I love comics. Newspaper comics, comic books, animated cartoons, paperback collections, even Ziggy greeting cards. They’re a part of who I am, stretching back to that dim, misty long gone day in January 1966 when an eight year old budding artist first saw Adam West play Batman on TV. The wacky, over the top, good natured fun of that TV series was infectious and I just KNEW that this is what I wanted to do with my life and career. I wanted to make comics and I wanted them to be FUN! And for the better part of the last twenty-five years, I’ve been doing just that. Sometimes for others (The Simpsons, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Innovation Publishing), but mostly for myself (Courageous Man, Stardust & Thor, The Twerp and the Blue Baboon). Lots of hard work, but mostly lots of FUN.
I love Christmas. Well, DUH! This pretty much speaks for itself. The gifts (both giving and receiving), the music, the decorations, the food, the love… I mean, who wouldn’t love Christmas? You there in the third row… sit down! It was a rhetorical question.
So, with these two great loves in my life, making Christmas comics seemed like a perfect fit, right? Well, it was a little more complicated than that. It took several years before the (twinkly) light bulb went off in my head.
It was 2004. I’d been producing my creator-owned comics for several years at that point and had been making the rounds at the various comic book shows around the country, setting up my table and hawking my wares to a generally positive but oh-so-sparse fan base. Things were clicking, just not very loudly. I remember standing at the table one day at one of these shows, looking out over the crowds, seeing them milling about, showing far more interest in much darker fare than I was producing… vampire bloodbaths, anti-heroes who’d just as soon eviscerate their foes as incarcerate them, death, carnage, demonic possession… and I was a tad despondent. But then, in a moment of clarity (some might say madness), I sighed long and loud and said to my friend next to me… “I just want to have fun… I want to make comics that are fun… I think I’ll quit all this hoo-hah and just make Christmas comics from now on”.
We laughed. Then we went on about our business, had a nice lunch at Johnnie Rocket’s and said no more about it. But the seed had been planted. That particular Christmas tree was about to do what all fir trees are supposed to do… grow straight and tall and point the way to God.
See, part of my credo in producing comics was to maintain a certain moral standard. I would NOT do comics that I couldn’t show to a five year old and, too, I realized that much of my talent was a gift from God and it was my duty to use that talent to glorify Him and give a little back. Christmas comics, even the ones featuring Santa Claus and the more fanciful, non-biblical characters would allow me to do that. Whether it’s a retelling of the Gospel of Luke or fun holiday romps with Santa and Christmas Eve, as long as the message of love and sharing is evident, it’s still a reflection of God’s love
So, to sum up. I wanted to make comics that were fun. I wanted to do comics that provided some morality. I wanted to honor my Christian roots. I figured that doing Christmas comics would allow me to pursue ALL these goals simultaneously. And you know what? For once, I was right. And, not surprisingly, the more I get into this, the more of that love seems to be coming my way and now I couldn’t even stop if I wanted to…