Hi! As some of you may know, I don't post online here very often because so much of my time is instead involved offline with Alpha-Omega, the Christian Comic Arts Society's long-running Christian comics APA (which stands for Amateur Press Association.)  I'm reprinting and expanding on an earlier post to provide a "Frequently Asked Questions" list about the APAzine, because some folks have been asking for more info about it and I thought it would be easier to have the info handy in one blog post I can just directly link to.

What is an "APA"?

For those who don't know what an APA is, there's a Wikipedia article on the history of the concept. It's basically a short-run, members-only fanzine that works sort of like a pre-internet equivalent of a private discussion forum/bulletin board/blog, printed out and shipped back and forth through regular postal mail. Each member of the APA produces their own mini-zine (called "contributions", or "tribs" for short), mails their 'trib to the group's "Central Mailer", who then collates and combines the individual 'tribs into complete photocopied/stapled issues of the APA-zine which is then mailed back out to all participating members, who then are generally expected to review/critique/comment on each other's work in the following issue.

Given the bi-monthly schedule of issues, this group a much slower-paced alternative to the instantaneous fellowship available through modern online forums and social media, but it also tends to provide an outlet for a different set of creative muscles and provides a different style of feedback and fellowship. Some creators find that having a regular deadline to create something tangible to share with a private group of friends is helpful in a way very different than the open-ended nature of just posting work to online forums for strangers to review. The APA format allows for longform nuanced discussions among a private circle of creators, rather than the rapid-fire clickbait commentary that tends to dominate online spaces. It's a unique way for amateurs to refine their skills, for creators to bounce ideas around and get feedback, and most importantly, a great way for Christians who love the comics medium to have fellowship with other fans who share their values. 

Who's in charge?

The APA is run by two volunteer positions: the Central Mailer (who handles the physical assembly and mailing of each issue, and keeps track of the costs for each issue), and the Editor (who provides an opening editorial for each issue providing discussion prompts and creative challenges; he also acts as judge/referee if there are any disputes between members or questions about the rules governing content within the issue.) 

What's required to participate?

Members are expected to maintain a “minimum activity requirement” for participation in the group. This means contributing at least 2 pages every other issue. Some members sometimes have to take a longer hiatus due to health problems, family emergencies or other unforeseen circumstances. We’re flexible. Just try to let us know if you think you may be missing several issues in a row; people get worried if a member just vanishes off the map like a ghost.

An easy way to stay involved if you’re not able to complete a full ‘trib on any given issue is to submit cover artwork. The front covers are generally Christian themed (Bible scene adaptation, an allegorical scene, or fanart of Christian comic characters) although sometimes it’s merely seasonal/topical (in the past, I’ve created covers using re-lettered public domain comic art, with “Christmas”, “Summer Vacation” or “Back to School Deadlines” themes.) The back covers don’t need a specific theme, and are often a showcase for fan-art of various genres.

Are there financial costs?

The Central Mailer pays out-of-pocket for the costs for mailing out each new issue of Alpha-Omega, and every member is expected to send funds to reimburse those costs. (Some members send in a small amount as needed on a per issue basis, others just send a larger amount of prepaid funds to cover several months worth of issues in advance.)

Each member is also expected to cover the cost of printing their own portion of the APAzine. Some members do this by photocopying their own ‘tribs and mailing them in to the Central Mailer; some members email their ‘tribs to the Central Mailer as a PDF and then send extra funds to cover the cost of printing their pages for them.

The current costs for an issue of AO include printing 15 collated sets of their ‘tribs. The Central Mailer is currently able to print a PDF ‘trib at cost for only 8 cents per page. The USPS postage costs typically range from $3.00 to $10 depending on the size of the issue and if you prefer First Class or Priority Mail.

Content: What to include?

For your first 'trib, it's always helpful to include a brief introduction: the basics who you are, how you came to Christ, and what are your interests in fandom. (We've got some folks who are avid readers of all kinds of comics, some whose interest is limited to certain genres, and some who are more interested in related areas like sci-fi, fantasy, anime, or gaming.)

It’s helpful to give your ‘trib a title (to help distinguish it from others when collated together) and to include your name so it’s easier to identify when sharing feedback. We’re a “members only” private publishing group, so some oldschool members feel comfortable including their full address and phone number among their contact info in their ‘tribs. Others (who may be more skittish about privacy) might only include an email address or online contact info. It’s up to you: our contact info is shared within the group primarily to allow other members to collaborate on other projects together outside of the APA if they’re interested.

The content you share is up to you. Each person's 'trib is treated like it's own mini-zine, so feel free to tailor it to your interests: some of are primarily sharing art, others are primarily sharing writing; other are sharing essays, articles or reviews about comic-related topics from a Christian perspective. Personal updates and prayer requests are OK too.

With an interactive creative group like Alpha-Omega, what you get out of it depends on how much you put in. This can include joining in on group projects or creative challenges, but the simplest step is probably the most important: just taking the time to offer comments for others. (This usually takes the form of a “Mailing Comments” section in each of our ‘tribs where we share our thoughts on the previous issue’s contents.) Comments and critiques are the most important thing that keeps this group as a fellowship, and not just solo creators talking past each other.

If you're looking for feedback and critique on your work, it always helps to be specific. If you just share some artwork, the majority of comments might just be "great art, thanks for sharing." But if you share your art with a request on how to get the perspective to look right, or suggestions on how to make the story pacing flow better, you'll get much more helpful feedback.

Content: What NOT to include?

We strive to keep Alpha-Omega appropriate for “all ages”: no profanity, no nudity, no extreme violence or gore, no glorifying of sinful behaviors, etc. We try not to be rigidly legalistic, and any rare occasions of questionable content will be evaluated on a case by case basis by the Central Mailer and Editor.

We also ask that all members please be respectful and polite when critiquing each other’s work, and to avoid stirring up overheated arguments in our comments. (This isn’t to say we’re forbidden from discussing our opinions on controversial topics. We just need to recognize that a bi-monthly fanzine “letters column” is not an ideal format for resolving debates over politics, theology, or rival fandoms.)

As for arguing over theology, the abridged doctrinal statement of Alpha-Omega is: “The Christian Comic Arts Society holds to the creeds and foundational beliefs that are shared among the classical traditions within Christianity (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant). We do not take positions on doctrines that are of legitimate disagreement among Christian denominations. While discussion of theological topics is allowed, we discourage APA contributors from proselytizing for their particular denominational doctrines within the pages of Alpha-Omega. Please use private correspondence for this type of discussion.”

What's the deadline schedule?

Alpha-Omega is produced bi-monthly, for six issues total per year. The publishing schedule is usually near the first weekend of every other month. (ie -- An early January deadline for the January/February issue, an early March deadline for the March/April issue, etc.)

Are back issues available?

Because it is an extremely short-run publication intended for active members only, there is not generally back issues available for sale to the general public. However, there was a special edition printed collection recently published in honor of the APA's 200th issue, and that "best of" collection is available for sale via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or other retailers. 

How do I join?

If you're interested in joining, please contact either myself (the current "Central Mailer") or Ralph Miley (the current "Editor" of our APA, who coordinates stuff between members) to find out more. PDF sample copies are available for prospective new members, as are a very limited number of printed back issues. You can reach me by email about this at alphaomega (at) crosshatchery (dot) com.

Thanks, and God bless!

As a follow-up to my previous posts, I'm pleased to announce that the big 200th issue of the Alpha-Omega APA-zine is finally finished and available to the general public!

The official synopsis:

An anthology featuring the work of past and present members of the Amateur Press Association of the Christian Comic Art Society, this special milestone issue of the Alpha-Omega APA-zine is a celebration of the past, present and future of Christian comics movement.

Edited by Ralph Miley and Kevin Yong, this anthology mixes "best of" reprints from Alpha-Omega's long history with new original content from creators Billy Leavell, Mark Poe, John Pierce, Carl Borg, Roland Mann, G. Raymond Eddy, Bud Rogers, Eric Jansen, David Davis, Bob Wierdsma, Lee McIntosh, Brent Giles, Josh Burns, Jesse Hamm, Frank Humphris, Rob Marsh, Ken Leach, Henry Chmielefski, Michael Monasmith, and Robert Flores; with special guest artwork from Gary Shipman, Christine Kerrick, Sergio Cariello, Steven Butler, James Babcock, AND MORE!

Join us for a look back spanning over three decades and two-hundred issues of Christian comics fandom! Featuring essays, artwork, fiction, non-fiction, and a collection of comic short stories including Don Ensign's "Golden Protector", Ralph Miley's "Images Past", Billy Leavell's "Ray Rockett", John Pierce's "Jonni Star", Eric Jansen's "Paraman", Larry Blake's "Nightstar", Kurt Kolka's "The Cardinal", and a reprint of the full-length serial adventure, "The AO Challenge". Also featuring special memorial tributes to the legacy of departed Christian comic artists Luisa Felix, Monte Wilson, and Don Ensign.

Now available at Amazon.com. (370 pages, B&W, $25)

Hi everyone! The deadline for the big 200th issue of the Alpha-Omega APA-zine is coming up soon, so as a reminder for anyone interested in participating, here’s an updated F.A.Q. list:

ALPHA-OMEGA #200: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (v2)

What is Alpha-Omega?

Alpha-Omega is the Amateur Press Association of the Christian Comic Arts Society, and is the ink-and-paper-through-the-mail counterpart to the electronic forums and social media fellowship we have online.

What’s the plan?

Alpha-Omega #200 will be a special issue featuring content from our past and current members, as well as from friends and supporters within the Christian comics movement. We envision the book as a “best of” tribute to our past 33+ years of Christian comics fellowship, and a celebration of both Christian comics and Christian comics fandom.

If you haven't already done so, please RSVP to alphaomega@crosshatchery.com if you want to participate.

What are we looking for?

The length of your submission is up to you. You can submit anything from essays and short stories to a single pinup page of art. It can be new content, or “best of” reprints. Possible ideas include…

• Essays about your own personal memories, experiences or lessons learned within the Christian comics movement during your time as a fan, amateur or pro.
• Artwork in the “Congratulations on 200 issues!” tradition of those Comic-Con Souvenir Books. Our official theme for this issue is “Celebrating Christian Comics Fandom”.
• Self-contained short comic stories.
• Also, feel free to share and promote your own Christian comics work. Members and friends of Alpha-Omega and the Christian Comic Arts Society have produced a lot of content over the years, but much of it was in the form of small-press indie comics from the pre-internet era and so many of our comics may still be largely unknown to wider audiences. Give us a look back on what you’ve worked on, and how to find it!

What should we NOT include?

• Personal contact info. If you’re a creator who wants to promote your website, social media or email, great! Go for it! But it’s probably not a good idea to share your home address and phone number, since extra copies of this “best of” book will eventually be available for sale to the general public.
• Mailing comments to other members. These are usually the lifeblood of an APA, but this issue will have many new one-time readers, so mailing comments referencing any specific back issue content will be needlessly confusing. Save it for next time, regulars!
• Serialized stories. Like above, don’t share “Chapter 2 of 5” or start a teaser cliffhanger that will never be resolved for our guest readers. Let’s stick to standalone stories this issue.
• Copyrighted material. Feel free to share any of your own art and writing, but avoid photocopying articles or artwork from elsewhere.
• All our usual AO content restrictions apply: no graphic sex/violence/objectionable content, no personal insults, no inter-denominational arguments, no political flame-wars.

Who owns the copyright?

You will retain all copyright ownership of your individual work. By submitting your work for this issue, you are granting Alpha-Omega/CCAS a nonexclusive right to publish it as part of this 200th issue compilation.

This standard disclaimer will be included in the front page of the book: “The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual creators, and do not necessarily reflect the Christian Comic Arts Society or the Alpha-Omega Amateur Press Association as a whole. The copyrights for all contents of this compilation are the property of their respective creators, and are printed here with permission.”

How should we send our pages?

• The printed book will be 8.5” x 11”, B&W. Try to design your pages accordingly.
• Have your submission clearly labeled with your name somewhere on the front page. (Also please include your own copyright notices if you want to be more specific than our generic AO disclaimer listed above.)
• If you can send your ‘trib digitally, send it to Kevin Yong via alphaomega@crosshatchery.com or by using a file sharing upload site like Dropbox. TIFF, JPEG or PNG accepted for artwork, while PDF is the preferred file format for documents.
• If you prefer to create your ‘trib in hardcopy form, you can mail us ONE clean set of B&W pages for your ‘trib, and we will scan it as needed for the final book. You can mail your printed pages to:
  Kevin Yong, P.O. Box 254, Temple City, CA 91780

Deadline?

The 200th issue will be dated May/June 2018. The deadline for contributing for the issue will be May 7th, and the printed issue will be sent out (Lord willing) by late May.

What will this cost?

As an all-volunteer APAzine, the costs of printing this issue will be paid for out of pocket by the participants. We estimate a printed copy will cost around $4 or $5, plus postage.

The book will be printed as a squarebound trade paperback using Createspace print-on-demand. In addition to copies being printed for participants, the book will later be available for sale at Amazon.com to the general public. (Any money eventually raised from sales of the book will go back towards funding Alpha-Omega and the Christian Comic Arts Society.)

For those who want to be a part of AO #200 but who don’t want to purchase a physical copy, a free digital PDF version will also be made available to all participants.

Who do I contact with more questions?

Ralph Miley is our main contact person & coordinator for this project. Kevin Yong is the Central Mailer who is compiling all the ‘tribs and will be formatting the book for print. If you don't already have our contact info, you can send us an email at alphaomega@crosshatchery.com and one of us will follow-up.

Thanks, and God bless you all!

Hi! As some of you may know, I'm not posting here online that often because so much of my time is involved offline with Alpha-Omega, the Christian Comic Arts Society's long-running Christian comics APA (which stands for Amateur Press Association.) 

For those who don't know what an APA is, there's a Wikipedia article on the history of the concept. It's basically a short-run, members-only fanzine that works sort of like a pre-internet equivalent of a private discussion forum, bulletin board and blog, printed out and shipped back and forth through regular postal mail. Each member of the APA produces their own mini-zine (called "contributions", or "tribs" for short), mails their 'trib to the group's "Central Mailer", who then collates and combines the individual 'tribs into complete photocopied/stapled issues of the APA-zine which is then mailed back out to all participating members, who then are generally expected to review/critique/comment on each other's work in the following issue. It's a much slower paced (and given the cost of photocopies and postage, much more expensive) alternative to the free and instantaneous fellowship available through modern online forums and social media, but it tends to provide an outlet for a different set of creative muscles and provides a different style of feedback and fellowship.

So, if you've never heard of an APA before and would be interested in joining, you can talk to Ralph Miley (the current "Editor" of our APA, who coordinates stuff between members) or myself (the current "Central Mailer", who physically assembles and mails each issue) to find out more.

However! This blog post isn't specifically about recruiting new members. What I'm trying to do is spread the word to former alumni members of our group and let them know that the Alpha-Omega APAzine will be celebrating its 200th issue this year! Ralph and I are trying to contact and invite all our many alumni members to participate in this upcoming special anniversary issue!

(Additional Note: I originally wrote this post with former Alpha-Omega members in mind, but the invitation to participate is open to other friends and supporters of the Christian comics movement as well. Contact us if you're interested!) - Kevin

And so, I hereby present: The official AO#200 participation Q&A!

Who are we looking for?

If you’ve been a member of the Alpha-Omega APA at any point during our past 30+ years, we’d love to see you back in our pages for this anniversary special. We have been trying to reach out and contact former members via our last known contact info from back issues of AO, but many of us have moved and/or changed email providers in the years since we first joined. That’s why I'm making a more public announcement here on the CCAS site, to get the word out more easily. (This invitation is also open to any other friends and supporters in the Christian comics movement who want to celebrate with us.)

Who to contact?           

Ralph Miley is our main coordinator for this project. Kevin Yong is the Central Mailer who is compiling all the ‘tribs and will be formatting the book for print. If you don't have our contact info already, drop me an email at alphaomega@crosshatchery.com and we’ll follow up!

What’s the plan?

Alpha-Omega #200 will be a special issue featuring content from our past and current members, as well as from friends and supporters within the Christian comics movement. We envision the book as a “best of” tribute to our past 33+ years of APAzine fellowship, and a celebration of both Christian comics and Christian comics fandom.

The book will be printed as a squarebound trade paperback using print-on-demand, and in addition to copies being printed for participants, the book will later be available for sale at Amazon.com to the general public. (Any money eventually raised from sales of the book will go back towards funding Alpha-Omega and the CCAS.)

Deadline?

The 200th issue will be dated May/June 2018. The deadline for contributing for the issue will be May 7th, and the printed issue will be sent out (Lord willing) by late May.

Costs?

As an all-volunteer APAzine, the costs of printing this issue will be paid for out of pocket by the participants. We estimate a printed copy will cost somewhere around $5, plus postage, depending on the final page count.

For those alumni who want to be a part of AO #200 but who don’t want to purchase a physical copy, we'll work on creating a free digital PDF version to be available for all participants.

What we’re looking for

The length of your ‘trib is up to you. You can submit anything from a full length ‘trib to a single page of congratulatory artwork in the tradition of those Comic-Con “Souvenir Books”. Our theme for this issue is “Celebrating Christian Comics Fandom”.

Ideas for ‘tribs

• A “Best of” collection of your past Alpha-Omega content. Do you have essays, reviews, artwork or writing from your past time in AO that you would like to see reprinted? Also, If you previously wrote content for the CCAS 25th Anniversary book, we can reprint your essays/memoirs from there as well!
• You can share your own personal memories or experiences with the Christian comics movement, or updates on what you have been involved with since you were last in AO. (But don’t forget that this book will have a wider audience than normal, so don’t go into more personal detail than you would be comfortable sharing on a public forum.)
• Feel free to share and promote your own work. Members of our group has produced a lot of content over the years, but much of it was in the form of small-press indie comics from the pre-internet era and so many of our comics may still be largely unknown to wider audiences. Let people know what you’ve worked on, and how to find it!
• Artwork in the “Congratulations on 200 issues!” tradition of those ubiquitous Comic-Con Souvenir Books. Artwork can feature your own characters, or if you want a “mascot” character for AO, you can do a tribute using The Golden Protector -- a Christian superhero created by Don Ensign, the co-founder of AO & the CCAS who passed away a few years ago. (Reference art available if needed.)

What not to include

• Personal contact info. If you’re a creator who wants to promote your website, social media or email, great! Go for it! But it’s probably not a good idea to share your home address and phone number, since extra copies of this “best of” book will eventually be available for sale to the general public.
• Mailing comments. These are usually the lifeblood of an APA, but this issue will have many new one-time readers, so mailing comments referencing any specific back issue content will be needlessly confusing. Save it for next time, regulars!
• Serialized stories. Like above, don’t share “Chapter 2 of 5” or start a teaser cliffhanger that will never be resolved for our guest readers. Let’s stick to standalone stories this issue.
• Copyrighted material. Feel free to share any of your own art and writing, but avoid photocopying articles or artwork from elsewhere.
• All our usual AO content restrictions apply: no graphic sex/violence/objectionable content, no personal insults, no inter-denominational arguments, no political flame-wars.

Copyrights

You will retain all copyright ownership of your individual content. By submitting your work for this issue, you are granting Alpha-Omega/CCAS a nonexclusive right to publish it as part of this 200th issue compilation anthology.

This standard disclaimer will be included in the front page of the book: “The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual creators, and do not necessarily reflect the Christian Comic Arts Society or the Alpha-Omega Amateur Press Association as a whole. The copyright for all contents of this anthology are the property of their respective creators, and are printed here with permission.”

How to send your ‘trib:

• The book will be 8.5” x 11”, B&W. Try to design your pages accordingly.
• Clearly label your pages with your name, and your ‘trib’s title too, if applicable.
• Also please include your own copyright notices if you want to be more specific than our generic AO disclaimer listed above.
• If you can send your ‘trib digitally, send it to Kevin via email or by using a file sharing upload site like Dropbox. PDF is the preferred file format (Word Documents can be used if absolutely necessary, but we can make no guarantees that the formatting will remain consistent.)
• If you prefer to create your ‘trib in hardcopy form, you can mail us one clean set of B&W pages for your ‘trib, and we will scan it as needed for the final book. You can mail your hardcopy pages to:
     Kevin Yong
     P.O. Box 254
     Temple City, CA 91780

Contact Ralph and Kevin to RSVP if you're interested. If you don't already have our contact info, you can send us an email at alphaomega@crosshatchery.com and one of us will follow-up. God bless!

Wow, I can't believe it's been a few years since I last updated my account here. Just wanted to log in and say hi, and let you know that I'll have some project updates to share soon.

For those who were wondering, no, I didn't drop off the face of the Earth. I've just been busy with my day job and various family duties, as well as working offline on several Christian comic projects, such as books like Ragged Capes and New Visions-- now with two volumes -- with Ralph Miley from New Creation Comics; assisting in the publication of Larry Blake's Psychozort trade paperback collection; and launching Silver Wolf, a new superhero series with Eric Jansen and Larry Blake.

The biggest project I'm working on at the moment is helping organize the upcoming anniversary issue of the Alpha-Omega APAzine, and I'll be posting a separate update on that shortly. :)

Hi everyone. "Real life" has been keeping me away from online participation for awhile, but I wanted to pass this along for a friend.

As some of you may already have heard: Don Ensign, the founder of the Christian Comic Arts Society, is in the hospital due to complications from prostate cancer.

Our mutual friend, Ralph Miley, is planning to possibly travel to visit Don later in February, and had an idea for a gift that might encourage him. We're trying to create a sketchbook collection of Don's original character, "The Golden Protector". A scan from Don's original art for the character is included here as reference if any CCAS artists feel inspired to help out with the project. Please email any Golden Protector sketches to Ralph at ralphellismiley@verizon.net, and he'll print them out to bring to Don as a "get well" gift when we see him.

Whether or not you feel led to participate in this little art project, thank you for reading, and please keep Don in your prayers. Thanks, and God bless!

"The Golden Protector", as created and drawn by Don Ensign

Well, it's taken me a week to sort through my thoughts, but here's a more detailed convention report on the Phoenix Comicon over Memorial Day weekend. (My apologies for the relative lack of pictures -- I'm very much an introvert when it comes to asking total strangers for the picture, despite how cool their costumes might be.)

To explain my perspective, I should probably point out that I'm a lifelong Californian with over a decade of exhibiting with CCAS at the San Diego Comic-Con, which tends to leave me jaded as far as conventions are concerned. I've never been to Arizona or the Phoenix Comicon prior to this one.

The travel from So.Cal. to Phoenix, Arizona was surprisingly easy. The logistics of traffic, the hotel, and navigating downtown Phoenix was much easier than my comparable experiences in San Diego. (And far more affordable too: the costs of the hotel and parking fees for our entire four-day Phoenix convention ended up costing less than one night at San Diego. Ouch.) The drive ended up much quicker and easier than the times I've driven north to the San Fransisco Wondercon.  As the Bing Map site said, I just had to drive down my street to the freeway, turn right at the onramp, and then keep straight… for 300 miles or so. ;)

The main thing I had to get used to there was obviously the heat and lack of humidity, but I also had to get used to the friendliness of people at the convention and hotel. I'm definitely not used to strangers striking up conversations in parking lots or standing in line, asking how our day is going, how we're liking our trip, etc. It was hard to remind myself to respond with a smile, rather than with a typical paranoid Californian response of "Who are you? Why are you talking to me? What do you want? I don't have any money. Security! Security!"

We had a full booth in the exhibit hall this year, rather than just a small press table. The booth space was split between one corner highlighting the nonprofit evangelism of the Christian Comic Arts Society and one corner highlighting the independent publishing studio of New Creaton Now, a "co-sponsored" booth arrangement made easier by the fact that the team of volunteers for this year's show (myself, Ralph Miley and Don Ensign) are involved in both groups.

Our table was divided into three sections: a showcase of Christian comics from various publishers (including the fan favorites of the Action Bible, Buzz Dixon's Serenity, and Lisa Hutchinson's Shelter of Wings); a "freebie" section of evangelistic comics and tracts to be given away (including Eric Jansen's mini-comics from Foursquare Missions Press); and a "signing area" where the three of us from NCN could talk with fans and sign copies of Proverbs & Parables, New Crew, Ragged Capes, Faith-Walker, the New Visions Anthology, etc.

The convention center itself is obviously smaller than the one used in San Diego, but it was much better organized and easier to navigate.  The exhibit hall was primarily retailers, fan groups, and independent creators; there were very few publishers or studios at the Phoenix show. It's not a show to go to if your primary goal is shopping or grabbing free promotional swag. The convention's appeal lies in the general atmosphere and mood of the show rather than the size of the exhibit hall. I saw something there all four days of the show that I very rarely see at the San Diego Con anymore: smiling faces and crowds of families, kids, and young teens. At the shows which have become multimedia extravaganzas, I can spend a whole day seeing nothing but densely packed crowds of short-tempered people wearing a permanent scowl as they elbow their way for a place in line. It was a relaxing breath of fresh air to come to a convention where people seem to have come just to have fun.

Despite the "comicon" name, it seems obvious that this show has roots deep in anime fandom, with the related worlds of comics, sci-fi and fantasy grafted on after the fact. There's a huge number of kids and teenagers in costume, and for every one fan dressed as Batman or Spiderman, there's at least a dozen dressed as characters from Naruto, Pokemon, or Kingdom Hearts. The programming at the show seems pretty evenly split between anime/manga, sci-fi fantasy, and traditional comics -- and I thought it interesting that the focus of the panels seems more geared towards workshops for aspiring creators rather than just press releases of news about comics or anime.

We had a lot of great interaction with folks at the table, and did our best to be helpful and friendly to our neighboring exhibitors. As for attendees, we had a couple non-Christians stop by who were interested to find out what we were all about; there were also a few mockers who just laughed at the concept of Christian comics as they passed by, but nobody actually came forward pick a fight with us, which was good. (There was one lengthy theological argument Ralph had before the show opened while he was talking with another exhibitor, but I was back at our table then and missed the details.)

We met several Christians at the Con who were already fellow members of the CCAS website. It was great to meet people face to face who up until now were only names on a screen. We also with many Christians who stopped by to express surprise to discover "they're not the only ones".

A number of Christian families were there at the show, and included shellshocked parents with zero prior exposure to comics or conventions. We did our best to reassure them that there was more to their Christian spouse's or child's interest in the art of comics and animation than the extremes of zombie gore or hentai smut on display on other corners of the convention. We also met with lots of young aspiring artists there; we gave them information about CCAS and the online sites, so (Lord willing) we can continue to keep in touch and help encourage and train one another.

Don, Ralph and myself hosted a panel discussion talking about Christian comics in general and our work at New Creation Now in particular. It was a sparsely-attended panel, I think in large part because the write-up describing us in the convention programming guide was very vague. However, we still had a good discussion, with lots of good questions and answers with the audience. I was able to record the audio of the panel, and I’ll share a link to the MP3 file when it’s finally prepped and posted.

Most of my time was spent in ministry at the table; my few "fan" moments at the convention were in attending workshops for sci-fi/fantasy authors, and purchasing some rare Golden Age comics from the vendor across the aisle from us. All in all, it was an extremely enjoyable show, with some great moments of fellowship and ministry; it's a convention I definitely plan to return to in the years ahead.

More updates from last weekend's show... While we were wrapping up at the Con, a comic book news website asked to interview us about the CCAS and New Creation Now. Ralph handled the interview while Don and I continued to work the table (there was a surprising crowd of people visiting us right before the show closed.)

I find it amusing that we were interviewed at the Phoenix Comicon by someone dressed as "Phoenix".

Well, I'm back from my very first visit to the Phoenix Comicon. I'll have to wait a couple days to collect my thoughts before I can post a full convention report -- four days of insufficient sleep have left my memories a little jumbled. But it was a fun convention, I had a wonderful time hosting the CCAS booth, and we had great opportunities for fellowship with the many other Christians in attendance at the show. (And if any of you are signing up for the CCAS social network as a result of finding us at the show... welcome! It was great meeting you in Phoenix! Pull up a chair and let's talk comics.)

I was able to record the Christian comics panel discussion hosted by myself and Don Ensign and Ralph Miley of NewCreationNow.com. I'll try to post a link to the audio when it's available. (One other comment about being on the panel: No matter how many times I participate at these conventions, I still get a surprised thrill when I see my name listed among the convention guest list. Not sure why -- probably because I still see myself as just a geeky fanboy, so it's always a bit of a jolt to be reminded, Oh yeah, I actually make comics of my own, just like I imagined doing when I was a little kid. I hope I never take that for granted.)

Just a quick post to say ^"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

May the grace of God be with you and yours this Christmas and throughout the coming new year.

Just a quick update for those who might be in the southern California area -- I plan to be attending the upcoming Long Beach Comic-Con (Oct. 29-31). I'll be part of the team volunteering withe the Christian Comic Arts Society table in the exhibit hall, where I'll also be doing signings for my recent books (Ragged Capes and the New Visions Anthology) from New Creation.

Not sure yet of my schedule, if I'll be there all three days of the show or just on the weekend, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. I'll post a report on the show when it's all over. Keep us in prayer!

Well, I’m back from the San Diego Comic-Con after five days of volunteer work helping the outreach ministry of the CCAS table and panels. (I think it's the group's 15th year participating at the Con, if I'm counting correctly.)

And as usual, I’m wiped out from the usual stress and sleep deprivation, as well as from catching a cold on the last day of the show. Expect a full report soon, as soon as I get my strength back.