By Ron Wheeler

Jeremiah Classics speak Timeless Truths

Even though these Christian comic strips were written years ago, they reflect issues about our walk with Christ that are still relevant today. Yes, the technology (phones, computers, TVs) and clothing may be different, but these Classic stories still speak Truth to a new generation of Christian junior-high and senior-high kids along with their parents and teachers also.

I write about what I know

But it wasn’t always this way. Early on, while writing a comic strip for my college newspaper, I got myself into trouble. Unbeknownst to me, an incident in the city caused some racial tension. Unfortunately, at the same time, I made fun of a fictitious black football player through my Ralph comic strip. I often used Ralph to make fun of various people groups on campus, I was not a Christ-follower at the time. A world of pain and anger greeted me in the campus newspaper office the next day. (You can read the details here: CartoonWorks.com > About Us > The “Ralph Experience”) During that time, a young black student graciously suggested that if I truly wanted to be effective in cartooning, I should write about what I know. Since I obviously knew nothing about Black culture then, I should refrain from writing about it.

I took those words to heart. Later, as a new believer, I have continued to let them shape my cartoon content for the last 50 years. Most of the ideas for my Jeremiah Classics cartoons came from personal experiences. For example, in one series of strips, Jeremiah goes parachuting. Yes, I went parachuting … once! In another series, Jeremiah asks a grocery clerk out on a date by writing a note on the card from a Twinkie package and fastening it to her timecard. Unfortunately, the boss discovered it before she did, and things quickly went downhill from there. That happened to me as well.

Beyond that, many of the insecurities, vulnerabilities, and passions my characters felt over the years were emotions I sometimes felt as well … even if those feelings were wrapped in a story I hadn’t experienced.

Cartoonists are a lot like their characters

If you want to know what a cartoonist is like, look at his characters. Peanuts creator, Charles Shultz, was known to have struggled with loneliness and depression. Doesn’t that sound a lot like his character, Charlie Brown?

In The Adventures of Jeremiah, Matt is known for dragging people into questionable adventures. I’ve done that. Luke is insecure and compulsive. I am that way, too. Finally, Jeremiah is the stable Christian in the group who looks for godly solutions. Fortunately, I am that way as well. That is what makes these Christ-centered cartoons edifying. I cannot disassociate my relationship with Christ from my writing, because that is who I am.

The satisfaction that came from writing Jeremiah comic strips was, these characters were so familiar to me and so well defined, I could throw a conflict into their midst, and the strip would practically write itself. That was fun!

I guarantee you will be entertained and edified by these Christian comic books. Go to CartoonWorks.com and let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you!