For the first installment of Ben's Pen, I wanted to start with something that tells you a little bit about what we're doing at Community Comics and why.
Why we are making comics.
Why we have this website.
Why.
Almost two years ago, I remember holding my son watching TV. My son was two months old. I was watching coverage of the September 11 attacks unfold. I remember seeing images of the Statue of Liberty standing against the backdrop of the huge plumes of smoke and being struck by how small the Statue of Liberty was. It had always seemed so much bigger in the pictures I'd seen. And I looked down at the little boy in my arms and I was struck by how small he was.
And I felt small myself.
Fast forward to a couple months ago. I was holding my newborn daughter, watching coverage of the war against Iraq unfold. I was in high school during Desert Storm, but this time it was different. This time I was an adult. And I looked at the little girl in my arms and, once again, I felt small.
There's some pretty serious, crazy stuff going on in the world today. Wars and rumors of wars. Disease. Famine. Draughts. Big, scary stuff.
Sort of makes you think about why we do the various things we do. It's made me think about the things I've invested my time in.
For example: why comic books? Why waste time with what most people consider mindless escapist entertainment? In light of all the things going on in the world around us, why bother?
But the answer is in the question. Why bother with mindless escapist entertainment? Precisely because it is escapist entertainment. But it doesn't have to be mindless. It doesn't have to be empty. If kids, teens, and adults are going to escape into something, why not give them something that is good and true to escape into? Why not give kids fun stories with a positive message? Why not give adults something that is thought provoking as well as entertaining? Why not give everyone a little bit of both?
That's why we're doing what we do. It's a big world out there. The internet and 24-hour news services give us evidence of that every day. There are things that are happening beyond our control. We may feel small in the face of all of that, but there's a big God with a big love for each and every small person on this planet. And we want people -- kids, teens, and adults -- to know it.
Ben
