1.What is Bibleartbooks.com and how was it formed?
Bibleartbooks.com is my own publishing imprint that was formed in 2000. It was formed specifically to publish Christian comics, art and essays.
2. What is the storyline of "Broken"?
“Broken” is my autobiographical prose story of how I became a Christian. It starts roughly around my freshman year in high school and ends roughly around 2004. The story starts out with me being content with life, but through circumstances and sin, I increasingly became more discontented. Through a witness of a Christian and opening the Bible for the first time in my life (even though I was raised a Catholic), I became convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. Armed with that truth, I began living my life differently than before. Through it all, Jesus began changing the way I created art. He convinced me that I needed to use art for him, rather than for my own selfish goals, and, so, I got involved in Christian comics. My Christian life and my comics life are so interwoven, it’s amazing. As a result, my comics naturally come from my Christian beliefs. I couldn’t produce comics any other way, even if I tried!
3. What do you hope to accomplish with your comics?
I hope to glorify God in my comics. I want to tell stories from a distinct Christian point-of-view. I want to point people to the Bible and to the absolute truth that it brings. Beyond that, I would hope that my comics would allow readers—both Christians and non-Christians—to see God for who he really is.
4. Why do you think others will find "Broken" interesting?
Anyone who has an interest in art, comics and finding one’s meaning in life will, I hope, find “Broken” interesting. Autobiographies tend to be more brutally honest than other kinds of writing I think. And, I hope that my honesty will connect with readers so that they can relate to my experiences. One of the lessons that God has shown me is that no matter how well I think I have my life planned, God always has a better plan. Another message I think comes across in the book is that there is hope for everyone. No matter how bad someone has messed up his life, God is willing to fix it. These are the kinds of themes that I hope readers will find interesting.
5. What other comics have you worked on?
In 2001, I published a book called “
The Graphical Epistles of First John, James and Jude”, which was an illustrated adaptation of those 3 books of the New Testament. I’ve also done a short Christmas story called “
Unspeakable Gift” and a short story at the end of “Broken” called “The Tribunal”.
6. Why do you think religion has a place in comics?
Religious comics are just like any other kind of comics. They are just as valid a genre as any of the other genres out there. I think Christian comics lend themselves more to slice-of-life stories, but there’s no reason why the Christian point of view can’t be lived out in, say, fantasy, romance, western or sci-fi stories. I’d actually like to see Christian heroes placed in many kinds of circumstances, because seeing how a Christian hero would react to certain situations would be, in some instances, quite different than a non-Christian hero. Christian heroes have an extra “code” to live by, rather than just a standard heroic code. The Christian lifestyle is a valid lifestyle and comics are just another way of expressing that to readers.
7. What do you do with any free time you have?
My free time is spent mostly on drawing and writing. I read a lot of books on Christianity and art. I’m also involved in church and the Christian Comic Arts Society.
8. If you had one wish what would it be and why?
I wish I could fly like Superman. I could just imagine the feel of wind in my face, thousands of feet off the ground, exploring and looking down on the earth. It would be so awesome. Hopefully in heaven I’ll be able to.
9. What comics did you read as a child and do you read now?
I discovered comics really late in life. The first comics I read were the late 80’s Archie series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. After that, I started reading X-Men and some of the early Image books. My later reading, in college, consisted of Sin City and Bone. After that I stopped reading comics, with the exception of Christian-themed comics. There are a lot of things in comics that I don’t agree with—pervasive language, sex, and violence—that I don’t feel a need to read comics with those themes.
10. Do you have any future projects?
I’m actually working on a watercolor children’s book based on one of Jesus’ miracles. I’m also working on a few other short stories. One is set in the end times and another is about a homeless man who meets Jesus. Since my day job is graphic design, I have only my free time to produce art.
11. What would you like to accomplish in life that you have not?
Well, since I’ve only produced a fraction of the stories I want to tell, I’d like to continue making stories that I hope would make a difference in people’s lives—stories that point to Jesus and the life that is possible in Him.
12. Who is most important in your life?
Jesus. He has been so gracious to me in my life. He’s given me an art talent that I can use for him. He took me out of a sinful life and gave me a much better life than I could have ever hoped for. Twelve years ago, as a non-Christian, I would have found that hard to believe, but now I know it to be true.
13. How can someone contact you?
They can contact me through my website:
http://www.bibleartbooks.com.
14. Any final words of advice?
Sure, I’d like to encourage aspiring artists and writers out there to read the Bible. There is a wealth of truth in there. And since artists are trying to portray truth in art, the Bible is a good place to start. I consider God the greatest writer who has ever lived. And, I try to live my life as a character in His story. My hope, and my desire, would be that everyone would live that way: as heroes in the greatest story that has ever been written. Thank you for the interview.
Copyright © 2006 Jazma Online.
This interview can be viewed here at
Jazma Online
