With the volume of knowledge and research Melheim had incorporated into the story, the illustration proved tedious. It requires and invites an opportunity to show, not tell.” “It was a very fast turnaround without sacrificing quality, since there are all kinds of hidden rules in visual sequential storytelling. “It was a tight deadline and a pretty intense one, as comics go,” said Koelsch. He rose to the challenge, finishing the final 43 pages in 2½ months.Īnimation by Jonathan Koelsch served as a backdrop to Luther the Rock Opera at the Luther500 Festival in Wittenberg. The charge was for Koelsch, a comic book lover since age 7, to complete the book in time for the start of the anniversary. Two years ago, Melheim resurrected the project and, at the recommendation of Schwartzrock, enlisted the help of graphic artist Jonathan Koelsch. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, since the Reformation anniversary was more than a decade away. Within the first year and a half, he’d completed the concept and written the first third with collaboration from illustrator Sherwin Schwartzrock.Īs the 2003 movie began production, Melheim’s work hit a roadblock: the sponsoring organization put it on hold.
Melheim found the answers to his questions through research on Giovanni di Medici (aka, Pope Leo X). It was calculated that by venerating every one of Fredericks’ relics, one could shave 1.9 million years off purgatory.Īs Melheim explored this central character more, questions surfaced that needed answers and later became pivotal story points: Why did Frederick – who was making lots of money from his relic collection – support a stormy monk who didn’t relish his relics? Why did he later put his own life on the line to protect and hide Luther? How long did it take for Frederick to arrange for Luther’s hiding? Frederick owned the second-largest relic collection in the world outside of Rome. Then, it occurred to me: The chief supporting actor was Elector Frederick.”įrederick, as Melheim’s book points out, was the nobleman who owned and ran the university to which Luther was sent following his monastery assignment in Erfurt, Germany. “I ran across a double volume set from 1832 written by an Irish theologian, which had some amazing historical tid-bits and nuances.
“I found nuggets of information (in other writings), but I wanted to find something that could tie it all together,” said Melheim, an ELCA pastor who has since become an entrepreneur and author. The story was pieced together when he discovered old, rarely seen writings in the bowels of a Lutheran seminary. He began research while looking for a premise on which he could base the story – something different from the norm that told the story of Martin Luther and the Reformation from a new angle. Released in early 2017, the graphic novel “Luther” is the brainchild of Rich Melheim, who started the project while working on marketing of the 2003 film of the same name.
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