UMI (Urban Ministries Inc.), one of the largest independent African-American media firms, has announced a new comic book series, “The Guardian Line,” with creator Michael Davis.

Davis is also the co-creator of the Emmy-winning animated show Static Shock and one of the founders of the black comic initiative Milestone Media. “The black church is the most powerful entity in black America,” Davis said. “If you can create something that resonates in the black church, you can reach the majority of African-Americans. You can create positive change.”

For more than 35 years UMI has been a source for teaching materials and inspirational book titles in the African-American church market and is the exclusive or semi-exclusive publisher for several church denominations.

“The Guardian Line” is scheduled to release in Sept. 2006. The first series released, targeting the tween segment, will be Joe and Max, based on Davis' experiences in elementary school. The comics will then be released bimonthly, for a total of six issues of each series per year.