Publishers of graphic novels look to make inroads with ‘compelling, redemptive storylines’

Although its fans are legion and its characters are more frequently appearing on the big screen— including this summer’s Iron Man 2—the $320-million-a-year comic book industry has yet to make much impact at Christian retail. But creators and publishers are hoping to change that.

One Christian producer in the genre exhibited at the mainstream Megacon convention in Orlando, Fla., in March, which drew a crowd of more than 37,000. Kingstone Media CEO Art Aris introduced visitors to the Leesburg, Fla.-based company’s faith-based offerings, which include science fiction, action adventure, historical fiction, biographies and biblical epics.

In addition to reaching out to secular comic book fans, Kingstone Media has been connecting with owners and representatives from church and Christian stores, including chains. Mardel Christian & Education is going to start carrying some of Kingstone’s books, and Aris said he is also in talks with Family Christian Stores.

“I’m hoping that as we grow this, they’ll be a Kingstone section in the stores,” he said. Kingstone’s Bible-based comics include The Beginning, Incarnation and The Revelation as well as the novel Sudan and 2048—a futuristic graphic work of fiction by Marvin Olasky, World magazine editor-in-chief.

But exactly where to market comics in a bookstore is one of the biggest hurdles the titles have in getting before Christian retail shoppers, even while some publishers—including Head Press Publishing, whose “Eye Witness” books have received ForeWord’s Book of the Year and Independent Publishers’ awards—and organizations such as Christian Comics International cultivate and promote new talent.

“Christian retail stores don’t know where to put comics,” said Scott Shuford, a board member of the Christian Comic Art Society (CCAS). “They don’t know if it’s a children’s thing or put it with the books. There’s an identity crisis about what to do with Christian comics.”

As a result, Shuford noted that comics have been more successful so far as church resources—directly sold to or created by churches, bypassing Christian bookstores altogether.

Christian publishers such as Thomas Nelson and B&H Publishing Group have recently used the medium to expand their regular titles. Thomas Nelson has released seven softcover books based on Ted Dekker’s “Circle Series” and “Lost Books” novels, which will soon be re-released in hardcover.

“Even at 144 pages or so, the spines were so thin, that customers had a hard time finding them,” said Allen Arnold, senior vice president and publisher for fiction at Thomas Nelson. “I don’t think customers voted against the originals as much as never discovered them at retail.”

To promote John B. Olson’s Powers novel released in December, Aaron Linne, executive producer of digital media marketing for B&H, teamed up with artist M. Daily Walden to create a free graphic adventure featuring characters from the novel. Linne said that readers remarked to him how the comic drew their interest to the novel, a promotion he believes will be implemented again.

B&H is currently adapting the nonfiction narrative A Church Called Grafitti by Taylor Field and Jo Kadlecek into graphic novel form.

Zondervan has published its Z Graphic Novels since 2007 under its Zonderkidz imprint. Series such as “Tomo,” “MangaBible,” “TimeFlyz” “and “Son of Samson” have provided “an approach to reading that reflects the multimedia nature of today’s hi-tech culture,” said Pam Mettler, associate director of public relations for Zonderkidz. “Graphic novels integrate images and text to tell a different kind of story than would be possibly with only a single medium.”

Besides placement and distribution challenges, there are other considerations that could be slowing down the Christian comic invasion. Kevin O’Brien, director of Bibles and Bible Reference for Tyndale House Publishers, said while that the company’s “Manga” series had done “very well,” comics have had a “tough time” in the Christian market—most recently, he believed, because mainstream comics have gotten darker and grittier in tone.

“I hope that someone will be able to break through and create some truly compelling comics, but it will not be easy,” he said. “The story has to be good and so does the art. Christian fiction has shown that it is possible to create compelling, redemptive storylines. I believe that there is a strong possibility that this success can be transferred to the realm of comics and graphic novels.”

Like Kingtone Media, CCAS operates a booth at comic conventions, including the country’s largest, the San Diego Comic-Con. Shuford said the reason issues of faith fit perfectly with comic books is the basic battle between good and evil.

“(When you talk about comics), you’re immediately put into a conversation about what’s good versus what’s evil,” Shuford said. “Comics allow you to illustrate massive spiritual things that can happen in ways that it would take millions of dollars to do in film.”