A Review of White Devil: The Legend of Hudson

Learning about Hudson Taylor’s life is bound to inspire and challenge any Christian seeking to walk the path of discipleship, and fulfil their divine destiny. It shows how powerful a life of God-inspired focus and commitment can be, and how the fruits of our service can swell over time from a trickle to a flood, if we remain steadfast and faithful.

 

In pursuing God’s call, Hudson Taylor made sacrifices that most of us will never dream of making. However, there were times the narrative did sound a bit propaganda-ish. Though the scope of his life and work is unquestionably heroic, I did get the impression that the author had presented a one-dimensional view of his subject - as if projecting him through a rose-tinted lens - much unlike the Bible which doesn’t shy away from showing us the flaws of its subjects in addition to their strengths.

I found the graphic novel format welcome but the draughtsmanship was very poor; the facial expressions monotonous; and the scenery rather unmemorable. The weak illustrations left behind no strong images in my memory, and came across as being largely ornamental, like mere decorations to skip over between one text box to the next.

 

White Devil definitely has an impressive story to tell; but the actual presentation of that story failed to impress me.