Therefore Repent!

{{Short description|2007 graphic novel by Jim Munroe}} {{Infobox graphic novel  |title=Therefore Repent! |foreigntitle= |image= Thereforerepent.jpg |imagesize=  |caption= |publisher=No Media Kings<br />Idea & Design Works |date=2007-08-15 |series= |main_char_team=Mummy and Raven |origisbn=978-1600101465 |writers=Jim Munroe |artists=Salgood Sam |pages=160 }} '''''Therefore Repent!''''' is a bestselling Canadian graphic novel written by anarchist freelance writer Jim Munroe and illustrated by Salgood Sam. It is set in a post-apocalyptic Chicago neighbourhood after the predictions of Christian fundamentalists concerning the Rapture have come true, the righteous have risen to Heaven and a society divided between Splitters who believe there will be a second Rapture for those who perform good acts after the first and those who do not.<ref name="q&q">{{cite journal |url=http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=5852 |title=Therefore Repent! |accessdate=2008-07-11 |last=Wiersema |first=Robert J. |date=November 2007 |journal=Quill & Quire |publisher=St. Joseph Media Inc.}}</ref> The novel has been called "a progressive, humane rejoinder" to the Christian science fiction novels in the ''Left Behind'' series.<ref name=io9/>

==Storyline== The protagonists of the novel are Mummy and Raven, lovers who used to have a touring act at raves and festivals where they dressed up as a mummy and a raven.<ref name=io9/> The novel opens as they arrive in Chicago searching for somewhere to live following the Rapture. They meet a local kid in their new neighbourhood who shows them to an empty apartment vacated by its raptured inhabitants.<ref name="q&q"/> Settling into the squat, Mummy and Raven are happy to live in a world without Christians, unlike Splitters (people who were left behind who strive to become as Christian as possible in order to ascend to Heaven during the Apocalypse). As the story progresses, Mummy and Raven explore the neighbourhood around their apartment, and become disconcerted as the world becomes increasingly unhinged. Militaristic angels appear and begin to kill "sinners" using machine guns, the couple's dog begins to speak, while they and other people start to develop magical powers and forms.<ref name=io9/>

==Reception== The graphic novel was a critical and commercial success, attracting critical praise from ''Quill & Quire'' ("an absolutely boundless piece of fantasy that he wisely grounds in very human relationships...[t]o say it's an imaginative work would be an understatement"),<ref name="q&q"/> Junot Díaz,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thisrecording.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/in-which-it%E2%80%99s-a-briefly-wonderful-life/ |accessdate=2008-07-12 |title=In Which It's a Briefly Wonderful Life |work=This Recording |date=2008-04-10 }}</ref> and Annalee Newitz of ''io9'',<ref name=io9>{{cite web |url=http://io9.com/392600/the-rapture-is-real-angels-have-machine-guns-and-dogs-can-talk |title=The Rapture is Real, Angels Have Machine Guns, and Dogs Can Talk |accessdate=2008-07-11 |last=Newitz |first=Annalee |authorlink=Annalee Newitz |date=2008-05-21 |work=io9 |publisher=Gawker Media}}</ref> reaching the Canadian Top 20 bestsellers list,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sequential.spiltink.org/2007/11/weekly-bestsellers.html |title=Weekly Bestsellers |accessdate=2008-07-11 |last=Munn |first=Bryan |date=2007-11-21 |work=Sequential |publisher=Spilt Ink}}</ref> and garnering Munroe a nomination for the 2008 Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Writer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://joeshusterawards.com/story.asp?storyID=116 |title=2008 Nominees |accessdate=2008-07-11 |date=2008-05-25 |work=Shuster Awards |publisher=Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080611160037/http://joeshusterawards.com/story.asp?storyID=116  |archivedate = 2008-06-11}} </ref>

==Publication details== * {{cite book | last = Munroe | first = Jim | title = Therefore, Repent! | publisher = Idea & Design Works Llc | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-1-60010-146-5 | oclc = 173719952 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/thereforerepentp0000munr }}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://nomediakings.org/press/therefore_repent.html ''Therefore Repent!''] at No Media Kings * [https://nomediakings.org/press/sword_of_my_mouth_1_out_soon.html ''Therefore Repent!''] a free downloadable copy at No Media Kings * [http://www.salgoodsam.com/blog/labels/Therefore%20Repent.html ''Therefore Repent!''] at Salgood Sam dot com * [http://sequential.spiltink.org/2007/11/therefore-repent-in-previews.html ''Therefore Repent!'' in Previews] from Sequential * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s58DcTFXUbU Trailer by Salgood Sam] at YouTube.com

===Reviews=== * [https://warren-peace.blogspot.com/2008/03/therefore-repent-its-little-late-isnt.html Warren Peace Sings the Blues] * [https://www.readaboutcomics.com/2008/02/20/therefore-repent/ Read About Comics] *[http://www.popimage.com/content/thereforerepentreview2007.html PopImage] * [http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/03/04/075512.php Sibin Mohan] from ''Blogcritics'' * [https://www.outsiderwriters.org/content/view/411/44/ The Guild of Outsider Writers ]

Category:2008 graphic novels Category:Canadian graphic novels Category:Graphic novels set in Chicago Category:Post-apocalyptic comics Category:Fantasy comics Category:Novels by Jim Munroe Category:Urban fiction Category:Graphic novels about Christianity