Pax packs peaceful punch
CALGARY, AB--Steven Friesen once gobbled comic books with guilty delight. He knew his parents took a dim view of exaggerated female forms in skin-tight superhero garb and conflicts solved with guns, but the artwork riveted him.
Now 30, Friesen has penned his own comic book--a graphic novel, actually--that he hopes will put a fist through the paradigm of superheroes serving bad guys with kicks in the teeth.
"Fifteen years ago I went through a bit of a theological crisis," says Friesen, who grew up in a Mennonite home that disapproved of violence and warfare.
He would pore over glossy pages, while superheroes like Green Lantern or The Flash delivered jaw-busting uppercuts and pulverized their enemies with impunity.
"It was a horrible thing for me as a teenager because I really did believe that God called us to love our enemies, but at the same time I loved these stories," he says.
Friesen recalls bouts of repentance during which he would trash his comic book collection. But soon he'd be back at the store buying more.
To make matters worse, Friesen discovered he could draw--comic book characters, of course. His own creations began by performing harmless feats of strength, but soon he was drawing them busting each other's chops.
"Comic books are about conflict," says Friesen. "I continued to feel guilty….I thought about it the way most people think about Playboy."
Friesen didn't begin to see his artistic streak as an asset until after high school when he joined Venture Teams International, an evangelical short-term missions organization that uses music, art and drama.
"It pushed me to start thinking theologically about art," he says. "I started changing my prayer. I said, 'God, I have this ability to draw…either take it away or find a way to use it.' I think it was a more godly prayer."
After his stint with Venture Teams International, Friesen went to Bible college and seminary and pastored for ten years.
Two years ago Friesen decided to take some time out of full-time ministry to draft the story that's been ripening in his head ever since age 13.
Pax Avalon, the first graphic novel ever released by Mennonite publisher Herald Press, features Juliana Embry, a superhero in sexy body armour (Friesen insists she's modeled after his wife) who doesn't pull any punches--literally.
Her hero moniker is "Pax"--Latin for "peace." Though she's part of a crack team of crime fighters and an athlete in top condition, Pax refuses to use her powers to harm others physically. In fact, her superpower is the ability to heal people by taking their wounds on herself.
Predictably, her stance often contradicts the views of her bosses and teammates, leaving Pax facing ethical dilemmas as well as terrorists.
Different kind of comic book
Friesen says he wanted to make a graphic novel that was different from what one typically finds in the comic book aisle of Christian bookstores.
"Christian comic books are either very preachy and uninteresting, so that the art quality is very low, or they are exactly like secular comic books with a cross on them," he says.
Many Christian comic book artists have no problem drawing heroes who kill for Jesus, he says.
"Christendom is something that works very well in comic books because in Christendom you can use force and you can hurt people and you can do it in God's name--that's where the Crusades came from."
There's certainly violence in Pax Avalon, but it comes with consequences, both for heroes and villains, says Friesen.
A graphic novel is a new venture for Herald Press. "I certainly raised an eyebrow," says director Levi Miller. "But when we passed it around among staff--those with kids or teenagers…they were quite enthusiastic about it."
Friesen, who lives in Calgary with his wife Rachel and their two daughters, is finishing a Master of Theology degree at Canadian Mennonite University and working on a sequel to Pax Avalon.
"If art is a spiritual gift," he says. "I think it's one I have."
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