My name is Matt Shoemaker and I'm an author for Keys for Kids Ministries. Several years ago, God led me to teach Bible lessons at Wayside Cross, a homeless shelter. Each lesson was taught before a meal and the audience ranged from 30-50 people. I was in rotation with a couple other Bible teachers and I wanted to communicate a Bible lesson in a way that was unique. I noticed that the audience was drawn to historical people or events. I dug deep into history and pulled out some fantastic stories. I revised my message structure and began with a historical person or event – and that completely drew in the audience. This was amazing because I now had everyone's full attention through the entire message. After talking about the history portion for a while, I turned the corner and brought in a parallel Biblical application. For years, I've been able to give a Bible message and a Gospel presentation with having the audience's full attention – all from starting with an intriguing history story.
After several years, I have nearly a hundred Bible lessons, most of which begins with a historical person or event. All that to say; does anyone know a publisher who would want to turn these history/Bible lessons into a book or a comic that adults will be drawn into reading? I listed a few of my history topics below that would have fascinating comic art drawings...
The 1692 earthquake of Port Royal, Jamaica – a pirates haven
Operation Hailstone – a two day battle leaving a graveyard of 60 warships sunk at the bottom of Truk Lagoon
Body Snatchers – the stolen body of John Scott Harrison in 1878
The buried treasure of the Steamboat Arabia - the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the world
The curse of King Tutankhamen
Titanic's twin sister ships – and their disasters
Speed records both of land and air
The Chicago fire of 1871
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Jessie James faked his death
The Ghost and the Darkness – the killer lions of Tsavo, Africa
Evel Knievel – one of America's most famous stuntmen
The real Charlie Brown - a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber Pilot
The Bermuda Triangle and Big Foot
Please let me know of a publisher that would want to turn these history/messages into devotions or books of graphic comic art.
Serving Him,
Matt Shoemaker
mjs423@yahoo.com
Replies
Sir, Hi from Rich Collins. Two artists on CCAS did work for me. DL Maffett did 3 graphic novels for me and Jennifer Lusong did 3 graphic novels for me. DL did kind of a superheroe tyope drawing style and Jhenna did more like a Manga style. I have posted some of their work at my web site here - https://www.raeganandrjinspace.com/page/page They can be contacted through CCAS web site they are both really good, very good price per page, and very good artists. God Bless. Rich Collins
Woo! I used to live near Port Royal.
Your ministry has me excited! I remember historical comics like Harriet Tubman made a big impact on me when I was little. From what you describe, the holy spirit is using this unique vision to arrest the hearts of those assigned to you. I say stay in prayer and go for it!
I'm a freelance artist. Feel free to message me if my style works for you.
Thank you Brien, I'll post it there too, I appreciate your help...
Matt
Wow, you have collected some real-life dramas here! The idea sounds intriguing.
You might consider posting this message over on https://www.facebook.com/groups/christiancomics/ to get more attention for your idea.