NCE: Kevin, please introduce yourself. Where are you from, and what do you do?
KY: I was born, raised, and still live in sunny southern California. In addition to my creative and editorial work with New Creation Entertainment, I also work full-time handling digital prepress troubleshooting for a large design/printing company servicing the entertainment industry. Iʼm blessed to have the support of my wife, Heather, through all the ups and downs of juggling both the creative and technical sides of my career.
NCE: Please share a little about your background that led you to where you are now.
KY: I was raised in a Christian home, born into a Lutheran church, and made a profession of faith in grade school, although it wasnʼt until my late teens that I began to explore what it truly meant to be a Christian. Since then, the churches Iʼve attended have ranged from Quaker to non-denominational Evangelical, to Southern Baptist, and I currently attend the Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena. I love learning about theological differences throughout church history, but try not to let them divide from whatʼs truly important in following Christ.
My educational background took many twists and turns: I was home-schooled through high school, I studied Christian apologetics at Simon Greenleaf University (now a part of Trinity International), then I changed gears to study graphic arts and printing technology. While these diverse areas of interest seemed unrelated to me at the time, they really came together when I began to be involved in the Christian comics movement. At last, here was religion (the subject) and art (the comic medium) and printing (the finished product) all tied together in one package.
NCE: What first got you interested in comics?
KY: I learned to read through my local libraryʼs collection of old hardcover Peanuts and Garfield comic strip treasuries. As a kid, I loved the various superhero cartoons on TV, and my watching those shows coincided with my newsstand discovery of the digest-sized reprint books of DCʼs Legion of Super-Heroes stories from the Silver Age. I was hooked! Since then, Iʼve drifted through most of the major (and many of the minor) superhero titles from DC & Marvel, from Captain America to Captain Carrot, from Superman to Power Pack, and everything in between.
From my interest in superheroes came my interest in science-fiction and fantasy, leading me to discover novelists like C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Ray Bradbury. Everything from my love of 1950s sci-fi B movies and Japanese giant monsters to an appreciation for the new pop culture imports of anime and manga, it all traces back to those early superhero reprint books I picked up off the newsstand. Who knew that Matter-Eater Lad could be such an inspiration?
NCE: How did you first discover Christian comics?
KY: As I was growing up, the amount of Christian comics available was very limited. Our family received Andre LeBlancʼs The Picture Bible as a gift, which I eagerly read cover-to-cover. My local Christian bookstore also carried a few random titles from the Spire line of Christian "Archie" and "Barney Bear" series, but very little else. A few years later I found the Archangel series, which I found to be very exciting when it first appeared, but also very disappointing after the distribution for the series dried up in my area and the bookstores stopped carrying the title. It wasn't until I was in my teens and more actively involved in comics fandom did I begin to learn about the many other Christian comics series that were being produced.
NCE: What led to you actively becoming involved in the Christian comics movement.
KY: An ad in the back of Comics Buyers Guide led to me to discover Alpha-Omega, an Amateur Press Association sponsored by the Christian Comic Arts Society. My response at discovering CCAS was "I thought I was the only one!". I joined Alpha-Omega in the late 1990s, and continue to be an active participant today.
Through Alpha-Omega, I was introduced to Don Ensign and Ralph Miley, both of whom (at the time) lived locally to me. We began meeting at each other's homes on a regular basis, at first just for fun and fellowship, but soon we began collaborating on projects together as well. Don, Ralph, and I published the New Creation newsletter, began hosting an annual CCAS ministry at the San Diego Comic-Con, and helped to organize the Proverbs & Parables comic anthology.
NCE: What other Christian comics projects have you worked on since then?
Since starting out with Proverbs & Parables, I went on to work with various friends from both the local Christian comic artist meetings and the convention activities. With the help of Don and Ralph, I wrote New Crew, a superhero parody; I published two tracts in association with CCAS; and I worked with Eric Jansen of God & Country Graphics as a part of their Christmas Treasury anthology and they also published my creator-owned series, Tales of Hemlock.
Looking back over the past several years, I see that many of the projects that originated at the humble meetings around our kitchen tables have since taken on a life of their own -- the local meetings have grown to include dozens of local Christian artists, the CCAS ministry at the San Diego has become a decade-long tradition, and our various publishing projects have grown to the point that we have come full circle: a group of talented artists whose friendship was started during the early days of the New Creation newsletter have now banded together to form New Creation Entertainment. I'm excited to see the projects currently under development, and I'm honored that I was invited to be a part of it!
NCE: What is your role as part of New Creation Entertainment?
KY: For the moment, my role is primarily editorial as I help organize and direct the projects that are already in production. Given my printing background, I'll also be heavily involved in the production end of our publishing projects as well.
Thankfully, I'm also getting to exercise my creative side too, as I collaborate with Ralph Miley on scripting a teen comedy series called Parallel Park, currently under development as part of the NCE roster of titles. (Keep checking the website for more news about it as it develops!)
NCE: What goals do you see for the future of New Creation and the Christian comics movement?
KY: The creative team here at New Creation is a talented group from a diverse background and with diverse range of artistic styles. Our goal is that we'll be able to harness that creativity and diversity in a positive and God-honoring way, and that amid a crowded comic book marketplace we can offer our readers stories that are both unique and entertaining.
I know that all of us at New Creation are proud to be a part of the Christian comics movement, and my personal hope is that our work will be able to build on the tradition of what's come before us in a way that will also be an encouragement to those who will come after us -- especially to those up-and-coming Christian artists and writers who (like me) may say to themselves "I thought I was the only one!"
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NCE: Clint DeRon Johnson is the secretary for New Creation Entertainment. Clint tell us a little about your family.
CDJ: I'm married to a beautiful, wonderful and supportive wife (Marjane´ ) and am father to a bright and out going son (Demarcio). My mom and sister are two of my best friends and supporters.
NCE: Clint who are some of your favorite comic book creators?
CDJ: Oh, man, there are sooooo many. Definitely Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Carlos Pacheco, George Perez, Marv Wolfman, John Byrnes, Jim Lee, Scott Williams. Dave Cockrum, Peter David, Terry and Rachel Dobson, J.D. Smith, Reggie Byers and many more.
NCE: Clint you have been busy over the years serving with and founding various organizations.
CDJ: God is good! I've been a CCAS member for over 11 years and have served on the marketing and publishing commitees. I am the Founder and Creative Director of Artistiq Reign Creations and Co-founder of ClearVision Communications (a Christian based youth content publishing venture).
NCE: You have also been involved in creating different Christian comics properties.
CDJ: Yes, I'm the creator of the anointed illustrated adventurer called The Footsteps of Matthew Cross: FaithWalker and co-creator/writer of Lil' Rock and The High Ups (with Wayne Cash), Defenders of the Faith (with Tim Gagnon) and the BondServants (co-created by Ralph Miley). I was also fortunate enough to participate in the Proverbs and Parables anthology. I believe my artistic gift is to enlighten, encourage, entertain and inform.
NCE: You have also been very involved in ministry within your local church.
CDJ: Yes, praise the Lord. I've served as a Deacon and former Singles Ministry Staff Coordinator at Covenant Worship Center in Inglewood, California, and have recently relocated eighty miles north of Los Angeles. At that location we are active with the Marriage ministry. Bishop Andrew C. Turner and Dr. Wanda Turner are major spiritual influences in my life.
NCE: The Lord has blessed your with favor for your community service.
CDJ: Yes, my community service over the years has helped me acquire recognition that includes Rockwell International, Observance Honor, NAACP ACTSO Award, The AAFES Service Award, New Bethel Vision Award, Mecca Ministries Certificate of Commendation, in addition to the Foothill Alumni Chapter Delta Theta Sorority Participation Award. The Lord deserves the credit for this.
NCE: And you are currently pursuing additional education and training.
CDJ: Yes, I've earned an Associate of Arts Degree in Visual Communication and my plans are to pursue a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Visual Communication. I've started my undergrad and desire to get my Bachelors with an emphasis on ministry.
NCE: Clint. thanks for your time. We'll be hearing more about Faith Walker and your other projects in the near future.
NCE: Don, tell us a little about your background and your spiritual journey.
DDE: I was born May 26, 1948 to W. Russell and Lucille Ensign in Bellingham, Washington. I am the youngest son of four children, all sons. I grew up in a fundamental, Bible-believing church and heard the gospel from the nursery on. I probably asked Christ into my life a half dozen times as a small child, but never had the assurance of my salvation. That is until a crisis point in my life occurred, when I was ten, my brother, LeRoy took me aside and explained the gospel and I then prayed to receive Christ as Savior. I was born again in 1958. Sometime later t the urging of my father I went forward in an evangelistic meeting.
NCE: Tell us a little about how your interest in comics developed.
DDE: The earliest comic book memory I have was on a trip to western Colorado to visit relatives when one of my older brothers purchased a 1953 copy of Fawcett's Lash Larue (I still have the coverless copy of that issue). My brothers had bought comics earlier that that, mostly Dell Walt Disney comics, but they weren't comic collectors by any means. Comics were just part of the childhood reading diet we had as kids.
NCE: You were involved in early comics fandom weren't you?
DDE: Yes, I began reading the Silver Age DC Comics (Flash, JLA, Mystery in Space, Green Lantern, Hawkman, etc) and Marvel Comics (FF, Spider-Man, The Avengers, X-Men, etc) in the early 1960s. I responded to a letter printed in one of the comics by a man named Jerry Bails who sent me my first fan publication. I wrote letters of column, articles, amateur comics and published a one shot fanzine during the 1960s. My output was not large and was definitely not a BNF (Big Name Fan).
NCE: How did you get involved in Christian Comics?
DDE: After graduating from college I joined a para-church organization called Campus Crusade for Christ and was a graphic artist for them. During that time I went to the San Diego Comic Convention and eventually produced an evangelistic give away comics. Later I co-founded (with Paul Johnston) the Christian Comic Arts Society (CCAS) and started its first newsletter, Valiant (1984-86) and the amateur press association, Alpha-Omega (1985) which is still being published. (For anyone wanting more details on this go to Don's website www.shareyourstory.info and click on the Sample Bio button).
NCE: You have been very involved in the recent Christian Comics movement.
DDE: Yes, I've have the privelege of
working with Ralph Miley on Valiant Efforts Comics(1988-1991) and with Ralph and Kevin Yong on the New Creation newsletter (1996-1998) and the Proverbs & Parables collection (1999). I've also published the annual Guide to Christian Comics (2004-2008) with CCAS.
NCE: Sounds exciting.
DDE: Yes, the Christian comics movements has really taken off in the past few years and the best is yet to come especially with New Creation Entertainment!
NCE: Today we are speaking Ralph Ellis Miley. Ralph is the president of New Creation Entertainment.
REM: Before I introduce myself, I must thank those individuals, whose hard work made the launch of NCE, Inc. possible; NCE board members, Don Ensign, Clint Johnson, Wayne Cash, and Kevin Yong, and CCAS board member Robert Flores.
Please remember these diligent brothers in your prayers as they labor to glorify the Lord.
NCE: Ralph, tell us about yourself, your family and professional career.
REM: I will have been married to Desiree for 24 years in 2008. We have two children in college and one in middle school. I’ve been teaching middle school children for over 26 years for the Los Angeles public school system. I am now teaching the children of students I once taught. And I’ve been serving as an associate pastor in a local church for about seven years.
NCE: How did you become interested in comic books?
REM: My first introduction in comics was in 1964, with Fantastic Four #25, the classic Jack Kirby, Hulk vs. Thing. It was with that comic that solidified my addiction to comic books. I became what was known at the time as being a Marvel Zombie, collecting Daredevil, Iron Man, The Avengers, Spider Man, and anything else Marvel. But in the mid 1970’s I began to pick up comics like Swamp Thing, Legion of Superheroes and other DC books.
NCE: Comics were instrumental in your coming to faith. Tell us about that.
REM: In was in the early 70’s, while on a fishing trip to Oregon that an older gentlemen gave me a comic book tract titled Holy Joe. It was a comic by the legendary Jack Chick and though I had gone to church, this comic made me realize that I really never received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. After a tumultuous spiritual journey, in 1976 I confessed Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
NCE: What lead your to become involved in the Christian Comics movement?
REM: My involvement in Christian comics came in 1984 when I saw an ad in the Comics Buyer’s Guide stating there was a Christian newsletter devoted to Christian comic book fans. It was titled Valiant and it was published by Don Ensign. This was the first publication by the Christian Comic Arts Society (CCAS).
NCE: So what happened after you received that first issue of Valiant?
REM: I found Don's local phone number (he was then living in Southern California) and called him soon after receiving the first newsletter which lead to many fine conversations. Don and I met in person in 1986, and soon afterwards we began holding meetings in the Southern California area with other Christian comics enthusiasts. This would eventually lead to our first collaborative comic book publishing venture. In 1985 Valiant Efforts featuring: Dragon Strike was published thanks to efforts of Don, Jack Martin, Charles Whitley and myself. Only three issues of Valiant Efforts were produced, falling dismally short of the world domination we had hoped to achieve. Our meetings would eventually include talents like Steve Firchow and Kevin Yong.
NCE: So what happened after Valiant Efforts that kept you involved in the movement?
REM: Nate Butler had organized successful Christian panels at the San Diego Comic Convention in 1992 and 1995. Then 1996, a number of Christian comic fans and creators met in the home of Ben Herrera in hopes of collaborating on several Christian projects. A second meeting that was sponsored by the CCAS met in the room of a Super 8 motel. In that single room, packed with Christian comic geeks, is where I met Clint Johnson. Don, Kevin and Clint have proved to be enduring friendships that added to the richness of my life and Christian walk.
Eventually, other Christian comic fans would come into my life and the insanity of our meetings that started in the late 80’s continues to this day. Robert Flores, Dave Porta, Wayne Cash, and many others have an invaluable part of my life. I even got the privilege to officiate Kevin and Heather Yong's wedding.
After my involvement in 2001 with New Visions and Alpha Omega #100, I restricted myself to the organization of the Christian presence at the San Diego Comic Convention. As the years passed, many people began to help with organizing of the Spiritual Themes in Comics and CCAS Sunday morning panels and reserving hotel rooms. Then in 2007 I was ordained by the church I attend and with that I made the decision that 2007 would be my last year with setting up at the San Diego Con. I had also planned to step out of the Christian comics scene. I made the announcement to step down, with the intention of following whatever direction the Lord would lead.
Then on that Saturday of the convention, an individual approached the CCAS table, while Clint Johnson's wife, Marjane and I manning it. I was asked, "What was the vision of the CCAS?", and with that I gave him a history of the organization. This individual was the president of a company that distributed Sunday school curriculum and asked us to make a proposal for a line of Christian comics. I, along with Clint Johnson and Wayne Cash made the pitch. In order to make ourselves more viable as business, we formed New Creation Entertainment as a corporation, which also Included Don Ensign and Kevin Yong, whom I worked with on the newsletter.
As I explained to a friend, "I didn't broker this deal, I sure can't close it." I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord didn't want me out of the Christian comics movement and He used that man at the convention as a catalyst. I haven't been this excited since Proverbs & Parables, New Crew, and New Visions.
The Lord is growing the attendance at the panels at San Diego. We were at the Wizard Con in Los Angeles and we were at the Biola Media Conference at CBS Studios.
The Lord has gotten us into this venture of New Creation Entertainment. I am looking forward with great anticipation to see what the Lord is going to do. We would covet your prayers, that the Lord would be glorified and that we could provide a venue for other Christian artists to share their gifts.
My biography is like a carpet being rolled out in front of me and I’m just going along for the ride.
NEC: Ralph was involved for many years as a contributor, and served as assistant central mailer of Alpha-Omega (the Christian Comics Amateur Press Association). He spearheaded the massive, groundbreaking issue #100 of Alpha-Omega. Ralph served as Board member and Chairman for the CCAS Board of Directors. Ralph also has been very involved in coordinating the CCAS table at the Comicon International: San Diego and providing assistance for Christian tables at other comic convention. Ralph is a talented artist, great story and character idea man and an excellent organizer.
Welcome to the first of many weekly Blogs that will
help you become more familiar with our various
projects and the people who create them. We will
first start with short biographies of each of the
principle members of New Creation Entertainment, Inc.
(NCE) and then we will get into the "whys" and "hows"
some of our newer projects came about. Next we will
be running short features on various aspects of
Christian comics. What makes Christian Comics unique,
what is their purpose and how they fit into how we as
Christians view the world and reality? In this first
post we will give you a quick sketch about the
background of NCE and how it came about.
New Creation began as a bi-monthly newsletter that
provided news, information, and interviews on the
emerging Christian comics movement sponsored by the
Christian Comic Arts Society (CCAS) and ran from 1996
to 1998. Ralph Ellis Miley, Don Ensign, and Kevin
Yong made up the New Creation staff. This newsletter
linked many Christian artists, both professional and
amateurs across the United States. These connections
provided the launching board for the next New
Creation project.
In 1998 New Creation Publications was formed to
publish the graphic novel anthology, the landmark
Proverbs and Parables. What started out involving
less than 20 Christian cartoonists, grew to enlist
the talents of over 60 Christian artists. These
artists collaborated to produce fresh visual
depictions of many beloved Bible stories.
In 2000, New Creation published its first Christian
superhero comic, New Crew written by NC editor, Kevin
Yong. Then in 2001 New Creation teamed with Clear
Vision Communications publisher, Clint DeRon Johnson
to produce another well received comics anthology,
New Visions. This publication served to showcase the
talents of Christian artists and writers including a
Clint DeRon Johnson's Faithwalker story and the first
appearance of Wayne Cash's (with Clint DeRon Johnson)
Lil' Rock and the High Ups.
In 2007, while at the San Diego Comic Convention, the
Christian Comic Arts Society table was approached by
a publisher of Sunday school curriculum to propose a
line of Christian comics. In response to this
overture, New Creation Entertainment, Incorporated
was formed. The officers are Ralph Ellis Miley, Don
Ensign, Clint DeRon Johnson, Wayne Cash, and Kevin
Yong. With no response from the Sunday school
publisher, the officers decided to continue to press
forward. Kidz of the King creators Reggie and Dionne
Byers have contributed their creator owned “Exousia”
to help launch NCE, Inc.
As result, in April 2008, NCE, Inc. launching this
website. The goal of NCE, Inc. is to serve as an
independent studio and publisher, seeking to produce
and promote God honoring themes through the medium of
comic books, graphic novels and anthologies, tracts,
web comics and other related material.
We hope that you will return often to our web site.
Next week you'll learn about NCE President Ralph
Ellis Miley. God bless you.
