Buddha: An Enlightened Life (Campfire Graphic Novels) by Kieron Moore and Rajesh Nagulakonda

I don't do religion, but still there was something that drew me to this comic book. For one, the whole Buddhist faith is still a little unknown to me, and this was certainly going to be educational. Yes, I knew some of the terms it ends up using, but not others, such as bhikshu, and had never really come across the man's life story. Yes, I knew he found enlightenment and taught a very pacifist kind of faith, but where did he come from? What failings did he have on his path, and who were the ones that joined him along the way?

And I think I can recommend this book if you seek those answers, although it will probably find a home much more easily on a school shelf than one in the house. The book never spreads doubt about what it conveys, but takes Siddhartha as a man of record, growing up in a stuffy, privileged palace where his father refuses to allow him to see suffering, or to learn of old age, sickness and poverty. Rejecting all that he seeks an inner peace, but as I alluded, there were contrary opinions and failed experiments before the truth came to him. When he achieved what he wanted in this world, it seems, he became a Buddha, for it bears the same indication of status we're told Christ did. Just as Jesus was 'a Christ', so Siddhartha was 'a Buddha', although none other has followed so accurately in his footsteps.

The text seems to be accurate, although my ignorance doesn't allow me to prove that. It's a decent read, however, engaging and full of detail while never becoming at all overly complex. When it does get bogged down towards the end with battles and revenge-minded shenanigans, that's the fault surely of history, and not this author. I would again see this serving a school's library very nicely.

The artwork is also strong – the panels can be slightly unusually shaped, but that doesn't detract, and the colours and details are fine, although to me this seemed a very Anglicised Buddha – he looks far too pale to me to be a true Indian, and nowhere is the plump, smiley character we may think of from statuary. I liked the occasional use of what appear to be colourised photos, with our characters superimposed, and our artist knows the value of a splash page when he gets to create one.

All told, while this may to some be an unusual choice to read for pleasure, I can certainly commend it for the edifying lesson it gave me, and it's a volume that certainly achieves what it sets out to do – the publishers are intent on bringing books, both fiction and otherwise, to a world that is a lot more inclusive than others, coming as they do from India, and this is a good calling card for one of that subcontinent's faiths.

I must thank the publishers for my review copy.

I am not a Buddhist by Charity Seraphina Fields is about as close as we here at the 'Bag've got to the enlightened path before now.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Buddha: An Enlightened Life (Campfire Graphic Novels) by Kieron Moore and Rajesh Nagulakonda at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Buddha: An Enlightened Life (Campfire Graphic Novels) by Kieron Moore and Rajesh Nagulakonda at Amazon.com.

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