DC Comics and Florida publisher square off on who Jesus is —
LEESBURG, FL January 11, 2019 – The battle between David and Goliath went into extra rounds among the faithful this week when DC Comics made a jolting announcement regarding a upcoming new series on Jesus Christ. In “Second Coming,” the writer Mark Russell previously explained that the series centers on the fact that God “was so upset with Jesus’ performance the first time he came to earth since he was arrested so soon and crucified shortly after, that he has kept him locked up since then.”
Art Ayris is the publisher of Kingstone Comics, a small central Florida publisher, but still the largest Christian comics publisher worldwide with their comics in over 30 languages. Kingstone published the most complete graphic adaptation of the life of Christ ever done, contained in their graphic novel trilogy The Kingstone Bible. The tome was a finalist in the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association 2017 Book of the Year awards. The graphic Bible is not only the most complete graphic adaptation of the Bible ever done but is also the largest non-serialized graphic novel ever published. With his feet in both the world of comics and the religion the comics publisher had a few thoughts on the new take on Jesus Christ.
“We are all for responsible fiction, but dissing the deity of Jesus Christ and his monumental sacrifice for our sins is a tough pill to swallow. I sure hope they (DC) will reconsider this blatant move. The even fictional concept that Jesus is sent on a mission by God to learn what it takes to be the true messiah of mankind from the all-powerful superhero Sun-Man, the Last Son of Krispex, is a blasphemous joke. I can understand why (former Campus Crusade President) Bill Bright offered 10 million dollars to Universal Studios to purchase the film negative of The Last Temptation of Christ.”
“DC is presently batting about .000 on relating to faith. Bruce Wayne fell away from the faith last year in Batman #53 where he has put aside believing in a deity. The DC comics character Nia Nal is the first transgender superhero and now subject of the CW series “Supergirl.” With the addition of “Second Coming” to the DC line-up we are seeing how far from Hollywood we really are, and I believe – even from the foundation of the original comics mindset.”
Ayris points out that much of the comics industry had its origins in the 30’s and 40’s in New York where many of the early comic writers were Jewish immigrants with a background of a Judeo-Christian morality. That is why many original and major comic book heroes were deeply characterized by clearly cut good and evil characters. They were people of morality, values, and even faith. Many would argue that the original super heroes were even Messiah-like characters. Even the late Stan Lee said that he read the Bible and though not particularly religious, did cite the Bible as an important literary influence. He loved the phraseology of the Scriptures and stated, “That it was definitely on my mind when I was writing things like Thor.”
“I haven’t read the “Second Coming” comic (which comes out in March) but I was thinking about the church I attend when I read part of the description provided by DC Comics, ‘But when Christ returns to earth, he’s shocked to discover what has become of his gospel — and now, he aims to set the record straight.’ My church recently bought a motel to house homeless families, has a free medical clinic staffed by 50 doctors, provides shelter and rehab for those struggling with dependency issues and gives away ten tons of food a week. The reason we do so is because of the amazing example and life of Jesus and what he told us to do.”
Ayris states, “We invested every penny we had in making The Kingstone Bible and The Christ series for one reason – the truth about Scripture and the identity and mission of Jesus Christ matters to us. We have begun raising the capital to animate the Bible and the life of Christ. This new move from DC has only put rocket fuel in my engine.”
Ayris closes with, “I had some glimmer of hope when DC and Warner Brothers marketed Superman to the faith crowd a few years ago. But from a long-range standpoint, I think they will find “Second Coming” to be an epic fail. I am hoping the leadership at DC will have second thoughts about making a mockery of a man who proved his divinity by rising from the dead.”