Guest commentary by Corbin Crable
The appeal of comic books is as strong in adulthood for Jonas Hayes as it was the first time he picked one up as a child.
The colors, the characters, the compelling stories all allowed him to indulge in a world that taught life lessons masked as entertainment. Now, sitting in a small Kansas coffeehouse and illuminated by the afternoon sunshine, he smiles reflexively as he thumbs through the pages of a Marvel Avengers comic book sent to him by his brother. It’s a tradition, Hayes notes – though now in adulthood they are separated by miles, his brother still sends him a comic book on holidays and other special occasions. It’s a bond the two men share.
“When I was growing up, some of the literature I connected with were comic books,” recalls Hayes, pastor at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Overland Park, Kansas. “My brother collects them, and I found them to be the most accessible literature (as a child).”
Currently, Hayes is working on a project that combines his love of graphic novels with his primary love of spreading the gospel. That project is a graphic novel that has been more than two years in the making. Called “The Eternal Cycle of Life,” the graphic novel is comprised of four sermons that Hayes has delivered in his career, which has spanned from San Francisco to New Orleans to the Midwest. Each of the four sermons covers a theme in human development – birth, coming of age/parenting, death and resurrection. The themes displayed in the graphic novel – connection and intimacy, faith and the fragility of life – are universal, and readers should be easily able to relate to them, says Hayes.
“It’s really about community and how we build meaningful relationships,” Hayes explains. “Sometimes, in life, we’re trying to figure out how to fit these pieces together.”
Hayes worked with illustrator Anna McDonald to storyboard the sermons. McDonald inked the stories to colorful life, giving a visual voice to Hayes’ words. The graphic novel, to be released in e-book format by Christian publisher Shook Foil Books, is now in the final editing phase and expected to be released this fall.
Erik Dailey, executive editor for Shook Foil, says the publishing house is proud to help Hayes bring his vision to life.
“ ‘The Eternal Cycle of Life’ is an ambitious and original work.” Dailey says. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen another graphic novelization of a sermon series. As a life-long comic fan, and a pastor (and) theologian, I’m really excited to be a part of this. The subject matter covers the whole life span and deals with issues of the fragility of life and God’s sovereignty.”
Hayes notes that in the digital age, and as church administrators must embrace new ways of reaching out to potential new members, spreading God’s word in a nontraditional format such as a graphic novel simply makes sense.
“For me, this is a way to put preaching and teaching in a way that would reach a wider audience,” Hayes says. “It’s becoming a foreign concept for a preacher to get up and talk to you for 15 minutes. We’re in a day and age where more creative methods are needed to make the gospel more accessible to people.”
In the introduction to the graphic novel, Hayes makes refers to the work as ‘disjointed’ in the same way that one’s life is made up of a series of events that may or may not have an ending or resolution.
“We’re in a society that is increasingly disconnected,” Hayes says. “I’d want this to be a call to attention and mindfulness of the beautiful world in which we live, mindfulness to offer kindness and love – to receive those things as well as to give them.”
For more information on this and other projects, visit Shook Foil Books.
CORBIN CRABLE is associate professor of communications and journalism at Johnson County Community College and a member at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Overland Park, Kansas.
