FEEDBACK, PLEASE!
ZealHey, gang! Sorry for the lack of activity. I have a few things I'd like to discuss. First, I'm going to ask a question, bounce a few ideas off you guys, and then, finally, PLEASE check out my recommendations below. I have some AWESOME books to share... PLEAAAASE!
That aside, how is everyone else faring these days? Start drawing something, GEEZ. *Punt*
-----QUESTION TIME!!!?-----
So, today, we had a speaker come to our class who spoke about Islam. I thought he was an incredible speaker and he got my interests quite high... As he was showing text from the Quran, it occurred to me that a lot of it was almost identical to stuff from the Christian Bible. That being said, some of it was very different. Basically, the few verses he shared suggested that all religions with faith in a god allow people to go to Heaven--Muslim, Jewish, Christian, etc. as long as they're good people. Another verse, and the one that startled me, suggested that if someone hurts you, God commands that you hurt them back. If someone takes your home by force, take it back by force. It talked about how slaying someone is better than allowing them to sin, etc. if they provoke you first...
That's about the extent of my knowledge on it, though. So I'm gonna ask you... What do you know about Islam? How is it different from Christianity? What is the same? I'm fishing for information... If you got anything, let me know! I'm curious to learn~!
-----IDEA BOUNCING!!!-----
Something has come to my attention lately and won't leave me alone. It's that awkward prodding in your head that you try to ignore but it never goes away... WHY are there no decent Christian manga? And if there are, why are they so dang hard to find? I saw one site devoted to sharing them, but it was so jumbled and messy... I'm not just talking about like... JESUS: THE MANGA THRILLER!!! I'm talking about stuff with subtle Christian ideas... like a story on the lines of Narnia and such.
Would anyone be interested if there were a big site devoted to CHRISTIAN MANGA? A site where people could host their manga, have character pages and the like, all in nice, organized fashion... Would you have anything to post? Would you visit and read? Do you know anyone who would use it, whether it be to read or post? BE HONEST. Do most people already have their own sites for this? If that's the case, could there be a site with links to these other pages? A resource center of sorts, I suppose... What do you think?
That being said, why isn't anyone interested in having their stuff published? I've seen a few Christian manga at bookstores around me, and they're... lacking. They look like the old version of Batman, and they're almost always manga-takes on Biblical stories. What about a cool manga with a story like Narnia? Something to reach out to non-Christians with good intent, morals, and ideas? Face it: Random guy #1 who isn't Christian is NOT going to pick up the latest copy of JONAH: THE EPIC MANGA (which looks like a 5 year old drew). The guy reading Jonah? He's set. Let's reach out to Random guy #1, shall we?
It's not about self-publicity or anything of the sort, if you think that's what I'm promoting. I'm saying that there is a huuuuuuuuuuuuuge field out there of manga readers who need, need something good to read. Put your stuff out there!
If you want to think really grand, why not aim at getting your manga to Japan? Manga in Japan are more than just good reads... It's a display of culture, of longings, of desire... It MEANS something. So what if they have something meaningful to read? There are so many manga-readers all over the world... We who spend our time doing art... Why don't we try reaching them through what they, and we, love?
What does everyone else think on this subject? All of it?
Like I said, it's just something that's been prodding my mind and heart, and I can't shake it.
It all comes back to this to me...
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things" (Philippians 4:8).
-----RECOMMENDATIONS-----
I finished a book recently titled Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado. One of THE BEST books I have ever read--I could NOT put it down, and I so desire to read it again. If you are facing ANY trial in your life (and who isn't), this is your book. It was written for you.
Another book I'm reading and enjoying is the ADULT version of The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. This book intrigues me SO much. For those who don't know, Strobel is a top-notch journalist and was on some huge cases, uncovered a lot of dirt for newspapers and criminal cases... He was THE man. He was also a pumped athiest with, after his wife converted, a vendetta against Christianity. So, he set out to disprove Jesus... only, once he gets into the facts, he's in for a big surprise.
CHECK THESE OUT! MUST-READS!!!!
-----FRIENDS AND THE STALKED-----
-----CLUBS-----
Devious Comments
The God referred to in Judaism is the same God referred to in the Bible; the main difference between Jews and Christians is that Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the risen Savior. The Koran attempts to demote Jesus to a mere human (not divine) prophet, saying that Muhammad was a greater prophet who corrected/amended what Jesus said.
Also, the Koran actually says that it's okay for Muslims to kill those who do not believe in it, allowing for "holy war" until there's no one left alive or in captivity/slavery who does not believe. Apparently, Christians and Jews make it onto that list of "heathens," too. So when you see on the news that some "Islamic extremist" has done another suicide bombing, what they really should be saying is a "devout Muslim" did it.
Most people who call themselves Muslim--like most who call themselves Christian or Jews--aren't really devout in their faith. They do things halfway, going to church/temple/etc. on religious holidays, celebrate various religious festivals and such, but when it comes right down to it, they're not doing everything they can to follow their given religious book to the "T". The Muslims who do are the ones learning to fly planes but not land them, then going out and crashing planes into buildings.
As for being saved and getting into Heaven, the bible's got it right: Jesus is the ONLY way. No one may go to the Father without going to the Son. "Nice" or a "good person" don't cut it.
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Because I really enjoy manga, I think it would rock to see lots of Christian manga out there. While I don't know of too many, recently, I began reading this one [link] . I started reading it b/c it looked interesting, then realized (after reading one of the author rant pages) that the author was a Christian. Given that he's Japanese, that really stood out and also made me very happy. I was a little surprised to find a bit of nudity in it here or there, but apparently that's fairly normal for manga. Also, there wasn't so much of it that it was like O_o .
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"Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled."
--1 Peter 3:13-14
Thanks for asking! I've been wanting to rave like that for a long time! XD Look at me! I'm a talkin' billboard!
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"How could he cast some white dude as Aang?"
"Is Aang not white?"
"Aang? Aang, who does Kung Fu?"
"See, that's you being racist."
--
Jonathan Harker: She's alive?
Van Helsing: She's Nosferatu.
Harker: She's Italian?
DOT DOT DOT
Jonathan Harker: Oh! This is - this is ghastly!
Van Helsing: Yes, you're right. We should have put newspapers down!
--
"Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled."
--1 Peter 3:13-14
--
Jonathan Harker: She's alive?
Van Helsing: She's Nosferatu.
Harker: She's Italian?
DOT DOT DOT
Jonathan Harker: Oh! This is - this is ghastly!
Van Helsing: Yes, you're right. We should have put newspapers down!
With all the literal trash I have to see, I would be totally gung-ho about helping people
create meaningful comics. Too many artists simply latch on to popular motifs and never try to take the medium beyond mere formulaic entertainment.
What about starting a site where people can hook up with artists/writers/inkers to create stories? It would be a start.
You can also gather up a lot of information about comic book publication (preparing manuscripts, finding indy publishers, etc). If you recruit enough people to help you, you could create a much needed resource. I would volunteer to help out with information and stuff.
Just some ideas that were floating around my little head. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
--
"You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give."
-- Winston Churchill
Here is a site I found that talks about it if you are interested: [link]
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As for the manga stuff, yeah I'm totally into it. I've got a whole section in my gallery devoted to it, and I write Christian fiction(mostly in fantasy form). I am not a professional though someday I want to be. If you want/have/found a site like what you are talking about I would love to be a part of it.
If my art was good enough I would put it up to publish it professionally.
I have found some Christian manga that has good art, but it was at a Christian store so I don't know all the titles. You could look at some near you and see if you find anything. They are usually in the kid's section.
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Please be patient, God is not finished with me yet.
If you like my art, feel free to check out the rest!
Comments are most welcome!
My Gallery
My book:
Cool, cool! Thanks for the feedback! Fiction, too, huh? I'm glad so many people are into this idea... I guess it's poking me in the head for a reason!!
The levels of skill are irrelevant at this point. You can be a viewer, you can work with other people, you can build your skills... Even if you aren't "professional" now, you're most certainly right... That can and will change!
Thanks~~~!
--
Raven: It seems it is time ta put my macho energy ta the ultimate test--taming the savage beast!
Repede: *GRRRR!*
Raven: Gaze upon my manly physique, and be awed!
Yuri: Repede's male...
I wrote all of this stuff down for reference. Very good ideas indeed! Once I figure out what's actually going on (ha ha ha, do I sound like I have a plan?!?), I'll perhaps start recruiting people!
For now, thanks for the ideas!
--
Raven: It seems it is time ta put my macho energy ta the ultimate test--taming the savage beast!
Repede: *GRRRR!*
Raven: Gaze upon my manly physique, and be awed!
Yuri: Repede's male...
I'm an enigma, I don't make sense.
--
Raven: It seems it is time ta put my macho energy ta the ultimate test--taming the savage beast!
Repede: *GRRRR!*
Raven: Gaze upon my manly physique, and be awed!
Yuri: Repede's male...
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