The Faithful Spy

Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler

Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party is gaining strength and becoming more menacing every day. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor upset by the complacency of the German church toward the suffering around it, forms a breakaway church to speak out against the established political and religious authorities. When the Nazis outlaw the church, he escapes as a fugitive. Struggling to reconcile his faith and the teachings of the Bible with the Nazi Party’s evil agenda, Bonhoeffer decides that Hitler must be stopped by any means possible!

In his signature style of interwoven handwritten text and art, John Hendrix tells the true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor who makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to free the German people from oppression during World War II.

“Biographies of key figures from WWII are plentiful in kids books, but Hendrix’s captivating account of the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a standout . . . The combination of Hendrix’s sharp, concise words and evocative artwork gives readers a strong sense of historical context, the enormity of the perilous actions undertaken by Bonhoeffer and other resistance fighters, and the revolutionary nature of his theology of action and civil disobedience. A poignant, compellingly presented, and timely account of a brave individual who lived his life with true conviction.”

Booklist

“Striking . . . challenging and complex.”

Kirkus Reviews

“The narrative deftly moves between Bonhoeffer’s struggles and Hitler’s ascent. Hendrix’s dynamic images complement the text, using green and red to indicate good and evil. The bold visuals will attract graphic novel fans. An excellent introduction to a great man and his fight for justice.”

School Library Journal

“Hendrix details Bonhoeffer’s life in accessible prose, offering appropriate, meaningful context and in places using Bonhoeffer’s own words. Provocative background imagery enhances the comic’s mood and atmosphere: a noose wrapped around a church shows religious strangulation in Hitler’s Germany; prose shown on the moonlit wall of Bonhoeffer’s prison cell conveys imprisonment’s isolation. These visuals powerfully communicate the dread, despair, and violence inherent in living—and fighting against—Hitler’s Germany. ”
Publishers Weekly