Murder and Meaning

In the dark, he carries a bag to the garbage. Oh, but he's picking through the garbage for things to add to his bag. And he's very thin. He looks unhealthy. He's probably homeless and probably on drugs. He doesn't see the man come up behind him, but the man speaks to him. Before clubbing him in the back of the head. This is the first of several murders the man will commit.

Thus begins an interesting new project from apologists and police detectives J Warner Wallace (of Cold-Case Christianity fame) and his son Jimmy Wallace called Case Files: Murder and Meaning. Why are apologists writing crime fiction? Well, crime is what they know. But fiction, that has been used for centuries to ask the big questions.

This work asks two important questions: What makes human life valuable? And am I more than just what I do? Both are questions our society needs answered. Both are questions Christianity has an answer for. But this not a sermon; it's a novel.

Actually, it's a graphic novel. In an interview, Jim Wallace described a graphic novel as "a movie that's storyboarded in book form". What's the difference between a "graphic novel" and a comic book? Length mostly. A comic book is often just one chapter in a story, coming in at 20-ish pages. A graphic novel will tell the whole story. This one is 160 pages.

I hope I didn't lose you at "graphic novel". They're not just for kids anymore. Adults are reading them these days. And true crime is popular among women, as are mysteries. So you may enjoy this no matter who you are.

The story follows Michael Murphy, an LAPD detective who lives for the job and as a result only has the job to live for. He's assigned to the case of this dead homeless man. Then he picks up another case. And another. This isn't unusual (unlike what we may see on TV), but he soon realizes these cases are all connected. There's a serial killer out there, and he's killing steadily more important people. How far up the social ladder will he get before Murphy catches him?

Why did Wallace and Wallace write this? Because fiction has the ability to slip ideas past our defenses. You can find yourself pondering themes of movies and books long after you've finished them. CS Lewis credited the fiction of George MacDonald with "baptizing" his imagination, creating a longing for a greater world. People have credited the fiction of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien with opening their minds to truths of the gospel.

We're not talking about evangelism. A novel where someone preaches the gospel and the protagonist gets saved usually gets set aside quickly. They're cheesey, and no one likes them. But an idea that gnaws at you, puts a stone in your shoe, and makes you look for something more? That can slip unnoticed into your mind and heart. That's what this work is trying to do, to get the reader to ponder questions that the story doesn't really resolve, questions that they may need to go search for answers to.

In The Problem of Jesus, Mark Clark and Ray Johnston said, “Truth has to be given in riddles. People can’t take truth if it comes charging at them like a bull. The bull is always killed. You have to give people the truth in a riddle, hide it so they go looking for it and find it piece by piece; that way they learn to live with it.” That's what the Wallaces are attempting.

So how'd they do?

I've read my share of comic books and graphic novels over the years. There's a ... roughness about this that shows it's their first. Some of the narration is a little clunky. But the story is compelling, the characters are interesting, and the art is great. Comic book fans tend to be art snobs; I don't think anyone would look down on the art in this.

The questions they want the reader to wrestle with are introduced subtly. One is never addressed straight on. The other is, and it's a little more on-the-nose than I'd like, but it doesn't beat you over the head. Unlike a lot of Christian fiction, no one bows their knees to receive Jesus at the end. The main character continues to struggle with his questions, but maybe he's got a little more light now.

Could you give this to a Christian? Absolutely. Could you give this to a non-Christian? I would. It's not preachy. It's not an evangelistic tract. It's something to make them think a little.

This is a serial killer story, so there is violence. I'd rate it PG-13 or so. But older kids and adults would definitely be interested in this graphic novel.

I love what they're trying to do; the world needs more like this. Hopefully this will sell well, and the publisher will be willing to make more. I pray that this will reach the intended audience and have the desired effect. And I hope you'll help them in that.


Image via Unsplash