enlightened comics.

a few nights ago, i FINALLY completed an 8 volume illustrated (ie, comic-book) epic on the life of Buddha, appropritaly titled Buddha (vol 1-8), by Osamu Tezuka.

considered by many to be the "godfather of manga" (Japanase comics, which are WAY more mainstream in Japanese culture than here), Tezuka-san is best known for his character Astro Boy, which has long since become a pop-culture icon around the world.

Buddha was Tezuka's last epic, written in the latter years of his life. it was critically acclaimed, but considered by many to be a "gritty, even sexual, portrayal of the holy-man's life."

from what i've read online (where everything is true, you know), it follows what's known Buddha's life fairly closely (from that of a naive prince, to a young monk, to a religious figure), despite some characters being created to move the story along. i randomly discovered this gem at the library when the composite image spines of several volumes caught my eye.

what i love about the story is how at times light-hearted, yet profound it can be. through the many stories of Buddha's life (and his encounters with the many people across caste + class of what is now north India/Nepal), you can quickly gleam his teachings/principles of the middle path, and where they came from.

anyhow, if you're looking to be enlightened, i'd recommend picking up AT LEAST volume 1, and going from there.

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on a related note, in my quest to resolve my own lack of faith (which i've long since been OK with), i've now decided to find a way to consumer ALL of our major world religion's holy books through non-tradtional forms (this is in a similar vein to my my recent wanderings through south indian temples for a week before returning to the US, more done from an archaeological/anthropological curiousity than a religious one)

i'm already halfway through Ashok Banker's Ramayana series (6 novels written in contemporary prose)...also highly recommended, but pending a bloog review until i'm done with the entire thing. the real question is if i'll be able to find a comic-book rendition of the Qur'an (hopefully someone sees the humor/irony in the unliklihood of this). and the Bible? so far all i can think of is sitting down for a Veggie Tales marathon .

any (other) suggestions?