Crime Bible
The Crime Bible is a book that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
The Crime Bible was the sacred book of crime and sin followed by the adherents of the Religion of Crime. It was crafted from the stone that Cain had used to murder his brother Abel. (52 v1 #25) It was said that there were only three complete copies of the book in existence. These were the Prophet's Codex, the Sana'a Edition and the High Madame's Binding though the first two were considered lost texts. (Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood v1 #1) Another edition was the Bastard's Folio that was illuminated by Mazon the Foul of Budapest in 1578 that was believed lost in the Great Fire of London. (Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood v1 #3)
Brother Flay of the Order of the Stone seemingly gave the Bastard's Folio to the Penguin in Gotham City for the purposes of a sale. Batwoman and Renee Montoya as the Question broke into the sale where they acquired the book. Afterwards, Montoya learnt that the pages of the Folio were blank and that it was simply a trap made by Brother Flay to further induct Renee into the cult. (Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood v1 #3)
Overview
In appearance, it was a large book made of stone that was said to had been forged by the stone Cain used to commit the first murder. (52 v1 #25)
The Crime Bible or the Black Book as it was known as its adherents contained esoteric writings that were akin to homilies or parables which taught the proper veneration of Cain as well as living a life of crime and sin. Supplementary material included the Books of Blood that consisted of four lessons that were pillars of the faith with these being analogous to Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments or Hindu Dasopadesam. These lessons in order were; Deceit, Lust, Greed and Murder with the last holding the greatest place as it was Cain's greatest sin. (Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood v1 #1)
There were numerous passages in the book such as:
- Book 10, Chapter 7: The Revelation of Apokolips : "There were four ages of dread Apokolips in its anguished, bloody morning. The Age of Hunger, ruled by Yurrd the Unknown in formless time before time. The Age of War, when Roggra sat on a throne of skulls and the rivers ran hot and red with blood. Lord of the Age of Fevers was Zorrm. Then came Azraeuz, Silent King of the Age of Death, who rode a pale steed across a desert of ash and bone at the black dawn of the Fourth World. Before Gods, before New Gods, these titans ruled the void. No flesh can bear their presence, but certain mighty forms are to be constructed through which the kings may express their shattering cosmic judgment! Only bodies of stone and steel and storm can carry such riders, and herein is written how such vessels will be made...". (52 v1 #38)
Each true copy of the Black Book were different from one another with some having codes buried in the text whilst others had rituals or spells. Readers sometimes concluded that its content was evil yet at the same time seductive and sometimes even beauty. (Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood v1 #3)
Notes
- The Crime Bible was created by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid and Keith Giffen where it made its first appearance in 52 v1 #23 (December, 2006).
- In an interview on Newsarama, it was said that the idea of the Crime Bible was made by Grant Morrison with Rucka saying, "I loved the idea of it the moment Grant first mentioned it. And like most of Grant’s ideas, he presents this marvelous concept, and then completely disregards the details of it, just leaves them open to be filled in, and of course, y’know, that’s where I live, I love working on those details. It was just so full of potential, and it went to the H.P. Lovecraft fan in me, as well – the idea that there was this DCU-wide religious cult that venerated the ideals of crime. I wanted to know more, and what little I could get out of Grant on the subject just fired me up further... We established in 52 that there were multiple “books” of the Crime Bible – the Book of Kürten, the Book of Moriarty, the Book of Lilith, the Revelations of Apokolips, things like that. We’ve seen passages from “Adumbrations” in Keith’s Four Horsemen, which has been a great read (and I say that sincerely, and not because the old coot paid me to, nor because I had to pay him twice what he paid me just so he would remember that Snapper Carr is a member of Checkmate). So the 'The Five Books of Blood,' specifically, are a sequence of five “books” within the larger Black Book itself. More precisely, “The Books of Blood” tell the story of the forming of the Dark Faith, of Cain’s wanderings after the murder of Abel. As he wanders, he encounters various sins, and from each sin, he takes a lesson, and it’s these lessons that form the basis of the Religion of Crime, its core belief system is probably the best way to put it. The lessons are, in order: Deceit, Lust, Greed, and Murder."
In other media
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, the Crime Bible was said to had been established by the Religion of Crime after they were formed by Intergang in Gotham City. Oracle and Question dispatched the heroes to infiltrate the Intergang to steal the Crime Bible from Bruno Mannheim whilst Calculator and Deathstroke dispatch villains to conduct a similar mission. Various pages and quotations from the book detailed its tenets.
Appearances
- 52 v1:
- Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood v1:
External Links
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