Saturday, July 25

11:00am-12:00am Spirituality in Comics— Panelists discuss the influence of spiritual themes in comics and popular culture, and the importance of spirituality to readers, creators, and the stories they tell. Moderated by Leo Partible (Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film and Culture), with panelists including Doug Ten Napel (Creature Tech, Catscratch on Nickleodeon), Caleb Monroe (The Remnant for BOOM Studios), Scott Sava (The Dreamland Chronicles) and Holly Golightly (School Bites). Room 3

Besides my wife, who came along to snap pictures and offer emotional support, I spent most of my time with fellow Parabler Ben Avery and the talented Ken Raney and it was great sharing our thoughts on art and comics and God and how they can all be integrated into awesomeness. We discussed for a bit on the last day how the whole conference felt more like a spiritual retreat than your typical film festival/art gathering. Maybe it had something to do with being up in the mountains or how super nice and selfless everyone was there. We were surrounded by creative intervals in the middle of, in my opinion, one of the more beautiful regions from God’s portfolio. Ben, Ken and I have all been invited back next year. I want to encourage any of you- if you are interested in using your art talents for more spiritual purposes, want to connect with other Christian creative types, or simply want to see what the current marketplace looks like and where its going- to sign up and attend next year. After only its second year it’s still a small conference that needs to grow and be encouraged because Lord knows we need more gatherings of this type. I don’t think I’ve ever been so inspired to create something meaningful than I was on the drive back home.

And for those of you wondering about the publishing status of Parable, some possible opportunities arose for that as well. Its too soon to say if anything will develop or not, but be assured this will be the FIRST place I announce a publisher if and when something becomes official. I will say that people did enjoy the preview copies I brought with me and you could tell there was general excitement for something like it to be out and available in the marketplace. For now though, it’s not too late to keep Parable in your prayers.

I head BACK to NC this weekend for Heroes Con in Charlotte, and then I look forward to finally taking a few days off.

May 31st – June 4th is the second annual Gideon Media Arts Conderence and Film Festival in Ridgecrest, NC. This year there is a big push towards graphic novels (yeah!) and I’ve been invited to be on staff with Ken Raney, Art Ayris, and fellow parabler Ben Avery. In addition to a panel discussion, a graphic arts gala and some one-on-one time with the students, I’ll also be offering a couple of workshops- one on webcomics and the other on comic anthologies. These are both subjects I feel I know plenty about at this point, even though there are a gazillion more experienced creators in both those areas that might have a lot more to offer. The difference in this case is that all of the workshops and events at Gideon will have a Christian emphasis to them and (hopefully) give everyone involved a stronger insight on how we can use our creative talents to better serve the Lord. Gideon will also be the first opportunity to see Parable in full book form, since I’ll be bringing a few sample copies with me to show around (although that probably won’t be as exciting as watching me try to talk in front of a room full of people).

Gideon is still excepting registrations so if you’re interested in attending, click HERE to find out the details. And for more info on the Graphic Arts section of the conference, including Ken, Art, and Ben’s involvement, click HERE.

I hope to see some of you there. I think it’s going to be a really fun time!

And hey! Parable is coming out this year! We’ll have news and  art on that as things develop. Should be a great year!

Details are still being worked out on the exact publication date for Parable, although we’re looking at sometime in Spring of 2008. Keep your eyes on this site as we’ll announce an exact date as well as preview pages of Parable very soon!

The idea for the cover came from Matt Yokom and is based on Matthew 5 :14-16 :

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

There might still be some tweaks done to it before it sees print, but this is pretty much it. For those that would like a larger version of it you can download a 1200px version here. While I was at it, I decided to also make one desktop size that you can download here.

There’re a few artists that have come on board in the last few months that I never got a chance to mention here. Michelle Gorski, Paul Conrad, Bryan Ballinger and Jeremy Vanhoozer are the newest contributors to craft stories for this anthology. This book is going to be amazing. I just can’t wait for everyone to read the spectacular work that everyone’s done.

Parable is on the very tail end of production, but there’s still a lot to do. Keep your eyes peeled on this site for publishing info, preview pages, and even a new look coming soon.