Graphic Novel-Form Bible Offers Fresh View of Christmas Story
As parents struggle to find new ways to bring faith and meaning back to Christmas, the world’s most comprehensive graphic novel-form Bible may be an answer to their prayers.
Leveraging the talents of illustrators and inkers holding Marvel and DC Comics pedigrees and Christian writers including New York Times best-selling author Randy Alcorn, The Kingstone Bible gives the ancient stories of the Bible the 21st Century graphic novel treatment.
The Kingstone Bible builds on the illustrious tradition of A Charlie Brown Christmas, the first and longest-running of the Peanuts television movies, which debuted in 1965 and has aired every year since.
“For many in Generation X, A Charlie Brown Christmas was probably their first introduction to the biblical account of Christ’s birth,” said Kingstone Comics founder Art Ayris. “In the same way, our hope is that teens, Millenials, and graphic novel fans of all ages will discover the real meaning of Christmas through The Kingstone Bible.”
As a new generation of Americans discovers comics, they are simultaneously disengaging with Bible reading. In 2015, 32% of millennials reported never reading the Bible, with 48% of teens reporting reading the Bible “less than once a year or never.” Conversely, comics have enjoyed a 42% increase in sales over the last 5 years and a 56% increase over the past 15 years according to Comichron. The good news that 53 percent of teens say they wish they read the Bible more often according to the Millennial-focused Teen State of the Bible research also from American Bible Society.
The graphic novel format provides a natural but largely untapped opportunity for helping Millenials engage with Scripture. North American sales of graphic novels topped $1 billion last year — much of that thanks to teen and young adult consumers. The Kingstone Bible leverages this popular format to introduce or reacquaint readers with Scripture. It was created by Ayris, a small-town Florida pastor, in response to his own frustration about the scarcity of engaging Bible resources for youth and children. Kingstone multi-media, with its comics series, animation and soon-coming Virtual Reality has now become the world’s largest producer of faith-based comics and graphic novels.
“The resurgence of comic books and superhero films sparked the idea for Kingstone Comics about a decade ago,” said Ayris, who assembled a virtual “Who’s Who” of comic industry pros to create the world’s leading multi-media company for inspiring, historical and Biblically-based comics and graphic novels. “I was looking for ways to introduce a new generation and non-Bible readers to the extraordinary stories of ordinary people in the Bible. I realized the real-life action and intrigue, murder and mystery, espionage and romance of the Bible is tailor-made for the graphic novel format.”
To help parents who are looking for new ways to connect their kids, teens and young adults with the real meaning of Christmas, Kingstone Comics is giving away free copies of the illustrated Christmas story from Luke 2 in The Kingstone Bible. Free downloads are available now through Christmas at Kingstone.co. Complete editions of The Kingstone Bible can be purchased at Kingstone.co and all major booksellers.
About The Kingstone Bible:
At 2,000-pages, The Kingstone Bible is the longest non-serialized graphic novel ever published. It illustrates all 66 books from Genesis to Revelation and brings the entire Bible together into one continuous story. The book features more than 10,000 art panels.
(Source: Christian Newswire)
