Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #6



Synopsis: Behold the Man-Karl Glogauer is a time traveler, obsessed with the biblical story of Christ. We see him in his relative present, on a mission to the past, to find the historical Jesus of Nazareth. We also see parts of Karl's life, as we see a boy obsessed with Jesus and his crucifixion, to the point of allowing neighborhood kids to string him up on a fence. He is constantly bullied and mocked through his life. His relationship, as an adult, is deeply troubled. He ends up part of a time travel experiment and travels in a time sphere to Judea, around the theorized time of Jesus' life. There, he discovers that no one seems to have heard of this person. he encounters John the Baptist, a dissident leader in the wilds. He spends time with him and soon finds no evidence of Jesus. John comes to believe Karl is the promised messiah and asks to be batpized by him and Karl ends up having John baptize him. he then runs off in a manic terror. he is plagued by memories of the past and the rebukes of his girlfriend. He makes his way to Nazareth and locates the carpenter, Joseph, with a wife named Mary. There, he finds their son, Jesus, a mentally handicapped wretch, who can do little more than repeat his name. Joseph and Mary bicker and Karl's faith is shattered. He then takes up the life and events of the biblical Jesus, up to and including the crucifixion, all the while plagued by the knowledge that his "miracles" are trickery and a willing belief in his followers. On the cross, he mutters that it was all a lie, as life departs him...

Behold the Man is the star of the issue and a daring experiment for Roy. The original novella won the Nebula; but, it was highly controversial in the sci-fi world, let alone the more puritanical comics world. Even in black & white magazines, this was dangerous stuff. Fortunately for Roy, their readership was low enough that this was mostly missed and no one came after him with pitchforks and torches. It captures the feel of the original version (later expanded by Moorcock). It also shows the interesting experiment as this time traveler is obsessed with Jesus and goes in search of him; but finds it all changed. he ends up fulfilling the role, leaving one to wonder if this wasn't an infinite loop, where he was predestined to come from the future to become the biblical Jesus.