In God is Disappointed in You, the reader is shown a modernized spin on Da Vinci’s painting, The Last Supper. This rendition of Da Vinci’s well known piece of art is called The Last Call. The point of this picture is to allow the reader to better relate to what is going on in the text by modernizing what was happening during Jesus’ life. Both the text and image simplify and modernize what actually occurred, and they both seem to take out some of the nonsense. The Bible is a long story and includes just about every detail a person can think of. This picture allows the viewer to connect and better understand what was going on in a time period that we are not able to relate to. By looking at Wheeler’s image, we can see the way that the picture and text correlate to simplify a story; this is important because it helps show that the image is more than just an illustration to go along with the story.  

One of the reasons that this story was written was because cartoonist, Shannon Wheeler, had never been able to read the entire Bible and she wanted Mark Russel to explain the Book of Job. They were able to shorten stories from the Bible so that people could better understand the events occurring. Russel eliminated all of the unnecessary details that the Bible goes in depth about which makes the story a lot easier to follow. This can be seen just by looking at the first sentences because the story starts out with saying “God decided that he wanted kids. So he talked a young woman named Mary into having his son” (Russell, 2014). The way that this is written is very casual and makes it seem as if it is not a big deal, but to Christians this is a very big deal. It is one of the most important parts of the Bible. He also turns the story into more of a dialogue and makes the story much easier to read. Russel also uses language that would be inappropriate if used in the Bibles. For example, he asks things like “could this day get any shittier” and “what is this hippie bullshit” (Russel, 2017). These are words that would never appear in the Bible, and by using language like this, the reader is able to relate to the story better helping them understand better. It gives the story a more realistic modern appeal rather than sacred. 

Like Russel, Shannon Wheeler takes the complex story portrayed in The Last Supper to a simpler, modernized version called The Last Call. In order to simplify the picture, Wheeler took out half of the disciples, the food on the table, and all of the detail in the background except for the windows. By looking at this picture the reader is able to understand all of the complexity of this situation in one simple picture. However, by changing the scene from a dinner to a bar, the reader has a different approach to the context. In the original picture, The Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples are gathering one last time because he knows his time is coming to an end. In the Bible, the disciples are arguing over who will assume Jesus’ role instead of grieving over what is going to happen to him. In this excerpt, they are arguing amongst themselves and asking Jesus things like “It’s me, isn’t it” (209).  Wheeler did a great job at incorporating this into this iconic picture, The Last Call. The last call refers to the last time that people can buy drinks at a bar, so this is a very strange way to illustrate a time as moral and famous as this. This is a very odd way to compare Jesus’ last supper with his closet friends. In this image, the disciples are with Jesus at a bar, and they are arguing about who is going to take over his leadership role next. Jesus is pictured in the middle and looks as if he is depressed and tired of the bickering going on around him because the disciples appear to be arguing amongst themselves rather than grieving about the situation. In this picture, Jesus looks miserable from all of the bickering, and it looks as if Jesus is almost reaching for his next drink to help him numb his pain. The way that Wheeler portrays this picture makes it easier for the reader to understand the context of what is going on in this religious event in a nonreligious way. 

Wheeler’s image corresponds with a specific part of the text, so most readers might overlook its real purpose because it serves as more than just an illustration to go along with the story. The Last Call serves as a visual representation of the simplistic and modernized manner of Russell’s story. The text and image do not work separately but as a unit. Both take out most of the extra detail to show the main point of what was going on. The reader does not have to suffer through reading exactly what everyone was wearing and eating or looking at a hectic crowded bar scene. By eliminating all of the fluff, the reader is able to concentrate on the important part of the story, so with this simplification, they are able to more effectively retell a story. 

Through Russel’s simplification and straight to the point story and Wheeler’s rendition of The Last Supper, the reader is able to see how the image not only goes along with a specific part of text, but shows how the image directly corresponds to the purpose of the story. It helps the reader to better understand the long, complex story of the Bible because of the simplified and modernized context it is put in. Russell made this story very modernized and gave the reader a whole new perspective of the story of Jesus. This image helps elaborate on what the text around it is trying to portray, but it mostly simplifies this complex story that the cartoonist himself was never really able to completely read and understand.
