Renegade Martin Luther

The life of reformer Martin Luther in graphic novel format

Five hundred years ago a brash young monk single-handedly confronted the most powerful institutions of his day. His bold stand sparked the Protestant Reformation and marked one of the great turning points in history.

Martin Luther, a spiritual and historical giant, is loved and hated to this day–and for good reason. The anniversary of the revolution he helped start has produced a spate of doorstop-sized biographies. Luckily, today there exists a more accessible format that does justice to such a colorful, complex character and his tumultuous life and times – the graphic novel.

In a world of grinding poverty, plague, and religious superstitions, a child of laborers distinguishes himself at university – until a lightning-bolt conversion lands him in a monastery. There his personal battles with disillusionment and doubt culminate in a cry for freedom. The rest is the stuff of history and legend: Luther’s revolt against Rome with the nailing of ninety-five theses to the church door in Wittenberg; his time spent incognito at Wartburg Castle, where he famously throws an inkpot at the devil; his seditious translation and publication of the Bible in the language of the people; his scandalous marriage to former nun Katharina von Bora; and, in later years, his ugly tirades against peasants, Anabaptists, and Jews.