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Jack Chick

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Jack Chick
Born
Jack Thomas Chick

(1924-04-13)April 13, 1924
Los Angeles, California,U.S.
DiedOctober 23, 2016(2016-10-23)(aged 92)
Alhambra, California,U.S.
Occupation(s)Publisher, comic book creator, writer, evangelist
Known forChick tracts
Spouse(s)
Lola Lynn Priddle
​
​
(m.1948; died 1998)​
[1]
Susiea.k.a.Susy Chick[2]
Children1
Military career
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchU.S. Army
RankPrivate
Battles/warsWorld War II
Websitechick.com

Jack Thomas Chick(April 13, 1924 – October 23, 2016) was an Americancartoonistand publisher, best known for hisfundamentalist Christian"Chick tracts".He expressed his perspective on a variety of issues throughsequential-artmorality plays.

Many of his tracts accusedRoman Catholics,Freemasons,Muslims,and many other groups of murder and conspiracies.[3]His comics have been described by Robert Ito, inLos Angelesmagazine, as "equal partshate literatureandfire-and-brimstonesermonizing".[4]

Chick's views have been spread mostly through the tracts and, more recently, online. His company,Chick Publications,says it has sold over 750 milliontracts,comic books, videos, books, and posters designed to promoteEvangelical Protestantismfrom a Christian fundamentalist perspective. They have been translated into more than 100 languages.[5]

Chick was anIndependent Baptistwho followed adispensationalistview of theEnd Times.He was a believer in theKing James Only movement,which posits that every English translation of the Bible more recent than 1611 promotes heresy or immorality.[6]

Biography

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Chick was born in the neighborhood ofBoyle Heightsin Los Angeles,[7]and later moved with his family toAlhambra.There Chick was active in the high school drama club.[8]According to Chick, he was not religious in high school.[9]After graduation, he continued his drama education at thePasadena Playhouse School of Theateron a two-year scholarship.[8][9]

In February 1943, during World War II, Chick was drafted as a private into theU.S. Army.[10]He served for three years in thePacific theater,serving inNew Guinea,Australia, thePhilippines,and Japan working incryptography.[9]Although he did not see combat, "almost all" of the fellow servicemen he befriended werekilled in action,and many of them engaged in activities such as visiting brothels.[11]Chick credited his time overseas for inspiring him to translate his tracts into many different languages and said that he had "a special burden for missions and missionaries".[9]

After the war, he returned to the Pasadena Playhouse, where he met his future wife while working on a production there. Lola Lynn Priddle (1926–1998), a Canadian immigrant, came from a very religious family, and Chick said that she was "instrumental in hissalvation".[9][12]Priddle and her parents introduced Chick to theCharles E. Fullerradio showThe Old-Fashioned Revival Hour,and Chick said that he wasconvertedwhile listening to an episode of this show.[9]

Chick and Priddle married in 1948. They had one child, a daughter named Carol, who died in 1998 from surgery complications.[13][14]

In February 1998, Priddle died.[9]The widower Chick remarried to an Asian woman whose name has been variously reported as Susie and Susy.[2][8][15]

In a 2005 issue of his company's newsletter,Battle Cry,Chick reported that he had a life-threatening health emergency sometime between 2003 and 2005. He said, "My flu turned into pneumonia, my blood sugar dropped to 20 (I am diabetic)... I was going into a coma. My wife called 911 and while they were on the way, I had a heart attack. A day or so later I had to undergo a triple bypass."[16]

Chick had limited personal contact with the public; he gave only one known professional interview after 1975.[17]The lack of available public information about him created some speculation that he was a pen name for unnamed authors.[8]Chick died in his sleep at age 92. His body was discovered on the evening of October 23, 2016, in his home atAlhambra, California.The interment was private.[18][19]

Career

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From 1953 to 1955, Chick drew a single-panel cartoon, whose text was written by P. S. Clayton, titledTimes Have Changed?It thematically resembled theB.C.comic strip andThe Flintstonesanimated cartoon, but predated both.[20]These were syndicated by theMirror Enterprises Co.in Los Angeles area newspapers.[21]

After converting to Christianity, Chick wanted to evangelize others, but he was too shy to talk to people directly about religion.[8]Chick heard from missionary Bob Hammond, who had broadcast in Asia on theVoice of America,that theChinese Communist Partyhad gained significant influence among ordinary Chinese in the 1950s through the distribution of small comic books.[9]Chick also began working with a prison ministry and created a flip chart of illustrations to use with his presentation. He hit upon the idea of creating witnessing tracts, which could be given to people directly or indirectly.[8]

While working for the AstroScience Corporation (a maker of tape recorders and avionics for the U.S. government) inEl Monte, California,he self-published his first tract,Why No Revival?in 1960. He paid for it with a loan from hiscredit union.He published his second tract,A Demon's Nightmare,in 1962.[22]He decided to create more tracts and began "using his kitchen table as an office and art studio".[9]Christian bookstores were reluctant to accept the tracts, but they were popular among missionaries and churches.[9]

He officially established Chick Publications in 1970 inRancho Cucamonga, California.[23]Initially, Chick wrote and illustrated all of the comics himself, but in 1972 he hired another artist to illustrate many of the tracts.[8]Fred Carterillustrated tracts anonymously until 1980, when he was identified in an issue of Chick's newsletterBattle Cry.[15]Carter also painted the oil paintings seen inThe Light of the World,a film Chick produced that related the Christian gospel.[24]

Chick Publications

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Main article:Chick tract
This Was Your Life!is a Chick tract that was translated into over 100 languages. Chick Publications described it as its most popular title.[25]

Chick Publications released at least 23 full-size "Chick comics" since its founding. They are full-color comic books, and most were first published between 1974 and 1985. The first eleven form theCrusader comicsseries, which follows the stories of two fundamentalist Christians and addresses topics such as theoccult,Bible prophecy,and thetheory of evolution.[26]

Chick Publications also distributes "Chick tracts", small comictractswith religious messages. Most of these can be viewed in their entirety on the company's website. The most popular Chick tract is "This Was Your Life!". It has been translated into around 100 languages,[5]and many other tracts are available in widely spoken languages such asArabic,[27]German,[28]Spanish,[29]andTagalog.[30]Several of Chick's tracts have been translated into less widely-spoken languages asBlue Hmong,[31]Huichol,[32]Ngiemboon,[33]Tshiluba,[34]and the constructed language ofEsperanto.[35]

Chick is known for his conspiratorial views and his belief that secret groups, such as the Illuminati, exert influence on the world to advance evil. In "The Broken Cross," Chick introducesJohn Todd,a former grand druid priest who claims that secret groups, including witches and the Illuminati, are working to advance evil. Chick's version of Christianity emphasizes the role of Satan and his minions, portraying them as the principal evils in his comic. He sees Satan as the one behind all major events, including biblical occurrences like Adam and Eve and the Great Flood, as part of his ongoing battle for control. In this worldview, God's actions are seen as reactions to the Devil's actions, creating a dynamic game between the two sides for the fate of humanity.[36]

Wiccanauthor Kerr Cuhulain has described Chick and his theories as being "anti-feminist"and" anti-Pagan",noted that a Chick Publications comic book was the source of aRapid City, South Dakotapolice detective's presentation on the history ofSatanismgiven in 1989, and describes him as "easily the least reputable source of reliable information on religious groups".[37]

Six of Chick's full-size comics featureAlberto Rivera,specifically:Alberto,Double Cross,The Godfathers,The Force,Four Horsemen,andThe Prophet.Rivera was ananti-Catholicreligious activist who claimed to have been a Jesuit priest before becoming aFundamentalistProtestant.[38]Rivera was the source of many of theconspiracy theoriesabout theVaticanand theJesuitsespoused by Jack Chick.

Catholic Answershas called Chick "savagely anti-Catholic",[39]describes Chick's statements about the Catholic Church as "bizarre"[40]and "often grotesque in their arguments",[41]and calls for the tracts to be pulled from the market and corrected.[40]In the early 1980s, Chick's stance on Catholicism led some Christian bookstores to stop stocking his tracts, and he withdrew from theChristian Booksellers Associationafter the association considered expelling him.[42]Christianity Todaydescribed Chick as an example of "the world of ordinary, nonlearned evangelicals", for whom "atavistic anti-Catholicism remains as colorful and unmistakable as ever".[43]Michael Ian Borer, a sociology professor ofFurman Universityat the time, showed Chick's stronganti-Catholic themesin a 2007American Sociological Associationpresentation[44]and in apeer-reviewedarticle the next year inReligion and American Culture.[40][45]Chick responded to these accusations by saying that he was opposed to the Roman Catholic Church as a sociopolitical organization, but not to its individual members. On his "Roman Catholicism FAQ", Chick said he began publishing his theories about the Roman Catholic Church because "he loves Catholics and wants them to be saved through faith in Jesus".[46]

In the wake of Jack Chick's death, a biography,You Don't Know Jack: The Authorized Biography of Christian Cartoonist Jack T. Chickby David W. Daniels, was published by Chick Publications in 2017. The book contains a number of previously unpublished photographs of Chick.[47]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^"Biography of Jack Chick".Chick.com.Archivedfrom the original on February 18, 2008.RetrievedNovember 2,2016.
  2. ^abJablon, Robert (October 25, 2016)."Jack T. Chick, cartoonist of conspiracy-minded attacks, dies at 92".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on October 27, 2016.RetrievedOctober 27,2016.
  3. ^Raeburn, Daniel (1998)."The Holy Book of Chick"(PDF).The Imp.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on September 10, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 17,2013.
  4. ^Ito, Robert (May 2003)."Fear Factor: Jack Chick is the world's most published author – and one of the strangest".Los Angeles.pp. 56, 58.RetrievedMay 1,2011.
  5. ^ab"Tract Languages".Non English Tract Look Up.Chick Publications.Archivedfrom the original on February 23, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  6. ^"What's Right with KJV-Onlyism?".chick.com.Archivedfrom the original on August 26, 2014.RetrievedAugust 25,2014.
  7. ^"Jack Chick - Christian Comics Pioneer".christiancomicsinternational.org.Archivedfrom the original on May 17, 2013.RetrievedJune 27,2013.
  8. ^abcdefgIto, Robert (July 6, 2003)."To Hell With You".The Independent on Sunday.Archived fromthe originalon March 11, 2007.
  9. ^abcdefghij"Biography of Jack Chick".Chick Publications.Archivedfrom the original on February 18, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  10. ^"Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 – 1946 (Enlistment Records)".World War II Army Enlistment Records.National Archives and Records Administration. September 30, 2002.Archivedfrom the original on November 9, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  11. ^Daniels, David W. (May 3, 2017)."Twice Saved".You Don't Know Jack: The Authorized Biography of Christian Cartoonist Jack T Chick.Chick Publications.RetrievedMarch 10,2022.
  12. ^Ancestry.com,Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905–1957[database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.
  13. ^"Remembering Jack Chick: the Christian cartoonist who tried to save us from hell".TheGuardian.com.October 25, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon January 27, 2020.
  14. ^"Jack Chick".
  15. ^abAkin, Jimmy(March 2004)."Meet Jack Chick".This Rock.Catholic Answers. Archived fromthe originalon April 9, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  16. ^Chick, Jack (September–October 2005)."A Message from Jack Chick".Battle Cry.Archivedfrom the original on October 15, 2007.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  17. ^Davis, Scoobie (October 31, 2006)."The Jack T. Chick Documentary".Scoobie Davis Online.Archivedfrom the original on March 30, 2007.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  18. ^Gates, Anita (October 26, 2016)."Jack T. Chick, Cartoonist Whose Tracts Preached Salvation, Dies at 92".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on October 13, 2017.RetrievedOctober 14,2017.
  19. ^Sherwood, Harriet (October 25, 2016)."Jack Chick, controversial Evangelical cartoonist, dies aged 92".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on October 15, 2017.RetrievedOctober 14,2017.
  20. ^"Found in the Collection: Jack T. Chick's" Times Have Changed? "".Ohio State University Library website. May 16, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on September 15, 2016.RetrievedJune 10,2016.
  21. ^Holtz, Allan."Obscurity of the Day: Times Have Changed,"Stripper's Guide(Dec. 3, 2008).
  22. ^""Who Cares?" Jack T. Chick on 9/11 ".The Gotham Center for New York City History.December 2015.Archivedfrom the original on June 4, 2016.RetrievedJune 10,2016.
  23. ^Baber, La Rue V. (2003)."Spreading the" Light "".The Daily Bulletin.Archivedfrom the original on February 12, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  24. ^"The Light of the World: A Film by Jack T Chick".Chick Publications.Archivedfrom the original on February 18, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  25. ^"English Tract Assortment Pack".Chick Tracts.Archivedfrom the original on July 30, 2016.RetrievedJune 30,2016.
  26. ^"Crusader Comics".Comics List.Chick Publications.Archivedfrom the original on February 18, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  27. ^"Stock Arabic Titles".Non English Tract Look Up.Chick Publications.Archivedfrom the original on February 26, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  28. ^"Stock German Titles".Non English Tract Look Up.Chick Publications.Archivedfrom the original on September 18, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  29. ^"Stock Spanish Titles".Non English Tract Look Up.Chick Publications.Archivedfrom the original on February 26, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  30. ^"Stock Tagalog Titles".Non English Tract Look Up.Chick Publications.Archivedfrom the original on February 26, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  31. ^"Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts".Chick.com.Archivedfrom the original on November 5, 2011.RetrievedJune 25,2013.
  32. ^"Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts".Chick.com.Archivedfrom the original on January 30, 2013.RetrievedJune 25,2013.
  33. ^"Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts".Chick.com.Archivedfrom the original on February 6, 2012.RetrievedJune 25,2013.
  34. ^"Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts".Chick.com.Archivedfrom the original on February 6, 2012.RetrievedJune 25,2013.
  35. ^"Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts".Chick.com.Archivedfrom the original on February 6, 2012.RetrievedJune 25,2013.
  36. ^Vahia Malliagros, Thiago (December 7, 2022)."Druids, the devil, and the hope for salvation: piecing together Jack Chick's 'The Broken Cross'".The Skeptic.RetrievedMay 16,2023.
  37. ^Cuhulain, Kerr(August 26, 2002)."Jack Chick: Tracts for Every Occasion".Pagan Protection Center.p. 4.Archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 20,2008.
  38. ^Hunter, Sidney (2011).Is Alberto for Real?.Chick Publications.ISBN978-0-7589-0840-7.
  39. ^Newkirk, Terrye."Who's @fr@id of the Big Bad Web?: A Guide for Catholic Newbies".Catholic Answers. Archived fromthe originalon October 22, 2007.RetrievedFebruary 21,2008.
  40. ^abc"The Nightmare World of Jack T. Chick".Catholic Answers. Archived fromthe originalon January 8, 2014.RetrievedJune 25,2014.
  41. ^Keating, Karl."Burden of History".Up Front.Catholic Answers. Archived fromthe originalon February 14, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 21,2008.
  42. ^"Booksellers' Group May Expel Chick".Christianity Today.October 23, 1981. p. 62.
  43. ^Mark, Noll;Nystrom, Carolyn (July 1, 2005)."Is the Reformation Over? (Registration and payment required for online access)".Christianity Today.Archivedfrom the original on February 13, 2008.
  44. ^Borer, Michael (2007)."Drawing Religious Battle Lines: The" Culture Wars Work "of Jack Chick's Anti-Catholic Cartoons"Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York City City, August 11, 2007
  45. ^Borer, Michael Ian; Murphree, Adam (Winter 2008). "Framing Catholicism: Jack Chick's Anti-Catholic Cartoons and the Flexible Boundaries of the Culture Wars".Religion and American Culture.18(1): 95–112.doi:10.1525/rac.2008.18.1.95.S2CID145414303.
  46. ^Chick, Jack."Roman Catholicism FAQ".Chick Publications.Archivedfrom the original on February 5, 2010.RetrievedFebruary 7,2010.
  47. ^"You Don't Know Jack".Chick Publications.Archivedfrom the original on April 29, 2017.RetrievedApril 27,2017.

Sources

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