Welcome to the Museum's Memory Lane!
A collection of correspondence on Chick tracts. (New e-letters added as they come in.) To view older letters & memories, click here.
[Please Note: Curator's remarks are in bold type.]
This is Chick Memories 13
From Jan 1st 2009 to present (The latest entries are at the top.)
Revised 1.31.13 (All contents ©2012 Monsterwax)
Hi,
I'm in the UK, and have been a fan of The Crusaders for many years. However, my interest in Chick has just blossomed after discovering a Christian book shop in Scotland that was selling the Chick tract sampler pack! Then, I managed to get an affordable copy of The Unofficial Jack Chick Art book on Amazon!! Before that, I'd only ever read a couple of his tracts.
Incidentally, you might be interested in having a look at my Instagram account, called christiancomicstrip. I post a picture from a Christian comic every day (Crusaders, Spire, Logos, Jungle Doctor), but am now thinking of incorporating Chick tracts as well.
Kind regards, Tom M. (UK)
Thanks Tom. Those are some great pictures of classic Christian comics from your account: https://www.instagram.com/christiancomicstrip/
I asked Chick.com why they stopped publishing Wounded Children and this what they answered: "That tract had some errors in it and Jack Chick decided that we were not going to have it printed any more."
Hey Mike,
That sounds about right. There are several tracts they've discontinued with no plans to reprint, like Lisa, Wounded Children, Hit Parade, Kings of The East, That Old Devil (just to name a few). Chick had included The Poor Revolutionist on that list, but changed his mind and printed is last year (probably because of some of the more controversial actions taken by President Obama). So you never know what can be added or subtracted to that list.
PS. Interestingly enough, Chick did reprint Wounded Children in his soft cover book, "Hot Topics"--although it had an interesting change: The father says he plans to turn himself into police after being saved!
I received an anonymous letter in the mail, along with a Complete Catholic Mass and Daily Medications book. The hand written note read:
"To whom it may concern!
"After watch [sic] a few clips from the video that you sell (God's Cartoonist), I fear that you souls are at risk. I pray that what I have enclosed at the very least, will start the process of your withdraw from such extreme fringe paranoia."
It was signed "A Christian". Unfortunately, there was no return address to send an equally fun tract to.
Hi Kurt,
I don't know exactly when I first started collecting these tracts as a kid. It was some time in the early 70's. I mentioned in a earlier e-mail that a Sunday School teacher gave them out each week. I believe I either had or at least read almost all the early tracts except for the speculative value ones you found. I should clarify that the Sunday School teacher was very good at removing tracts that were not appropriate for kids. I never saw tracts like The Thing or Gay Blade until I was an adult.
I actually gave away most of the tracts I had collected as a kid by the mid 90's. I hung onto my over sized The Beast and a few other favorite titles like Kings of the East and Frame Up. I also kept a poor condition copy of Don't read this book only because I did not think it looked nice enough to hand out. I actually remember giving out a few mint copies of that tract. I am glad though that I still have that one poor condition copy now since it is very hard to find today. By the late 90's I wanted to learn more about the Beast tract and found your website. I actually got hooked on collecting them again after seeing your site. For the past dozen years or so I have built my collection back up to near completion.
My prized mid over sized 48 page The Beast tract has since been joined by four other mid sized and one large over sized tract. I have some work to do completing the large tracts from the 60's. The only tract I had as a kid that is not currently in my collection is This Book has been Banned. Actually that is the only tract I still need that is not one of the super rare speculative tracts. I hate to admit this but I am getting close to 1,000 variations on tracts now. My prized tract is The Secret Weapon. As I mentioned before I give out many more copies of tracts than I collect. I suppose you could have worse hobbies than collecting Jack chick tracts.
Have a good day! Thank you, Dave
Hey Kurt,
Your book is a great reference tool and I use it all the time. If you ever want to offer an addendum to it or an update, I would gladly pay for it.
As for those rare missing promo tracts (needed on my want list), If any of them ever do show up on eBay, I'll be sure to have at least a grand in the bank for it. You know they're going to go high. Especially if (some hard core snipers) are still around. The only way some of those are ever going to be available is either someones dying and it's time to sell or some picker stumbles upon them. Would a garage sale hunter or picker even know what they have? - John
Hey John,
You never know what deals will come up when or where. Just last week or so someone put an oversized WHY NO REVIVAL up with a buy it now price of $40. It was there for 2 1/2 hous before someone saw it and snatched it up. So miracles happen. Also, check out Christian bookstores when you travel. I was walking around in Berkeley with Bob Fowler and we passed such a store (Tammy's Bookstore), and I suggested we should check it out for tracts. Bob waved me off: "Oh, don't bother. This is BERKELEY, everyone here knows and collects comics. If there was anything good, they would have picked through it by now." I said "Why not check it out, we're already here," and made a bee-line for the door. (The fact is, I go to all the Christian Book Stores I pass to ask for Chick tracts to encourage them to carry them, and to offset the activist/censors who pressure them to stop celling Chick tracts. (We won't mention any names though, haw-haw!)) The old store was a dive, but on a bare wooden table was a large silver dollar sized key ring with 60 or so Chick tracts attached to it. (They had holes punched through the top corner near the spine to slip onto the ring.) I started flipping through them. They had Lisa, The Big Spender, Angels, original Doom Town, original Soul Story, The Poor Little Witch, The Thing, and dozens of other out of print and hard to find titles. I bought the entire mess of them at full retail... 12 cents each. Bob was dumbfounded, and I was too, but it just goes to show you can never tell where these little babies are hiding (often times, night under your nose.)
Thanks for the kind words on the book. I have to say, I use it a lot too! (The ol' memory isn't what is used to be.) But I'm certainly glad others find it enjoyable or useful as well. I'd like to do a sequel to is sometime, when I have enough material to fill it. It takes a while to finish though-- my last book on old time radio horror shows took nearly two years to complete!
Just a quick question I was wondering if you know the answer to... I'm in the process of cataloging all my tracts, and am using the codes to identify "age" or rather "position" when it comes to variations within a kind... I know about the tract-no / print run (eg 01/A) and the tract-no date-of-print (eg 028 0104.1)
But there is another style - A derivative of the original, that has several letters and dashes in it. For example:
28/H4E-U-D
or
02/H-E-J
I'm not sure how to read these, or where they should be placed amongst other derivatives from the same tract. Would these be sub runs of "H", or some sort of custom or special run? How can I determine which is the oldest?
-James B (New Zealand)
Hey James,
I explained most the codes in the book, but I didn't mention these as they are even MORE confusing and I wasn't sure of them myself. So I contacted someone at Chick and they provided the following:
1. The first number is not necessarily the order in which the tract was written. It only indicates when the number was given to the tract, in the lower numbers. So 101 was given a number before 102. But 840 might be earlier than 101, being a completely different designation of number. They picked another number grouping for Spanish, German, French, Italian, etc. In comics, 118 may be The Enchanter, but 318 may be the Spanish Enchanter. Yet it doesn't tell you which was published first.
a. Sometimes, though, a derivative tract or a more vastly modified tract has its own, completely different number. Go by copyright date for figuring which numbered tract is older (although the copyright of real old tracts can get updated)– though usually it would be the lower number. But for print runs within a tract number, see #2-3.
2. The higher the letter of the alphabet after the first number, the earlier the print run / edition it is.
a. So 101/M is newer than 101/A
3. The remaining numbers are an esoteric system. But by and large, the earlier letters of the alphabet inside each hyphen are earlier … whatevers.
a. For instance, all the My Name?... in the Vatican? tracts I have bear the designation 904/M3E-U-A. I don't know of any other My Name's that don't have this specific designation. But as a for-instance, I would place the following made-up numbers like this:
904/J
904/M
904/M3E-U-A
904/M3E-W-A
904/M3E-W-B
904/M4E
Etc.
b. I don't know anything else beyond that. They were in the mind of the guy who printed them on, not of Chick Publications as a whole.
c. What mattered most was the 904. What mattered next was the letter after the slash (/): e.g., /M. That for sure is the printing/edition number.
I hope this helps!
Greetings...
Many years ago a friend of mine had a 8 x 10 painting on his wall that I really admired. It was an elderly woman on her death bed. But at the time of death, her soul was rising from her body and she was a young, yellow haired, beautiful woman with a big smile. She even had false teeth in a glass beside her bed. Do you know the painting I am referring to? And is it available to purchase anywhere that you know of?
In Jesus Love, Robert
Yes Robert,
That painting was made by Fred Carter for Chick Publications and has been out of print for twenty or thirty years. Others have asked for it but to no avail. However, Chick recently reprinted it and included several of the more eye popping images Carter painted for the recent film (Light of the World) and they are for sale at Chick.com at the following address:
http://www.chick.com/catalog/artprints/default.asp
Dear Webmaster -
This is to let you know that one of your contributors, Terrible Tommy passed away this summer. You can find his on-line obit. It appears Tom had a Christian burial which I'm sure he did not want since he was Wiccan but his father I believe was a pastor so probably he expected that would happen.
Tom was a friend of mine way back in the 80's when we both attended a technical college nearby. The last communication I had with him was some years ago when he had said he had gotten a band together and was packing up to go to Atlanta. I wondered throughout the years what happened to him after that and discovered the obit and that he had posted on here and a few other places. I noticed you had mentioned you had lost touch with some of your contributors and thought you might want to know.
Keep up the great work on your page. I remember these pamphlets and was always interested in comics but I never realized there was a website in reference to them on-line. -Adriane
We're sorry to hear it, but thanks for alerting us, Adriane. Tommy had a funny sense of humor, and we know he enjoyed Chick tracts. So there's a better than average chance he converted back to being a Baptist seconds before his passing, adding yet another notch in Chick's Gunslinger handle of saved souls. Our condolences to his family.
Just thinking after visiting your site...
Interesting that you'd accuse a good organization like Life Messengers of "knocking off" Jack Chick's work!
http://monsterwax.tripod.com/chicklike.html
Life Messengers started in 1944 when Jack was 20 years old, a few years before Jack even became a Christian. Perhaps it was Jack who got some ideas from a forward thinking west coast organization that was bold enough to evangelize at one of hell's favorite doorsteps--Seattle, the "Queen City of Sin" as it was called back then, in the pagan northwest! As a young YFC director in Vancouver, WA from 1969-1973, I benefited from LM materials. Jack was just gettin started as a publisher around 1970...LM had been around 26 years by then and had been using illustrations to get their points across. In fact, one of their main artists made the Vancouver YFC cartoon logo for us in 1969 at the request of my board chairman who had known the artist for many years.
I helped bring the first cartoon tracts by Ron Wheeler into the world in 1982 at American Tract, and they weren't a knock-off of anyone, at least not that Ron or I ever knew of. But your approach makes it sound like Jack's tracts and using cartooning are divinely inspired. Besides, even if some have used Jack's concepts (which I always thought were great), so what? Is it wrong for someone else to also do cartoon booklets to get their message across? If so, I'd like to think such folks were smart enough to know a good idea when they see one, and follow a leader.
As a publisher for the past 34 years, I've felt that being copied in concept is perhaps the greatest compliment! Of course, if LM has actually used Jack's copyrighted work, that's another issue altogether. I'd also like to think that Jack (whose work I've defended for many years against detractors) would prefer to take Paul's approach to preachers who were "knock-offs" of him--"Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice" (Philippians 1:15-18).
Onward and upward!
Doug
--
Doug Salser, President
Literature Ministries International
Dear Doug,
Thanks for visiting our site and taking the time to communicate your thoughts. However, you are mistaken if you think we are accusing other Gospel cartoon tract companies of stealing or misappropriating Chick's work. When we say "knock-off", we do not mean illegal counterfeits or anything improper, just imitations of the same basic concept. It's all fair game because religious tracts have been around for centuries. To my knowledge, however, Chick was the first to fill them with humorous cartoons. It was considered revolutionary by some, and even sacrilegious by others, since the Bible is supposed to be serious and cartoons are not. In fact, Chick's first "tracts" were more like 28 page mini comic (8 x 10") books. He sold them in Christian book stores but they were criticized as being controversial for using low-brow cartoons to evangelize. That was 1961. Within a couple of years, the fully illustrated cartoon booklets shunk to nearly half that size, and then into tiny 3 x 5" tracts we still see today.
Like you say, imitating the same technique of creating fully illustrated Gospel cartoon tracts is a compliment to Chick, not a put down. In fact, the reason we list those tracts on our site (which is a fan site and has no affiliation with Chick Publications) is because I personally enjoy and collect those other Gospel cartoon tracts a well. I assume many other collectors do, too. I have never seen any Gospel cartoon tracts dated before 1961 that are not from Chick, but if you have access to any, I would certainly appreciate getting my hands on some (or at least, copies). In fact, I would appreciate any cartoon tracts (or copies) that are not listed on our site, including Life's Messenger Tracts. Thanks again for writing and keep on tract'n!
Happy Chick tract day (Nov. 22nd)- belated, I almost overlooked it because of Thanksgiving.
I assume you saw that Chick has re-released FAT CATS. As with THE POOR REVOLUTIONIST, he has deleted almost all references to "Communism" or "Communist" (but missed one one p. 11a). Jesus is now a Socialist, not a Communist....
There is only one art change. On page 21b, where Jesus shouts Matthew 25:41 at the (former) Commies, the panel has been mirrored, so that Jesus now points to his left, rather than his right. This finally answers the question that you ask on page 167 of your book - which way is down? Apparently, after all these years, Chick has actually read Matthew 25:41, which is very clear: "Then shall he say also unto them ON THE LEFT HAND, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." We should watch for this correction in other tracts.
Happy Thanksgiving - Bill P.
Thanks Bill!
I take it you saw the 48 page beast just sold for over $300 on eBay. I guess having him in office has added to his popularity, haw-haw-haw!
Yo KURT! It's been a while. I thought that you would like to know about a fairly new skeptical site. It includes BIG DADDY tract analysis!!!:
http://wiki.ironchariots.org/index.php?title=Big_daddy
It's interesting, although I was bothered by the absence of any awareness of previous versions. It's possible that these folks would apprecaite some input from you, especially if they choose to explore more tracts in upcoming articles. As you have pointed out, it is peculiar that a chick tract against evolution should... evolve.
In particular, at some point Chick decided that it was insufficient to assume that no mechanism was accepted for keeping the protons in a nucleus from exploding away from each other. By having the student insist that JESUS was the cause of most matter continuing to exist, he was really having the student say that JESUS was equivalent to the three pi mesons that carry the "strong nuclear" force. Apparently Jack had a friend with some scientific background tell him that the climactic sequence was silly as presented.
It's a long story, but gluons are what carry the oddly-named "color" force which holds together the varied three quarks of protons and neutrons. All of the lowest-mass triad of true mesons, the three pions, consist of a quark-antiquark pair, which are also held together by this same force. The strong nuclear force is considered to be a "residue" of the color force.
It is a relatively mild inaccuracy for Chick to now say that the gluon is supposed to keep the nucleons, especially the repelling protons, together in a typical nucleus.
Chick of course feels confident that the gluon is just so much talk. Perhaps at the time no gluon had been observed in isolation. According to the wiki article, though, at some point it has been isolated and observed directly. This, BTW, was news to me, although it's very hard to keep up with everything.
Of course, there have been other changes that made the tract better. Even if there were really all three distinctive versions of evolution, none of the advocates of the three had ever claimed to have "conclusively"
refuted the other two. Bye for now. - True Blue Jack
Hey Jack, Thanks for the head's up. Chick continues to make more revisions on his Big Daddy tract and his Evolution response in general. They recently made some major text changes in the full color comic, Primal Man, which deals with the same topic. You may want to check that one out, too. Thanks again!
The Chickaloging is going well, and other than the super rare ones, the missing ones are mostly pretty recent and obtainable. I've been pretty lucky for a fairly intermittent collector living on the wrong side ot the planet for Chick collecting. Pretty lucky to have got 48 and 40 page versions of the 1966 Beast.
By the way, there was a minor contoversy reported in our local paper (the Canberra Times) involving the distribution of an anti-Islamic Chick tract. Would you like me to scan it for you?
-Jeremy (Australia)
Sure Jeremy, send a scan and I'll post it on our site. Glad to hear your tract collection is coming along so quickly. If you can make such progress in Australia, then that's good news for beginners everywhere.
I got "The Trick" for one green buck on eBay-- a childhood favorite thrown away by my mom along with the ORIGINAL first comics I drew from ages 8 to 10 and kept in what I thought was a secret Lisa Frank trapper keeper. One day in 4th grade I came home, looked for my hand-drawn comics so that I could reread them and temporarily escape from life's horrors, and found the folder empty. "Where are my comics?" I asked. "I don't know," replied my mom, technically not lying. "Did you throw them away?" She turned to me, her eyebrows knitted and her eyes misty, "YES. THOSE WERE TERRIBLE!" She didn't know the specific landfill they were headed toward, I guess. Was the trash truck in Browns Mills or Pemberton by now? "I don't know." - Chrissy
Wow, if someone did that to my Chick tracts, I think I might imitate ol' pumpkin head in BOO! and take a chain saw to his/her butt!
Hi again, It's been a while since we've e-mailed.
One of the obscure, Canadian-made TV shows that I've made a habit of watching regularly is called Todd & the Book of Pure Evil. The show has parallels to Buffy the Vampire Slayer in that troubled teenagers are lured to the "dark side" to deal with the normal problems of teenagers, but whereas Buffy would save the day and save lives, there's quite a significant death count on "Todd" and that usually includes whoever had used the book in that episode (after which the book's pages flap furiously and it flies off, never to be seen again til the next episode). Aside from that, the series combines teen angst (of the protagonists, as well), Heavy Metal music, dark comedy and has Jason Mewes (aka "Jay" from the Kevin Smith films) in a recurring role as the cool school janitor.
But this e-mail isn't a commercial for the series.
One of the recurring baddies on the show is the school guidance counselor (naturally). He is the son of a Satanist who took after his twisted father's cult after beheading him at the end of season 1. In the season 2 episode "B.Y.O.B.O.P.E.", there's a scene where Atticus has gone undercover (badly) at a teen party and is trying to casually recruit young guys to his Satanic cult. At one point, he pulls out a read-&-white comic-style tract titled "A One-Way Trip to Hell!" which would look identical to something Jack Chick would publish ---except that the guy falling into Hellfire on the cover is smiling (laughing?)... plus the "you can have sex with anything!" page looks a little less like Fred Carter and a little more like Robert Crumb.
You may not have access to a site where you can watch the episode for free, but the tract itself may be watched via bookofpureevil's YouTube page (with cheerful music playing in the background) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKNKrG09epo
Warning : depictions of sex, nudity
Enjoy! - Steve
Thanks Steve. It's a hoot and we added it to our parody wing. Appreciate it!
hello sir,
a few years back i bought a membership to your club and recieved some free stuff and some tracts. i have purchased another one just now to get the tracts you are including with it now. i love these tracts! yes i am a fundamentalist nut! i agree with Chick on most of his stuff--but he is just a man and some of his ideas are quite way out there! but his artwork is excellent and it makes for a great way to explain his ideas. you actually included part of my letter to you in your book. which by the way was an entertaining read and a most valuable resource for collectors/enthusiasts such as myself. -Don (Canada)
I am only missing four tracts right now (besides the super rare promos)... Unfortunately they are mostly the ones you never see. This book has been banned, The Lost Continent, The Secret Weapon and Who are they gonna remember. I do have copies of The Poor Pope and Don't Read that Book. Those two tracts are in very poor condition though. I did have mint copies of both those titles many years ago but gave them away. I asked you about a picture for The Lost Continent because I vaguely remember that tract as a kid. I think it had brown and tan on the cover but I could be confusing it with the Soul Story. You actually got me started collecting the tracts in the late 90's when I first found your website. I was searching for information on the different tract titles and your site was the first one I came across with great information. As I recall the one tract that I owned that I thought was uncommon was the medium over-sized The Beast that is numbered inside. I never gave that one away because I only had the one copy and loved the story. I remember being excited to find out that it was extremely rare yet disappointed that you did not have much information about it. In the early to late 70's we had a sunday school teacher at my church who traveled out to california a couple times a year and he would bring back tracts that were very unlike the ones you would find in the normal church tract holders. Every week that you attended his class and participated he would hand you a tract at the end of the hour. I had two or three copies of the most common tracts by the end of that year. The kids started trading tracts so that we could all have a chance to read the different titles. I remember reading and trading tracts I didn't care for during service. Some of those titles never made it home and I believe The Lost Continent was one of those. Most of the kids loved the tracts so it wasn't easy getting new titles as I got older. Luckily I had a younger brother and cousin who had the same sunday school teacher so I got to see new tracts late into the 70's. Long story short I gave most of my original tracts away to people in the 80's and 90's before I found your website. Don't fear that you have corrupted me with all the great Chick Tract information and given me the bug to only collect them. I still order a couple assortments each year that I give away. For the last decade or so I have been giving tracts out each week to my sunday school students as well. -David
Hey David,
Thanks for the great letter. Actually, we have two pages about The Beast in the book, including one full page devoted to the oversized version you mentioned. It's not online because our publisher insisted that we not post at least half our reviews and research on the web, so that it would be worth their investment to print the book. I can understand why they would request that, since printing a full color 220 page book is quite expensive. They did a great job though, and if you're serious collector, it is well worth reading. (The only negative review I ever saw complained that we gave too much away online. That's gratitude for yah!) Another option is to get your library to order it so you can read it for free. Whichever you choose, I think you'll enjoy it and find the priceguide a big help too.
Hi there (or perhaps I should say, Hi There!).
Thank you for your very informative site. It's extremely helpful for collection purposes, although I'd like to see a few tract reviews by believers (the reviews, while often interesting, informative and amusing, are obviously written from unbelievers' points of view - I'd like to see reviews that point out the good and bad theological aspects of the tracts or their usefulness for soulwinning, and which are aimed a bit more at Christian visitors. That doesn't mean they have to lose the humour though - even folks like myself whose beliefs are very similar to Jack Chick's own can't help but smile at some of his quirks such as his "Fang Easter eggs" or the way characters always go "Haw-haw" and not "Haha" etc.). But your extensive information about the tracts themselves is extremely useful, so again, thanks for all the work you do with it.
I've been a fan of Chick tracts since I first discovered them in 2000, although I've only recently begun collecting them. I actually buy them in bulk for use as an evangelistic tool, but keep one copy of each for myself, and in some cases, I've only bought one copy of a particular title for my own collection. For soul-winning, I like the many tracts with a basic Gospel presentation, so don't tend to bother too much with tracts that deal with more specific issues (other than for my own collection). I also like "seasonal" tracts (e.g. The Greatest Story Ever Told for Christmas, or The Empty Tomb for Easter, coming up). You might think I'm crazy, but I have studied most of the tracts carefully (being able to read them online is very handy!), and while some of them get a bit "out there", most of them actually have a very sound Gospel presentation (and even the more controversial or questionable ones usually still have that). As your own site acknowledges, much of what is in the tracts is what the King James Bible already preaches. Where I think Chick is maybe on less solid ground is with some of the Catholic conspiracy theories (although a lot of what he says about Catholicism is bang-on IMO) and his ideas about spiritual warfare, which veer towards the Charismatic and seem to be influenced by the likes of Rebecca Brown and William Schnoebelen.
I'm not under any delusions that everyone will be saved by getting a Chick tract from me. Indeed, I'm sure many people will either get angry or just laugh. Perhaps some will even start their own collections! But I reckon it will make others think and hopefully set them on the right track towards being saved. Moreover, the Bible says there is joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents, so if even one person is saved by a tract from me, it will be all worthwhile. At least they'll have the information they need, whatever their reaction is!
But the tracts are certainly fun to collect as well, and your site really is a most invaluable resource from that standpoint. So long live both Jack Chick and the Chick Museum of Fine Art! - Rowan (New Zealand)
Hey Rowan, Thanks for your kind words. Incidently, we welcome diverse writers like yourself to join our team of wise cracking critics. Consider yourself "drafted" and we look forward to your reviews of future tracts. Haw-haw!
I was having a read of some more reviews today (small criticism - as cool as all those Death Cookies are, they actually make the text quite hard to read sometimes). Was pleased to see that at least one believer (Richard Lee) has done a few reviews. I particularly liked his review of Are Roman Catholics Christians? Very thorough and helpful. There were maybe a couple of very small points I didn't quite agree with him on, but overall I was quite impressed with that. Also quite enjoyed Chrissy's review of The Awful Truth...
Indeed, I am in New Zealand (the capital, Wellington, in fact). Unlike the United States, New Zealand does not have anything in the way of a "Bible Belt", and our Christianity here definitely tends to lean towards being either Charismatic/Penetecostal or New Evangelical. Of course, the Catholic Church also has a strong presence, although officially, we are a Protestant country. We have one Christian radio network, Rhema, which is strongly New Evangelical and ecumenical in its philosophy. There are no radio stations in this country with a Fundamentalist or generally conservative Christian outlook. Not many churches with that kind of outlook either, but there are a few still around. If you're not sure what New Evangelism is, it's basically a "positive-only" approach to Christianity that was pioneered by the likes of Billy Graham and Harold Ockenga in the 1950s. (I think it can also be called New Evangelicalism.) A key feature of it is repudiation of separation. Whereas Fundamentalists generally want to separate from Rome, the world and so on, and mostly want to only use the King James Bible, New Evangelicals want to embrace the world, Rome and modern versions, among other things. They're right into politically correct, rather than Biblically correct Christianity. As for warning about Hell or judgement - no way for those guys! For much of my childhood and early adulthood, this is the branch of Christianity to which I was exposed. It was "fun", but it was also quite spiritually empty. But then in 2000, I discovered Chick Publications and other sites like Way of Life Literature, Dial-the-Truth Ministries and Jesus-is-Lord.com and was exposed to what was for me a whole new kind of Christianity, although in actual fact it was really "old school" Christianity, the kind that used to be practised almost universally among Protestants until the rise of New Evangelicalism in the mid-20th Century.
However, although I have been familiar with Chick Publications for over a decade, it is only recently that I have actually started buying tracts both to evangelise with and collect for myself. So at this juncture, my collection still has a great many gaps. I think I have all the tracts currently in print, purchased from Chick.com itself. Plus I have a complete set of Crusaders comics and 64-page comics, bought from Chick.com as well. I also have (in Kindle form) the books Hot Topics and The Next Step, so have some rare tracts that way... For me the tracts are about evangelisation first, collecting second. I don't want to go too crazy with chasing variations or rare tracts. I'll keep any variations I get by chance (as with the Devil's Night variation), and I certainly don't mind doing a little bit of swapping as the opportunity arises. Thanks to your site, and especially the variations page, I've now got a better handle on my collection, so will be a little more alert to variations in the future. But as I say, I'm not generally going to seek them out specifically. - Rowan (New Zealand)
Thanks Rowan for the description of your country's religious history, as well as your experiences with our site. I have heard that the death cookie graphic makes reading difficult on certain screens that bring out the color darker than originally intended. Perhaps I can soften it more and that will help. Readers will be interested in knowing that you discovered variations on The Devil's Night and The Little Bride (see the Variations page). They will also be glad to know that you've agreed to try your hand at some reviews. Thanks again and welcome aboard!
Lent has recently begun, the forty days of fasting that ends with Easter. While most kids think of Easter as the time to literally find eggs, tract collectors consider Easter Eggs as hidden in-jokes within their comics. They may be recurring characters like Fang the dog, or a famous celebrity like Stephen King in The Scam. While I'm not a celebrity by any stretch of the imagination, your humble curator would like to thank Chick Publications for providing me an Easter-egg cameo role in Here Comes The Judge (page five). My big line, "Did you see it?" Well, did you?
(Reprinted from a listing found on eBay:)
Jack Chick never has been afraid of offending anyone, any group, or any religion, no matter what outcry his opinions bring. These innocuous little comics attack subjects from the Catholic church (a fave foe), Mormonism, rock music, witchcraft, evolution, sexual abuse, Satanism, homosexuality, the Jewish faith, Muslims, alcoholism, etc. and that's just the beginning... If this is all new to you then you are missing out on some WILD stuff! My Grandmother started giving these comics to me when I was a kid, and I kept the collection up until about 10 years ago. I am going to be listing a few hundred copies, including some of the Rare, Scarce, retired titles, countless variations, and titles that offended just about everybody other than Jack, with their decidedly NON-politically correct content.
I first started reading Chick tracts at the age of 7 or so (my older brother passed them out in earnest), and while I found them a bit nutty, I could see some Biblical interpretation at work. Later, in college, I ordered a large "variety pack" of Chick tracts for my own amusement and discovered THERE GO THE DINOSAURS. That's a weird one, ain't it? I looked up Gen 7:16 in my KJV, and it doesn't verify that Dragons were renamed Dinosaurs. And where did Chick get the information about thin air causing dinosaurs to become slower and therefore easy to catch? What about the aquatic and flying dinos? I emailed these inquiries to Chick Publications, but I'm still waiting for a response (from 2008). I was really worried bout Chick's sanity after reading the specific tract. It's like he just came up with his own theory on Dinosaur extinction and presented it as fact-- not even an asterisk to some Rick Jones reference; Nothing! -Chrissy
Thanks Chrissy. Chrissy has also drawn a fun parody of Somebody Goofed that she entitles, Ploy To The World. You can check it out at her blog at: http://bibliowhining.blogspot.com/2011/12/ploy-to-world.html
Thank you for the interesting site on Chick comics. I see that in your correspondence with a certain Father Rob -http://monsterwax.tripod.com/albertograve.html - you note that Chick never paid Alberto for his story. Is this true? So Chick never even offered to pay Alberto for all the long hours, days, weeks and months he had an office at Chick Publications? Would that not have been unfair treatment? Even exploitation of Alberto? -Marno
Hey Marno,
It is my understanding that Alberto did not want payment for his story. He just wanted to get the story out. That being said, Alberto did sell tapes and do lectures, but that was independent of Chick Publications. I do not think he ever had an office at Chick Publications, although I'm sure he met with Chick on numerous occasions in person and spoke with him a lot on the phone. Chick says Alberto was once shot at in Chick's presence as they slowed down to cross some railroad tracks while they were driving to lunch. (Then again, maybe they were aiming for Chick!) Events like that help make Chick more reclusive.
[Response] I am sure that if the story of Aberto and/or Chick being shot at whilst crossing a railroad is true - which I doubt - it must have been a stray bullet or some kids firing their BB gun. It was definitely not someone from the Catholic Church, if that is what you were implying. -Marno
[Response] Hey Marno,
I try to be objective about this and other eyewitness stories, regardless of how controversial they may be. I wasn't implying he was shot at by a Catholic, but that is certainly what Chick believes. And to be fair, it is also possible the man (or woman) behind the trigger was a Catholic-- just as it is possible the person was not. And what's more, even if they WERE Catholic, that doesn't prove the Vatican had anything to do with it. It could have been an angry Catholic who was furious over what Alberto was saying and took the law into his own hands, without any guidance (and in spite of the teaching) of the Vatican. We just don't know, and I doubt anyone except the gunman/woman knows. Moreover, it is possible there never was a gunshot. They say they heard one, but it could have been a car backfiring, or a gang member shooting at someone else in a drive-by situation. They could also be lying or imagining the entire thing, although I personally believe that is the least likely explanation, given what I know about Chick personally. BB guns, however, do not use gunpowder would not create the gunshot noise.
I do think it provides an interesting story however, and helps explain why Chick is convinced there really was a conspiracy to kill Alberto. I often equate it to the UFO controversy. I do not usually believe in them, but if I saw one first hand (just as Chick believes he saw an attempt on Alberto first hand), then I would probably believe in them very much!
i just posted something about a Chick tract.. did u hear about the race car driver who was killed on Sunday? Dan Wheldon car #77. The other day I was moving some boxes around and a tract fell out... it was The Wall by Jack Chick 2005.. i thought it was kinda weird, after just hearing about the crash.. i opened it and read it.. the car driver in the story that died after hitting the wall was car #77! - Kevin
Wow Kevin, that's quite a scoop! I'll post pictures and info on that at http://www.monsterwax.com/chicknews.html
Hi Kurt:
We've done some Jack Chick business in the past and I refer to your book often. Have you heard the recording of Chick's voice on his new Halloween tract promo?
Recently I came across the photo below. Since I think you said that you've met Jack Chick, could you confirm that this is really a photo of him? (On the left?)
Just curious!
Thanks and happy Chick collecting, Joel R.
Hey Joel,
I'll check out his voice on the site today, thanks. I've been asked about that photo before. The guy on the left holding the "Bad Bob" tract and making a wild face while pointing to the other guy could be Chick. However, Chick famously does not allow anyone to photograph him-- including yours truly. So it would be out of character for him to actually pose for a photo, let alone post it on the net. The "suspect" is making such an exaggerated and silly face, it's hard to tell if it's really Chick or not. (I guess that's why they order suspects not to smile in their mug shots.) He is the right age and Chick does wear glasses. However, if I were a Jesuit and used that photo as the only way to identify him, Chick wouldn't have to worry about any assassination attempts! Haw-haw-haw!
Hey,
I recently interviewed Marsha Stevens who was one of the first figures associated with Christian Rock through her band "Children of the Day". She had mentioned a Chick tract that talked about her band. Specifically, the tract claimed that "..every record comes with a demon." Would you happen to know where I could find a copy online or otherwise? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks for your time.
Best, Daniel
Hey Daniel,
A related concept is mentioned in the tract ANGELS, where the demons are released along with the music "Embrace Me, Love of Death". But the notion that demons are placed on the actual records is spelled out (no pun intended) in the full color Crusaders comics, SPELLBOUND. Both are great reads!
Dear Monsterwax:
Thank you for the interesting site on Chick comics. I see that in your correspondence with a certain Father Rob - http://monsterwax.tripod.com/albertograve.html - you note that Chick never paid Alberto for his story. Is this true? So Chick never even offered to pay Alberto for all the long hours, days, weeks and months he had an office at Chick Publications? Would that not have been unfair treatment? Even exploitation of Alberto?
Marno R.(South Africa)
Hey Marno,
It is my understanding that Alberto did not want payment for his story. He just wanted to get the story out. That being said, Alberto did sell tapes and do lectures, but that wad independent of Chick Publications. I do not think he ever had an office at Chick Publications, although I'm sure he met with Chick on numerous occasions in person and spoke with him a lot on the phone. He was once shot at in Chick's presence as they slowed down to cross some railroad tracks while they were driving to lunch. (Then again, maybe they were aiming for Chick!) Events like that help make Chick more reclusive.
I noticed a major revision in the Chick tract "IS ALLAH LIKE YOU?" sometime between July 2010 (after 0628.0) and Feb. 2011 (before 0222.11). There are major text changes throughout. The father's name is changed from Abdul to Ahmed, the son's name from Omar to Hassan. Most interestingly, all images of dogs are deleted. In the original version, Omar is chasing a dog named Princess (pages. 2, 3, 5); in the new version, Princess has been deleted. The old version had a Fang sighting on p. 6a, but in the new version Fang is gone! I don't understand the point of these changes, they don't seem to improve the story. Maybe Chick decided that dogs aren't Sharia-compliant? -Bill P.
Hey Bill,
Great observations! We'll add them to our Chick Variations Wing!
I love the Chick tracts and had a chance to see your movie a little while back. You did an outstanding job on the documentary. I'm very tempted to order a mixed assortment.I only ever come across This Was Your Life, for obvious reasons, it's a classic. I've always been hesitant to break down and order them, because like a lot of people said in your film, it's all about finding them. But, it would be nice to have a huge collection. Haha. - Stephen
Dear Stephen, You will not find a better comics deal than to order the all tract assortment. Heck, nearly 100 tracts for less than $15? Whatda deal! You'll still have over 125 more titles to "find" in the public (hopefully, the out of print titles). Leaving your tracts in a pile by the coffee table or toilet is a real conversation starter!
How many copies of The Secret Weapon are out there that you aware of? Was the tract a short run? I imagine the JCMFA tracts are near impossible to find. I've seen a cover picture of 1 or 2 of them on your site. How many are you aware of out there? Hope to get your book, video & Talking Chick tape in the near future. Vince
Hey Vince,
I know of about six people who have a copy in their collections, but I'm sure there are lots more I do not know about. The problem with that tract is that it was a promo, and was sent to supporters for a limited time but not sold (or shown) in the catalog. Most people didn't know it existed until decades after it was out of print. I don't know how many were first made, but the vast majority were read and thrown away. No one ever thought these would be valuable. They were made to give away. When you compare it to comic books, coins, and even trading cards, these things are still quite cheap, even at $100, considering how rare they are. It's one of the reasons I like collecting them. The most expensive tract ever is like $650. With coins, comics, and cards, the really rare stuff costs tens of thousands of dollars!
I also wanted to ask you...has the original version of The Poor Revolutionist gone down in value at all since Chick reissued it? Vince
The originals don't usually "drop" in value when one is reissued, especially if there are slight changes in the reprint, but it tends to stop the value from going up any more (because it helps reduce any increase in demand). That is probably a good thing on such an expensive tract! At least, that's what I've seen in the past. But with the recession and all, who knows for sure? Truth is, I haven't seen other copies sold in the last year or so to monitor any change one way or the other.
We watched the movie. It was incredible. I've been reading Chick tracts since I was 11. I was actually suspended from 8th grade for a week back in 1981 because I refused to stop handing them out.
-Troy A. LA, CA
I went to a college in Northern Virginia, very close to DC. There were a lot of religious people (hell, even Linden LaRouche visited our campus a couple of times, remember him? ). Anyway, we had so many Christians groups near our location we came up with a game we called "Collecting Chicks".
Here are the rules (all done on the honor system):
1. If you are handed a religious pamphlet, you get one point.
2. If you are handed a Chick track, you get three points. If you find one without it being handed to you, you get two points.
3. No points for duplicate tracks or pamphlets in your own collection.
4. You have to be handed or find a track outside the campus and at a non-religious place. (No churches or "religious meeting house").
5. Can't trade tracks with other players. (Read them for laughs, sure, just no trading of points).
The person with the most points at the end of the semester would get a bottle or six pack of any alcoholic beverage of their choice, bought by the other players.
I've never won this game, but it's a lot of fun. Sometimes when we were bored, we'd get together and do a road trip to a random town and walk around just to try to get Chick tracks. We called that "Road-Chicking". -Frank
May I ask what your personal interest in these things is? I know I've always found them a little...disturbing, crossed with funny. An odd an unintentional dark sort of humor. In a way I think half the attraction for me is "if this is the enemy, we have nothing to worry about" sort of thing. What about you? -M.R. (in NYC)
I used to have your exact attitude, only more hostile, even to the point of wanting the production of such tracts stopped. But then I moved to San Francisco and quickly realized the left wing folks were just as fanatical and crazy in their own way. Yet both sides were still people. So now I'm much more of a live and let live type of guy. We need the far right folks at Chick to distract the far left folks everywhere else. Either side becomes dangerous if they operate in a power vacuum. As Stalin said, when a stick is bent too far in one direction, you need to bend it further in the other direction just to straighten it out! (So maybe Papa Joe was right about something!) This country never promised people protection from being offended. Instead, it protected the speech rights of people like Chick (as well as his left wing counterparts).
On a much more basic level, I love the art and unintentional humor of Chick tracts, and the fact they piss people off is just one of the funny aspects about them. If they were turned into a controlled substance, it would take a lot of the fun out of it. So viva la tracts!
A poem about Chick tracts from: http://digitalcuttlefish.blogspot.com/2009/12/could-comic-book-save-your-soul.html
If you ask about science in science class
Could a comic book save your soul?
If you like to smoke a little grass
Could a comic book save your soul?
If you'd like to try to cast a spell,
If you've killed a man, and you're in a cell,
You're a breath away from a trip to Hell--
Could a comic book save your soul?
If you're Catholic, Muslim, Witch, or Jew
Could a comic book save your soul?
If there is no God, according to you
Could a comic book save your soul?
If you like to listen to Metal bands,
If you do your thinking with your glans,
If you don't do all that God demands
Could a comic book save your soul?
If you're curious while attending church
Could a comic book save your soul?
Are there pamphlets there, to help your search?
Could a comic book save your soul?
There's a little screed, by Jack T. Chick
It will make you laugh; it will make you sick,
But it just might make your brain go... *click*...
Could a comic book save your soul?
I was watching an online video about hoarders and you can clearly see a collection of Chick tracts (on the back wall) at 1:13 if you pause the video.
I've included the link so you can see for yourself: http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/truth-be-told-clips-im-not-a-hoarder.html
-Chris Z.
Thanks Chris. I guess Chick tracts get read! And collected! And hoarded! Haw haw!
I am a Christian, and I have a love hate relationship with these things. I love them because they are HILARIOUS! I hate them because how can you honestly believe that a tiny comic is going to lead ppl to Christ. The main purpose of these things is to scare ppl into getting saved so they wont go to hell. I'm sorry but claiming to be saved so you wont go to hell isn't being a Christian.
(From You-Tube's feedback of God's Cartoonist.)
My very first encounter with the world of Jack Chick happened when I was a teenager and I was snooping around my great aunt's house for something to read. I was very anti-Christian then, no surprise considering my mother was a raging atheist who disposed of any religious things I got my hands on (including the bible a friend got me a few years earlier - talk about paranoid). Peeking under the scanner, I found a little comic book and since I was a collector of Marvel and DC titles, I quickly snatched it up to read. Of course it wasn't really a comic book - it was Dark Dungeons! Imagine my surprise when I read on and found out it was a religious tract, more than likely passed to my aunt because I was an avid Dungeons and Dragons player at the time. Boy did that little tract piss me off. I was so angry at how ignorant and uninformed about D&D it was that I shoved it back under the scanner and ranted about it to my friends! Looking back, I wish I had taken it with me instead and not been so thin skinned about the subject.
Years went by and I decided to pursue studying various religions. As an adult, I didn't have to worry about my mother trashing my books or making sure they vanished. Would you believe the memory of that little tract stayed with me? When Chick says his stuff grabs attention, he really is not kidding! I began collecting tracts in search of Chick's work as I couldn't recall who published the comic I'd read or where to get my own copy but nothing I got a hold of came close. Most were forgettable declarations of "God Loves You" or shameless self promotions of a particular church or preacher. It wasn't until I took my little sister trick or treating one year that I came across what I'd been searching for: a genuine Chick tract (Bad Bob if I recall correctly) stashed in with the candy! Every year after, I made sure we hit that house and every year they passed both me and my sister Chick tracts. I was passed the 'hard hitting' ones like Holy Joe and Hi There (which both amused and frightened me) while my sister would get the ones more aimed towards kids. One year, we laid them out on the coffee table and let everyone read our 'bounty'. Boy did my mom and her friends get pissed, HAW HAW! It was incredible just how angry a simple comic made them and I couldn't help but recall what I'd felt when first reading Dark Dungeons. Thankfully I'd grown a much thicker skin and I almost was sorry that they couldn't enjoy Chick's work without taking it personally.
For a long while, getting tracts passed to me on Halloween was the only time I came across Chick's work. That all changed when I got a computer and had a steady source of income, I discovered Chick.com and the holy grail - an all tract assortment! I could not get that money order out in the mail fast enough and soon, I had in my hot little hands one of every currently available tract. I spent the whole day reading through them, utterly fascinated with how bold and offensive some of them were. That's probably one of the reasons I love Chick's work so much - he does not pull punches or bother with being politically correct. The man has guts and he will bluntly state his views in his comics no matter how controversial or paranoid. Even though I don't agree with everything he believes in, I can't help but to admire him for that. How many religious leaders do you know who refuse to bow to social pressure and spread their message without resorting to physical violence? Chick really is an amazing man who has changed lives with pen and paper, love him or hate him - it's hard to deny that simple fact.
After getting the all tract assortment, I was hooked for good and started buying new titles when ever they popped up. Ebay lead me to the older ones - including my very own copy of Dark Dungeons (funny how years later it wasn't half as rage inducing - knowing my dungeon master had gotten into black magic after we parted ways didn't help, I suppose I was the only one who thought D&D was a silly game and not a portal to Hell!) and I started collecting and sharing my own tracts with others, something I continue to do to this day.
So what draws me to Chick's work? Above all else, it's the non-PC nature of his tracts that really gets me - the fact that he doesn't coddle with lovey dovey messages but goes straight for your throat in a way you're going to remember. Part of Chick's charm is that he has no issues with stirring up folks all in the name of soul-winning, even if his beliefs come out sounding paranoid or absolutely hateful to some. The best tracts are the ones where I find myself going "I can't believe he dared to say/do that!", even those who despise him can't stop talking about titles like "The Death Cookie", "Doom Town" and "This Was Your Life". It just proves what Chick has been saying all along - Chick tracts get read. I know Chick is getting on in age but I sincerely hope he still has many years ahead of him to continue drawing and wowing us with his campy but compelling stories!
-Enelar
That's a great story Enelar, thanks for sharing it.
Hello,
Thank you for printing my 6 Degrees question (Kent State) and Top 10 Favorite tracts about a year ago. I have four brief questions for you, regarding your thoughts about JTC.
First: Why doesn't Chick go after Alcoholics Anonymous*? It seems to me that anything as vague as a "Higher Power" would draw Mr. Chick's ire. Some AA people claim a doorknob, tree, or ashtray as their Higher Power, which I imagine would make Mr. Chick apoplectic.
Second: Is Mr. Chick a Calvinist? Do his tracks lean either way? Does he care?
Third: Was the daughter actually raped in "The Marriage Mess"? Was her rapist someone actually from the church? I am very unclear about this.
Fourth: In "The Slugger", why did Frank Stone reappear in the last panel? Wasn't he already dead?
Great website! Sincerely, David S.
Dear David, I'll do my best with your questions, but they are just my opinion:
1. I'm not sure what Chick's stand on AA is. Sorry.
2. I do not believe Chick is a Calvinist as I heard he discontinued the original "Four Brothers" because it had Calvinist leanings that contradicted his thoughts on salvation and free will. But that's just a rumor, so I wouldn't swear by it.
3. No, the daughter wasn't raped in "The Marriage Mess" graphic model (written by Chick and drawn by Carter). She thought she was pregnant from "one of the boys at Church" and didn't know which one, but she never said it was forced. (That would have meant a Church member gang rape and that would have been too explosive, even by Chick tract standards!)
4. I believe Frank Stone appears in the last panel in a sort of "flashback" image, as his voice continues to echo the intent of his final will. They are all gathered around listening to the will in the preceding pages, and the last page he says, "Friend, this is what I leave to you." (or words to that effect). I hope that helps!
They told me they have never heard of his reward to Validate one of Chick's claims. I can think of at least one example of Chick's claims that are true. Could you please give me the date cover and what newspaper it was in? I would like to see what claims they are seeking to see that Chick makes that is true. Sincerly, Ryan C.
Hey Ryan,
"I can think of at least one example of Chick's claims that are true." So you're saying you already know of at least one claim that Chick made that is true? Certainly this doesn't surprise you, does it? I'm sure some are true and others are not. Nobody is going to be right or wrong 100% of the time. I you're referring to the reward for proving or disproving the Alberto/Vatican conspiracy, I have heard it quoted many times, but that doesn't mean either side will ever pay it. The fact is, it's impossible to prove such a claim for certain one way or the other, because someone can always be lying on either side of the issue. That's just my opinion on it. Either way, it's a fascinating conspiracy theory.
I just received my copy of “It’s All About You,” the new Chick tract. In the tract (the specimen I received), the girl’s name is “Hannah.” One place, it’s spelled Hanna; the other place, it’s Hannah. (The online version shows “Hannah” in both places.)
You might take a good look at your own copy of this new tract. We may have received a “first printing” that will be valuable someday because of the misprint.
I haven't gotten mine yet, but I bet you're right! I'll look out for it. Thanks for the head's up.
I'm interested in getting a copy (printed or scanned) of the tract "Lisa." I've done searches, and I can't seem to find it online anywhere. The only place that did have the complete scan, the Livejournal community scans_daily, ended up getting suspended. Please get back to me when you have a chance.-- Rebecca.
Hey Rebecca! That's one of the rarest and most prized out of print Chick tracts. But the good news is that it has just been reprinted in book form, along with several other way cool tracts, many of which are new and one that can be found no where else ("Home Alone"). The book is called "Hot Topics" and it's under $7 direct from Chick.com. Enjoy!
Hi Kurt,
I just read the new Chick tract "It's All About You" online. Looks like the standard "teenage" tract but something caught my eye. The main character Hannah starts off with the typical facial features seen in Jack's childrens' tracts... Big, round eyes, no lips, oval mouth-o-horror, etc., but after hearing (and believing) the gospel her features completely change. There's a crossover panel, where she still has the big VW-with-the-doors-open ears, but she has lips and her eyes are more detailed. By the final message panel, she looks completely like a Chick grown up. I remember seeing these sort of character transformations in Fred Carter tracts, Lisa comes to mind, when the ugly parents lose their scowls and wrinkles after being saved, but I can't recall ever seeing it in any of Jack Chick's work. Am I just forgetting, or is Jack Chick still 'evolving' (Haw Haw!) his style after all these years? -Adam
Hey Adam,
It sounds like the make up effects to "THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON". Perhaps he's being influenced by such movies? Then again, it could be older films, like "THE TRANSFORMERS". Haw-haw!
Hey-
Finally made the Chickstalker list as a buyer and a seller! does this mean I've arrived or that I'm just a kook?
The last 21 on the list were from me and all from the $272 lot that ended up being doubles.
Keep up the good work, William tells me a 3rd edition of the book is on it's way. Let me know if there are any missing codes and I'll take a gander at what I have.
-George
Hey George,
It's means that you (another kook) has just arrived! Welcome to the club! Glad to know you had so many tough doubles and decided to "share the wealth". You probably made back the full $272 off just the spares! At least now you know I don't make up those figures on the auction report (although it sure would be a lot easier!)
Who is "William"? Is that Bob Fowler you mean? If so, that means he's planning a 3rd edition of WORLD OF CHICK? It must be from all the stardom he got from our documentary, haw-haw-haw!
PS. The only variations (and codes) of note that I track are listed on our variations page.
Hi - I bought this lot on eBay on speculation. If you look at it, you will see that he didn't list the titles, and the photo just shows a stack of tracts. But it looked like at least some of them were early printings and/or out of print, so I gambled the minimum bid ($10) on speculation that there might be something interesting.
It turned out the photo wasn't of the tracts he sent; I would have been pissed off, except what I got was so much better. I opened the envelope, and the first one I saw was a somewhat beat-up copy of THE BEAST - the 48 page oversized version. The second one was THE THING. And the third one, believe it or not, was KISS INDIA GOODBYE. This is not an April Fool's joke! So, do I have the only known copy outside of Chick's vault? The cover is different from the one in your book, it's the standard style with white title on black background, picture on the left (map of India in the middle of crosshairs, with a red splotch centered around Calcutta).
Except for the cover, it ALMOST matches the description in your book (p. 82-83) - but there appears to be a few differences. For example, p. 5 has "less than 1 1/2 years" (instead of "less than 1 year"); p. 6 deletes the text about Calcutta; p. 22 deletes the name of the foundation (leaving a blank space) - which sort of takes the point out of the message, I would have thought.
I just wish I had bid on this guy's other lot too (he sold another lot of 40 tracts). And no, he doesn't have any more. But the moral is, you can still find some rare tracts at bargain prices - maybe OPERATION SOMEBODY CARES went for $500, but KISS INDIA GOODBYE went for 50 cents! Haw Haw Haw!
-Bill P.
That's a great story Bill, and it shows there's still great deals and great finds out there waiting to be fetched by those willing to sniff them out. Your copy is the only one with that cover that I'm aware of (as the one in the book had a different format cover entirely). I'll be sure to add it to the variations section. Congrats!
hello. PRAISE THE LORD! i was just wondering what you folks find wrong with creating gospel tracts to reach people for Christ using the format jack chick uses. it just happends to be a wonderful format, perhaps the best. are you folks calling them "knockoffs" because the titles are similar or for simply because jack chicks format was used. if its the format well think about this: what if the person who invented the "book" format for literature was offended by "copycats" and suggested everyone else stick with scrolls or some other format. think about it. I have been concidering creating tracts using a similar format (format only, not storylines) and would hate to be called a copycat and accussed of pushing knockoffs. could you please respond to this email. i would really like to know were you folks are coming from on this thank you very much. -Len
Hey Len,
We're not Chick publications, just fans of his comics. Don't let the "copy cat" title fool you. We just say copy cat to best describe that the tracts are very similar to Chick tracts, since he was the first to drawn Gospel comic tracts. We have no problem with other people who use comics for Gospel purposes, in fact, we collect those as well! So if you make any, please be sure to send at least one copy for our archives and website at: Monsterwax, 3202 Enterprise Drive, Tallahassee FL 32312. Include any info you want included on the website so other people know where to order them.
I got the DVD yesterday and will watch this weekend...THANKS also for the Chick tract!!...and I am going to order your Chick book and I want to join the Chick Tract club...I love them and have bought everyone I could find and I'd like to eventually collect them all.... thanks for doing all this...Chick rocks!
David H. (Winston-Salem, NC)
Glad it arrived okay David, And I think you'll enjoy the Chick collecting. I also collect cards and coins, but tracts are by far the most fun!
Hi Kurt,
I just wanted to say that your book completely hit my mainline a while back!
I'm delighted that your film is now available. I wanted to get an authentic copy direct from the source. Is it possible to get my copy autographed?
I'm a 2nd generation tattooist who grew up in a Pentecostal church reading Chick literature, and I plan to tattoo Chick's dog "Fang" somewhere on my hide in the near future. Have you heard of others who've had Chick art tattooed on them?
- Gary (Taylor, MI _
Hey Gary,
I had a lot of fun with the book, even though it did eat up two years of life writing and laying it out! I still find plenty of typos, but I'm overall happy with the results. The film was an added plus, to be sure. Unfortunately, it not only took another two years, but it also took thousands of dollars to produce, and and we're still paying off the bills. They keep selling though, so we're hopeful it will get paid off.
Of course I'll be happy to sign your copy. I can't say I've heard of others with Fang tattoos, but I've certainly seen such tattoos in various Chick tracts! (Like on the Janitor's arm on page 9 of Fatal Decision, or page 12 on the orderly's arm in Real Heat, or on page 9 on a prisoner in The Secret, or on a fan's arm on page 3 of The Slugger).
(Rev. Rich Lee was planning on taking the new Jack Chick documentary at the Comic Con this summer and showing it there. He just emailed me disturbing news about this scheme.)
Stop the presses! My contact in the San Diego area, P.C. Hamerlinck, comics historian, evangelical Christian, and Jack Chick fan was planning to get the documentary shown and sold at the biggest comic book convention in the country, the annual San Diego Comic Con held every July. Here is what he said. Dang! He and I were planning to host this event! - Rich Lee
(from Hamerlinck):
"Comic-Con has no interest in JTC. (When I attend this summer I'll place JTC tracts all over the Convention Center. I'll show them! heh heh heh..)"
This is indeed an anti-moral outrage!
KittySneezes.com just published an interview with author and film maker Kurt Kuersteiner regarding the new Chick documentary and his older book on Chick. It's a quirky piece, you might enjoy it. (If link fails, go here.)
And here's another one on Gary Dale Cearly's blog at http://thoushaltnotbearfalsewitness.wordpress.com/
(Cearly is a noted Jack Chick critic and wrote an entire book (and runs a website) attacking Alberto's claims about the Vatican being the source of Islam.)
From the book "Anti-Rock" By Linda Martin and Kerry Seagrave (page 284):
The first major record burning in the 1970s occurred in Tallahassee, Florida in 1976. The Reverend Charles Boykin of Lakewood Baptist Church preached against rockers like Elton John (an admitted bisexual), the Rolling Stones (for onstage debauchery), and John Denver (for smoking marijuana). Boykin claimed that rock music led to "illicit sex, drugs, and homosexuality." In November, he scheduled a record burning where $2,000 worth of records and tapes were destroyed outside the church by youthful members of the congregation. So popular was this idea that people began sending hundreds of records a day to Boykin to be destroyed. A second burning took place in December when Boykin preached a sermon on "The Evils of Rock" at Southside Baptist Church. Five thousand dollars worth of records were set on fire and smashed. When asked why the records weren't just given away, one of the youths explained it would be like giving away dope. Boykin said his record bonfires were unlike the book burnings in Nazi Germany because the record burnings were voluntary.
You heard it here first, folks: Tallahassee, home of the JTC Museum of Fine Art, was also FIRST of the 1970s record burnings! Woo-hoo! We're number one, we're number one! Keep in mind that Chick would popularize the record burning concept in his John Todd inspired comic book SPELLBOUND just two years later, and a series or record buring events would sweep the nation it the aftermath.
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