When Google launched Chrome they created a comic book to explain Google Chrome. After the U.S. government spent millions of dollars compiling the 9/11 Commission Report they had a problem – no one was reading the voluminous text. That is, until it came out as a graphic novel and catapulted to best-seller lists and the front of USA Today. Comics, it turns out, can be the language of choice to explain stories of significance.
Below and countless other letters and e-mails we receive attest to the fact that people need to understand the Bible. That is why the Comic Bible Society focuses on serializing and explain in a systematic, chronological and visual manner the whole testimony of the Scripture.
“Many unbelieving young people are like an unreached people group that needs to hear the gospel in a form and language familiar and compelling enough to attract and impact them. The right kinds of comics and graphic novels can change that.” – NYT best-selling author Randy Alcorn
“My husband made a major change and I asked him what happened and he said, “I read about Jesus in the comic Bible.’” – Australia
“Now, for the first time ever I understand the Bible.” -U.S.
“This is going to generate a lot of Bible awareness.” – Tunisian Arabic translator
I was shocked! We have always taught this stuff at the most fundamental level and the response had always been good. But the pictures resonating with the message had cut his heart to the “quick”. – PNG Kuman Bible Translator
Some of the reasons we see behind this effective engagement strategy include:
Comics impart meaning through the reader’s active engagement with written language and juxtaposed sequential images. Readers must actively make meaning from the interplay of text and images, as well as by filling in the gaps between panels.
The comic format is highly efficient in that it conveys large amounts of information in a short time in a relatively brief span of time.
The Dual-Coding Theory of Cognition points out how neurological studies demonstrate we process text and images in different areas of the brain. Experiments indicate that pairing an image with text leads to increased memory retention for both. Processing text and images together leads to better recall and transfer of learning. We remember visuals better because they are processed in our long-term memory. With visuals, readers not only learn the material faster, they learn it better.
The Comic Bible Society has spent the last 2-3 years translating and distributing over 60 languages both in print and digital. Since 7.26 billion people (91.69% of the world’s population) own a smart or feature phone we make the translated comics available on the Super Bible app or they can view over the internet on SuperBible.TV.
If interested in making your language available visually you are welcome to contact aaayris@kingstone.co
Ayris is a regular contributor on Christianity and media and has been interviewed by FOX News, The Guardian, American Family Radio, Christian Science Monitor, Faithwire, Publishers Weekly, WORLD, Movieguide, Baptist Press and many other media outlets. He recently produced the motion picture “No Vacancy” starring Dean Cain, Sean Young and T.C. Stallings which is being released in 2022.