It’s fun! It’s visionary! It features Donald Trump as Yama Raja, the Lord of Death. It’s “The Comic Bardo Thodol” (aka The Tibetan Book of the Dead), as created and executed by writer/artist Thomas Scoville.
How nice to see it making the rounds online again, since it’s now been posted on UltraCulture.org. It first surfaced in 2008, and I reached out to Scoville, who explained how it came to be:
“I’m kind of amazed by how much coverage it’s gotten. It was just some background research I’m doing for a novel — I’m trying to use the BT as a guide text for a pop culture novel. Though I’d read bits and pieces of the BT for years, I realized I’d never gotten my mind around the whole thing — it’s not very ‘sticky’ to a western mind like mine, I guess. So I had the idea of dumbing it down: if I were a teen, how would I explain it to me? — comic book form, with pop culture figures and images to make it stickier and less threatening. So I tried that. An hour a day for about a week. I’m just tickled that so many people found it entertaining and/or informative.”
See The Comic Bardo Thodol for yourself, here.
Thank you for reading Lion’s Roar. Now can we ask for your help?
Lion’s Roar is a nonprofit. Our mission is to share the wisdom of the Buddha’s teachings—to inspire, comfort, support, and enlighten readers around the world. Our aspiration is to keep LionsRoar.com available to everyone, providing a supportive, inspiring Buddhist community that anyone can access, from curious beginners to committed meditators. Do you share our aspiration? We can’t do this without your help.
Lion’s Roar reaches more readers like you than ever before. Unfortunately, advertising and other revenues are falling for print and online media. We know we have something deeply precious to share with the world, and we want to continue this important work. Can you help support our efforts now?
Lion’s Roar is independent, unbiased, not-for-profit, and supported by readers like you. Please donate today and help the lion’s roar echo for readers around the world.
