Why I like redemptive stories in comics...

Why do you love redemptive stories so much?

The simple answer? Because of my faith. As a Christian believer (albeit one on the outskirts and fringes of the Christian subculture), I'm a sucker for a story about someone being changed for the better.

The Squadron Supreme

The writer answer? Because at their core, stories are about the growth and changing of people, and what's a better or bigger change than a redemptive one? The same could also be said of a "fall" story, in which a character does the opposite and goes bad due to situations and choices. Two of the greatest are Darth Vader and Faust in Michael Oeming's new Dark Horse series The Victories. But who gets left with a good feeling after that kind of tale?

Some of my favorite redemptive stories in comics include:

• The Thunderbolts initial run
• The Sandman in the various Spider-Man books (before he was turned bad again)
• Heatwave in Superboy (yes, the Flash villain)
• Moloch in Watchmen
• Thief of Thieves
• Saga
• Squadron Supreme (the folly of forced "redemption," kind of like Fundamentalist politicos trying to enforce Christian moral stances in gray areas)
• House of Secrets (the Steve Seagle Vertigo run)

the view from ... Chuck Dixon

Tell us a little about how you became a Christian.

Chuck Dixon: Well, I was born and raised Catholic. And no matter what that teaching stays with you. Those nuns had a big impact on me and I thought that priests had to be the coolest guys on the planet. I still do. And I suppose I'm still a Catholic in a cultural sense. But my wife introduced me to the Church of Christ and their beliefs seem so simple and streamlined with strict adherence to The Word and none of the mystical mumbo jumbo. And that's where I call home.

What experiences led you to believe that there must be Someone or Something out there beyond just this life?

Chuck: Simple faith. You look at the life of Christ and His words and you'd have to be in total denial not to see that He was a model for humanity and civilization as well as the Big Answers. Once I had faith the rest fell into place. I could clearly see how everything around me sprang from Somewhere; Someone greater than us. The simple fact that science consistently proves rather than disproves the words in the Bible should convince anyone. As someone recently said, "The only reason you wouldn't believe in The Word is because you're afraid to admit it's true."

How did that decision impact your life and your relationships with others?

Chuck: Not terribly. It's not like I hung with the Hell's Angels or anything. I've always been a quiet, straight arrow kind of guy. I didn't fall to rise again. Hey, I'm just a comics geek.

Many Christians seem to have retreated to a subculture where they can recreate the world into a "safer," Christian morals-based mirror of reality, with Christian TV, Christian music, Christian fashion. Do you feel this retreat from the world has helped give the impression that Christians don't really care about people but instead care about protecting themselves from the "bad" influences out there?

Chuck: I think you have to be in the game to win. I could have retreated to Christian comics and probably been happy creatively and financially. But that's preaching to the choir. I think it's better to present moral values in the wasteland of general entertainment. I dealt with the abortion/adoption issue in a Warner owned publication and reached an audience I would never have reached otherwise. I backed out of a government funded project to produce an anti-drug comic because it was ill-conceived and poorly executed. One of the participants accused me of being some kind of heartless jerk saying, "You'd rather make money writing Spider-man." Truth is, I probably reached more readers with anti-drug stories featuring Batman and Robin than any government handout could have.

All that said, as a dad I can see the allure of all-Christian entertainment. It can serve as a filter to block out the crass and vulgar stuff thrown at kids today. They say kids are growing up faster than they used to. That's a load. They're FORCING the kids to grow up by spewing puerile muck at them.

The notion of separating the sacred (that spiritual existence) and the secular (the "real" world of jobs and flat tires) -- what's your response to the person who tries to divide the world into these simple divisions?

Chuck: One of my favorite quotes of all time was said by George Foreman when someone challenged his devotion to Christ when he was a boxer. "I think Jesus and boxing is a great combination." He went on to explain the relationship between sportsmanship and Christian ethics. I agree with him. Jesus' teachings can guide you through anything. The answers are all there. 

In what ways have you had the opportunity to see your beliefs and writing career integrated?

Chuck: Mostly in the fortunes God has allowed me. He granted me the talent to write stories in a series of static pictures and then guided me to a career in that area. With His help and guidance I've had an unusually long and successful career.

I mentioned the other ways earlier -- the opportunity to introduce a moral element into stories.

 I notice in your writing that you don't limit yourself to writing "Christian" comics or "Christian" books, or even turning the stuff you are writing into outreach publications. And some of the publications you've written for aren't markets most Christians who write would consider (such as The Simpsons comics or war comics). Is that intentional?

Chuck: The Simpsons are the only characters on television or in comics who attend church regularly. Even that insipid family on 7th Heaven only rarely stops in for a service. The Simpsons also deal with BIG issues and their experiences cover the entire moral spectrum. When they address religion, they are often irreverent but never sacrilegious. As far as I'm concerned the episode where Bart sells his soul to Milhouse should be shown in Sunday Schools. C.S. Lewis couldn't have done a better job explaining sin and redemption.

As far as war comics go, it's a part of human experience and fascinates me because it represents the best and worst in human behavior. I've never written stories that wallow in gore and carnage and excuse myself by claiming that my story was "anti-war." I usually emphasize sacrifice and heroism and deprivation in my war stories. My war stories for The 'Nam and Savage Tales were also blatantly anti-communist. As far as I'm concerned that's serving God in a BIG way.

Do you find that by being in the real world and not in the Christian subculture you have opportunities to meet people where they are and discuss your faith naturally instead of using the memorized or "canned" approaches many church outreach programs use?

Chuck: Certainly. I think my job as a Christian is to get atheists and agnostics to question their LACK of beliefs. I'm not out to convert by evangelizing. I think it's better to start by shaking others arguments and at least opening them up to The Word.

What does your faith mean to you? Why is it important to you to believe? What has believing in and following Christ benefited you as you look back on your life?

Chuck: Well, every time I ignored what I knew to be The Truth I made enormous mistakes in my life.

But more importantly my faith gives me courage. Or it helps give me courage to face what comes at me. I'm not one of these guys who shrugs and says, "Oh, it's God's will" when some calamity strikes. But I will explore the nature of the bad news to find what good God meant in it. I find that as my faith deepens my doubts are more easily swept aside.

My belief in Christ also prepared me for my most important job; as parent to my children. You can throw out all those parent guides and how-to books. Raising kids is all covered in the books of the Bible. It's also given me the patience to deal with kids. And that's the most important element of being a parent.
If I were an honest skeptic standing with you right now, what would be the one thing you would tell me in regard to opening my mind to the idea of believing in God and following Him?

Chuck: The Book of Genesis blows it all away.

What other religion or mythology has a creation story that is proven to be true each year by scientific research?

Our universe was created in a series of stages from an explosion of light to the birth of life. And each of these stages happened in a particular order. Science has proven that these events in this order are the way it happened. How did the ancient Hebrews, essentially a bunch of nomadic shepherds, know about the Big Bang Theory, astronomy, biology, thermodynamics, geology, etc., to get all that right? Especially when other cultures had patently ridiculous ideas like the world resting on the back of a turtle or everyone walking down to the earth along the blade of a sword. Hey, maybe somebody TOLD them how it happened. And Who was that Somebody?

What Makes Comics "Christian"?

I'm curious because I've had this discussion with pastors and youth pastors starting from way back years ago when I worked as a music buyer in a Christian bookstore. Of course, back then the discussion was about Christian music. What made it Christian?

The distributor?
The words?
The attitude of the artist's heart and his or her faith?
Was DC Talk Christian and Bruce Cockburn not?

Now I ask the same thing of Christian comics. What makes them Christian?

Is it that they're advertised and marketed as such?
Is it that they're published by Christian publishers?
Is it that they're blatantly evangelistic?
Or can mainstream comics written by Christians like Chuck Dixon and Roland Mann be included?
It is the attitude of the writer and/or artist's heart and faith?

Admittedly, I'm a bit liberal in my definition.

But I feel that almost any story, no matter the language or content (to a large degree) can be a story of redemption. Taking my cues from the Bible, it seems that almost no subject is taboo, from revenge, bloody wars, genocide, sex, incest, you name it. It's all in there, and I'm hoping that gives us earthly creators a grace-filled free reign to tackle almost any subject redemptively. 

I guess that's my definition at the heart. If it's a genuine redemptive story, it can be called a Christian one, because that's what Christ came to do, redeem.

But feel free to differ.

I get this a lot. (Dominatrix vs. God soapbox)

I got this from a fellow writer once, and I still get asked it a lot at conventions or online:

Do you mind if I ask you a slightly touchy question? I've noticed from a few of your posts that you are a Christian. Furthermore, I found a link that you had posted on your wall to the Christian Comic Art Society (which I promptly joined). Here's my question: How do you reconcile your Christian beliefs with writing the Dominatrix comic? I admit that I've never read the book so it may be rated G; but based off of the covers and the few things that I have read about it... I don't think that's the case.

I'm asking not to attack you; but out of genuine interest. I am mostly into art and there are a lot of jobs that I could go after if I were willing to do more graphic or sexual illustrations.

How do you reconcile the disparities in your mind? Or is it that you don't try. Just look at it like a job kind of thing and leave the morality for Sunday morning. Again, I'm not trying to attack you. I'm trying to understand and maybe learn something that I could apply to my own life.

My response:

I love that question actually. I used to work for the North American Mission Board, and no longer do. Was asked to leave for my PG book Fishnet Angel, actually. They'd freak if they read Dominatrix. I tell folks at cons the book is not porn, even if the marketing points that way. It's like a Tarantino film. Very modern pulp. And ultimately it has a redemptive message in it that is subtle. As for any language, violence, or nudity, my take is that the Bible I read is filled with violence, genocide, infanticide, incest, rape, holy sexual love, and yes, even course language in the original Greek (Paul, no less). To make the Bible into a literal film would be rated X not even NC-17, and so such topics are not off limits for Christ followers, when pursued with obedience and faithfulness.

If they cause other Christians to worry about me, I can live with that. If they cause non-Christians to worry and stumble, then that would be an issue, but honestly the fact that I choose to write redemptive tales in subjects the contemporary church would probably prefer to ban has only opened more doors to real relationships with people who would never darken the door of one of our churches.

The very question you asked is the one people ask me all the time at cons and particularly in online interviews and such.

My morality is a 24/7 thing, though many do "treat it as a job" and leave morality "for Sunday." I just choose not to ignore "dangerous" topics that the contemporary church has issues with.
 
It's like the art question for me. Is nudity okay? Sure, great art is filled with it. Is it appropriate for all people or all ages? No. But then again, neither are certain parts of Scripture, which is why you don't see Bible stories for kids based on Song of Solomon or Lot's nieces seducing him. Still applicable though. The modern church just has a view that everything should be sanitized and "kid safe" by and large, and I simply disagree with that based on my reading and understanding of God's Word.

I don't profess that all Christians should follow my take. There's still a place for Max Lucados and the Left Behinds. That's just not my calling.

I'm called to travel the most dangerous path that causes all kinds of misunderstanding and potential condemnation by the church. But I can live with that. I have good role models from Christ to Bonhoeffer.

Christian Comics?

What advice would you give to other Christians who are considering making comics?

-- Justin Martin  (from an upcoming interview with R-Squared Comicz)

I get this question a lot, actually, and I used to get it even more when I used to work for one of the major worldwide Christian denominations at one of its missionary agencies.

My response today is the same as it has always been.

If you are a Christian who is considering making comics, then be a Christian making comics. Don't make Christian comics. The world doesn't need more Christian comics. But it does needs more Christians making comics.

It's the same thing I'll say to musicians, artists, and actors. The world doesn't need another Christian band, or Christian paintings, or Christian movies. It needs more Christians being salt and light in the real world who are musicians, painters, and actors.

Just like it doesn't need Christian plumbing or Christian network installations or Christian stationary sets.

For all authentic believers in my chosen faith, it's impossible to hide what you really are through any art your create. (Ask Billy Tucci, for example. His new book "A Child Is Born" is a global big deal, thanks in no small part to his amazing Shi work) Trust that your nature will come through your work. Don't force it in order to fit into a certain market.

So I say: address topics about faith and forgiveness and grace as a writer and tell redemptive stories, but don't hide your stories and art in a Christian bushel (to flip the phrase over) in a subculture where only other believers will see it. Be Christian in all that means (not just the political involvements) in the world. Feed the poor. Help the helpless. Forgive others. Extend grace. Live an exemplary life. Be like Jesus. But for heaven's sake, please don't create any more so-called Christian stuff. We've already got stockpiles of it, both good and the lackluster and the blatant attempts at cashing in on Christians' dollars, filling up our subcultural landfills.

To put it in a more "spiritual" way, don't ever assume your art is your ministy. YOU are your ministry. What you say, what you do, how you live, how you treat people. You art is your art. It is not a means to a religious propaganda end. It's an outgrowth of who you are as the child of a Father who is also a Creator.

A caveat, if I may... If you are creating a comic book format to make a more effective teaching tool (i.e,. as in -- don't get me started on -- Chick Publications) , go for it and make the best tool you can, but don't call it art. You're creating a tool for a particular purpose, like a hammer or screwdriver. Art is more expansive than that. Art opens itself up to interpretation and takes chances that open it up to be misunderstood as often as understood. Just ask Jesus how many times he had to re-explain his parables.