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is a ministry of
A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization
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Kingstone to Release More Comics, GNs
Publishers Weekly (PW) covered the Kingstone Media Group's faith-based comics and graphic novels once again in an article in their 21 June issue. PW reports that the for-profit company will be releasing a number of periodical comics and up to 12 Graphic Novels by the end of 2011 through its Kingstone Comics line, the frontrunner among its comics imprints. The imprint is carried at 60 Parable Christian Store locations and 33 Mardel Christian and Education locations, as well as churches and independent Christian bookstores. Its main distributor is Anchor Distributors. Kingstone CEO and publisher Art Ayris says the company is expanding in the digital market and plans to release at least another 10 print graphic novels in 2012. Kingstone's goal is to become "the leading publisher of faith-based graphic novels and periodical comics in the Christian Booksellers Association."
Source: Publishers Weekly
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Second SoCam Now Underway
The latest School of Cartooning & Animation for Missions (SoCam) has begun in Chiang Mai, Thailand. According to School Leader Dave Hudson, three of the students – from Germany, Ukraine, and Korea – have arrived, and two more are still trying to get there from Africa. The SoCam is a six-month, second-level YWAM school devoted to training students in using comics, cartoons, and animated media to communicate the Gospel in culturally relevant ways. The SoCam is a project of Create International Thailand which was established in 2007 to target unreached people groups in China and Indochina specifically. A YWAM Discipleship Training School (DTS) is a prerequisite, so potential applicants are encouraged sign up now for the next DTS in Chiang Mai, which starts in January, in order to be eligible for the third SoCam in July 2012.
Sources: SoCam website and FB page
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'70s Classic Coming in Hardcover
For the first time since it was originally published in 1975, DC Comics will be reprinting their comics adaptation The Most Spectacular Stories Ever Told... From The Bible. Originally published as a large tabloid-sized comic, the new release will be a 64-page, full color, hardcover edition. The comic features "the earliest chapters of the book of Genesis, including the stories of The Garden of Eden, the Flood, and Sodom and Gomorrah." Although several major comics creators contributed to the writing and illustrating, this adaptation is often most remembered for the beautiful finished artwork provided by Nestor Redondo. Redondo said later that he was not yet a committed Christian when he worked on this comic. He accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior in May 1982 through the witness of an American missionary from Far East Broadcasting.
Sources: Family Fiction and DC Comics websites, COMIX35
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Ancient Tract Still Doing Its Job
California USA-based Chick Publications notes that although passing out tracts sometimes requires strong faith that there will be results from the effort, "occasionally stories surface that prove that good, no-nonsense Gospel literature will, indeed, do the job." James Madden, a Chick distributor in Brazil, reports that he saw a very old copy of the This Was Your Life tract being used at a lunch shack in a little town called Paulista. One man was sharing the Gospel, explaining the pictures and story page by page, with another man who was unable to read himself. After the man was done sharing the Gospel, Madden had an opportunity to talk to him. Madden learned the man had carried the tract for years, having received it from a missionary as a young teenager. He kept it as a treasure, sharing the Gospel with many people that he could not have reached otherwise. "I often think about the original missionary who gave him that tract or the people who may have contributed money for the printing of it," says Madden. "To this day they have no idea how far their Gospel has gone out." Chick notes that this particular version of the Portuguese tract was discontinued some 20 years ago.
Source: Chick Publications Newsletter
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Classic Eagle Collections Stall
Sales of the 112-page hardcover collection Jesus: The Road of Courage from Titan Books in March 2010 "weren't what Titan expected," according to John Freeman of downthetubes British Comics News. "I felt it was a missed opportunity," writes Freeman, who had originally envisioned a deluxe edition including scans of original artwork and conceptual drawings by Frank Hampson, plus theological analysis. Freeman believes these special features would have made the book "more appealing in the US market." The public's failure to embrace the new Road of Courage has led to an equally disappointing response from Titan. "Sadly, it means the second collection, featuring Frank Bellamy's David ... is in limbo," notes Freeman. Unlike Road of Courage, the beautifully rendered David: The Shepherd King strips have never been gathered into a single volume, making it a project perhaps even more eagerly anticipated by international fans of Eagle, the highly successful UK comic classic. Eagle was created by the Rev. Marcus Morris as a Christian antidote to the influx of dark and violent American comics during the post-World War II period in Britain.
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Comic Adapts Missionary's Story
The current issue of the French comic book Tournesol marks the debut of a new 3-part adaptation of the true story of Gladys Aylward, the famous evangelical missionary to China. The first 6 pages of the story can be viewed online. The English-born Aylward spent her life savings to travel to China in 1930. She worked there until World War II forced her return to England for 10 years. In 1953 she was denied re-entry to China by the Communist government and settled in Taiwan where she worked until her death in 1970. At least one other comic strip has been produced about Aylward as well as an animated cartoon. In 1959, The True Story of Gladys Aylward was serialized over 10 issues of the Sunday Pix comic, and The Gladys Aylward Story was released in 2008 as part of the Torchlighters animated DVD series. Tournesol is one of the longest-running Christian comic titles in the world, published since 1960 by Ligue pour la Lecture de la Bible (LLB) in Valence, France. The 40-page, full color magazine contains "true stories, stories of the Bible, and imaginary adventures." It comes out 6 times a year, and subscriptions are available in North America through LLB in Québec, Canada.
Sources: Tournesol #376, COMIX35
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Membership Milestone for CCAS
The Christian Comic Arts Society (CCAS) welcomed the online community's 1000th member this week. CCAS celebrated the achievement by awarding their newest participant with a signed, limited edition print from The Action Bible graphic novel, courtesy of publisher David C Cook. A copy of the print was also given out as a prize in a Facebook and Twitter contest for encouraging the most people to join CCAS in order to surpass the 1000 member mark. The CCAS social network exists "to connect fans and professionals who share in love of the comic book medium and in their Christian faith." It sponsors Alpha Omega, the APA of Christian comics, and Christian comic displays at various comic conventions across the country.
Source: Frontgate Media
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Conference Offers Comics Workshops
The Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival will be held this year from 6-11 August at the Lifeway Conference Center in Ridgeway, NC USA. The event offers "Christians who are interested in the media arts a place to encourage their talents, a venue to meet, learn, network and get advice from experts in the industry, and the opportunity to develop working and personal relationships." Once again the faculty will include Ken Raney of Clash Entertainment and comics writer Ben Avery, who will both lead workshops on comics/graphic novels, and also Art Ayris, CEO of Kingstone Comics. At the 2010 conference, Avery and Raney taught on "The Art of Storytelling/Comic Books," "Creating Comics: The Script," and "Adapting Other Media into Comic Books." They were also part of a Graphic Artists/Novelists panel with Ayris. This year there will be separate comics sessions for adults and for children between the ages of 5-15. Raney is urging Christians to prayerfully consider attending the 2011 event. "The contacts made at the Gideon could be invaluable," he notes.
Source: Ken Raney
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Chick Tracts Go Mobile
With over 800 million copies in print, the inexpensive mini-comics known as Chick Tracts have been called "a global phenomenon." Now 10 popular Chick Tracts are available to view and share through a new Android app. Once installed onto a phone, tracts can be viewed off-line without requiring a data connection. The app installs automatically onto the SD card of phones using Android Operating System version 2.2 and uses a minimal amount of internal memory. "This app was designed to make sharing Jesus with [your friends] as easy as showing them your phone," the publisher writes. "Just choose a title that looks like its subject might be a good discussion starter, show them how to turn the pages, and hand the phone over." There is a "More Info" menu item in the app, which requires a data connection, if viewers have questions about the stories. Chick Publications, based in California USA, has also just released 2 new tracts: Still No Revival? and That's Baphomet? about the dangers of Masonry. They have been publishing cartoon tracts for almost 50 years.
Source: Chick Publications
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Early Comics Pioneer Passes
The man who was possibly the last of the "first generation" Christian Comics & Cartooning Pioneers, the Reverend Edwin B. Wallace, went to be with the Lord in mid-May at age 90. He was born in Pennsylvania USA and spent his entire life in ministry. Ordained in the Wesleyan Church, Wallace combined pastoral work with his artistic ability doing "chalk talks," single panel cartoons, editorial cartoons, covers, and comics pages for various Christian journals, Scripture pamphlets, and books. Reportedly he was still drawing in his final years. A remarried widower, Wallace's second wife survives him along with 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. He was laid to rest in Florida USA.
Source: Alec Stevens
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Bible GN Remains Bestseller
The June bestseller and category top-seller lists from the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) are online, and The Action Bible Graphic Novel has now moved up into the Top 10 of the Top 50 Books, a listing of all Christian book titles by sales ranking. Also, The Action Bible is still the #1 bestseller on CBA's list of Top Children's and Young Adult book titles. The June lists are based on actual sales in Christian-retail stores in the USA through the week ending 30 April, using Cross:Scan as the source for data collection. In addition, this popular 752-page, full-color GN from publisher David C Cook retains its ranking as the #1 seller on the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) list of Top 20 Christian Juvenile Bestsellers for June. The ECPA's Juvenile list combines all Kids & Young Adult titles.
Sources: CBA Industry Brief, ECPA
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Current Comics from Kingstone
Florida USA-based Kingstone Comics have enjoyed much positive media and trade show exposure recently. Kingstone had a booth at BookExpo America and received coverage in an article entitled "The Graphic Novel Scene" on the Publishers Weekly website as a result. Kingstone had 7 new GNs on display at the expo, and CEO Art Ayris describes their reception as "awesome." Kingstone titles were also featured on the front cover of an April print edition of Publishers Weekly. At the Retailing Re-Boot 2011 Ayris was asked to speak about comics and GNs before the show. Afterward they were "totally swamped ... added a number of new stores" and had "great sales" at their booth. This summer Kingstone has plans to attend both the San Diego Comic-Con and International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) where they hope to unveil their newest GN title The Book of God.
Source: Art Ayris / Kingstone Media
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Aussie in Search of Christian Comics
The Sydney (Australia) Anglican church newspaper Southern Cross has just posted a story on Christian comic books by Joel A. Moroney, Associate Minister at St. Luke's Liverpool. The 2-page article, "In search of the Christian comic", appeared in their Sunday 1 May print issue originally. Moroney is a collector of Christian comic books that are both "good" and "in line with God's word and [do] not contradict or distort the Bible." According to Moroney "many Christian comic books fail one or both of these criteria." Another of his observations is that "if the world of Christian comics was our guide, then the most important person in the Bible is King David. Followed closely by Samson. Then Jesus. Seems to me that there is something wrong here." Moroney also states: "Too often [Bible] comics isolate the stories of Old Testament figures from the big story of the Bible " turning them into "action figures that have no relation to God's plan of salvation." Currently his favorite comic is an anthology entitled Parable which Moroney claims is "both entertaining and consistent with God's word."
Source: Sydney Anglican Network
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Kolgarev Represents in Russia
At KomMissia 2011, the international comics festival in Russia, there was a presentation of the book SuperKOM, a collection of works by the artists of studio KOM. The book has been released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Russian studio, which existed from 1988 to 1992. The SuperKOM collection includes Easter-1953 by Christian cartoonist Igor Kolgarev, based on a story by Konstantin Prokhorov. Kolgarev's comic may be viewed online in both English and Russian. The cover of the SuperKOM book depicts the studio's artists as Marvel and DC Comics characters with Kolgarev as Spider-Man. The KomMissia festival is held annually from the end of April to the middle of May at the Winery in Moscow. Kolgarev is one of the only Christian comics producers to participate in the festival every year.
Source: Igor Kolgarev
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The Gospel According to Robots
With the new Transformers 3 movie coming out at the beginning of July, Literature Ministries International (LMI) in Texas USA is reminding everyone that their 25-packs of Betrayed! mini-comics "are still a good deal for oversize, full-color tracts." This short story about "transforming robots," written by comics professional Ben Avery, "vividly illustrates Christ's sacrifice through the hero's willing death for a disloyal subject." Finished illustrations are provided by Jonathan Koelsch, who also designed LMI's Escape the Trap! booklet. Copies of Betrayed! have been given out in movie theater parking lots during the opening weeks of previous Transformers films. Pastors and youth groups wishing to distribute the tracts locally may order them online.
Source: LMI
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FF Mag Promos Free Comics
For the past 10 years, secular comic book shops worldwide have held an annual Free Comic Book Day to lure new readers. For this year's event, Tennessee USA-based Family Fiction Magazine offered a steady stream of Tweets all day about free US Christian comics available online. Linked comics included The Cardinal, several strips illustrated by Erica Well of Studio Well, Prayer Pups, and Chick Tracts. Comics from the Clash Entertainment Comic Rack were also featured including "The Deal" by Christine Kerrick, ArmorQuest #1, Powermark #1, and Tullus and the Rites of Attis. In addition, a free sneak preview of the new GRAFFITI graphic novel, based on the true story of an inner-city church in New York USA, was also spotlighted by the magazine.
Source: Family Fiction on Twitter
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New Digital Comics Portal
A variety of Christian comics are now available online through digital distributor NOVO Ink including Spirit Warriors, Serenity, Goofyfoot Girl, Couplers, and 10 of the Kingstone Media titles. All are located in a dedicated "Graphic Novels" section which can be accessed via the "Categories" drop down menu on the front page or through the side navigation on interior pages. NOVO Ink was "created by people of faith to help faith-based readers everywhere gain access to thousands of digital eBooks and eMagazines." They have a 45-second demo on YouTube showing some of their features and functionality. "We are working hard to provide ... the largest selection of digital Christian material anywhere," NOVO Ink states on their website. "This is just a beginning for us on GNs," adds Marketing VP Bryan Cole. "We will continually add more and more." The distributor is open to input on new titles so that they can "build NOVO Ink into something truly amazing and God honoring."
Source: Bryan Cole / NOVO Ink
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Cartoonist's Classes Continue
Once again Christian Comics Pioneer Ron Wheeler will be offering summer Cartoon Camps at his home studio in Kansas City, Missouri USA. There will be 2 partial day camps for elementary age children and another 2 for Junior High and older kids, all held in June and July. Wheeler, an internationally known tract cartoonist, held his first camp in 2008. In addition to learning the lesson material, his students will receive a free copy of one of Wheeler's new Stinky Stevens books. In the past, Wheeler has taught cartooning classes at the University of Nations School of Illustration in Hawaii also.
Source: Ron Wheeler
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Another Award Announced
Although the Head Press Publishing graphic novel Eye Witness: Unknown God did not win in this year's Christian Small Press Publisher (CSPP) Awards, The Collected Eye Witness was named Comics/Graphic Novel of the Year in Family Fiction Magazine's 2011 Reader's Choice Awards. The Collected Eye Witness is all four books of the series in a slipcase set. "This is the fifth book award the series has garnered to date," reports writer/artist Robert Luedke. Individual Eye Witness editions have been named as award finalists four other times, including this year's CSPP Awards and the ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Awards which will be announced in June.
Source: Robert Luedke
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Creator Completes His GN
The finished King of Kings: The Chronicles of Jesus graphic novel by Delaware USA artist Brian S. Dawson is now available online. The full color, 296-page book "retells the Life of Christ taken from the Harmony of the Gospels, from birth through resurrection, and includes a detailed map of His travels as well as other pages of information and commentary." Prior to the release of this entire work in one volume, Dawson had been issuing it in shorter sections. Various versions of the GN have now reached 28 countries. Dawson's personal testimony was published recently in the Christian Post.
Source: Brian S. Dawson
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Cook Comic Wins ECPA Award
Just one week after being named Best Children's Bible of the Year at the Retailers Choice Awards in Orlando, Florida USA, The Action Bible has received the 2011 Christian Book Award for Best Children's Book from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). The announcement was made at the ECPA Awards Banquet held Monday 2 May in Colorado Springs, Colorado USA. The best-selling graphic novel, published by David C Cook and illustrated by comics pro Sergio Cariello, was one of 30 Finalists chosen out of 226 entries that "represent Christian publishing's finest books and Bibles for 2011." The Christian Book Awards were established as the Gold Medallion Book Awards by the ECPA in 1978.
Source: ECPA on Twitter
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Series Starts With Love Story
A new black & white graphic novel series entitled Portrait of His Grace has been launched this April by Creation House in Florida USA. The first paperback edition, Allegiance of the Bride: Fateful Encounters, Part 1, is rendered in a classic "shoujo manga" style by Korean author/artist Grace Kim Kwon who grew up as a "missionary kid" in Japan with a father who was a pastor. Her 128-page book takes a unique, romanticized look at "the captivating story of Ruth, a story of unwavering faith, allegiance and unconditional love." The series is intended for both teen and adult readers. "Anyone who would enjoy a love story ... will really take pleasure in this new book from Kwon," writes the publisher. Creation House is one of the book publishing divisions of Charisma Media, formerly known as Strang Communications.
Sources: Creation House, Christian Retailing
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Wilkerson Killed in Accident
Internationally known minister David Wilkerson has died as the result of a car crash in Texas USA on the afternoon of 27 April. The 79-year-old pastor was called to New York City back in 1958 to preach to gang members and drug addicts. The story of Wilkerson's ministry was related in the very first of the Spire Christian comics by Al Hartley, The Cross & the Switchblade, published in 1972. The comic was reprinted repeatedly, eventually selling millions of copies. In addition, Wilkerson appeared in 2 other 32-page, full-color comic books: Run Baby Run, published in 1971 by David C Cook, and The True Story of Nicky Cruz: Run Baby Run, published in 1974 by Logos International. In 1987, Wilkerson returned to New York City to establish Times Square Church. Reportedly Wilkerson's wife, Gwen, was injured in the fatal car accident and is in critical condition. Please pray for her.
Sources: Twitter, Times Square Church website
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Cook Comic is Retailers Choice
Tuesday evening 26 April, at the Retailing ReBoot event in Orlando, Florida USA, The Action Bible was announced as the 11th annual Retailers Choice Award winner in the category "Children's Bibles." The 752-page, full-color graphic novel from David C Cook was one of 41 winners voted as Best of the Year from among a record 350-plus nominations. Retailers were asked to judge nominations on their impact on staff and customers, including "their ability to speak to people's hearts and evoke emotion, open people's minds to new ways of thinking, and encourage and affirm Christ-like living." The Retailers Choice Awards are sponsored by Christian Retailing magazine. The Action Bible is edited by Doug Mauss and illustrated by Sergio Cariello.
Source: Christian Retailing website
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Comics Wanted for Digital Library
A content aggregator for the National Library in Singapore, ePage International reports that they are interested in licensing select Christian comics content for the digital library. According to Tat-Leong Sweeting of eWay Publishing Pte Ltd, the company will handle the conversion from PDF or other files formats into their ePage format. They will pay either a "once off" (one time) licensing fee or a 3-year renewable fee based on the number of titles/issues licensed. ePage is also interested in digitizing titles for online subscription, either for online viewing only or downloadable format. (ePage is a registered company on the Singapore government's website for businesses, and the National Library has confirmed that the company is a legitimate vendor for their eMagazines.)
Sources: ePage International, Singapore National Library
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Manga for Japan Disaster Victims
With the help of concerned donors and partners, Shinsei Senkyodan (New Life Ministries) in Japan is printing "a lot of literature to be given out free ... in the stricken areas and throughout the country," according to General Director Roald Lidal. While the ministry is "not set up to deal with relief operations" their plan is to "offer free, helpful materials to churches to use" including Bibles and the Manga Messiah graphic novel. Thousands of copies of the new "4 Spiritual Laws manga," The Search, will also be printed. Japan Campus Crusade for Christ will be in charge of the distribution of 200,000 copies of that booklet, and a Korean team will come to Japan and distribute 100,000. "People's hearts are softened, and we believe this could be God's time for Japan," Lidal reports. "May this be the time when millions seek Him and experience His love, forgiveness and eternal life. Let us together seek the Lord and pray for that to take place."
Source: Shinsei Senkyodan
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Cartoonist Connects in Québec
Christian cartoonist Alain Auderset returned to Québec, Canada, to appear at the 24th Annual Festival de la BD francophone (French language comics festival) in April. He also performed his one-man Gospel comedy show, "Athée Non Pratiquant" ("Non-Practicing Atheist") in two large halls in Montreal and Saint-Romuald, near Québec City. He was interviewed on a popular radio program in Montreal, and he spoke at the recent COMIX35 seminar in Lac-Brome.
Sources: Alain Auderset's newsletter, website
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Free Download of UK Comic
British-born Nigerian illustrator Bayo Akinsiku (known as "Siku") has created a special "King James Version (KJV) of the Easter narrative" derived from his earlier "Manga" Bible titles. Over 30,000 copies of these books, produced in collaboration with The Edge Group/UK, have sold in the UK. The new edition is a 400th Anniversary Tribute to the KJV Bible. A sample of the new edition is available as a free download from Biblefresh. The story is aimed at male readers aged 15-25. Siku is best known in the British comics industry for his work on Judge Dredd and the sci-fi/fantasy weekly comic 2000AD.
Source: The Edge Group UK
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Cook Comic Still on Top
The April Bestseller Lists are just out from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA), based on sales from hundreds of US Christian retail outlets for the 4-week cycle ending 19 March. The former Kids and Young Adult lists are now combined into a Top 20 Christian Juvenile Bestsellers, and # 1 on that new list is The Action Bible. The English-language hardcover graphic novel from David C Cook was released in September 2010. It debuted on the ECPA Kids Top 20 at #1 in November 2010 and has remained there. Also, the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) has just posted their April best-seller and category top-seller lists based on actual sales in US Christian-retail stores through 26 February. The Action Bible is #1 on their Top 10 Children's Books list and #11 on the Top 50 Books – a listing of all CBA Best Selling titles by sales ranking.
Sources: ECPA, CBA Industry Brief
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Family Mag Comments on Comics
The digital magazine FamilyFiction has launched a "Comics & Animation" department in their March/April 2011 issue. The first columns by comics writer Ben Avery include information on the Eye Witness graphic novels, a comics anthology entitled Parable: Volume 1, and the syndicated comic strip Heaven's Love Thrift Shop by Christian Comics Pioneer Kevin Frank. Also, the FamilyFiction website has a new Q&A with Kurt J. Kolka, creator of The Cardinal comic strip. FamilyFiction is a publication of Salem Publishing in Nashville, Tennessee USA.
Source: FamilyFiciton editor Chris Well
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ECPA Announces Elite Entrants
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) has released the list of 2011 Christian Book Awards Finalists, and The Action Bible is on that list. The best-selling graphic novel from US publisher David C Cook is illustrated by internationally acclaimed comic book artist Sergio Cariello. The 30 Finalists – 5 titles each in 6 categories – were chosen out of 226 entries that "represent Christian publishing's finest books and Bibles for 2011." Cook's Action Bible is a Finalist in the Children's Book Category. "This year's pool of finalists includes a great mix of authors ... whose contributions are equally excellent and significant," states Mark Kuyper, President/CEO of ECPA. Winners will be announced 2 May at the ECPA Awards Banquet in Colorado Springs USA. The Christian Book Awards, established in 1978 as the Gold Medallion Book Awards by the ECPA, "are the oldest and among the most prestigious in the religious publishing industry."
Source: ECPA's Rush to Press e-newsletter
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Stevens Talks Music & Ministry
A February radio podcast interview with US Christian comics creator/publisher Alec Stevens is now on the website of the Times Square Church in New York City, where Stevens plays guitar with the worship band on Sundays. During the musically-oriented interview Stevens discusses the new 450-page book published under his Calvary Comics (CC) imprint. He even shares its title – a rarity, as Stevens usually declines to reveal such information in advance. This will be the 7th book from CC, and Stevens hopes to have it out by late May/early June. His earlier editions include current best-sellers Sadhu Sundar Singh and Clendennen: Soldier of the Cross which are available through the CC website. Also, Stevens had an article on Christian comics published recently. He was asked to write it by a blogger for The Comics Journal who has since gone independent of that publication. "It's a blessing to be invited to share the reason for the hope that is within us (followers of Christ), and why we do what we do," Stevens writes.
Source: Alec Stevens
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Aussie Comic Prepares for Reprint
The Bible Society in Australia's The Story of Jesus comic has now sold over 50,000 copies. Originally the comic was produced as a 24-page, black & white tract-size publication in 2009. It was re-released as a full-sized, full-color edition in 2010. According to the publisher the comic is aimed "primarily at a teenage demographic." Former Disney animator Matt Baker illustrated The Story of Jesus from a script by Jeremy Wright, with portions of Scripture quotations taken from Tyndale's New Living Bible Translation. The Bible Society will be "advertising the comic once again for Easter 2011" and are preparing to do a second print run.
Sources: Matt Baker, Bible Society in Australia
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GN Finalist for Another Award
The fourth and final graphic novel in Head Press Publishing's Eye Witness series is in the running for an additional Book of the Year award. Eye Witness: Unknown God has been named a finalist in the graphic novel category of the ForeWord Reviews awards. Since the series by US author/illustrator Robert James Luedke premiered in 2004, individual titles have garnered 4 independent book awards, most recently for Best Graphic Novel in the 2010 USABookNews awards. Also, series titles have been finalists another 4 times including in the "Young Adult" category in this year's Christian Small Press Publisher awards. Winners of this last award are determined by the votes of retailers, publishers, authors and readers. Luedke's graphic novel "features a unique and fast-paced combination of a modern-day action thriller with an adaptation of the Biblical book of Acts."
Source: CBA Industry Brief
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CCAS Continues Comic-Con Outreach
The Christian Comic Arts Society (CCAS) will be at the up-coming WonderCon on 1-3 April at the Moscone Convention Center South in San Francisco, California USA. At the Phoenix Comic-Con on Memorial Day weekend, CCAS will share booth space with New Creation Now. Most of CCAS's Board of Directors will be at ComicCon International in San Diego, California USA, in July. Current Board members include Don Ensign, President and Cofounder, Scott Shuford, VP, Eric Jansen, Secretary, Kevin Yong, Treasurer and Geoff Strout, Webmaster. Ensign expects to be at the Tucson Con once again in November. Plans for Long Beach Con are being explored but are unconfirmed at this time.
Sources: Don Ensign, Ralph Miley
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Channeling Comics to Kids
South Africa-based Kurula Media, maker of documentaries and DVDs for secular and Christian clients, is diversifying their business to include printed materials such as comics. Kurula has already begun importing and selling US titles such as David's Mighty Men, Daniel - Prophet of Dreams, and ArmorQuest for distribution in their country. Owner Kyle Lauf started with a focus on placing pamphlet-style comics "that kids can buy with their own pocket money" into Christian book stores. Instead he found that teachers and youth leaders were his best customers. "I am selling directly to local youth ministries and to Christian schools who are hungry for youth literature with a Christian theme or from a Biblical and Christian perspective," writes Lauf. In addition to importing comics, he will also license and print some titles locally to save on shipping costs and VAT/duties. Early sales have gone well in Johannesburg, Lauf reports. "Teachers I have spoken to love the graphic novels, particularly those aimed at teenage boys, many of whom are notoriously uninterested readers."
Source: Kurula Media
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Artists to Orlando in April
The Rev. Byron Spradlin, President of Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) in Tennessee USA, is this year's coordinator of the Arts, Media & Entertainment Affinity Group at the Lausanne Gathering 4-7 April in Orlando, Florida USA. Spradlin is asking artistic Christians who are "concerned about the Church … embracing, discipling & equipping, mobilizing Artistic Leadership … evangelizing those within the Artistic Sub-culture" to join in a 6 hour "conversation" that will be summarized and shared with the other Lausanne affinity group leaders. Spradlin writes, "It’s my sense that we will then influence, in some good ways, the Lausanne leadership conversations throughout the rest of the world." He hopes to get Arts, Media & Entertainment onto the agendas of future events and gatherings. "This may be a new time of inclusion of our issues into the broader Lausanne conversation on World Evangelization," Spradlin concludes.
Source: A.C.T. enews
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Deadline Looms for Québec Event
The registration deadline for L'événement BD ("The Comics Event") in Lac-Brome, Québec, Canada, is coming up soon the seminar co-hosts, COMIX35 and EVQ Media, report. All attendees must be signed up for the April event by 15 March 2011. Teachers for this 3 day plus 1 evening comics seminar will be Eric LeBlanc of Québec, Lisa Hutchinson and Nate Butler of the USA, and Didier Millotte of France. Alain Auderset of Switzerland will be a special speaker. The seminar is open to attendees from outside Québec, including the USA, and will be taught in both French and English. This is the first such event ever held in the Canadian province.
Sources: COMIX35, EVQ Media
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| Update: The registration deadline for L'événement BD has been extended by the hosting ministries. |
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GN Creator Gets Great PR
The writer/artist of the 3-volume King of Kings: The Chronicles of Jesus series, Delaware USA-based Brian S. Dawson, was featured last month on the cover of Inspire magazine, "England's largest Christian publication." Dawson has also done radio interviews nationally and "has several set up in the coming months with the Branch FM in England and 90.1 Hope FM in Ireland." He will be appearing on CBN's The 700 Club to share his testimony and talk about his graphic novels this Spring/Summer. His first 2 books have reached 12 different countries this year, and the third is scheduled to come out in April. "As the Lord continues to open doors, I will follow His lead," says Dawson.
Source: Brian S. Dawson
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Next LittWorld Held in Kenya
Christian writers, editors, artists, and publishers from across the globe will be meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, for the next LittWorld event in 2012. Every 3 years Media Associates International (MAI) convenes LittWorld, "the only international conference of its kind, providing intensive training on strategic, publishing-related topics." The conference typically gathers more than 150 attendees from 30-plus countries. International Christian comics creators who have attended past conferences include Didier Millotte, Steve Carroll, Enrique "Khato" Campdepadros, Clovis Shimabukuro, Nate Butler, and Christian Comics Pioneers Jerry and Faith McCollough. Millotte, a professional artist from France, taught a comics and graphic novel workshop at LittWorld2009. "It's a great place for Christian comics artists from around the world to gather," says Butler of COMIX35. "In addition to the fellowship – and the practical and inspirational talks by the LittWorld speakers – artists have an opportunity for valuable networking with all the writers, editors, and publishers in attendance."
Sources: MAI, COMIX35
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Manga Update from NEXT
The Japanese manga ministry of NEXT Inc continues to be "very much engaged in reaching the lost through strictly Bible-based manga books." Roald Lidal, the head of NEXT, reports that a total of 5 books "covering most of the Bible – and focusing on THE story of the Bible" – have now been completed. The first edition, Manga Messiah, has been translated into 21 languages. They have also published an evangelistic manga booklet entitled The Messiah. A total of 2,230,000 copies of all 5 books and 1,028,000 of the booklets have been printed to date. Translation is in process in another 15 languages. "What excites us is not the large numbers in and of themselves," Lidal reports. "It is the fact that they are transcending cultural and religious barriers and touching the hearts of children and youth, as well as adults with different backgrounds in every imaginable way." From Uganda, Indonesia, France, Pakistan and other countries – "including very restricted ones" – NEXT has received reports of people being saved. "We believe each book is read by at least 4 to 5 persons, meaning that so far 13 to 16 million people have been touched by the Gospel through these books," Lidal concludes.
Source: Roald Lidal/NEXT
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Retailers Choose the Best
Voting has opened for the Christian Retailing's 2011 Retailers Choice Awards. Retailers are invited to select the best products of the previous year from a record 350-plus nominations in 39 categories. Included on the 2011 ballot, in the category "Children's Bibles," is The Action Bible graphic novel by Doug Mauss and Sergio Cariello, published by David C Cook. Another comic strip Bible won a Retailers Choice Award last year: The VeggieTales Bible from Zonderkidz, containing 8 Bible stories in full-color comic book format, was a 2010 Winner in the "Children's Nonfiction" category. Introduced in 2001, the Retailers Choice Awards "have been increasingly acknowledged as an important way of recognizing some of the most significant new life-changing products in the Christian retail industry." Award winners will be announced in April.
Sources: Christian Retailing, ECPA's Rush to Press Newsletter
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Jenkins Acquires Market Guide
Although there are still no professional how-to books created specifically for Christian comics producers, the annual Christian Writers' Market Guide by Sally Stuart has been a useful resource for 26 years for Christians who want to write, edit, and/or publish comics. Now, as of 1 March, the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild has acquired Stuart’s publication. The Guide, a "reliable source for the critical information needed by those seeking to publish their work in the Christian community," will still be released by Tyndale House, but the byline of the 2012 edition will switch from Stuart to Jenkins. Jenkins was involved in comics work in the past as writer of the nationally syndicated sports story strip, Gil Thorp, for 8 years. In addition, his Left Behind series was adapted into a series of graphic novels with the first 2 issues selling more than 300,000 copies in 2001, a time when very few U.S. mainstream comics had sales approaching 100,000 copies.
Sources: ECPA News, CBA Industry Brief, Newhouse News Service
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Event Encourages Manga Ministry
The Christian Manga-Ka Contest was announced officially at the February International Reaching Japanese For Christ (RJC) Conference in Washington state USA, following the recent unveiling of the contest's Japanese language web pages. Throughout the RJC conference, attendees were informed of the contest through PowerPoint slides projected in the main hall. Launched by COMIX35 and New Life Ministries Japan, the contest goal is to set up a Japanese Christian comics creator in one of Tokyo's huge "comic markets" in order to sell their Christian-based manga and be a witness among the thousands of attendees. The contest is open to all Japanese who are amateur Christian manga creators.
Source: COMIX35
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Kolka's Cardinal in Comics Mag
Michigan USA-based K.J. (Kurt) Kolka will have his long-running comic strip The Cardinal appear in an 8-page story in Indie Comics Magazine. "Kurt has a strong regional following and has been known in Michigan for over 30 years," the editor reports. "Kurt uses Golden Age super hero conventions and spiritual themes ... and it works with an emotional intensity not often found in comic books today." Beginning as a college paper strip in 1978, The Cardinal ran as a regional print publication from 1990 to 2006 and debuted online as a weekly Sunday web comic in 2007. The current full-color strips can be viewed at The Cardinal website, and "Classic" strips from 1990-2006 can be seen at WebComics.cc, a branch of Community Comics.
Source: Family Fiction
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Circulation of African Comic Continues
Copies of the new 36-page Christian comic book, Éclats: Bandes Dessinées D'Afrique, are spreading across French-speaking Africa. Some of the distribution is being handled by Livr’Afrique, an evangelical Christian group working in 15 countries for over 10 years. They have shipped 800 copies to Cameroun and also will be taking Éclats for distribution in their book stores. The first shipment of 160 copies to Chad "sold out in a flash, and they have asked for more." The Éclats comic is entirely written and drawn by Africans for Africans and was published by Publications pour la Jeunesse Africaine (PJA) and the youth magazine Jouv'Afrique in partnership with COMIX35.
Source: PJA
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Popular Spanish Manga Returns
An adaptation of the 4 Gospels, El Mesías: Historietas Manga, is available again after a brief time out of print. The 288-page Spanish edition – translated from the Japanese graphic novel Manga Messiah – is now published by Tyndale House. Following 1 or 2 contrived charges of anti-Semitism leveled against Manga Messiah by overwrought bloggers, the previous Spanish-language publisher ceased publication and liquidated their remaining inventory in 2009. The new Spanish edition is just one of the 21 languages into which Manga Messiah has been translated so far. The book has been endorsed in the past by Focus on the Family as "an edgy rendition of the Gospel accounts [that is] both compelling and highly engaging."
Sources: Amazon website, The Daily Yomiuri
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Final Eye Witness GN is Finalist
In 2010 artist/writer Robert James Luedke finished an "8 year creative mission" and completed his Eye Witness graphic novel series with the release of the fourth and final book, Eye Witness: Unknown God. Now Luedke has been informed that Unknown God is a finalist in the Christian Small Press Publisher Book of the Year awards, competing with 4 other titles in the "Young Adult" (12+ years) category. Winners are determined solely by the votes of Christian retailers, publishers, authors and readers. Voting is open until the end of March, and winners will be announced on 15 April. The award is sponsored by the Christian Small Publishers Association. Luedke has also just announced that the second book in his series, Eye Witness: Acts of the Spirit, originally released in July 2006, is now available on iPad, iPhone, and Android.
Source: Head Press Publishing
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Edge Group Offers Easter Edition
Following up on their Christmas Bible Comic from last year, the Edge Group UK has packaged a new 16-page Easter Bible Comic, published by Scripture Union. The comic is for "children aged under 11" and contains "the true story of Easter, together with quizzes, puzzles, facts and information to help them engage with the story more fully." It is written by comics professional Christopher Spencer, a veteran of classic British comic publications such as Eagle and TV21. In addition to single issues, the publisher is also offering the comic in packs of 20. The Edge Group UK has been behind the publication of many Christian comics and graphic novels including The Lion Graphic Bible, Journey into Life: Graphic Edition, Behold 3-D, Chasing the Dragon, and Yun: The Illustrated Story of the Heavenly Man.
Sources: Edge Group UK, Amazon.co.uk
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Almighty Bible to Release Gospel of Mark
Apple of the Eye, the publishers of The Almighty Bible series, are releasing their first New Testament Graphic Novel, The Gospel of Mark, on 1 March. The iPad/iPhone/Droid versions will be released in April. The Gospel of Mark will "bring the life of Jesus alive with incredible illustrations and concisely edited text that is focused on Biblical accuracy." The new edition will take the readers all the way from John the Baptist to the Ascension of Jesus. The publisher is also launching an online club for kids that will include digital versions of all of the books, a "Prayer Garden," games, trading cards and more. "With the unprecedented success of our first two releases - Genesis and Exodus - The Almighty Bible is the fastest growing brand in Christian Publishing," Apple of the Eye reports.
Source: Dan Cordie/The Almighty Bible
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Cook Comic in CBA's Top 10
Anyone who thinks Christian comics can't be commercially successful should check out the February Top 50 Best-Sellers List from the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA). A ranking of all book titles compiled from actual sales in stores for the 5 weeks ending 1 January 2011, the list shows The Action Bible, illustrated by Sergio Cariello, now listed at #10. The David C Cook Graphic Novel title has risen from the #21 position shown in the February issue of Christian Retailing magazine which is based on sales from November 2010. The new #10 ranking means that currently The Action Bible is out-selling books by "big name" authors on the list such as James Dobson, Sarah Palin, Tony Dungy, and Billy Graham.
Sources: CBA Industry Brief E-newsletter, Christian Retailing
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Touching Testimony in Tournesol
The most recent issue of the French comic book Tournesol contains the testimony of Swiss comics creator Alain Auderset. When he was young, Auderset discovered a huge pile of abandoned Tournesol comics in a collection of old papers at a school. He took them home and read them day after day, surprised to find that they spoke of God, something he had previously thought was "just a religious thing and boring." Through these comics Auderset came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and though he felt he had no talent, Auderset committed his life to reaching others through Christian comics, too. After years of obscurity and deprivation, he has now sold 100,000 of his comic albums and has twice received the top prize for best French-language Christian comic at the Angoulême Comics Festival. "Most importantly, reading my comics, many people have met with the Lord, like I did," Auderset writes. This issue of Tournesol also features a 6-page excerpt from the Manga Le Messie (Manga Messiah) graphic novel.
Source: Tournesol #373
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Washington Workshops Update
Plans are being finalized for several short manga/anime evangelism workshops and seminars at the 10th Annual International Reaching Japanese For Christ (RJC) Conference from 17-19 February in Bothell, WA USA. In addition to a Saturday session on using manga as a tool for evangelism led by Roald Lidal from NEXT, there will be a manga evangelism talk on Friday by Don Regier from Word of Life Press (WLP) in Tokyo. WLP publishes the 32-page monthly Gospel comic book Lammy. Nate Butler of COMIX35 will assist Lidal in his Saturday presentation and lead a "Share Your Testimony in Manga" workshop with Kathleen Webb on Saturday afternoon. Tim Ingle from Let's Love Japan will facilitate a workshop on "Using Anime for Evangelism," also on Saturday afternoon. Advance registration and a RJC Conference Prayer Guide are available online.
Source: Don Wright / RJC
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COMIX35 Celebrates 15 Years
In January 1996 the Lord brought together 30 people from 12 countries for the First International Christian Comics Training Conference in Tagaytay, the Philippines. That event marked the beginning of the ministry now known as COMIX35. Over 30 international comics classes and seminars have been held since that time for nearly 800 attendees representing 49 different countries. In addition to those events, COMIX35 has offered international consultation and coaching on the production and effective use of comics-style literature. The ministry has assisted a number of successful Christian comics such as Manga Messiah and Dorie The Girl Nobody Loved.
Source: COMIX35
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Another Book from Bundschuh
Christian cartoonist, pastor, and prolific pen-pusher Rick Bundschuh has written another new title, Deep Like Me: Extremely Profound Thoughts on Faith From a Disciple in Over His Head, coming out at the end of January. Bundschuh is also the co-author of Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board, about Bethany Hamilton, the Christian girl who lost her arm to a shark while surfing. Soul Surfer has been made into a feature-length motion picture debuting in theaters everywhere on 15 April. Bundschuh also co-wrote Hamilton's Soul Surfer Novel Series titles Clash, Burned, and Crunch. Bundschuh serves as a teaching pastor at Kauai Christian Fellowship in Hawaii USA and continues to work on Christian comics and cartooning projects as well.
Source: Amazon website
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Christian Comics Club in Columbus
A Christian comic book club called the comiCALs has been formed at Calumet Christian, a Xenos school in Ohio USA. The club, for 6th graders, was developed by parents who want their kids to be "affiliated with people in this world who love God, love comics, and who are in the world spreading a wonderful message through an exciting medium." At their first meeting last September, club members decided to collaborate on a comic book for children on extended stays in the local Children's Hospital. Club parents are asking Christian comics producers in Ohio and beyond to supply "resources, suggestions, and 'freebies' ... to enrich the strong curiosity these students already have ... and inspire them to follow in your footsteps." All donated comic material will stay in circulation through the club and the school library. A Reference Guide is available upon request for any Christian comic producer who wants more information before donating materials.
Source: Calumet Christian comiCALS club
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Captain Comes from Carolina
North Carolina USA based Salvation Comics is publishing a new, full-color super-hero comic book entitled Captain Salvation, written by Curt Hawn and illustrated by former Marvel and DC artist Greg Waller. The Christian character-based company was founded by Hawn and Joshua Carpenter who met in 2002 as youth leaders at a church summer camp. Hawn sold a company he started in Atlanta to finance the project. Carpenter is an alumni from Christ For The Nations Institute and is operating as National Sales Director for the company. The first series, "The Kingdom Strikes Back," will be a 5-issues in length. Salvation Comics will also be producing the comic book version of the new Lion of Judah cartoon.
Sources: Salvation Comics website and FB page
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Pups Produced in Paperback
After 15 years in movie and TV marketing in Hollywood, Jeffrey Smith felt God was leading him to draw "a comic strip that had been milling around in my head for years." The result was Prayer Pups, a strip featuring "5 little dogs who try to live their lives in a way that is faithful to God’s principles." The strips are now available in a 132-page paperback edition, Four Panels | A Prayer Pups Compilation. Currently based in Texas USA, Smith creates church bulletins for kids in addition to his work on the daily web comic version of Prayer Pups.
Source: Jeffrey Smith
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Vote for Christian Comics!
Family Fiction (FF) Magazine is holding their first Readers Choice Awards with a slot on the ballot for Christian comics. The poll is open until 6 February. Chris Well, editor of FF, writes that every vote for Christian comics is important, "because we need enough votes in the category to make it statistically viable." Although a number of current Christian graphic novels and comics are biographies or Bible adaptations, Well says "Based on true story" still counts. "So feel free to type in your favorites in the poll, and we'll sort it all out when we count the votes at the end." Well also says the magazine has added a "Comics & Animation" department.
Source: Chris Well/FamilyFiction
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Cook Comic Takes the Top
The Action Bible, illustrated by internationally acclaimed artist Sergio Cariello, is still #1 on the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's Christian Kids Bestsellers list for January 2011. David C Cook's English-language hardcover debuted on the Kids Top 20 list at #1 in November 2010 and has remained there since. Cariello reports that a full audio version of the book is available on iTunes and "soon an iPad version will combine the audio and visuals into an Apple app." Planned features for the app include acted-out narration with sound effects and music "provided by the same folks who did the Adventures in Odyssey audio," according to Doug Mauss, Youth Editor at Cook. The publisher has had many inquiries about foreign translation rights, and "Spanish will certainly be one of the first translations that happens," Mauss reports.
Sources: ECPA, Sergio Cariello, Doug Mauss/David C Cook
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This web site is administered and maintained by COMIX35 / ROX35 Media, Inc. as a ministry service. "Christian Comics International", "Christian Comics Catalog", "International Christian Comics Competition (ICCC)", "Christian Comics Pioneers", "CCN: Christian Comics News", and the series title "Personal Testimony Comics" (in continuous use since first publication in Christian Comics & Games Magazine in 1996) are all trademarks of Nate Butler currently administered by ROX35 Media, Inc. by special arrangement. "COMIX35" and "ANIMAX35" are both DBAs and trademarks of ROX35 Media, Inc. "Creating Christian Comics for Your Culture" is a trademark of ROX35 Media, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Other names, logos, and/or images used on this site that are not DBAs or trademarks of ROX35 Media, Inc., or are not copyrighted by ROX35 Media, Inc., are TM and/or Copyright © by their respective owners. Please note that it is impossible to screen all the text on all the external links listed on this site. Please do not assume that all opinions expressed on externally linked sites are identical to those of COMIX35 / ROX35 Media, Inc.
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