Should Christians Comic book creators have a target audience or should the audience always need to be for the all-ages?
Should Believers add blood to their content and I'm not talking about the cross?
Should a Christian Artist develop mature content?
By mature content, I mean mature subject matter in culture or society like human trafficking or the effects of domestic violence.
Personally, I'm not saying I don't have a heart for it. Yet, can see how other believers can.
Replies
I think your statement not all ministries are for all ages and types of people, sums up this argument accurately. Great statement brother.
Michael R. Webb said:
Not all types ministry is for all ages or all types of people. That's why God has a body with different Spiritual gifts & different kinds of ministry for various audiences. "God is love & holy w/ out sin & Man shall live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Compare what art comic you are doing to God's word & love.
I haven't read the whole thread but I'm an all ages type of guy. I love the Marvels of the 60s best and they had everything I needed and I still love those stories. They had violence and romance and drama and it was on a level that everyone can enjoy. I want my kids to be able to read my comics and one day my grandkids. I don't want them to have to wait until they're a certain age to do so. I constantly have to check out movies and TV shows for my kids to make sure there isn't any junk in there that will be negative for them. I wish I didn't have to.
I think comics should be for everybody and if we have to restrain and edit ourselves not to offend the weaker brothers I think we should. I wouldn't tell my kids to read the more violent parts of the bible either. They may read them anyway but I think they can wait til they get older. Why shouldn't we try to appeal to as wide an audience as possible?
I don't think that there is an inherent problem with mature content, but the Bible is clear that we as Christians should not cause each other to stumble.
With the internet's ease of distribution I think that the solution is to make it explicitly clear for potential readers of what is in the comic so that they aren't led into something they can't handle.
A couple people have suggested that with careful framing the actual impact of violent actions can be greatly diminished and I agree. For a movie equivalent, see Taken. Liam Neeson murders approximately a million people ON SCREEN, but manages to do it in such a way that the film still stayed PG-13.
Personally, I like the violence and explosions, but I understand that that's not for everyone.
I think the issue here isn't violence per se, but gratuitous violence.
If your story is a wartime story, a murder mystery, a gangland tale, or whatever, presumably violence will be sewn into its fabric, but how much violence needs to be shown in order to get the idea across?
Sometimes, given the situation, less is more. Many times in films off-camera screaming is enough to convey the message that something truly horrific is being done. In fact, the imagination often times creates a worse reality that the actual shot.
In Scripture we read of rapes and wars, but we aren't given details. So-and-so was raped. Done. We don't need to read the step-by-step account.
Perhaps that's the way to go about it. So, if your story involves rape or war, how can you best convey the idea without actual descriptions of the acts?
Life is violent, that is a fact, and as Christians we should not shy away from it... but we need to be careful that we do not glorify it, either.
Though I do understand why it an be a touchy subject and many Christians would like safety in their entertainment choices :)
Keith J Betancourt said:
Question: If "mature content" or "Reality" works for the Bible (aka: the Word Of God) then why couldn't it work for Christian/Faith based comic books? As long as it goes with the story and is done with taste and maturity then I say go ahead.
That is so wrong-headed on so many levels.
CHIVAS DAVIS said:
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