Christian comic books

Holy super-heroes?

Yes, a new breed of Christian comic-book characters is beginning to make inroads into the industry.

Comic books today have generally become more violent, sexy and godless than ever. One exception is a group of newcomers to the industry — Christian-based comic books.

You won't find these Christian comics in the mainstream comic book stores yet, and there isn't a huge demand for them, store owners say. But they are out there and have attracted an increasing audience.

They are currently only found in Christian bookstores or online, but the hope is they might one day make their way into mainstream comic stores, according to John Thompson, senior vice president of marketing for B&H Publishing — a division of LifeWay Christian stories in Nashville, Tenn.

These slicker and better-produced comic books are technically called "graphic novels."

"I'm grateful to be a part of something like this," Thompson said, "to bring light to a usually dark medium."

"Spirit Warriors" is the thrust of what B&H and LifeWay have going now.

It's geared for preteen to young adult readers, in hopes of exposing a niche of the population that isn't reached by traditional Christian resources and programs to Jesus Christ.

"'Spirit Warriors' has a very strong, unapologetic Christian message," Thompson said.

Issue No. 1 of "Spirit Warriors" ($9.99) came out last July and will be reintroduced soon. The second issue will be out in February, followed by the third six weeks later.

Thompson said his 13-year-old son, a skateboarder, loved "Warriors" and reading it in one sitting.

"They're 'cool,' not your typical Christian product," Thompson said.

He admits a reader will either think the product is cool, or simply a bunch of Christian stuff they don't need. Thompson said Christians are obligated by God to get the good word out as best they can. The rest is up to God.

He said some negotiations are in progress with Diamond Comics, which distributes DC, Marvel and other mainstream comics, in hopes of getting works like "Spirit Warriors" in the hundreds of U.S. comic book stores someday.

"Spirit Warriors" was invented and written by Stephen Baldwin, the youngest of the Baldwin brother actors.

"After 9/11 and my wife's conversion (to Christianity), I came to understand something. The impossible was possible," writes Baldwin in "Livin It: What It Is," a new book from B&H Publishing Group. "And if anything's possible, then Jesus Christ could come back to this planet tomorrow. I want to be ready when He comes."