Hey, everyone! The CrossOver project keeps rolling on, but we still need help in a few areas. First, if you have contacted me about doing a chapter but we haven't talked in a while or hammered anything down, GET BACK TO ME! I'm still picking up the pieces after my Mom died and I KNOW I lost track of at least a few of you. If this is the first that you're hearing about it, let me know. If there is any ambiguity, E.MAIL ME!
Basically, for those who might not know, it's a huge crossover featuring one unified storyline but each chapter featuring a different art and story team (or single creator) and how your heroes or characters interact with and move the plot along. Ben Avery is one of the masterminds behind this, so realize that it is a major deal. If your forte is less superhero-y but you still want to contribute you still can - just contact me and we'll fit you in where your work will shine the best concerning this particular project (pin-ups, alternate takes on the characters, there are lots of things that can still be included).
If you are an inker and want to help with an existing chapter, Cassy Reyes (Souba; Queen of Naboo) has completed the artwork on her chapter and needs an inker. If you know her you can contact her personally; if not, contact me and I'll get you in contact with her.
Let's work towards getting this completed by the end of 2008! Any questions, contact me!
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A beautiful thing happened today. A warrior for the Lord was freed from this land of dying to join Him in the land of the Living. She fought well, strong, and long, all for His Glory, and was rewarded with eternal, painless, sorrowless life. She was a testimony to His Goodness and Faithfulness, and brought many prisoners the key to the locks on their chains – that key being the repentance of sins and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.Meanwhile, here on Earth, Lois MacDonald, our mother, grandmother, friend and co-laborer, peacefully breathed her last breath after a three-week struggle trying to regain her health after falling ill and being admitted to the hospital. The last week of her life saw her regain consciousness and communicate with her family. The progress was not enough to keep her with us. She was a blessing to us all. Thank you all for your words of comfort, encouragement, kindness and prayers.
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Hi guys. My Mom could use your prayers. She's been in the hospital for almost two weeks. Things happened pretty suddenly - she felt sick, was admitted to a local hospital, they were transporting her to the big city hospital, she had a mild heart attack in the ambulance, and now she's in multiple organ failure but stabilized on machines. We haven't given up hope, but I'm spending most evenings up there (Massachusetts General Hospital, MGH) and my writing energy has gone to updating her CarePage, so I haven't been here in a few weeks.She has been sedated since she got to MGH (she's in a medically induced coma), but they stopped the sedatives so she could wake up and respond to stimuli. But since her liver isn't processing the medication properly it is still in her body, and she hasn't woken up yet even though they stopped sedatives about a week ago.She has been a great Mom to me, but even more than that she has been a great woman of God. She is part of multiple ministries (music ministry, prison ministry, personal active evangelistic ministry, etc.) and has touched thousands of people's lives over the last few decades. She is an active force in my Christian life, both as a model and by her prayers (and probably a hundred other ways as well). She even encourages me on my writing projects and reads the odd Christian comic book that I think she might like (she mostly likes the true-life missions stories, like Sadhu Sundar Singh). Hers is a life of sacrifice for the Glory of God, and I praise God that He has given me 40 wonderful years with her. Selfishly, I'd like a few more years with her, but I know God has a perfect plan for what's happening now, so if you can please pray for God's Will to be done and evident to everyone concerned I would appreciate it tremendously.
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Since I have no real knowledge of what you personally know about the genre, some of this might be a little too dumbed down, but if you don't know it you might get into trouble. So bear with meHere are the basics that you need to be aware of concerning Christian comics:1. This should primarily be for the glory of God. How can your skills in writing best glorify God? Do you feel called to write blatantly evangelistic tracts? Or are allegories more your style? Or perhaps you want to write simply great fiction but from a Christian worldview? There is a lot of variance within these choices, so find what will glorify God the most in your choice. If you want more choices to consider, just let me know.2. This is a labor of love. In all likelihood you will never make money doing this. You will probably lose friendships over this due to lack of time. It can be frustrating. It can be disheartening seeing the soft white underbelly of the movement (many do it for 'fun', or don't understand evangelism, or take things personally when offered in charity, or might not even realize that they are not yet a Christian!) and dealing with the whims of less dedicated creators (lots of series die after issue #1 due to lack of desire to continue for one or the other of the creators).3. This is one way of opening yourself to attacks from the enemy. Make sure your spiritual life is in order. Are you a born-again Christian? Do you read your Bible every day? Is your prayer life up to biblical standards (do you "Pray without ceasing"?)? Is your outer life consistent with your inner life as a Christian? Are you faithfully worshipping with a body of believers?4. This should be a passion. You will most likely suffer for this, in some way, and sometimes in more ways than one. If you are not ready to accept all the consequences of this choice then get out now. Many have been killed for bringing the Good News to the world. If you are not ready to die for this message then you are not ready.5. This is secondary to your family. They should be your primary mission field, and their care is paramount to your involvement in this movement. You made vows to become the high priest to your family, not to your literary output. Your wife or husband should be privy to everything that you are doing and the people (especially those of the opposite gender) that you are contacting. She or he should be supportive of your choice to work within this movement, but should also serve as the voice of reason if there is some life-changing decision you feel drawn towards (like hand-delivering your anti-Muslim tracts to all of the mosques in Baghdad).6. This is a public declaration of your faith. Now you will be seen as “one of those Christians” by people who didn’t know before. Hold that banner high. Show them what real Christianity is all about – the Law of Love. You will be many people’s first glimpse of what Jesus is like, and to many more you will be what they will think of when they hear the word “Christian”. You need to redefine it for them, sometimes at great cost to yourself.7. This is a movement with a history. Find a mentor and/or tutor for you to act as an apprentice for. This will teach you many things, the first of which is humility. You will need a lot of this. You will learn how to get things done, how to deal with people in the movement, and what things have been done before (no more anthropomorphized angels or superheroes with the word “Christian” in their name!). You will also find a collaborator, companion, and accountability partner. If you need me to point you in the direction of one, just ask.8. This is a humbling process. The humility learned from your mentor/tutor will have a million applications, from dealing with rejection to taking editorial direction to handling critical reviews of your work. And everything in between. The bottom line is it doesn’t matter what other people think of your work as long as you are faithfully glorifying God in your work.9. This is a learning process. Whether you are writing evangelistic stuff for non-Christians, apologetics helps for young Christians, or simply good literature from a Christian worldview, you need to keep learning. There are plenty of great books out there to keep you growing in whatever style you use. There are about 10 times more fair, poor, or just plain bad books out there for each good one. Ask if you don’t know about a book/author/whatever; it will save you time, energy, and money. Above all, stay grounded in the Word. Read meaningful portions of the Bible every day.10. This is a social movement. If you are a writer, find artists to do the other stuff, and vice versa. Don’t try to do it all yourself. You might very well be able to, but your output will most likely be limited by that. Communicate with other like-minded individuals and help out as much as possible. Do you have access to a high-quality printer? Offer to print their products, even if you aren’t part of the creative team. Writers, offer to edit other writer’s scripts.11. This is a polarizing movement. You can make enemies very quickly, just by plainly stating the Truth. Some people don’t want to hear it; others, even those within the movement, might see differently than you on a certain subject. There might be people that you know right now who will never want to talk to you again if they know that you are involved in this. You need to keep being faithful to your mission, and if that means pruning the tree of dead limbs then you need to be strong enough to do that, and to do it in all Christian Love and Charity.
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