"The Mythmakers” by John Hendrix

It was a Facebook post that did it. A fellow book lover recommended The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix. I highly value her judgment and opinion, and I flipped over to Amazon, pulled up the book, glanced at the price, and ordered it. I went for the hardcover, because my friend’s description sounded like it would be a keeper. 

I didn’t read the details.

 

When the book arrived, I opened it up to discover it was a graphic work. It’s officially a graphic novel, but there’s enough actual statements by both Lewis and Tolkien (and fictional comments informed by what they said) to make The Mythmakers a blend of fiction, non-fiction, and graphic design.

 

I was not a fan of graphic novels. There’s nothing wrong with them, but I have never been seriously interested in them.

 

Until now.

 

The Mythmakers is a “knocked-it-out-of-the-ballpark” kind of work.

 

Almost reluctantly, I began to read, my lack of interest almost noticeable. Until it disappeared. And then I devoured it. 

 

Hendrix tells the story of how Lewis and Tolkien had World War I experience in common, how they met at Oxford, how they became friends, and how their friendship, or “fellowship,” as Hendrix describes it, transformed fantasy literature forever. With Lewis’s encouragement, Tolkien would likely have never published The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Because of pointed criticism by Tolkien, Lewis almost didn’t publish The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Their friendship grew and remained solid, until the years of World War II. And then, to the sorrow of both men, it grew strained. But they continued to support one another’s work.

 

The Mythmakers uses a journey of two fictional characters, a lion (shades of Aslan) and a wizard (shades of Gandalf), through the story of the friendship. And it works. It works beautifully. I laughed, I grinned, I nodded my head, and at one point I even choked up and wiped away tears. The book is that good. Yes, I knew the story of their friendship, but I hadn’t seen it visually portrayed in illustration like it is here.

 

And while The Mythmakers doesn’t make a major case out of it, it does agree with my own assessment after reading so much about both men: Lewis was the truer friend.

 

John Hendrix, the illustrated man

Hendrix has written and illustrated numerous books, including The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler, Drawing Magic: Discovering Yourself in a Sketchbook, Miracle Man: The Story of Jesus, and others. He’s also created a comics collection entitled The Holy Ghost: A Spirited Comic and produced illustrations for numerous comic books and publications. He was named Distinguished Educator in the Arts for 2024 by the Society of Illustrators and currently serves as the Kenneth E. Hudson Professor of Art and the founding Chair of the MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture program at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. He lives with his family in suburban St. Louis (in a suburb so close to mine that we could be neighbors). 

 

The Mythmakers may be aimed at middle grade readers, but it offers a great deal to readers of all ages. And it helped me, or shoved me, away from my apathy about graphic novels.

 

Some Monday Readings

 

Best – artwork by Sonja Benskin Mesher.

 

An Astronomer Was Able to Pinpoint the Mystery Location Depicted in a Van Gogh Masterpiece – Jackie Appel at Popular Mechanics.

 

All the Saints, and All the Ones They Leave Behind – Logan Hoffman at Plough Quarterly on Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin.

 

10 Composers to Listen to While Studying – Andrew Benson Brown at The Epoch Times.

 

The Pubs of Old London – Spitalfields Life.