Soul Saving in Black and White
Jack Chick has been publishing evangelical comic-book-style religious tracts, known as “Chick tracts” for several decades. I grew up in a house with an ironic collection of these — one of my father’s coworkers apparently left them in all the breakrooms at the plant, where my father would pick them up and bring them home — and I was convinced that everyone on the planet had seen them, particularly as I myself had found several in public restrooms and other places. However, during a discussion last night with one of my friends, I came to the conclusion that not everyone had seen these.
While I’m not invested in the least in Chick’s moral, religious, or political views, I find his artwork fairly interesting, and I’ve read at least 40 classic Chick tracts. Today, I read the longer, full-color Alberto. A number of the Chick tracts are being reworked to feature African American characters, and the more sophisticated artwork in these is the work of long-time Chick collaborator Fred Carter.
In any case, if you’re interested in comics or evangelicalism or both, I highly recommend reading Jack Chick’s work — regardless of whether or not you’re looking to get your soul saved.