Punk Rock Jesus is a six-issue limited series comic book created by Sean Murphy and published by Vertigo. The series ran for six issues from September 2012 to January 2013 and was collected as a trade paperback in April 2013.
Background Punk Rock Jesus is a limited run comic book series composed of six issues that was written and illustrated by Sean Murphy. The first issue was published on July 11, 2012, by the DC Comics imprint Vertigo Comics.
A web campaign to clone Jesus Christ before December 25, 2001, may have been part of the inspiration for the series. The campaign was called the Second Coming Project and turned out to be a hoax run by an underground book publisher. In 2004 at the age of 23, Murphy started writing the series as a practicing Catholic. At 26 years old in 2007, Murphy became a militant atheist and began using the project as a means to express his frustrations and concerns with religion. In the following years leading up to the release of the series in 2012, Murphy became less militant about his views on religion and decided that a confrontational approach may not be the most productive. Murphy acknowledges that the series might be a controversial topic, but emphasized that he believes that if Jesus was cloned it's probable that we would turn it into a reality TV show.
Plot In 2019 an entertainment company named OPHIS (Greek for serpent) starts what's known as the "J2 Project", a plan to resurrect Jesus Christ. A clone of Jesus Christ is made with DNA from the Shroud of Turin. The young Jesus is raised on an island with his entire life dictated and televised and viewed by nearly the entire world. Faced with these stresses the young Jesus ultimately becomes a rebellious punk rocker. Religious zealots either love or hate the show and politicians begin to fret over potential influences on the nation. The scientific community fears the implications of the cloning itself.
Issue #1: Conception The first issue of the series focuses on the characters that are involved in the J2 Project and their perspectives on it. The clone of Jesus Christ, named Chris, isn't born until the end of the issue.
The story begins with a traumatic event in Thomas McKael's childhood and shows his transition from an innocent child who grows up to be a member of the Irish Republican Army and was arrested for murder. McKael is hired as the bodyguard for the J2 Project.
Gwen gave birth to twins. Chris's twin sister was dumped into the ocean by Rick Slate. Shortly afterward, Sarah Epstein suddenly announces that she is pregnant with a girl.
Issue #2: Genesis At the end of issue 2, Chris is still an infant.
Reception Giving the book a rating of 8/10 in PopMatters, Shathley Q. Abrahams praised the series saying it's "the best kind of scifi–a meditation on liberty for the cyber-age." Cory Doctorow praised the book writing on the blog Boing Boing saying "It's a near-perfect rocket-ship ride through some of the best material from comics like DMZ and Transmetropolitan". Brendan Frye, the editor-in-chief of Comics Gaming Magazine, gave the first issue a rating of 9/10 praising it for having "wonderful artwork and an intriguing storyline". Barry Thompson gave the series a 9.5/10 rating in Paste Magazine, writing that most depictions of Jesus in popular culture aren't innovative and rely on trope, whereas Sean Murphy's Punk Rock Jesus subverts tropes and is an interesting depiction of Jesus. John R. Parker praised the series in ComicsAlliance calling it the "most innovative, intelligent, and moving comic book to deal with religion and politics in a long time." Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review calling it a "compelling, searching, and important tale". The series received a starred review in the LibraryJournal, where Steve Raiteri calls it "An audacious, nuanced, and hugely compelling tale". James Hunt praised the first issue in Comic Book Resources saying it is "destined for cult success". Oliver Sava praised the book in The A.V. Club, writing that the book demonstrates "remarkable inking skills" from Murphy.
The series spent three weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list reaching #4 for best Paperback Graphic Books.
Awards AwardDateCategoryResultRef.IGN Awards2012Best Comic Mini-SeriesUtopiales2014The Prize for best science fiction comic stripPublishers Weekly Comics World Critics Poll2013Honorable Mention
Publication history
Issues Issue TitlePublication DatePagesUPC#1"Conception"July 11, 201235#2"Genesis"August 8, 201234#3"Exodus"September 12, 201233#4"Sacrifice"October 10, 201231#5"Disciples"November 14, 201232#6"Revelations"January 2, 201333
Collected editions
Title Format Publisher Publication Date Language Translator ISBNPunk Rock JesusTPBVertigo ComicsApril 9, 2013EnglishN/APunk Rock Jesus (Kindle Edition)ebookApril 9, 2013Punk Rock Jesus (Deluxe Edition)ebookDecember 2, 2014Punk Rock Jesus (Deluxe Edition)HCDecember 2, 2014Punk Rock Jesus (New Edition)TPBApril 1, 2025Punk Rock Jesús (Edición limitada DC Black Label)TPBNovember 12, 2019SpanishGuillermo Ruiz CarrerasPunk Rock JesúsMay 30, 2013Punk Rock Jesús (2a Edición)February 1, 2014Punk Rock Jesús (Edición Cartoné)HCJanuary 29, 2016Punk Rock Jesús (Edición de Tapa Dura)December 21, 2017Jesus Punk Rock (Português do Brasil – Capa Dura)LevoirSeptember 1, 2018PortugueseEduardo TanakaPunk Rock Jesus (Edição De Luxo)Panini ComicsSeptember 1, 2018Punk Rock JesusOctober 1, 2013ItalianStefano FormiconiPunk Rock JesusTPBLion ComicsApril 9, 2019Punk Rock Jesus (Edizione Speciale)HCOctober 29, 2015Punk Rock Jésus (Vertigo Deluxe)HCSeptember 19, 2013FrenchBenjamin RivièrePunk Rock JésusTPBAugust 25, 2023Punk Rock Jésus (Édition Anniversaire 5 Ans)HCNovember 24, 2017Punk Rock Jésus (Édition Black Label)ebookSeptember 15, 2025Punk Rock Jésus (Édition Black Label)HCOctober 2, 2020Punk Rock JesusHCStory House EgmontApril 23, 2025PolishJacek ŻuławnikPunk Rock JézusHCJanuary 1, 2022HungarianAntal Bayer펑크 록 지저스 [Peongkeu Log Jijeoseu]TPBFebruary 20, 2019Korean弘二郎 [Hongjiro]
See also Christ Clone Trilogy I'm Not Jesus Mommy Preacher
References
External links Punk Rock Jesus at Comic Vine