UPDATE: As I posted on the main page...WonderCon is out this year...our goal now is to get accepted into Comic-Con this July! A small press submission comittee must first approve of our artwork and story before letting us have a table. Space is limited. Pray that our story and artwork will agree with them and we will be invited. WonderCon is great since it's so close to home...but Comic-Con is the big dance! Pray that we get this great opportunity!
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to introduce myself and tell you the latest about Spirit Knight. I'm planning on posting my experience from WonderCon 2005 and 2006 but wanted to start off with our latest WC last March.
Let me tell you a little bit about our story. Sam had it all...and lost it all. He's on the edge of ending his own life when events arise that puts him out on the street with no where to go and no one to turn to. As I've heard and experienced many times, "God's rarely early, but he's never late." Sam meets the Archangel Micheal, who recruites him into service. Sam is reluctant but is reminded in his dreams of his childhood commitment to God. Sam's mission is to find and destroy shape changing demons that are now roaming the earth. That's almost as hard as re-kindling his own faith in God. Spirit knight is a four issue mini-series that will be wrapped up this winter in time for WonderCon 2008 with our latest issue "Devil's Canyon."
Troy Gustafson and I are partners at Red Machine Comics. Troy does the artwork (you wouldn't want to see mine :-) and I'm the writer. I wrote four issues three years ago and have been updating each issue as we move forward. Spirit Knight #3 "Return of the King" has been our most successful so far. As in past Cons, we had comic books, t-shirts, free Bibles and this year our big addition was Elvis Glasses. We also gave away our first issue. I had a great printing deal a couple of years ago that gave us thousands of copies of Spirit Knight #1. We decided to give it away to anyone walking by. If the sign for FREE Bibles or Elvis Glasses didn't stop them...the free comic at least slowed them down. We then sold issues 2 and 3 for a low $5 and gave them a free pair of Elvis glasses or T-shirt (their choice) and offered them a free Bible and 11x17 poster. We offered to sign anything for free and they always left our table pretty happy. Most tables charge over the top for almost everything. We offered our t-shirts for $5. They could get all three issues for $5 and pick up free items even if they didn't buy an issue. The best part was talking to people and telling them our story and who we are. Most people were impressed that "Christians" would be in a place like the Con. I always thought Christians need to be outside the four walls of the church...that's where we can be our most influencial.
I e-mailed our table neighbors in our row a week before the Con. That really broke the ice once we got there and they already knew who we were. It really left an impression on Dale Murphy who kept going on and on about how nice we were to anyone who would listen. We also had other folks seeking us out, reminding us of last year and wanting an update on us and our story.
I've gone on and on and couldn't put everything we did to words...mostly, the most important part of this experience was just being there. Yes, we actually made money, praise the Lord! We paid for the table and paid for our print run. I just want to encourage those Christian artists, publishers, etc. to take the extra step to attend your local comic book convention. We had many opportunities to share our faith with other Christians, aethiests and everything in between. The main question asked was, "Are you guys religious or something?" Our token answer was that we are Christians and we deal with physical and spiritual struggles in our comic. That usually started a spirited conversation. Remember, alot of comics out there deal with demons, satan and other unholy things...we give them a different perspective. We give them the anti-Spawn...the Christian Constantine...coming from the perspective of what would really happen if an Angel stopped you in a dark alley. I've gotten off the main subject of the paragraph, but I think being able to speak face to face with someone, unashamed of your faith, in the belly of the beast (that would be San Francisco), shows courage and faith that people are looking for.
Overall it was our best Con so far and we hope we can make the big show, ComiCon, next year if God allows the time and funds to attend. Until then, we will be at WonderCon 2008 in February. Any and all prayers would be appreciated as we work on our final chapter.
I posted a few photos from WonderCon 2007 but here is more for you to chew on over at our website: http://www.spirit-knight.com/wondercon07.html
I'd love to hear about your experiences. Ups and downs, highs and lows would be interesting to take as examples of good or bad things to do at the Con. I would definitely encourage people to attend more shows in the future. People are looking for something different...I think we all have something awesome to offer and let God take care of the rest.
-Bryan
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