I pray all is well. Today’s recommendation is Neverminds by Rich Bernatovech and Drumfish.  Neverminds is about a secret, superhuman organization that offers security and investigation services for a fee. The three super-powered members are Alanis the telepath, Samanya the fire and heat bender, and Nina  the teleporter.

The first issue begins with the three of them being sent on a mission to retrieve a target. During their mission, however, they are interrupted by a mysterious super-powered individual with unclear motives. With great art, a solid story, and a nice twist at the end of the first issue that makes very interesting, I recommend you check it out.

Pin-ups of each of the “big three” are included below. If you’ve read it already, what do you think? Until next time, take care.

I pray all is well. Last week, I posted a pic from an unknown artist that involved the Hulk being pitted against a boy with the power of God inside of him. When I first saw the pic I had an idea of how this concept could be expanded, and this past weekend, what that expansion would look like became more clear(er).

By the grace of God and the enthusiasm and willingness of an artist who decided to help make the idea a reality (free of charge I might add, lol!), I’m proud to say that something very cool (and hopefully very big) is brewing. More will be revealed next month, so stay tuned.

Until next time, take care and keep creating!

I pray all is well. I first came across Bob Luedke’s Eye Witness Series during the first year I decided to create my own comics, and at the time I knew very little about the type of Christian comics and graphic novels that existed. The reason why it’s taken me so long and share a few thoughts on the series is because it contained four books, and due to many things, I just recently finished reading the final book.

In a nutshell, the story revolves around Dr. Harper, a distinguished archeologist who gets asked to come to Israel to decipher an ancient text discovered in a tomb. What we soon finds out is that this is no ordinary text….It can literally change the world.

Dr. Harper also finds out, however, that there are powerful people who do not want this information getting out, and will go to great lengths to keep it under wraps. With book one setting the tone, the remaining three books focuses on Dr. Harper’s efforts to stay alive long enough to disclose his findings to the public. But there’s also another focus to the story, which I enjoyed, and found very interesting….

In addition to focusing on Dr. Harper’s life in the present, Eye Witness also spends a great deal of time in the past, in particular highlighting the life of the early Christ followers shortly after his death and resurrection, and particularly the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul. So similar to Ted Dekker‘s Circle series, Eye Witness alternates back and forth between two worlds, Dr. Harper’s and the Apostle Paul’s.

These worlds are also connected, in that every time Dr. Harper goes into a trance, he’s taken back to the life of Paul, where he’s witnessing the events as if he was there.

Two of the major things I liked about Eye Witness were the level of intrigue and suspense involving Dr. Harper’s storyline on the one hand, and the level of depth in Paul’s character explored in his storyline on the other. The series is packed with great storytelling, enough twists and turns to keep you glued to what’s going to happen next, and a very accurate portrayal of the life of early Christ followers, Paul in particular. This is truly a gem of a series.

Until next time, peace and take care.

I pray all is well. The comic I want to recommend today is Nola by Chris Gorak. Set in New Orleans and against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina, Nola is about a woman who wakes up after being in a coma, and sets on a path to get revenge on who put her there. But as she gets closer to her goal, she discovers more than she bargained for.

A good story with solid action, I recommend you check it out.  Contains mature content. If you’ve read it already, what do you think? Until next time, take care and keep creating!

I pray all is well. A while ago I came across this great article by Tyler James about writing short story comics.

I’ve included the four main points below, but definitely make sure you read the article if you’re interested in or working on short stories:

(1) Study existing short stories

(2) Do research

(3) Get to your point quick, and only include the bare essentials

(4) Know your end

Until next time, take care, and keep creating!

I pray all is well. I don’t do it often, but every now and then I come across a comedic comic that I recommend.

The first one was Dave Nelson’s Finding Elim, and today it’s Revered Fun. I find many of these strips hilarious, and seeing that there’s something for everyone, I believe you will too. I’ve included a couple of more strips below. I would love to track down the creator for an interview. Who knows, maybe it can happen.

If you’ve read some of them before, what do you think? Until next time, peace and take care.

I pray all is well. Here’s a quote that I know someone can really use right now. This time last week we, it as me:

Until next time, take care, and hold on…

I pray all is well. Today’s comic I wanted to recommend is Luther by Mark Waid.

It’s about a man named Luther, and although it involves zombies, it is not your typical zombie story. Along the lines of The Walking Dead, the focus is heavily on the people, and it has a lot of heart. You can download the free comic on his website.

If you’ve read it already, what do you think? Until next time, peace and take care.

For the 47th interview, we have Tony Kittrell of Advent Comics. Off the top, I know Tony must be a real cool dude, because like myself, he was also put on a “path of comic-dom” after receiving his older cousin’s comic collection. But unlike me, Tony had an interest in comics before receiving the collection. Now a comic creator of his own, Tony writes about subject matter that merges two of his passions: Ffaith and superheroes. His goal is to bring faith-based comics & graphic novels to all who are interested in reading them.

And now for the interview…

When did you first get into comics as a reader/fan? As a writer/artist/creator?

After nearly 40 years of loving comics and wishing to be in the business, I decided to create my own comic books.  In 2009, I resolved myself that I would take the plunge and self-publish.

Advent Comics‘ first project was Pandemonium: Evil Incarnate.  It was a 70 page anthology that introduced readers to the main characters of the initial storyline which revolves around putting God back into our lives front and center.  My universe is shown to be created by God and explains how evil came to be in the universe.  It contains seven short stories and is a very dark book.  I purposely told the stories this way for two reasons: I wanted to show how I saw the world today without GOD in it and I wanted to reach people who normally would not pick up a faith-based comic book or graphic novel.

Champions of Hope was the second book to be released and served as the conclusion to the initial storyline.  God appears to mankind in many different ways so I incorporated that into my visualization of God who appears on earth as Trinity.  This book also served as the springboard to launch our universe with God firmly in it.

In our most recent release, Advent Comics Spotlight #1, we feature tales of individual heroes and villains that will come to have an impact on the Advent Universe.  The first issue featured a story called Lamentations, an 8-page recap of the previous storylines interspersed with the biblical story of the same name.  It also features Tales of The War Guard, a story that recounts the adventures of the biblical Archangels led by Michael.  It talks about the Nephilim, The Watchers, Adam & Eve, Cain & Able and other biblical stories but ties them into our comic universe.

And of course, there are superheroes!  Darklight & Crew is about a ragtag group of galactic freedom fighters, Ace is a mysterious costumed vigilante out to stop crime on the West Coast, and the G-8 are a team of international heroes out to stop a plot to kidnap the world’s financial leaders.  But even these stories have scripture and biblical context woven into them.

The next project Advent Comics will be releasing is Titan, The Ultra Man #1.  Titan is the mightiest hero in the Advent Universe but he is a flawed man who is struggling to put his life in order while balancing the accolades & trappings of being a hero.

I would say that personally, I enjoy the one-shot format the most.  You can tell your story and neatly wrap it up in the confines of a single book.  So far, I have told stories in all of the formats and I think the mini-series is the most difficult because you have to make sure things you have appropriate spacing of the story and that dangling plotlines are resolved.

I have been extremely blessed to be able to make my dreams of being in the industry come true, and being able to share my faith with others has been both amazing and a humbling experience!  I won’t lie, it has also been a daunting experience, especially in the beginning.  I had to basically learn while doing this because I had no background in this field.  I had a few missteps along the way (managing payroll, people took advantage of us/did not perform the work, etc.).  I had to go through a whole host of trials and tribulations but they wouldn’t deter me!  This is my ministry to witness through comics for the Lord.  I believe in the power of the Lord and the wonders of prayer. There is nothing more powerful!

Over the course of this adventure, I have evolved by leaning closer to my faith in God and trying to make sure that I try to produce work that will entertain but also bring souls to Him.

I would encourage other Christians who feel a calling or convicted to make comics to do so.  This is a big medium and all voices should be heard.  I personally feel that there are a lot of people who read comics that can benefit from the messages that we have to offer.

Advent Comics has Darklight & Crew #1, Homeland #1, Savior #1, The War Guard #1 and Dragon One-Shot releasing by year’s end if everything goes according to plan.  The Dragon One-Shot is not biblical in nature, just my love of martial arts movies given creative form, lol.  And the early pages look fantastic!

I also have three mini-series coming out this year, the first being The Regulators which is a collaboration with super-star artist Greg LaRocque of DC’s Flash & Legion of Super Heroes fame that actually is going to turn many heads.  This is hands down the best artwork I have seen from Greg and I say this as a longtime fan of his work.  Check for it and other Advent Comics on our webiste, Facebook, and Twitter.

Christian-themed/faith based independent comics are on the move and growing!  There is some great material being put out by other Christian-based companies such as Faithstar, Open Sky and R-Squared Comicz.  I would love to see this genre crossover into the comics mainstream and grab a foothold to spread the gospel of the Lord.  I believe that it has already begun.  You have the Christian Comic Arts Society (of which I am a member) doing wonderful things to make this a reality.  I went to the wonderful panel they put on at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con and thought it went well.

What is the best way for people to contact you, and to read/purchase your work?

Those that are interested can pick up Advent Comics through our website, Amazon, IndyPlanet, and various other online outlets.  Our books are also on sale for all of the major e-book platforms such as iPod/iPad, Kindle, Nook and Sony readers.  Advent Comics just signed a deal to get our comic books sold in the brick & mortar Barnes & Nobles bookstores which we are very excited about, and we are continuing to submit our books to Diamond Distributors which is the largest direct market distributor in the industry.  I  am very excited about our future endeavors!

Any last thoughts?

I would like to see us do more together to show the world that we Christian-based companies exist and will remain here on the scene for years to come.  I want to thank you for this opportunity to sit down for this interview and get the word out about Advent Comics and our mission.  Advent Comics is putting the SOUL back into comics!  I hope that all Christian-based comic publishers/creators experience the unlimited blessings of GOD and the success of their works to magnify the name of the Lord!

And that’s a wrap! Until next time, take care, and keep creating!

I pray all is well. Here’s the final version of Abaddon’s cover, done by David McConnehey:

Have a great weekend, and stay tuned for more updates!