How's that for a title?

And it may not be exactly true. I'm sure some of you HAVE read some of these comics. But I almost guarantee that there will be one or two on this list that you haven't read. And, if that's the case, you owe it to yourself to try finding them.

All of these comics are titles that you should be able to find relatively easy.

One other thing. The whole "Christian comic" label is something that's a little difficult to pin down. What makes a Christian comic? That's something for another column, actually, because there's so much involved. The whole debate comes with a LOT of baggage. Does it have to have the plan of salvation? Does it have to be a Bible story? Does it have to be published by a Christian publisher? What makes a Christian publisher? Does the writer, artist, inker, letterer, publisher, printer, and box packer have to be professing believers?

For the purposes of this list, a Christian comic is one that, in my opinion, comes from a Biblical worldview and that presents ideas and themes that we, as Christians, would be interested in.

Now, this list is by no means comprehensive. And I truly mean no disrespect if I leave anyone out. In fact, I am intentionally leaving some comics out that maybe SHOULD be on the list.

Because, after all, the title is "The Best Christian Comics You've Never Read", not "The Best Christian Comics You Already Know About".

So, without and further ado, and in no particular order, let's begin with:

#1 -- GALACTIC

This is a title from Dark Horse's "Rocket Comics" line of books. It was written by Jim Krueger. If I were to have a Christian comics award, Jim would get "Coolest Christian comics guy". He's just a nice guy. A nice guy who has written some great comics, like that whole Earth X thing for Marvel which basically plays with every Marvel Comics character and turns them on their head.

But we're talking about Galactic, a comic that is not nearly as popular as Marvel X. It's a sci-fi tale about a boy named Heath who is abducted by aliens to join Galactic, an interplanetary group that goes around the galaxy saving worlds that have been overrun by evil. Sounds pretty standard, right? Like always, though, Krueger stands this concept on its head and does some crazy cool things with it.

First, there's some interesting ideas about good and evil that rarely make their way into comic books. Then, there's the "weapon" that the main character, Heath, finds. It's an unusual weapon, and it reflects the writer's Christian worldview. I don't want to give too much away, suffice it to say this weapon has extremely unusual effects. And it causes one to think . . .

Which is the hallmark of a great "Christian comic".

I don't know what Mr. Krueger would think about being pigeonholed in this category, as I have just done. That's OK. Hopefully he won't hold it against me.

Dig through the back issue bins at you local store, or check out Mile High Comics or something. The only drawback, this three issue comic series ends on what seems to be a cliffhanger . . . very disappointing indeed.


2 -- THE MEGAZEEN

OK, this is one that I considered "intentionally leaving off the list" because it dangerously skirts the whole “self-serving” thing. They are very connected with Community Comics in various ways, but there was no way I was going to leave these guys off the list. They are an anthology style comic with a similar mission to Community Comics' mission -- they want to encourage Christian artists to express artisticallytisitically. The anthology works two ways -- in print an on the web. They have an impressive amount of web comics on their website (along with one of the most comprehensive list of Christian comic web links). They also produce a print anthology book that just keeps getting better and better as they attract more and more attention.

Their website is www.megazeenonline.com and you can view their web comics and order their print comics, along with a number of other comic books that you canÂ’t find anywhere else. If you want to see any number of up and coming artists before they make it big, check out this place. ItÂ’s a breeding ground for Christian talent.


3 -- NOAH'S ARK

So, one of the best Christian comic books is . . . a children's story book?

Yes. This is a book by Peter Spier. He won the Caldecott Award for this book. That's one of the biggest children's literature awards you can get. Truth be told, I know very little about the creator. I did some web searches and found a number of different Biblical related books by him, though. So I'm including him on the list by proxy if for no other reason.

The story is familiar to you, I'm sure. Noah loads animals on the ark. The rains come down and the floods come up. They stay on the ark. The water goes away. God sends a rainbow.

Spier tells the story with that same simplicity. There are no talking animanthropomorphismopromorphisms, in fact, no words at all! Insteadstraightes a stragiht forward sequential telling of the story that is almost genius in it's simplicity.

This is the type of Biblical storytelling that Christian creators should be aspiring to.

Check it out on Amazon and you can see some interior pages. This book can be ordered at almost any mainstream bookstore.


4 -- PAKKINS' LAND

By Gary and Rhoda Shipman, this is a fantasy tale in the vein of the Narnia books. This fully realized fantasy world has it all: cool and interesting characters, an exciting epic story, a powerful message . . .

There are four graphic novels in the series. Originally a traditional comic book, the Shipmans have forgone that format and are publishing the books directly as bound graphic novels now, which means much more time between issues, but it's been worth the wait. If Christian fantasy is your thing, you owe it to yourself to check this out.

Again, this is something that Christian comics should aspire to. The storytelling is not overwhelmed by the message, and yet the message is not overwhelmed by the storytelling. It's a very delicate balance, and the Shipman's have found it.

Pakkins' Land can be ordered through Community Comics' website.


5 -- HEROBEAR AND THE KID

If you haven't checked this book out yet, you need to. It's a fun super hero story about a kid whose stuffed teddy bear becomes a giant polar bear super hero.

Fun stuff.

I'm going to go ahead and post a spoiler here, from issue #3. Well, not really a spoiler . . . just an interesting quote. Skip the quotations if you'd rather discover it for yourself. The story deals with the nature of being a hero -- on page 23 it says:

"Heroes . . .

"Yeah, I've read and still read alot of books about heroes.

"I used to think it was all about the fame and the glory. And everyone admiring you.

"But you know, I think there's more to it than that.

"I think the reason we like them so much is because of what they stand for. The sacrifices that they make unselfishly.

"I think to be a true hero, means to love those that you're protecting and helping. No matter what.

"And like it says in a good book about heroes: 'Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.'"

This is one of the best Christian message I've ever read in a comic. Moreso than some Christian comics I have read. when i bought the first issue, I didn't know about the artist's spiritual life. I could tell the first time I read #1 that he was a man who had a lot of joy, though.

Again, something to aspire to a a Christian creates a comic.

The website to order the books is www.theastonishfactory.com. Great stuff.


That's all for now. I'll post 6-10 for you and we'll get into some more unusual comics that you'd never expect, including sci-fi, horror, and superhero genres . . .

Ben

PS -- Did I miss one? Do you have any nominations of your own? Well, just send me a line and let me know what I missed . . . make your own nomination, and maybe in a later column I'll do a "BEST CHRISTIAN COMICS YOU'VE NEVER READ -- READERS' EDITION". Don't forget to give a brief explanation WHY the comic you've chosen should be chosen.