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African Comics Project
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COMIX35 has launched a new pan-African Christian Comics Project, written and drawn by Christians from all over the continent for an audience of unbelieving African readers.
The deadline has passed for the 1st issue, but please continue to share this project information with African Christian publishers, African Mission Agencies, and African Christian cartoonists. We will begin accepting comics submissions for the 2nd issue sometime in 2009, Lord willing.
Click here to read the first issue details or the original project details.
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THE FIRST ISSUE:
The Good Shepherd / LifeGate Comics Africana 001
This 24-page, black & white comic magazine has both professional and amateur comics submissions from these Contributors:
Olusola Akineye | Nigeria
Marcel Niyungi Bin Yungi (Marcel Bin) | Kenya
Ketandu Ofoneme | Nigeria
Willem Samuel | South Africa
Polycarp Mboya (Puli) | Kenya
Francis Umendu Odupute (Francodus) | Nigeria
Chiratidzo Chiweshe | Zimbabwe
David Mifang Funwi | Cameroon
David Muema Kituku | Kenya
The Guest Editor for this first issue is Mr. David Waweru, Publisher & CEO of WordAlive Publishers Limited in Nairobi, Kenya.
There were two distinctly different suggestions for the magazine title and cover art: [1] Make it more overtly Christian and [2] make it less overtly Christian. This was an an excellent opportunity to research what type of comic magazine will sell best in Africa, so there are two printed versions of the first issue, as shown here on the right. The interiors are the same for both.
Contributors are receiving 28 copies for every page they submitted which was printed in the book, with half of the total copies supplied being one version and half the other. The Contributors will report on which ones sold better and to what types of audiences in their market area.
Copies began shipping to our Contributors in mid-November.
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Cover Credits:
Marcel Bin from Kenya submitted THE GOOD SHEPHERD as the title and also supplied the logo design. Olusola Akinseye from Nigeria illustrated the color cover.
Francis U. Odupute from Nigeria submitted the LIFEGATE COMICS AFRICANA title, and Olusola Akinseye from Nigeria did the logo design. Willem Samuel from South Africa rendered the color illustration for the cover.
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Africa Comics Project Details
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Project Goals
[1] To create a Christian comic anthology magazine that is pan-African (for all African nations or peoples)
[2] To have this comic magazine be written and drawn by Bible-believing, evangelical Christians from all over Africa
[3] To reach an audience of unbelieving African readers with the Gospel of Jesus Christ through this comic magazine
[4] To provide encouragement and income for existing and up-coming Christian comics creators in Africa
[5] To publish the first "pilot" edition of this comic magazine before the end of 2008
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Specifications for the Printed Magazine
- 24 pages in length, black & white interior with a full-color front cover
- Size approximately 6.75 inches x 10.25 inches in dimension (17.145 cm x 26.035 cm)
 "The African Christian Comic Project is a brilliant idea, I support it very much. It's the most practical way to reach the unbelievers with the Gospel in Africa. You've been inspired at COMIX35 to come up with this project. It is innovative and appealing."
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Specifications for Your Submitted Comics
- Black & white, multiple panel comics stories, from one (1) to four (4) pages maximum in length
- Maximum artwork page size 6.25 inches x 9.5 inches (15.875 cm x 24.13 cm)
- Lettered in English (or with a separate English translation sheet provided if lettered in French, Swahili, Lingala, Portuguese, Arabic, etc.)
- Electronic submissions should be high resolution files (200 pixels/inch minimum @ 100%) scanned in Grayscale mode
(If your high resolution files are too big to send as email attachments, you may use YouSendIt.com to upload your files for FREE. We are registered to download from this site)
- Single-panel cartoon submissions accepted only if submitted in groupings of 4 or more cartoons per page
- Previously published comics and cartoons are allowed currently
- The theme of the first stories may be on any subject of interest to African readers. Stories that address the critical challenges of modern Africans are encouraged strongly. Stories should point the reader toward Jesus Christ as the answer to their problems without becoming too "preachy" or using too much Christian terminology that the unbelieving reader may not understand.
"I think this initiative to promote the gospel through the use of comic style literature will be well accepted in Africa ... visual stuff like cartoons tend to attract interest a lot. I support the idea whole heartedly."
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Publishing Plan
[1] African Christian comics creators ("Contributors") will submit their own finished comics of 1- 4 pages (the story, black & white artwork, and lettering) to COMIX35, either in hard copy form by postal mail or electronically by e-mail. Contributors will retain all rights to their own comics at all times.
[2] COMIX35 will assemble the comic magazine and will include photos and information about the Contributors, if they are supplied by the Contributors. An African artist will be chosen by COMIX35 to provide the color cover artwork. COMIX35 will print approximately five hundred (500) copies of the comic magazine in the USA and ship the appropriate number of copies to each Contributor. COMIX35 will pay all shipping costs.
[3] Contributors will receive 15 copies of the magazine for every complete page contributed (1 page = 15 copies, up to 4 pages = 60 copies, maximum for interior artwork). If the writer and artist are different people, they must split the number of shipped copies between them, in whatever manner they determine to be fair. The cover artist will receive 35 copies for that artwork, in addition to the number of copies they receive for any interior pages submitted.
[4] Contributors will determine and set their own cover price for the comic magazines, sell them in their area, and keep all funds collected as payment for the comic story they have submitted.
[5] Contributors will submit brief reports back to COMIX35 within 2 months of receiving their copies. The reports will detail (a) the cover price they charged, (b) the number of copies they have sold at the time of the reporting, (c) a general description of their audience and/or their primary buyer, and (d) any good reports on audience reactions. (Photos of people reading the comics will also be very valuable to our ministry, when and where it is possible to take such photos, even low-resolution mobile phone photos.)
[6] If this Publishing Plan for the first "pilot" edition of the comic magazine is accomplished successfully, COMIX35 will publish up to 3 more editions over a period of 12-18 months. Future issues may have a specified theme for the stories in each issue. Readers of the magazine will be encouraged to give feedback through a letters page in the magazine. Also, readers will be asked to submit their own story ideas for the cartoonists to illustrate.
[7] Contributors who file their reports will be eligible to submit additional comics for future editions.
"I read with great delight the ministry's report, and I am so thankful to you for such a great work that God has created in your ministry. We really long and desire to be part of this exciting work."
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Additional Distribution
COMIX35 will print a limited number of extra copies of the magazine and may make these available to mission teams traveling to Africa.
African Christian Publishers may receive a limited number of copies in exchange for advertising or promotion of the Christian comic anthology magazine in their own publications. (Publishers and COMIX35 will agree in advance on the number of copies to be received, and the Publisher will submit scans or photocopies of the adverts or promotions by e-mail or postal mail before receiving their copies.)
Any project sponsors (or future advertisers) may receive copies in exchange for their support of the project.
Some African mission agencies (and other groups in Africa) may be eligible to receive a ready-to-print PDF file of the comic to reprint the magazine in their area. Permission to reprint will be granted only under the condition that the Contributors whose work is in that edition will receive a minimum of five (5) free copies of the reprinted magazine for every page they have contributed.
All copies for Additional Distribution (and all PDFs for additional printing) will only be available 6 months after their original publication, to avoid any possibility that free copies might become available in a Contributor's market area before the Contributor has time to sell their own copies.
"This sounds like a great idea to me. Go for it and may the Lord give his grace and increase on this project."
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Financial Information
Please note that no money will ever be changing hands at any time during the execution of this project. No Contributor will receive any funding for their comics from COMIX35, and COMIX35 will not request or receive any funds collected from sales made by the Contributor. No Publisher will receive funds for advertising or promotion, and no Publisher will send funds to COMIX35 for copies. COMIX35 will not fund any additional print runs of the magazine from the supplied PDF files.
COMIX35 is a small ministry with only a small amount of "seed money" to invest in starting this project. If we are successful with the Publishing Plan for the first "pilot" edition, and if contributors are faithful in supplying the requested good reports and photos, we are trusting that the Lord will provide us with other financial partners who will help us perpetuate this publishing project onward into the future.
"This project is good and I personally do encourage this idea and would work to see it happen in my country. We need God here, and my government does not legalized new Christian Groups. We need such to help change our society."
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Long-term Project Goals
[1] To perpetuate this Christian comic anthology magazine as a regularly published, on-going quarterly (4 times a year) publication, possibly with different covers (and perhaps even different titles) for each country in which it is distributed; or
[2] To "spin off" other new comic magazine titles in various African countries and areas where this first comic magazine is most successful (possible examples: An all-Nigerian comic book, written and drawn by Nigerians, just for Nigerians, published and printed in Nigeria, or a French language comic book for all the French-speaking countries of Africa); or
[3] To produce translated editions of the anthology magazine in African languages such as Swahili and Lingala.
[4] To increase the number of copies of the magazine that each Contributor receives for every page they contribute.
[5] To increase the page-count of the original anthology comic and to print some or all interior pages in color.
"I am excited how God is working ... this is a very wonderful revelation ... much attractive and impacting ... I am sure many will be saved through this."
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Submission Information
African Christian cartoonists: We will begin accepting comics submissions for the 2nd issue sometime in 2009, Lord willing.
High resolution files (200 pixels/inch - minimum) of your comics may be submitted by e-mail to:
If your high resolution files are too big to send as email attachments, you may use YouSendIt.com to upload your files for FREE. We are registered to download from this site.
You should receive a confirmation e-mail from COMIX35 within 1 week of sending your submission electronically. If you do not receive an e-mail confirming the receipt of your submission, please inform us immediately at:
You may also submit your comics by postal mail to:
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COMIX35
Attn: Africa Comics Project
PO Box 4458
Albuquerque, NM
87196-4458 USA
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This entire web site and all its contents (except where other individual copyrights are specified) is Copyright © COMIX35 / ROX35 Media, Inc. All rights reserved. "COMIX35" and "New Life Literature Asia/USA" are both DBAs and trademarks of ROX35 Media, Inc. "ANIMAX35" and "Creating Christian Comics for Your Culture" are trademarks of ROX35 Media, Inc. "Christian Comics International", "Christian Comics Catalog", and "International Christian Comics Competition (ICCC)" are all trademarks of Nate Butler currently administered by ROX35 Media, Inc. by special arrangement. All rights reserved worldwide. Please note that it is impossible to screen all the text on all the links listed on this site. Please do not assume that all opinions expressed on linked sites are identical to those of COMIX35 / ROX35 Media, Inc.
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