Miniature Jesus #2

    An F-5 tornado has often been called “The Finger of God.”  However, after reading Ted McKeever’s Miniature Jesus #2, we can say with certainty that the true finger of God wreaks havoc on a much smaller scale.  Our protagonist(s), Chomsky and his demon, find themselves drawn into the events at a rural church where an icon of Christ (well, an 8-inch tall Christ) has arisen and caused a stir.  

    Ted McKeever is the jack-of-all-trades for the title, handling the writing, illustrating and lettering duties for the miniseries.  His approach to handling the, well, bizarre nature of the events is very fitting.  It isn’t easy to handle the concept of a rural preacher, or even rural characters in general, without going over the “hokey” line.  McKeever handles the balance with ease, and the hokiness of the characters fits well into the story.  Chomsky’s presence has, naturally, instigated the paranoia of the small town preacher and the local law enforcement.  The trope of “Strange Event” plus “Stranger” equals “Trouble” in the local’s eyes is put fully into effect.  From there, things simply get stranger.

    We aren’t given many answers in this issue.  The Miniature Jesus has received very little panel time, and we haven’t yet been able to deduce whether or not Chomsky’s demon is a literal demon or the figurative demon of his alcoholism and past.  The ending with the demon approaching the newly awakened Christ, again touching on the gods of Egypt, makes me look forward to the next installment.  This is at the same time rewarding and infuriating.  At the close of this issue, we find ourselves eleven or so pages from the halfway point of the narration.  There isn’t a whole lot of time for McKeever to continue building the pace as he has in the series to date.  This is one of the inherent issues that arises from the miniseries format, finding balance between the build-up and the execution of the story.