The Book of Genesis

The Book of Genesis (2009) is a comic book rendering of the first book of the Bible, illustrated by legendary American cartoonist Robert Crumb. Unlike much of Crumb's previous work, which borders on the subversive and satirical, his presentation of Genesis is a straightforward retelling of the various stories that comprise this foundational Christian writing. In Crumb's own words, his images "faithfully reproduced every word of the original text." By providing an unvarnished and truthful display free of interpretation or commentary, Crumb brings to visual life all of the complexities and contradictions of Genesis, its eccentricities and beauties, its family sagas and love stories, its light and its darkness.

All fifty chapters of the original Book of Genesis are replicated here. The volume starts with the story of creation and how God created the heavens and the cosmos from nothing. He then creates Adam and Eve, the first humans, who dwell within the idyllic Garden of Eden. God informs Adam and Eve not to eat of the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A serpent lures Eve into eating the fruit, and she, in turn, invites Adam to partake, their transgression leading to their ejection from the Garden. For their sin, God punishes Adam by making him toil and sweat to earn a living, while He condemns Eve to excruciating childbirth.

Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel. God accepts an offering from Cain, not Abel, and Cain, in outrage, slays his brother. God curses Cain for the violence he has committed. Eve eventually has another son, Seth.



Subsequent generations spring forth from the line of Cain and Seth. However, because their forbears have sinned so heinously, wickedness marks these generations too. Repulsed, God vows to wipe them all out with a mighty and catastrophic flood. God orders Noah to save two of every kind of animal, and, in return, God will spare Noah, his family, and this select group of animals from certain destruction; they will have the honor of starting creation over again. God sends the flood, even managing to shock Himself at the ferociousness and destruction He created. He is so shocked, in fact, that he promises to never destroy the world by water again and seals this vow by creating the rainbow.

Then, God witnesses peace and cooperation among humankind, and He seeks to divide them. He builds the Tower of Babel and separates the human race into different languages and identities.

In Mesopotamia, God orders Abram—later, Abraham—to travel to the Land of Canaan. Abraham obeys, and God makes a covenant with him. God informs Abraham that he will have scores of descendants, but they will be subject to great suffering. After four hundred years of suffering, they will inherit a coveted portion of land. God and Abraham designate male circumcision as a symbol of the covenant they share.



Abraham has an elderly wife, Sarah. She urges him to marry a second, younger wife: her handmaiden, Hagar. Abraham agrees and has a son, Ishmael, with Hagar.

Meanwhile, wickedness is still rampant among some people—namely, the people of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God sets out to decimate both cities as payback for the sins of the citizens. As Abraham's nephew, Lot, and Lot's wife flee the sinful cities with the help of angels, Lot's wife looks back at the destruction left in their wake—even though she was expressly told not to. God turns her into a pillar of salt for her insubordination. Lot's daughters are distraught over essentially becoming homeless and on the move; they fear no men will ever want to take them as wives. So, they get their father, Lot, drunk, and he impregnates both of them.

Next, Abraham and Sarah go to Gerar, where they present themselves as brother and sister. The King marries Sarah, but, given Abraham's bond with God, God orders the King to return Sarah to Abraham. The King agrees. God sends Sarah a son, Isaac, who will be the embodiment of the covenant He shares with Abraham. God uses Isaac to test Abraham's faith, telling Abraham that he should kill Isaac to show his love for God. Abraham moves to do it, but God stops him at the last moment.



Although Sarah encouraged Abraham's marriage to Hagar, she turns on both Hagar and Ishmael, turning them out into the wilderness. God intercedes, vowing to create a mighty nation for Ishmael.

Sarah eventually dies, and Abraham finds a wife, Rebecca, for Isaac. Rebecca gives birth to twins Esau and Jacob. Abraham continues having children with another of his wives, Keturah, dying at a ripe old age and being buried next to Sarah.

Jacob deceives his father, and Isaac names Jacob as his heir instead of Esau. Later, Jacob marries both Rachel and Leah, changes his name to Israel, and has a daughter and twelve sons. These sons are the forebears of the twelve tribes of Israel.



Jacob's other sons sell his favorite, Joseph, into slavery in Egypt. Though he endures many trials, Joseph eventually thrives with the help of God. Joseph reunites years later with Jacob and his brothers, but they do not recognize him. They beg him for food, and he toys with them. After he tells them the truth of who he is, he allows them to live in Egypt. Pharaoh gives them the Land of Goshen.

In the end, Jacob is on his deathbed. He summons his children to be with him and foretells their futures. He makes one final request of them: that if God ever guides them out of the country, they bring along his bones.