Thursday April 29, 2010
Marvel/DC Comics Illustrator Creates Pro-Life Comic Book
By Peter J. Smith
UNITED STATES, April 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Professional illustrators come in all shapes and sizes, but very few of them have a pro-life or Christian perspective. But that is something that Dan Lawlis, a professional illustrator for over 20 years who has created comic book art for companies like Marvel and DC Comics, wants to change.
Lawlis is endeavoring to use the internet to bring a new comic book vision to the world, and has made his first go at the effort with the comic called “Orange Peel” – a story set in a technologically advanced future, where evil aliens plot to take-over the neighboring planet Godderth for conquest. However, they first plan to make conquest easy by getting the inhabitants of Godderth to abandon their morality, destroy the family unit, and become so morally impoverished that they will welcome their would-be conquerors with open arms.
The premise of the book is that somewhere in the future, human beings learned how to transport themselves to distant planets, but the transportation led to transformations in their appearance, making them alien-like.
The comic’s artwork is visually stunning and appealing, and little wonder: Lawlis has worked on characters like Spiderman, the Hulk, X-Men and more.
But those characters, he said in an e-mail to LifeSiteNews.com (LSN), are more or less atheistic in their outlook. Instead, he was looking for a character that would appeal to comic book and science fiction fans and help introduce a pro-life Christian message “into what is mostly an anti-Christian atheist entertainment culture.”
The main character, “Paul Roman” wears an orange jumpsuit with a “3” emblazoned on the front – a reference to the Trinity - drives a futuristic roadster called “Orange Peel,” and engages in sharing the Good News with a bunch of alien thugs on Godderth, who call themselves “the Red Menace.”
For Lawlis, this is his first attempt in a goal of creating a product that has a Christian/pro-life message within it, but can be accessible to a mainstream audience. While he admits he may not yet have hit the mark, he hopes to improve the comic with input and ideas from pro-life advocates.
“What I am asking for is feedback/support from the Pro-Life community,” said Lawlis. “The art community is very pro-abortion and I don't think my comic book will be received well by them,” adding that he may face repercussions in the industry as well.
The comic book can be viewed here. Interested viewers can contact Lawlis with advice and constructive criticism through the Orange Peel 3 website: www.ORANGEPEEL3.com
