cult of maniacs got their hands on a weapon of mass destruction?

Was that controversial? Good, it was supposed to be. The scenario is not the latest news coming out of the Middle East, although it certainly does sound like it, doesn’t it? No, that scenario is what is being explored within the pages of this comic book.

In other words, ‘The Covenant #1’ is a mirror on the past that is showing us what is happening in the world today, and that is why it is must buy comic book.

I wish it success, and hope that people will give it a chance.

It can be read in a couple of ways. On the surface it’s an action packed comic book with mighty heroes and dastardly villains, with blood, swords and muscles and scenes of brutality and amazing weapons of supernatural magic. But it’s also a book about the waning influence of God, about secularism, about a bloodthirsty cult getting their hands on a weapon of mass destruction, and a small group of heroes looking to retrieve not just that weapon, but the influence of God on their complacent and decadent society.

The past is alive in this book, buy it now, it has something to say, and as anybody that reads comic books in 2015 is all too aware of, having something to say is a rarity in comic books today.


Rating: 9/10 (A brutal, action packed book about heroes, villains and a biblical weapon of mass destruction)

Comic Review: Secret Wars #2 (of 8)- Delicious

Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Essad Ribic
Colours: Ive Svorcina
Main Cover artist: Alex Ross
Publisher: Marvel
Released: 13th May 2015


Secret Wars #2 is a delicious all you can eat buffet of a comic book that leaves you well satisfied and eager to return to the Marvel (ous) restaurant of superhero scrumptiousness as soon as is humanly possible.

The plot is simple. We are introduced to a brand new comic book world called ‘Battleworld.’ Doctor Doom is in charge. He controls everything. His law is the only law. His subjects worship him not just as a ruler, not just as a king, and not just as a god, but as the God, the creator of everything, the alpha, omega, and you know the rest, the big man in the old testament, yes that God, the only God.

Lots of things are happening on this Battleworld, but if you know anything about the real world concept of the ‘New World Order’ then it will be easy to understand.

What is the New World Order? It is the world that is to be created after WW3, after the horrendous death and destruction that takes place on this planet leaves people crying out for a centralised control system that will give them a guarantee of peace and prosperity and an end to all future wars. They will have that guarantee, but they will also find themselves living in a prison-cell.

This New World Order will be comprised of one religion, one judiciary system and one army enforcing the dictates of a centralised control system of unaccountable autocrats. That is exactly what is happening in the Battleworld of Secret Wars #2. Doctor Doom is the centralised control system and religion. Dr Strange heads up the judiciary, and a team of Thors make up the world Police/Army.

The only difference between this book and our own world is that in Secret Wars #2 the world is controlled solely by Doctor Doom and his group of specially selected order followers. In the real New World Order system the control will not go to one single person, but a group of elitist autocrats modelled on the EU or Chinese communist system.

However, if you want to look at it from the Christian prophesy point of view then perhaps this really is exactly what is going to happen? That would mean that the character of Doctor Doom is the comic book version of the Antichrist, the false Messiah of Revelations.

Take your pick between the two theories, secular or biblical. I myself lean towards the former, but either one could be correct. I guess we’ll find out as the book (and our own world) progresses. If it’s a team of heroes that are going to beat Doom then it will be a secular reading, but if it’s just one man leading an army against Doom (who could it be?) then we could well be looking at a biblical interpretation here.

Structurally speaking, this book has to introduce its readers to a huge new comic book world. That can be tricky, but writer Jonathan Hickman deals with the problem with ease. He begins with the tried and trusted method of introducing the world through the eyes of a new initiate. That new initiate is a young Thor, a character we both know and enjoy, so already we are at ease with the story. The book then hints at a discovery that might upset the status quo of this new world, a discovery that readers of issue #1 will already be well aware of. That’s clever, and very enjoyable for the reader as we already know more about what is happening than the characters in the book. The reader feels like he has special insight, and that is always a good feeling to have as a reader, and helps to clear any sense of confusion that you might have in reading what is potentially a very confusing story about a strange and disorientating new world. This world is then further clarified for the reader with a demonstration of how disputes are settled, and the book closes with a dramatic, super hero action packed scene of violent confrontation and threat to the status quo.

It’s a big book, but that solid, clever, enjoyable, and expertly crafted structure makes it easy to assimilate all of the information, to contextualise what is going on, and to enjoy it all as a good comic book story. It’s a new world, but it’s never a confusing one. We know exactly what is going on, and the sense of anticipation is deliciously enticing throughout the entire book. All of this is helped of course when the art looks top notch, as it does here. That art, by the tremendously talented Esad Ribic, is superb and the entire book is a joy not just to read, but to look at as well. I’ve talked a lot about the themes, plot and structure, but if this book was in Japanese it would still be a glorious, beautiful looking comic book.

This is how you put together a decent comic book. Develop a strong backbone idea that resonates with contemporary societal anxieties and concerns, formulate a tried and tested narrative framework, load it up with interesting personalities, throw in some action that will threaten the status quo, and get a talented artistic team to make your vision come to life.

That is what you have here in Secret Wars #2. This event is just beginning, but it’s got off to a flying start. I know what people think about comic book events, we’ve been let down so many times recently, but banish all thoughts of Avengers versus X-Men, and give this one a go. Secret Wars 2015 is in an entirely different league to that big pointless punch-up, and this is coming from a guy who not only bashes Marvel on a weekly basis, but has vowed more than once to never read any event story-line ever again.

If you are a comic book fan then you’ll want to read this book. I know it’s Marvel, and I know that they put out a lot of nonsense, but this book is a bit special.

Far too many contemporary comic books (and movies) devolve into self-aware, post-modern analysis of circle-jerk geek irrelevance, and the last thing I want to do is to read comic books written by a bunch of fanboys stroking their own egos and congratulating themselves on how clever they all are.

I don’t see any of that annoying smugness in Secret Wars #2. What I do see is a comic book that has dropped the stupid quips and knowing jokes and has buckled down to tell a good, serious, entertaining story. How refreshing, how entertaining, and how absolutely delicious it all is.


Rating: 10/10 (Yummy)

Jesus Christ as a metaphor for ‘truth.’

A lot of people now understand that Jesus Christ is a metaphor for the Sun, like the many Sun gods that came before him, but he has another metaphorical role that people might not be aware of. 

Jesus Christ is a metaphor for the truth. His entire life is about truth, and he comes to embody truth itself. This isn’t really an arguable point. Jesus even confirms this himself in John 14:6 where he says the following:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

Barabbas, the choice of mankind

After Jesus is arrested something extremely significant takes place. It’s traditional that once a year on the date of the Passover festival one convicted criminal is set free. The man in charge of the prisoners (Pontius Pilate) gives the people a choice. Do they want to free Jesus or a ‘robber’ called Barabbas. A lot of people mistake this part of the story for anti-Semitism, but this is not the case.  

The crowd of people are not representatives of the Jewish people, they are representative of All people. We are that crowd, and we are being asked to make a choice. Do we want truth, or do we want lies? The crowd yells, ‘Give us Barabbas’ unanimously choosing lies over truth. That choice is our choice. The story of Jesus Christ is our story. 

The world CANNOT change until we reach a level of consciousness where we choose truth over lies. What is truth? It is moral truth, doing what is right over what is wrong. We all know what is right and wrong, what these moral truths are, but a lot of us choose to ignore them. By ignoring these moral truths we make the world what it is today. The world is not unfair. It is what we have made it. We get to choose, but at the moment we are still choosing Barabbas. 

Yahweh and the God of the Bible

It is highly unlikely that the ‘God’ of the Bible is the creator of the universe. All evidence suggests that he is just another god in a long line of gods. He goes by the name of Yahweh, even though he tells Moses that he used to go by the name of El. The original god of Israel went by the name of El, so it looks like Yahweh is usurping this old god, claiming Israel's people as his own. Perhaps he really was El; just like he claims, but the suspicious change of name is left unexplained. Anyway, they don’t use the name El or Yahweh in the Bible, as that would give the game away. Instead, Yahweh has become ‘The Lord God.’ This new title gives the impression that he is the only god, which evidentially he is not.

Read the Old Testament and it’s very clear that Yahweh is not the only god, that’s why he’s so jealous and angry all of the time. This is particularly clear in the book of Ezekiel where an extremely pissed off Yahweh spends all of his time ranting and raving about how he’s going to reign down death and misery on his disloyal followers. This is obviously not the all-loving God of creation. It’s a petty, paranoid, angry and spiteful god who is desperately trying to get control over his disobedient tribe of followers. It’s exactly what you would expect from a little god battling for supremacy. Oh, another thing, check out the following verses from the book of Ezekiel:

Ezekiel and his encounter with the Annunaki

4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.

16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.

18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.

19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

What does that sound like to you? The all powerful, omniscient creator of the universe, or something that you would expect to see on an episode of Star Trek? I know what it sounds like to me. This ain’t God and his angels. It’s some bloke and his mates in a space ship.

The Council of Nicea create the Bible

This is no God of creation. It is a little god, most likely a low-level member of the Annunaki trying to get himself a group of compliant worshipers/slaves. He would have been forgotten about a long, long time ago if not for the Roman Empire and the Emperor Constantine’s decision to turn the cult of Yahwism into the perfect control system for his unruly people. And that’s how it has been since the Council of Nicaea put together the book known as the Bible in AD 325. A little Annunaki god turned into the almighty God, and being used as a control system by the slave masters of humanity ever since.

There is some truth in the Bible, on an astrological, philosophical and allegorical level, but the God of creation? Nope, he’s not in there. It’s a control system of the rich and powerful, that’s all. It’s bloody obvious, all you have to do is read the book for yourself. That’s what I’ve done, and it’s the only conclusion that I can come to.

Some people might be asking whether or not the real God is in the Quran? Here’s my reply: Of course he bloody isn’t. The god of the Quran is the same god of the Bible. It’s just another wing of Yahwism. This is not my opinion by the way. Allah and Yahweh is the same god under different names, like Yahweh and El. They both come from the same original source, that being a bloke called Abraham, the son of a Babylonian priest who started all of this Yahwism nonsense. All of this is freely available and accessible knowledge. Research it for yourselves.  I’m not saying anything controversial here; all I’m doing is stating some truths that a lot of people would prefer to ignore. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all fighting over the same god. That god’s name is Yahweh. You’d think they’d get on a bit better with each other, wouldn’t you? But no, humanity loves a fight, and so they kill each other over minor details whilst ignoring the massive similarities in their control systems/faiths that really should unite them as a whole.

Yahweh was never God, he was a tribal deity promoted way above his original function. If you do more research on this topic you’ll find that Yahweh began his career as a frightened little hill god. That’s what the main picture above this article depicts, and don’t you think it looks more like a classic image of a UFO than a creator God anyway? It’s quite laughable really. Here’s a question. Where is Yahweh these days? He doesn’t appear to be here anymore does he? What do you reckon? Has he died? Is he still hiding up that hill? Did he ever even exist? Perhaps he was just made up by tribal leaders, and used as a control system in exactly the same way as the Romans used him?

If Yahweh was a member of the Annunaki he probably looked a lot like this

This is my opinion here, so please feel free to mock me. I’m reckoning that Yahweh was a low-level member of the Annunaki, and when they left, he left with them. Either that or he stayed behind and died many, many years ago, and that’s why we’ve heard nothing from him since. Either way, the Annunaki got what they needed from this planet, screwed it up big time, and then buggered off back to where they came from. We’ve been fighting each other over the mess they left behind ever since. Ain’t we just a big bunch of jokers, eh?

Oh, by the way, this doesn’t mean that there is no God, or an underlying collective consciousness, or whatever you want to call it, that binds us all together, giving meaning to our lives in this lonely, silly little realm of existence. That’s still out there, but that’s another story. All I’m saying here is that the deity known as Yahweh is not God. He never was, and I’m a bit surprised that so many people argue that he is. It’s not exactly hidden information. It’s all written down if you want to check it out for yourselves, and I suggest that you do. Don’t take my word for it. What the Hell do I know? I’m just a bloke who likes reading books, that’s all. I still recommend reading the Bible though. It’s a fascinating study of the history of human enslavement, and if you read between the lines you’ll find it an extremely valuable book that teaches us so much about where we are as a species today.


Links for further reading

Yahweh and El-
 http://contradictionsinthebible.com/are-yahweh-and-el-the-same-god/

Yahweh and Allah-
http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i7816.html

Ezekiel's wheels-
http://www.ufoevidence.org/cases/case493.htm

The Summerians and the Annunaki- 
/http://www.sitchin.com/