I'm calling this series of articles "Mike Luoma's Making It Up" because that's what it's basically about, how I started from scratch and "made up" the story that's still unfolding as "Panthea Obscura". I thought of calling it "Page One" or “work in progress” because I’m still trying to get published - but I’m also self publishing and getting my work out there as webcomics, POD books, even free downloadable audiobooks. My experience so far may be of value to you if you’re just starting out and wondering, “how do I do this comic book thing?”
Funny thing – I’ve been writing and drawing as long as I can remember. But it wasn’t until I read Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics” that the bulb went off in my head that I might put the two together. I had been writing essays attacking Pat Robertson in particular and Fundamentalism in general with little hope of anyone reading them. Then I read McCloud’s book and, suddenly inspired, I began illustrating the ideas behind the essays.
I penciled, inked and hand-lettered each page of what became “Holy Shit: Or… Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ” the graphic "thingy" as I called it, during the summer of 2005. Midway through my illustrating the book Robertson suggested Hugo Chavez, the leader of Venezuela, should be assassinated. I included it. Had to!
The comic was one of the things I was working on. I’d also been shopping around a novel manuscript for the first book in a science fiction
trilogy called “Vatican Assassin” for a couple of years... with little success. When the owners of the radio station I’d worked for 17
years sold the place in late 2005, they gave us nice bonuses. I decided to use mine to put my book out. I was turning 40 and decided I
was tired of waiting, I was going to do it myself. I’d explored POD (print-on-demand) options, requested information from printers who
handled small book runs, investigated buying ISBNs, looked at and rapidly ran away from vanity presses, exploring self-publishing.
I’d recently received the first in a series of books of scripts from the TV show “Babylon 5” written by J. Michael Straczynski. He was using print on demand site “Café Press.” I looked into what they were doing. Upon further investigation around the internet, I found another site, Lulu.com, that was also POD but a bit more user friendly and intuitive than Café Press.
I laid out the novel according to their specs, used their site to design the cover, and ordered a proof. I waited with anticipation for the book to arrive in the mail It seemed hard to believe that they could print just one copy of a book. When "Vatican Assassin" arrived, it looked great – just like a real book. I fixed some thing that were wrong in my document and reuploaded it to Lulu, bought an ISBN and distribution through Lulu and put “Vatican Assassin” out myself.
“Vatican Assassin” was published in December 2005. I gave my Dad a copy for Christmas. The book is dedicated to him. He read it, told my brother it was “just like a real book!” He finished it in January. When he died a short time later, on February 20th, it meant more to me than I can say that he’d gotten to see and read my book. He also got to see "Holy Shit" when he was in the hospital in February. He didn’t know quite what to make of “Holy Shit”, though! Dad read it but it kind of confused him, he called it a kind of crazy book.
I released "Holy Shit" in early February. After putting “Vatican Assassin” out, I’d discovered I could do illustrated books through Lulu!
Using a Word document formatted to specs provided by Lulu as a base, I inserted the illustrated pages of Holy Shit into the document,
uploaded it, created a cover and uploaded that, bought the ISBN and distribution through Lulu and put it out myself. I sent it out to
some critics, and got a great response! Allow me to post some praise and scorn:
First up was “Ambush Bug” at Ain’t It Cool News. He wrote a less than complimentary but interesting review:
When I first cracked open the book after reading the title, I found myself expecting a tongue in cheek commentary on religion and politics. But HOLY SHIT OR…PAT ROBERTSON IS THE ANTI-CHRIST is, in actuality, a literal handbook mapping out (through examples from the bible and the words of Pat Robertson himself) that religion has gone astray from “The Way” of Jesus Christ and that people like Pat Robertson have been manipulating this “Way” to fit their own motivations since before Jesus was crucified. And when I say literal, I mean literal. I read this book from cover to cover waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was waiting for the writer to pull a gi-normous switcheroo and shock me with some kind of clever twist in the end. This couldn’t be what it seemed to be, but as I reached the final page, I found that this book is what it is. Creator Mike Luoma treats the information he is trying to convey like a book report for school, quoting the bible, unearthed scientific facts, and Pat Robertson himself to support his thesis statement that Pat Robertson (like many others who manipulate the word of the Lord) actually is the Anti-Christ himself. The guy wasn’t kidding with this title.
Now, do you see the pickle I’m in?
Luoma firmly believes in what he writes here. He supports it whole-heartedly. You can tell the guy has done his homework on this issue and adamantly stands by the statement that decorates the cover. You have to admire that type of passion and I’d never try to change the guy’s POV. Personally, I found Luoma’s argument to be just as contradictory as some of the quotes he pulls from Pat Robertson’s sermons. He chastises Robertson for calling for the killing of world leaders who pose a threat to America and speaking against homosexuals, while preaching that this contradicts Jesus’ way to love every man, then Luoma turns around and labels Robertson as the Anti-Christ himself (illustrated with full blown horns and an evil grimace on the back cover). I’m not really feeling the love there.
But for this review, I want to try my damndest to steer away from my own personal beliefs about this issue and focus on some things that I do feel strongly about: namely, effective storytelling and the desire to build a better comic book. So I’m going to try to focus in the comic book and its fundamentals rather than the POV it was coming from. And maybe this can help Luoma create a more effective way to communicate his message.
Structurally, Luoma needs to learn the basics of comic books. When I first started reading this comic, it took me a while to figure this out, but he constructs his pages in two columns per page. Each page is constructed in a way that you start with the first panel then read downward. Then move up to the second column on the same page and read down the page again. Because I have read quite a few comics in my time, I was able to catch on, but I could see how those not as privy to comic book fundamentals getting completely lost trying to read the page as most people would from left to right. The main problem with the panel spacing is that there is none. Panels are separated by sometimes thick/sometimes thin dark lines. They aren’t symmetrical and shift to fit the information in each panel. That means that looking at the page resembles a jigsaw puzzle. This makes for a difficult time conveying the complex message that resides in the panel and an arduous reading experience.
But my biggest fundamental problem with this book was its literality. The book reads like a handwritten pamphlet you get at the airport or on the back shelf of a library or something a blind man would hand you in hopes of a few shekels. It’s all cold hard facts. There’s no story, really. Just a guy writing out an argument that those who misinterpret the word of the Lord to fit their own needs are incarnations of Ol’ Scratch. To me, this was not entertaining. Had Luoma formatted all of this information into some kind of story, I might have been more entertained. A story focusing on Pat Robertson or a Pat Robertson-type coming into conflict with a person who believes that Robertson is a spawn of Satan sounds pretty interesting. But all we get here are facts sandwiched on top of each other. The mantra “Show us…don’t tell us” was never more needed to be utilized than in this book. A message acted out is always more effective than something told to you. It illustrates your point and promotes consideration.
After re-reading this review, I feel I came down pretty hard on Mr. Luoma. I respect his passion. This book is full of it. On every page, Luoma illustrates how much he firmly believes in what he is saying. And I respect that. Although I didn’t find his message to be very effective to me, it may just be a case of wrong comic/wrong reviewer. But for the sake of this creator’s desire to make comics, I tried set apart my own beliefs and focus on the structural aspects of the book. In this book, there is potential. It is a bold message stated in strong words. The art is choppy, but shows promise. And there’s that passion I keep coming back to. Make your own decision, folks." - http://www.aintitcool.com/node/22293#12
"...a surprisingly respectful (to Christ, anyway) dissertation on how Christianity got twisted throughout history from the original teachings to the inane blather of televangelists like Robertson. It briskly covers a range of topics like unpleasant discoveries in Biblical scholarship, the latter day misguided origins of Christian fundamentalism, religious right wing misinterpretation of the Constitution and its historical basis, and suggestions for finding paths back to the real Jesus. And he backs up his argument; it's not simply a screed. The art's iffy at best but the book's pretty impressive."
“And it’s for books like this one that I love doing this column. Holy Shit makes no bones about being an agenda-driven political tract and a ringing endorsement of what Luoma considers to be actual Christian values. It’s also a damn fine example of what “independent comic” really means. The fact that it’s entertaining, informative and occasionally gut-bustingly funny is all icing.
Luoma operates from the premise that things like Fundamentalism, televangelism, and hatred in name of God are all dead wrong and really go against the true intent of the teachings of Jesus Christ. He takes great pains to explain the nature of how the Bible was actually written and why certain misconceptions and wrong-headed interpretations exist.
He focuses particular ire on the rampant idea of “Fundamentalism”, an idea that he purports did not begin until 1895. This segment carries some great elements of humor, as strict interpretation within the “Five Fundamentals” show that they repeatedly contradict one another. It’s to Luoma’s credit that his research is integrated fairly effortlessly, and often comes as humorous aside.
The whole enterprise has the feeling of an old, underground comic. The art isn’t the greatest, but that’s not the point; the overall message is the point. Lumoa has thoroughly researched his work, backing it up with citations and references gleaned from sources as common as Kenneth C. Davis (author of the Don’t Know Much . . . series, and as specific as John Shelby Spong, author and retired Episcopal Bishop of Newark, New Jersey.
Holy Shit is certainly meant to anger and inflame a certain segment of the population. Luoma’s taking aim at an especially nasty brand of American hypocrisy, and his work definitely has bite. It might not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s definitely thought-provoking, and that’s something we can always use in comics." - http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?threadid=60089
“…he posits that Robertson, and other similar Christian fundamentalists, are simply anti-Christ, as in, they often preach the exact opposite of what Jesus taught in the Gospels. You know, all that stuff about loving your neighbors. Robertson has the bully pulpit of TV to spout from, but Luoma takes him on via this self-published, magazine-sized comic book. Calling to mind Chick Tracts in its rough, sketchy art and preachy, folksy, occasionally funny tone, Luoma's Holy Shit is a pretty compelling read, tracing the history of Christianity from Jesus' original message to the rise of an institutional church to the fundamentalist movement that began in the 19th century, a movement that seems to rule much of America here in the dawn of the 21st.”
"Using rough-edged, often comical, ink drawings, Luoma guides readers from Jesus’ original teachings to the rise of an institutional church and eventually to the fundamentalist movement, which has become the dominant sect in the United States and influences both culture and politics. Rather than page after page of scholarly dissertation, readers find ink-drawn images of Christ and Pat Robertson, alongside biblical quotations and those from Robertson. This contrasting approach underscores Luoma’s core argument that what Robertson says is based on Christ’s teachings is not quite accurate. It also makes for a compelling read. For those who believe Christianity is more than the 700 Club and calls for the assassination of world leaders, Luoma’s work will tickle the mind, and the funny bone."
Artist Mike Luoma Hopes Pat Robertson Doesn’t Go All Jihad on Him: Announcing the Release of the Graphic Book "Holy S--t: Or… Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ"
Controversial Religious Cartoon Book Slams Pat Robertson
BURLINGTON, VT (PRWEB) February 9, 2006 -- Artist and Writer Mike Luoma is happy he lives in the U.S.A., where the religious cartoons in his edgy new “Graphic-Thingy” "Holy S--t: Or… Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ" are less likely to cause rioting in the streets! Luoma takes a DIY approach to publishing, releasing "Holy S--t: Or… Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ" using the innovative web site Lulu (www.lulu.com), the world’s fastest-growing provider of print-on-demand books.
"Holy S--t: Or… Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ" challenges the teachings of Pat Robertson and the Christian Fundamentalist approach to Christianity. Luoma uses his cartoons to convey an enormous amount of new Christian scholarship in just 22 pages, and lays out a solid case for his claim that Robertson’s teachings are Anti-Christ.
Mike Luoma wrote and drew "Holy S--t: Or… Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ" in his off time. Luoma is the Afternoon Drive DJ on 106.7 WIZN-FM in Burlington, Vermont, the state’s top rated Classic Rock station.. "Holy S--t: Or… Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ" is available for purchase locally in Burlington, Vermont at Earth Prime Comics, and available for online purchase at Amazon.com, at Luoma’s website, glowinthedarkradio.com, and at www.lulu.com.
“I wanted to put my book out my way,” said Mike Luoma. “Religion, Politics… I’m writing and drawing about controversial issues regular publishers don’t want to touch,” Luoma said. “I love the fact I can publish 'Holy S--t: Or… Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ' independently. It’s said that print-on-demand is the wave of the future. That future is now,” said Mike Luoma.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Luoma has been an on-air fixture on WIZN-FM in Burlington, Vermont for over 18 years. Behind the scenes at WIZN and WBTZ-FM, Luoma is the principle ad copywriter for the stations. Luoma’s writing has appeared in “The Onion River Review” “Good Citizen Magazine,” “Seven Days Weekly,” and “The Vermont Guardian.” He graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Journalism from St. Michael’s College in Winooski, Vermont. Luoma has published the non-fiction Graphic Novel “Holy S--t: Or Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ”, as well as the Science Fiction Novel "Vatican Assassin", his first novel, and the anthology “The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Guide To Life,” all published on Lulu.
I was off and running! I had self published my first comic! People could buy it through Amazon and Lulu.com. One woman bought copies for all her grandkids, she told me in an email. The comments about my art hit home, though. I decided I would work with an artist on my next project, whatever it was.
You can read the second edition of “Holy Shit” online at Drunk Duck. I cleaned up the lettering and added some shading to the art for
the second edition, but it's essentially the same book as the original 2006 release:
HOLY SHIT: OR... PAT ROBERTSON IS THE ANTI-CHRIST
It was nice, the comic was getting a pretty good reception and I was even selling a few. But I was also going through the trauma of losing my Dad even as the good reviews came in. It was a time of melancholy mixed blessings. Still, success with “Holy Shit” made me determined there would be a next project. The world of comics was very inviting and accepting, more so than I’d found the world of fiction publishing. I was invited to join in an online comic book writers forum as a result of “Holy Shit” publication, met some other writers I still have some contact with. I discovered some cool websites. Local comic book artists and writers were encouraging, too. I explored the online worlds of comic book writers and artists, visited and lurked on forums, and began to see what the online conversation about comics was all about. I began to hear that “Digital Webbing” was a good place to look for comic book artists so I began poking around there. In the meantime, though, my day job took a new turn...
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