Review – Champion of the Poor: Father Joe Walijewski
A comic book to remember!
Long ago, back when they could tell stories, Marvel Comics released an issue telling the history of the then-current Pope of the Catholic Church: John Paul II. It was one of several comics the company released on Catholic personages (including St. Francis of Assisi) and it remains one of their best issues. Unfortunately, the Marvel Comics of the present no longer even considers writing such tales. They would rather write about resurrecting Christ via living mutated islands.
Yes, really.
But nature abhors a vacuum and the Almighty always has the last laugh. A new comic book company has stepped up to fill the void. One of their comics is Champion of the Poor: Father Joe Walijewski – a fine story in the tradition Marvel established so long ago with their book on John Paul II.
The Story
The story is largely told through flashback. Beginning in 1979 in Warsaw, Poland, Father Walijewski is in the large crowd shouting, “We want God!” as the pope gives his speech. Fr. Walijewski’s fellow priest reminds him that there is a long line to see the pope and they ought to be brief when he speaks to John Paul II. Neither man seems to think it strange that “Father Joe” is carrying a loaf of bread.
In fact, the loaf of bread is there on purpose; Father Joe wants the pope to bless it so he can take it back to the poor people of Peru, and blessing bread just so happens to be a Polish tradition. Father Walijewski is a missionary priest in the South American country who has been serving the poor there since 1958. The Pope, noting Fr. Walijewski’s excellent Polish, asks for his story. “Oh, no!” groans Father Joe’s aid. So much for a short audience with the pope!
From here the flashbacks take over, showing how Father Joe became interested in the priesthood and serving the poor, particularly street children. Inspired by the film Boys Town, which was founded by Father Flanagan, he studied to become a priest – and failed all his language classes: French, Latin, and Greek. Good at Polish he might be, but that’s not enough. He needs to at least be able to speak Latin to become a priest!
The rest of the story is a thrill ride as Father Joe manages to reach ordination before signing up for the missions and heading to Peru. Doing his best to build a church and a parish in the jungle, when he encounters children sleeping under newspapers in the streets, he becomes determined to start an orphanage. But where will the money come from?
The Characters
Father Joe, as the principal character, is a very serene man with a warm sense of humor. Noted as not being a particularly smart priest academically he nevertheless makes up for that with dogged determination to serve God. Where most heroes struggle with forces interior and exterior, Father Joe possesses a great inner peace that cannot help but make reading his story soothing.
Pope St. John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI) also make appearances in the narrative. St. John Paul II’s characterization matches that in the Marvel comic cited beforehand – not hard to do, considering he was a real person with a well-known reputation! Cardinal Ratzinger’s appearance is shorter but no less impressive for all that, marking him as a much quieter personality than John Paul without sacrificing his force of belief.
The World
The world is the modern world but told from the perspective of someone with a peaceful outlook determined to do his best for God and man. One does not need to believe in God to read the comic and come away from it relaxed, with a happier sense of the world and an appreciation for the writer’s work. It gives one time to relax and see the world in a new way.
Politics
None.
Content Warning
None.
Who is it for?
Any comic fans who liked Marvel’s books on popes and saints will like this book. Heck, Marvel Comics fans in general will probably like it, as the art is on par with or better than some of that used in the company today. Homeschoolers looking for a book that at least interests their children in history will appreciate it as well, and of course, Catholics are the main audience for Champion of the Poor. Those who want to give their child a “clean” comic with no gore, blood, or other material not safe for young readers and are looking for alternatives to the mainstream offerings will find nothing objectionable in this issue from Voyage Comics and Publishing.
Why buy it
It is calming, historically accurate, and beautiful. Oh, and there is zero objectionable content. Why not buy it?