Iconoclasm, iconophobia, and graphic novel adaptations of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores the assumed tendency of evangelical Christians to iconoclasm or even iconophobia. In order to test these tendencies, recent graphic novel adaptations of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress is analysed. This text is a perennial spiritual classic for this wing of the Protestant tradition. Concerns for fidelity are explored in reference to both a ‘timeless’ and ‘timeful’ quality. An evangelical theology of adaptation is offered and the graphic novels are assessed for textual fidelity, place in a spiritual legacy, and creative recontextualization.