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Welcome to the Museum's Memory Lane! A collection of correspondence on Chick tracts. (New letters added as they come in.) To view older letters & memories, click here. This is Chick Memorie #5 Comments from Sept 2001 thru Dec. 2001. [Please Note: Curator's remarks are in bold type.] * * * * *
Hey, I've been enjoying the completed anti-Chick diatribes by Karl Keating recently added to your site. Did you catch Keating's observation about Alberto's photo appearing superimposed over his official ID card? It's hard to believe that a young Rivera would wear a Roman collar for several photos and then hide them away for a few decades just to spring a Catholic conspiracy charge. -Anonymous Excellent point, and one I never considered before. Alberto does appear very young on his ID card and it would have required a lot of "premeditated malice" for him to have prepared that photo so many years in advance of using it. I checked the reprinted ID and I can't see any superimposed image at all. (Perhaps Keating assumes his readers won't double check his observations.) This may be one instance where an attack on Alberto actually improved his credibility.
Hello Again, I think I found a new Fang siting. On page 4, panel B of "Murph", one will see a shot of two cops in a donut shop. Anyway, in the lower left corner of that panel is someone seated at a table, on the back of his jacket or shirt is a Fang emblem. Please take a look at "Murph" and let me know if you agree, I'd love to be able to say that I have a Fang siting. :) - Evan Hey Evan, That one has been out there for two years and you were the first to spot it. Congrats. (For more examples, go here.)
I first came in contact with your literature in Zambia. My dad is a Gospel minister with deeper Christian life ministries which is one of the largest single congregation church in west Africa with heard quarters church based in Lagos Nigeria. Now he is national over sear in Pretoria South Africa. Well the time he introduced me to your large size type comic magazine. I loved them despite not been a Christian, but they played a big role in getting me yield to the savior. Other wise the devil was about to use me mightily. But thank God through you and my father's contact with you. -Brian C. 11/4/01 Thanks Brian. We're not Chick publications, but fans who love his comics. (Sounds like you do too.) Your letter is a good example of secular fans who enjoyed his comics and eventually became Christian through their influence. Thanks for sharing your story with us. Regarding South Africa, the latest news there is tragic. The elderly ex-wife of former President F.W. De Klerk was brutally stabbed and strangled to death in her Cape Town apartment. It looks suspiciously like another of over 3,000 racially motivated murders committed every year by black militants seeking revenge for the previous apartheid. (Nothing was stolen from her apartment but she was a well known critic against giving control of the country to the African National Congress, a Marxist group that instigated a campaign of terrorist tactics to help overthrow the Afrikaner government.) So much for the reconciliation promised by Nelson Mandela when his ANC party took over the country in the 1994. Mandela was originally jailed for bombing plots until the international community boycotted South Africa for his release. He refused to renounce violence as a condition for parole and was rewarded with the Presidentcy and the Nobel Peace prize! (How's that for Political Correctness?) Perhaps after Sept 11th and the ongoing reprisals, some will reconsider the wisdom of putting a former terrorist organization in charge of the government. Don't expect the killer to ever be arrested. The ANC government-- like the Zimbabwe government next door-- shows little interest in stopping such crimes because they result in white flight and redistribution of their wealth (goals both governments promised supporters before coming to power). It seems that we replaced on racist regime with another.
I always keep a load of Chick tracts in the car, just in case something like this happens... I was coming home from a football game (Auburn 16, Mississippi State 14) and stopped at an Exxon station, and there were two cars covered with white shoe polish in the windows. They had big messages like "I'M GAY", "I LOVE SID", etc. Lo and behold, I had a copy of "Doom Town: The Story Of Sodom"... I have been praying the Prayer of Jabez (I Chronicles 4:10) all summer specifically for moments like this! I was going to wait for the car owner with tract in hand... But then somebody got out with a gas can and angrily said "I'll kill them!" And I thought, "Lord, please...Don't let this be another Matthew Shepard incident...That's not Your will..." As it turned out, the guy with the gas can was just kidding. He was a senior at Auburn High School and the vandalized car was his...That was the week of "Junior vs. Senior Wars" at his school and this was just a prank. But I still told him about how I became a Christian, even after 3 years of being a DJ and playing Satanic music (not to mention 2 suicide attempts!) It was the week before Halloween and I invited him to my hometown's "Judgment House", in which I was portraying a preacher. (That's like a haunted house, except it shows hell and heaven and ends with an altar call.) He and his friend said they had accepted Christ at a similar Judgment House the year before, so I told him to give "Doom Town" to a homosexual student at school. He said he could think of a few. -Tom A., Dothan, AL Thanks for the tale, Tom. I went to Auburn myself and sure wish someone had given me a title other than THIS WAS YOUR LIFE. If they had, I would have realized there were more worth collecting and started my museum sooner!
Hello. I have just completed my latest video-tract. It is called "Sammi's Ants" and is based on the Chick tract"Charlies's Ants." If anyone is interested in a copy for themselves, they are available for $3.00 plus shipping. Get more details at my website at www.tracts.com/newparablefilms.html You will find art, production stills and synopsis for the film. It runs 16 minutes and is on VHS format. Thought your readers would be interested. Hope you can post this on your site. Thanks. John Martin/New Parable Films Thanks for the info John. Good luck on sales.
HAW HAW HAW Y'ALL! I didn't realize that Jack Chick was such a cult phenomenon!
I guess if you look at him as entertainment. Just something about the people
who preach "God loves you but says "love me or I'll burn you in
Hell"...it doesn't fit for me. Anhilation would a little better (OK,
Grandma missed heaven but she's not suffering...as opposed to the Chick
version.) I can't fathom a God who will burn people in hell for all eternity
for growing up in the wrong denomination, the wrong country, or not realizing
that the ONLY TRUE CHURCH has 50 members and is on a mountaintop in Tennessee.
To become a true Christian, apparently, according to JTC, you must impose
the Taliban legal code upon yourself (no music released after 1954...I would
say only hymns sung by George Beverly Shea but Billy Graham's a liberal..:)!
No smiling. Sex must be only for reproduction. (God said..hmmm, variety
in the species and after he created sex he said, OH NO! WHAT HAVE I DONE!
and said to the earthlings "THOSE BIOLOGICAL DRIVES I CREATED: THEY'RE
OUTLAWED! ANYONE WHO USES THEM GOES STRAIGHT TO HELL!" And what about
his abortion stand, though I'm pro-life, if the "babies" are going
straight to heaven, then the abortion doctors are doing a lot of Jack's
work for him. After all, allowed to be born, these babies might have derived
a slight bit of enjoyment from lives, danced, listened to popular music,
had a sexual thought (let alone sex without a government license, which
pisses off God more than ANYTHING!) and gone TO THE LAKE OF FIRE!!! Certainly
seems that Christianity according to Chick is completely joyless, with God
as an arbitrary, authoritarian parent (I'll use the term loosely). The tract
where all is forgiven when this guy molests the five-year-old. You've got
to be kidding! Sorry for rambling, but since the only people going to heaven
with this psychopathic God are Jack Chick and a few of his closest friends...you
get the point. Hey Brad, There's no denying that Chick's hardcore Fundamentalist beliefs are one of the things that make collecting his comics so fun among disbelievers like yourself. But in fairness, you're interpretation of his philosophy on sin is not very accurate. He maintains minor infractions are indeed hell worthy (my favorite is the sinner guilty of stealing a paper clip), but both the Bible and Chick maintain that belief in Jesus saves any sinner from the smallest or largest of sins. So Chick's version of Heaven is really quite crowded. Yes, he urges Christians to avoid any and all vices (as does the Bible), but that's not the same as saying all sin equals damnation. Forgiveness of sin is a major difference between Christianity and the Taliban's Islamic beliefs. Overlooking it is a common mistake made by critics. I had to make one more comment about Chick's "molestation" tract. What about this "doctor's" moral and legal obligation to report any and all suspected child abuse? He says he'll keep mum as long as the "perp" says the sinners' prayer! If JTC wanted any credibility at all, Doc would have led Mr. Perp into the sinners' prayer, then convinced him to TURN HIMSELF INTO THE AUTHORITIES. Though God has forgiven him, he still must face the earthly consequences! What a moron! -Brad L. Hey again Brad, Yeah, that little bit of Earthly forgiveness on the part of the doctor is rather amusing (in a black comedy sort of way). I suspect reactions like yours are why the LISA tract was out of print for so long. Then again, the doctor never actually says he's not gonna report it-- but he sure leaves that impression. He probably rationalized that he didn't want to break up the family by sending a born-again father to prison. (Kinda reminds me of the joke about the kid who murdered his parents and then begged the judge for mercy because he was an orphan!) Haw-haw-haw indeed.
Dear JTC Museum, Instant conversions have been figuring rather prominently into Chick's tracts as of late. A few of your more liberal visitors of your website have had great fun with that, and I'd like to chime in from a different vantage... See Ray's essay on this topic by going here.
I'm having trouble determining if you're out to defend Chick's sappy art or his even sappier anti-catholicism. Either way, this is a free country, and Chick's comics are seen by many as a complete series of lies and vitriolic hatred. If the casual observer were to compare Catholic doctrine with Chick's assertions in his poorly drawn comics, then he would come to the conclusion that Chick is far away from reason. He is basically no better than an anti-semite who can draw a little bit. If you've dedicated a site to his "fine art", I suggest that you find something to do with your time, of which you must have in abundance. James Y. Hello James, I would disagree with you on nearly every point, including your assertion that we have plenty of time. Life is very short, and you would do well to keep your sense of humor. You should also check out Fred Carter's many Chick tracts (like Titanic) and comic book art. They are among the best art in the comic business, period. I would also point out that Chick is never actually anti-Catholic. He is anti-Vatican, trying to save Catholics from what he perceives to be damnation from false doctrine. I suspect you've also criticized other religions but don't consider yourself a hate monger. If so, you should understand where Chick is coming from.
Hello, I have always used these tracks to bring poeple to the lord and I have had muslims unable to put these things down at all. I am glad to see there others who support appreciate his work like I do. I would like to visit but live in south africa cheers, Peter Hey Peter. Glad to hear Chick's are popular down near the Cape! At least you can Cyber-visit us anytime.
We pagans out in California are so busy corrupting the youth. This Halloween we only had three trick-or-treaters come by. I would have given them more Nicorette chewing gum, a few more condoms, and all of my special Halloween Chick tracts if I had only known. Blessed be, John W. Hey John, Now you can add LITTLE GHOST to your Trick-or-Treat ministry. It might help increase your visitors next year. (Certainly Nicorettes and condoms won't help. That's like smoking through a rain coat.)
Dear Curator, What a fascinating site! Congratulations and well-done. I was not so much an avid collector as an avid user of Chick tracts in my zealous evangelical heyday. Either way, I loved them. Partly because they were so in-your-face. (Read more of Jeff's letter here, which is long but interesting.)
I am curious to know if you have access to a tract titled "He would have ridden a Harley"? I have a friend that I think would enjoy that message. I you know where I could buy several copies I would be very greatful. Please e-mail me and let me know . Thanks, Scott No Scott, I don't. But if you find out, let me know and I'll add it to our parody tract's section.
You mention the idea of mailing Chick tracts to various celebrities on your contest page. I thought that was a groovy idea, and am planning to cruise the net for mailing addresses of some of my favorite famous folks. Then I started thinking that this may be bad timing, what with the whole anthrax scare and all. I wouldn't want, say, Pat Sajak's people, (do you think Pat Sajak has people?) wigging out because they think my Chick-wisdom containing envelope has a dose of anthrax in it instead. What do you think? Is this something I may want to postpone until this whole thing blows over? A fellow Chick fan, Doug PS I visit your site at least once a week. Great job. Hey Doug, Thanks for your note. I would suggest not letting the Terrorist adjust your life in anyway. To play it safe, post your return address and make sure there is nothing that can be mistaken as powder in the envelope. Sending someone Chick tracts is still completely legal. Be sure to let us know which celebs you send them to (and what tracts) for our contest page.
Dear Kurator, I read that page on C. S. Lewis, "the Devil's wisest fool", that was referred below and I must say it was among the most hilarious things I've read in a long time. Fundamentalist humor at its best - even Chick would be hard pressed to match this. It kind of goes to show the pointlessness of making parodies of this kind of writing. You can't really top the real thing, when it's as good (that is, bad) as this. Although I must say I was very disappointed that the most promising sub-article of all, "Luciferianism and the Secret Doctrine" (huh?) was still under construction. On a slightly more serious note, it's not at all surprising that extreme Fundamentalists like the Van Nattan family (whose "ministry" maintain the site) find a lot to disagree with in a writer like Lewis. On the other hand, much of the criticism of his fiction might possibly have been more substantial and less nonsensical had it not been marred by the typical Fundamentalist problem - the complete and utter lack of any historical perspective. The most obvious, if not so important, example might be Lewis portraying more-or-less mediaeval habits of eating and drinking in Narnia, which to the Van Nattans means only an offensive portrayal of drinking wine. (I wonder how they cope with the wine-drinking of Jesus and co.?) I mean, look at this: "p. 205 The Centaurs are said the have beer as part of their breakfast. (So, beer is something to drink in the morning. Even in the present, decadent age drinking beer for breakfast is viewed as being over-done. Shows where Lewis' heart was. Isaiah 5:11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!) " Today, having beer for breakfast might seem decadent, but in the Middle Ages ale was actually the standard drink (although it was normally pretty weak). It goes on like this and gets more and more ridiculous. The parent site, www.balaams-ass.com, is well worth checking out for anyone interested in Chick-style fundamentalists. There's some great stuff there (I particularly like the rants about "Imam George Bush"), although like Chick, not for all tastes. Take care, Theo Thanks for the comments Theo. We'll post them and see what kind of feedback they evoke.
I have always been amazed by JTC and your site is very thorough and well put together, what a wacko! good job! -Mothra Dear Mothra, Glad you enjoy both JTC and our site. Some of the best thrills are cheap!
I believe that J.T. Chick has immortalized himself on panel 7a of the Tycoon - holding a copy of This Was Your Life - I may be wrong but when I first saw it that was my observation. -Lanspar Interesting thought. Check this
link and compare for yourself.
Hiyah Thanks for the Fan Club pack. The Wicked Magistrate is a great collector's item. I thought I'd drop you a line for your responses pages - I'm sure you won't agree with me, but one of the things I like about your site is the even-handedness with which you publish all views. As someone who was brought up in a fairly conservative Christian family but has since shifted a fair bit in my thinking, I find Chick comics (tract or comic book) to be a bit like pornography - they are based on something beautiful and precious, but distort it so greatly that they are downright evil, and yet exert a strangely compelling fascination upon all who fall under their sway! I started reading Chick booklets in my early teens and continued reading and collecting them on and off until I kind of grew out of them at University. I had (have) a fairly good collection, aided by the fact that I used to work weekends in a Christian bookshop, so until Chick got kicked out of the Christian Booksellers' Association, I had first dibs on all new titles that came through the shop. In the end I think it was the anti-Catholic tracts and comics that turned me off. Not, mind you, because I necessarily disagreed with JTC - probably at that stage I was still in the anti-Catholic camp. But it just strained my credulity to the breaking point to believe that the Catholic church was responsible for the Nazis, Communism, Islam, the KKK, the IRA, the Masons, the American Civil War, the Illuminati, Club of Rome, World Bankers (?), the Spanish Civil War, and the 1st World War and they STILL couldn't manage to create One World Government! I guess the anti-evolution ones also seemed a bit misleading as I became more interested and involved in science. I never threw out the collection however and occasionally pulled them out for old times' sake, though less and less as I underwent theological training and moved away from my conservative roots. Then about 5 years ago I moved from Australia to England to do some post-grad study and left the collection in storage. Separated from them physically, and continuing to move away from them theologically, I forgot all about the wacky world of Chick until a chance cyberspace encounter with the Chick website and the realization that all my old faves were there for online reading. Having downloaded the lot, I found myself yearning for the feeling of a crisp, new Chicklet under my fingers once again, and so I splurged on an assortment pack. At the same time I found and devoured your splendid site and joined the fan club. I am now keen to get back to Aus (probably within 6 months) and to dig out my old collection which I am sure contains out-of-print titles like Don't read that book, Kings of the East, and Hit Parade. In the meantime I'll work on building up my collection by trading and buying. As I said to begin with Chick booklets have a strange fascination (at least for me). Part of this is the extremely reactionary political stance and extremely conservative theology - kind of a there but for the grace of God... thing perhaps. But another attraction for me is the crude cartoonish drawings. So my favorites have always been those classic Chick titles, often with demons, like Somebody Goofed, The Assignment, A Demon's Nightmare etc. The more realistic the drawings, the less I like them, and if I'm being honest I'd have to admit that even when I was on board the Chick express, theologically speaking, I used to skip over the bits where they were just illustrating a Bible story with realistic drawings. Give me Lew Siffer or B. Fox any day! Finally, one of the joys of Chick, which grows with the passing of time is their unique reflection of 70's life, both negative (don't you love it that Gary decides to get a haircut at the end of Sabotage!) and positive (Tim and James throwing around all the "heavy man"s and "far out"s). Best wishes - Linz Hey Linz, Thanks for the comments. I try to be even-handed with the site. I figure everyone who enjoys Chick tracts (whether they believe them or not) has something in common and should have fun discussing them. I also try to avoid taking sides on controversial aspects (like Alberto) and provide Chick the benefit of the doubt. I don't see how Chick tracts could be considered "evil", anymore than the Bible or competing religions could. But their controversial nature rubs many people the wrong way-- while endears them to others! In an "everything's relative" era where nothing is absolute and offending anyone is considered a crime against political correctness, Chick's strong beliefs and brutal honesty are refreshing. It's great to hear a story about someone who actually saved their tract collection and didn't lose them, burn them, or have their mom toss 'em out. Good work! (To see Linz's Response, go here.)
MY QUESTION IS : DO YOU THINK THAT THE V-T-C-N IS BEHIND THESE ATTACKS ON AMERICA? VOWELS WERE LEFT OUT INTENTIONALLY FOR SECURITY PURPOSES. I HAVE READ THAT THIS ENTITY WILL ATTACK THE REAL CHURCH IN THE US. - (Name withheld) Dear Withheld, Alberto claimed the Vatican started Islam, so in a-round-about way, perhaps! I don't personally think the Vatican had anything to do with it though. They've got their fingers in too many other pies! (Haw-haw! Just kidding-- (I think.)) But seriously, I don't know what Chick's official opinion on that theory is. Perhaps we'll find out in future installments of The Crusaders.
This morning I dug out some old comics, which included a few old Chick tracts. Included there was an odd item--a photocopy of a chick tract ("Angels") which had been laid out on both sides of an 8 '/2 x 11 sheet, xeroxed and folded twice: a letter-sized, homemade Chick comic, with no credit to Chick. Instead of the cover, the title "ROCK n' ROLL" appears at the top, and a few typewritten evangelical sentences have been added at the end, with instructions to "Write today for your FREE book about the real love of Jesus, at: START NEW, Dept RRT, POB 286, Wilton, CA 95693." Are you familiar with this? Is it common for evangelicals to rip off
Chick? -Brian 9/25/01 Hey Brian, Christians often think Chick won't mind if they "borrow" his material since they're also trying win souls. But Chick has to enforce his copyright against people who swipe material or he loses his monopoly to reproduce it-- and he would probably run out of business. So yes, I'm familiar with lots of people copying his material, and I'm aware of just as many legal efforts by Chick's lawyers to stop them from doing so. Chick tracts are cheap (.13 cents each). It's hard to imagine anyone could photocopy, cut and staple a knock-off tract for less than the real thing. They have no excuse to rip off what they can get legally for so little $. If they're hell-bent on photocopying their own tract, they should draw and write their own tract as well. If they do, I hope they'll send me a copy (I'll even pay for it) 'coz I collect those to! (Check our parody and copycat wings of our site.)
Dear JTC museum, I am appalled by Jack Chick's reaction to the WTC bombing by pushing Robert Morley's book "The Islamic Invasion" on his website. I'm not religious, but using religion to bash another religion for one's personal gain is just unethical and exploitative. Violence and harassment against Arabs and Muslims have increased and Chick just proved that he's an opportunist like Falwell and Robertson. It's no secret that organized religion has caused a lot of misery throughout human history but can't we all just get along and respect each other? Can't we use words that heal than divide? -MidnightV Dear Midnight, I'm also concerned about a backlash against American Arabs, but I certainly don't blame Chick for it. I blame the terrorists for poisoning public opinion against their people and their cause. Unlike Chick, I'm not pro-Israel at any cost. I felt we should have been neutral and cut off the $6.2 billion in aid that we hand Israel every year. (They're the world's 3rd strongest military and can certainly afford to take care of themselves.) But now after the bombing, the Arab's have lost almost all sympathy and replaced it with anger. As far as "exploiting" the tragedy, you can't expect Chick to remain silent on the subject. He's dedicated his life to promoting Christianity and that includes discouraging people from joining other (what he considers false) religions. The liberals never cared when they appalled conservative Christians. They push what many consider offensive agendas (like homosexual lifestyles) in the media and public schools at every conceivable opportunity. To suddenly hold the fundamentalists to a different measure would be a clear double standard. Besides, Chick had that book blurp posted before the bombing. It's not the first time his material seemed prophetic in hindsight. His comments on the tragedy can be found here.
You've had a few Chick Memories devoted to that one caption of Dark Dungeons, removed from later versions, where it was alleged that CS Lewis, along with JRR Tolkien, was writing occult literature, and here's a website that agrees with Jack:C. S. Lewis, C.S. Lewis, Clive Staples Lewis (http://www.balaams-ass.com/journal/homemake/cslewis.htm) Whattaya think? -Ray Ruenes Dear Ray, I think it's an interesting debate, especially in light of the upcoming Lord of The Rings movie that is planned to be the next big blockbuster movie. * * * * * Another Catholic complaint letter. We're getting so many of these, I've created a special section to stash them all, called The Catholic Corner. It's for those of you who can't get enough of the Vatican/Chick feud (which we seem to get caught in the crossfire of so very often). Where are the angry Jews, Masons, Muslims, Mormons, Witches and Gays when you need them? (They either figured out we're not Chick or they take him more in stride!) * * * * * The recent National Day of Remembrance Memorial service prompted these Chick related comments in a chat room (names changed to protect the guilty): Chatman1: Get a load of Rev. Billy Graham's trademark ecumenical speech! He seemed almost sorry for mentioning Jesus, and had to insert a disclaimer before mentioning Jesus's name once. He said, "For the Christian, I'm speaking to the Christian now...." As if Jesus isn't important for people in false religions. Chatter2: He's a politician, not a preacher. He wouldn't want to push his religion on anyone. It's only a "value judement" and he seems to believe one is as good as another. Besides, promoting Jesus might offend others (God forbid!) Chatman1: I hate generic prayers. Chatter2: The whole service was generic. One minister said, "God of Abraham, God of Mohammed, Father of Jesus...." God is not Jesus mind you, just his father, like he is to all of us. And the dreaded "J-word" is mentioned dead last! A real Rev. Wonderful! Chatman1: I'm glad to see Jack Chick still going strong and uncompromising. He should have spoken at this service instead! Chatter2: Then we would have had another explosion... of Jesuits! Chatman1: We need more Mr. T's and fewer Mr. Rogers! * * * * * Here's another unusual observation from the recent tragety. It's an unretouched photo of Satan's face in the WTC smoke column. (No, this isn't from a tabloid either!)
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