Jack T. Chick 70701 225580827 2008-07-14T12:11:29Z AdultSwim 885146 Fixed the reference <ref name=Independent/> restoring the missing content using version 225031820 {{Mergefrom-multiple|Chick tract|Chick Publications|discuss=Talk:Jack Chick#3 way merge proposal|date=February 2008}} {{Infobox Person | name = Jack T. Chick | image = Jack-chick.gif | image_size = 200px | caption = [[Jimmy Akin]]'s drawing<br> of Jack Chick | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1924|4|13}} | birth_place = [[Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California|Boyle Heights]], [[California]] | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | residence = | nationality = [[United States|American]] | other_names = | known_for = [[Chick tract|Chick Tracts]] | education = | employer = | occupation = [[publisher]], writer,<br> [[Comic book creator|comic book artist]] | home_town = | title = | salary = | networth = | height = | weight = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | religion = [[Independent Baptist]] | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | signature = | website = [http://www.chick.com www.Chick.com] | footnotes = }} '''Jack Thomas Chick''' (born [[April 13]], [[1924]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[publisher]], writer and [[Comic book creator|comic book artist]], and has been called the most published comic book author in the world.<ref name=ThisRock>{{cite news | last = Akin | first = Jimmy | authorlink = Jimmy Akin | title = Meet Jack Chick | work = This Rock | publisher = Catholic Answers | date = March 2004 | url = http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2004/0403fea2.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> His company, [[Chick Publications]], has sold over 700 million [[comic book|comic]]-style [[tract (literature)|tract]]s,<ref>Chick publications website header.</ref> known as ''[[Chick tract|Chick tracts]]'', [[comic books]], videos, books, and posters designed to promote [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[evangelism]] from a [[Fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] point of view. Many of these are seen as controversial as they target beliefs and cultures in what many perceive as a negative manner. His views have been spread worldwide, mostly through the tracts and now online, and have been translated into more than 100 languages.<ref name=NonEnglish/> As evidenced from his writings and publications, Chick is an [[Independent Baptist]], follows a [[dispensationalism|dispensational]] [[premillennialism|premillennialist]] view of the [[end time]]s, and is a follower of the [[King-James-Only Movement]]. ==Biography== Chick was born in the [[Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California|Boyle Heights]] section of {{city|Los Angeles|California}}, the first of two children of commercial artist Thomas Chick (1903–1973) and his wife Pauline (1903–1991).<ref name=CABirthRecords>{{cite web | title = California Birth Index, 1905-1995 (free registration required) | work = | publisher = State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. | date = 2005 | url = http://www.vitalsearch-ca.com/ | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref><ref name=USCensus>U.S. Census, April 1, 1930, State of California, County of Los Angeles, enumeration district 909, p. 9-A, family 234.</ref><ref>Ancestry.com, ''Social Security Death Index'' [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.</ref> The family later moved to [[Alhambra, California|Alhambra]] where Chick was active in the [[high school]] drama club.<ref name=Independent>{{Citation | last = Ito | first = Robert | title = To Hell With You | journal = The Independent on Sunday | date = [[July 6]] | year = [[2003]] | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030706/ai_n12744201}} </ref> Chick's official biography notes that he was not religious in high school and was in fact avoided by Christian students, who believed "he was the last guy on earth who would ever accept Jesus Christ."<ref name=OfficialBio>{{cite web | title = Biography of Jack Chick | publisher = Chick Publications | url = http://www.chick.com/information/authors/chick.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-20}}</ref> After his graduation he continued his drama education at the [[Pasadena Playhouse|Pasadena Playhouse School of Theater]] on a two-year [[scholarship]].<ref name=Independent/><ref name=OfficialBio/> In February 1943, Chick was drafted and enlisted as a private in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]].<ref name=NatlArchives>{{cite web | title = Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records) | work = World War II Army Enlistment Records | publisher = National Archives and Records Administration | date = [[September 30]] [[2002]] | url = http://aad.archives.gov/aad/display-partial-records.jsp?dt=893&mtch=166&q=&cat=all&tf=F&bc=sl,fd&txt_24995=Chick&op_24995=2&nfo_24995=V,24,1900&sc=24994,24995,24996,24998,24997,24993,24981,24983&rpp=10&sort=24995%20desc&pg=7 | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> He served for three years in the [[Pacific theater]], fighting in [[New Guinea]], [[Australia]], the [[Philippines]] and [[Japan]].<ref name=OfficialBio/> Chick credits this time overseas with inspiring him to translate his tracts into so many different languages and says he has "a special burden for missions and missionaries."<ref name=OfficialBio/> After the war he returned to the Pasadena Playhouse and met his wife while working on a production there. Lola Lynn Priddle (1926–1998), a [[Canada|Canadian]] immigrant,<ref name=OfficialBio/><ref>Ancestry.com, ''Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1957'' [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.</ref> came from a very religious family, and Chick's official biography describes her as "instrumental in his [[salvation]]."<ref name=OfficialBio/> Priddle and her parents introduced Chick to the [[Charles E. Fuller]] radio show, the ''Old Fashioned Revival Hour'', and Chick relates that he was converted while listening to an episode of this show.<ref name=OfficialBio/> Chick and Lola Lynn married in 1948<ref name=DailyBulletin>{{cite news | last = Baber | first = La Rue V. | title = Spreading the "Light" | publisher = The Daily Bulletin | date = 2003 | url = http://www.chick.com/catalog/videos/filmreview.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-20}}</ref> and had one child, Carol, who died in 2001.<ref name=CABirthRecords/> On [[February 10]], [[1998]], Lola Lynn Chick died;<ref name=OfficialBio/> Jack Chick has since remarried.<ref name=Independent/><ref name=ThisRock/> In a 2005 issue of ''Battle Cry'', Chick reported that he had suffered a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] while being transported to the hospital suffering from [[hypoglycemia]]. Shortly thereafter he had a triple [[coronary artery bypass]].<ref name=BattleCry>{{cite news | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = A Message from Jack Chick | publisher = Battle Cry | date = September/October 2005 | url = http://www.chick.com/bc/2005/jtcletters_o.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-20}}</ref> Chick lives a reclusive life; he has given only one interview since 1975.<ref>{{cite web | last = Davis | first = Scoobie | title = The Jack T. Chick Documentary | publisher = Scoobie Davis Online | date = [[October 31]], [[2006]] | url = http://scoobiedavis.blogspot.com/2006/10/jack-t.html | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> His reclusiveness created speculation for a time that he never even existed except as a ''[[nom-de-plume]]'' for an unnamed author or authors.<ref name=Independent/> Several audio cassettes of his preaching distributed to his subscribers purport to contain his voice. He has never released a photo of himself for publication, although photos purportedly of Chick have been published by others. [http://jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2007/02/the_face_of_chi.html] ==Career== After converting to Christianity, Chick wanted to proselytize to others, but was too shy to talk to people directly about religion.<ref name=Independent/> Chick heard from missionary Bob Hammond, who broadcasted in Asia on the [[Voice of America]], that the [[Communist Party of China]] had gained significant influence among ordinary Chinese in the 1950s through the distribution of small comic books.<ref name=OfficialBio/> 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.<ref name=Independent/> While working for the AstroScience Corporation in {{city|El Monte|California}}, he self-published his first tract, ''Why No Revival?'', with a loan from his credit union in 1960 <ref name=OfficialBio/><ref name=DailyBulletin/> and wrote his second tract, ''A Demon's Nightmare'', shortly afterward.<ref name=OfficialBio/> He decided to create more tracts and began "using his kitchen table as an office and art studio."<ref name=OfficialBio/> Christian bookstores were reluctant to accept the tracts, but they were popular among missionaries and churches.<ref name=OfficialBio/> Chick Publications was officially established in 1970 in {{city|Rancho Cucamonga|California}}.<ref name=DailyBulletin/> Initially, Jack Chick wrote and illustrated all of the comics himself, but in 1972 he hired another artist to illustrate many of the tracts.<ref name=Independent/> [[Fred Carter (artist)|Fred Carter]] illustrated tracts anonymously until 1980, when he was identified in an issue of Chick's newsletter ''Battle Cry''.<ref name=ThisRock/> Carter also painted the oil paintings seen in ''[[The Light of the World (film)|The Light of the World]]'', a film Chick produced that relates the Christian gospel.<ref name=ChickFilm>{{cite web | title = The Light of the World: A Film by Jack T Chick | publisher = Chick Publications | url = http://www.chick.com/catalog/videos/lotw.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> Chick's influence as a comic artist led the [[Smithsonian Institution]]'s [[National Museum of American History]] to include several Chick tracts in an exhibit on American pop culture.<ref name=OfficialBio/> ===Chick Publications=== {{main|Chick Publications|Chick tracts}} [[Image:Devils 22.gif|thumb|A frame from the 1972 Chick tract "A Demon's Nightmare"]] [[Chick Publications]] has released over twenty "Chick comics" since its founding in 1970. The first 11 form the ''Crusader comics'' series, which follows the stories of two fundamentalist Christians and addresses topics such as the [[occult]], [[Bible prophecy]] and the [[theory of evolution]].<ref name=ComicsList>{{cite web | title = Crusader Comics | work = Comics List | publisher = Chick Publications | url = http://www.chick.com/catalog/comiclist.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> Six comics present the testimony of anti-Catholic activist [[Alberto Rivera]], who claimed that, as a Jesuit priest, he had become privy to many secrets about the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Among Rivera's claims, the Catholic Church created [[Islam]] (the "Vatican Islam conspiracy") and masterminded the 1917 [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]], the [[Holocaust]] and started [[World War II]].<ref name=Godfather>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = The Godfathers | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 1982 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/comics/0114/0114_allinone.asp }}</ref> There are also three independent comics, one telling stories from the [[King James Version]] of the Bible, one relaying the claims of [[Charles Chiniquy]] regarding the Catholic Church, and one detailing Chick's opinions on [[Joseph Smith]] and the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]].<ref name=ComicsList/> Chick Publications also distributes Chick's most notable creations, "Chick tracts", small [[comic]] [[tract (literature)|tracts]] with religious messages. Over 200 have been published and most can be viewed in their entirety on the company's website. The most popular Chick tract, ''This Was Your Life'', has been translated into more than 100 languages,<ref name=NonEnglish>{{cite web | title = Tract Languages | work = Non English Tract Look Up | publisher = Chick Publications | url = http://www.chick.com/catalog/TractLookUp.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> and many other tracts are available in widely spoken languages such as [[Arabic]],<ref name=TractsArabic>{{cite web | title = Stock Arabic Titles | work = Non English Tract Look Up | publisher = Chick Publications | url = http://www.chick.com/catalog/tractlookuplist.asp?language=Arabic | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> [[German language|German]],<ref name=TractsGerman>{{cite web | title = Stock German Titles | work = Non English Tract Look Up | publisher = Chick Publications | url = http://www.chick.com/catalog/tractlookuplist.asp?language= German | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> [[Spanish language|Spanish]],<ref name=TractsSpanish>{{cite web | title = Stock Spanish Titles | work = Non English Tract Look Up | publisher = Chick Publications | url = http://www.chick.com/catalog/tractlookuplist.asp?language=Spanish | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> and [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]].<ref name=TractsTagalog>{{cite web | title = Stock Tagalog Titles | work = Non English Tract Look Up | publisher = Chick Publications | url = http://www.chick.com/catalog/tractlookuplist.asp?language=Tagalog | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> Chick's views are best documented in his tracts, which cover subjects such as [[abortion]], [[homosexuality]], non-Protestant religions, the [[occult]], [[rock music]], [[politics]], [[popular culture]], [[J.K. Rowling|J.K. Rowling's]] [[Harry Potter]] series and the [[theory of evolution]], mostly in a negative light.<ref name=EnglishTractList>{{cite web | title = English Tract List | publisher = Chick Publications | url = http://www.chick.com/catalog/tractlist.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> Chick believes many of the world's problems are deliberately caused by the Catholic Church. He credits the Catholic Church with founding [[Islam]],<ref name=Storyteller>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = The Storyteller | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 1985 | pages = 8 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0062/0062_01.asp}}</ref> [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints]],<ref>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = The Visitors | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 1984 | pages = 17 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0061/0061_01.asp }}</ref> and the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]],<ref name=Crisis>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = The Crisis | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 1985 | pages = 11-12 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0026/0026_01.asp}}</ref> persecuting [[Jews]] and starting the [[Holocaust]],<ref name=Holocaust>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = Holocaust | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 1984 | pages = 5-10 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0054/0054_01.asp}}</ref><ref name=Godfather/> and founding and promoting [[Communism]].<ref name=Godfather/> Chick also argues that [[Satan]] and his demons promote the occult through [[New Age]] beliefs,<ref name=Bewitched>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = Bewitched | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 2000 | pages = 5-7 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0045/0045_01.asp}}</ref> [[Wicca]],<ref name=NervousWitch>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = The Nervous Witch | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 2002 | pages = 3-4 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/5012/5012_01.asp}}</ref><ref name=PoorLittleWitch>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = The Poor Little Witch | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 1987 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0064/0064_01.asp}}</ref> role-playing games,<ref name=DarkDungeons>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = Dark Dungeons | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 1984 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.asp}}</ref> and the celebration of [[Halloween]]<ref name=DevilsNight>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = The Devil's Night | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 2004 | pages = 5-13 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1053/1053_01.asp}}</ref> to deceive people and send them to [[Hell]]. Chick is opposed to [[abortion]]<ref name=Clarice>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = Who Murdered Clarice? | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 2000 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1009/1009_01.asp}}</ref><ref name=BabyTalk>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = Baby Talk | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 1995 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0077/0077_01.asp}}</ref> and preaches against [[pre-marital sex]].<ref name=BabyTalk/><ref name=CrazyGuy>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = That Crazy Guy! | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 1992 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0090/0090_01.asp}}</ref> He believes [[homosexuality]] is a sin,<ref name=GayBlade>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = The Gay Blade | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 1985 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0084/0084_01.asp}}</ref><ref name=BirdsBees>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = Birds and the Bees | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 2004 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1052/1052_01.asp}}</ref> and references the Biblical story of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]] in tracts treating homosexuality.<ref name=DoomTown>{{cite book | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = Doom Town | publisher = Chick Publications | date = 1991 | url = http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0273/0273_01.asp}}</ref> Chick's views have been subject of extensive criticism by some of the groups he targets, including Pagans and Catholic organizations. [[Wiccan]] author [[Kerr Cuhulain]] describes Chick and his theories as "anti-[[feminist]]", "anti-[[Pagan]]", notes that a Chick Publications comic book was the source of a {{city|Rapid City|South Dakota}} police detective's presentation on the history of [[Satanism]] given in 1989, and describes him as "easily the least reputable source of reliable information on religious groups."<ref name=Cuhulain>{{Citation | last = Cuhulain | first = Kerr | author-link = Kerr Cuhulain | title = Jack Chick: Tracts for Every Occasion | newspaper = Pagan Protection Center | pages = 4 | year = 2002 | date = August 26 | url = http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=cabc&c=whs&id=4639}}</ref> Many Catholic and Protestant organizations consider Chick to be [[anti-Catholic]], based on his various claims about the Roman Catholic Church. Chick, on the other hand, considers himself opposed to the Roman Catholic Church, but not its individual members. On his "Roman Catholicism FAQ" Chick says he began publishing his theories about the Roman Catholic Church because "he loves Catholics and wants them to be saved through faith in Jesus."<ref name=CatholicFAQ>{{cite web | last = Chick | first = Jack | title = Roman Catholicism FAQ | work = | publisher = Chick Publications | url = http://www.catholic.com/library/sr_chick_tracts_p3.asp Roman Catholicism FAQ | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}"[]"</ref> ''[[Catholic Answers]]'' calls Chick "savagely anti-Catholic,"<ref name=CatholicAnswersWeb>{{cite web | last = Newkirk | first = Terrye | title = Who's @fr@id of the Big Bad Web?: A Guide for Catholic Newbies | publisher = Catholic Answers | url = http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1997/9702fea2.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-21}}</ref>describes Chick's claims about the Catholic Church as "bizarre"<ref name=CatholicAnswersp3>{{cite news | title = Chick Tracts: Their Origin and Refutation | pages = 3 | publisher = Catholic Answers | url = http://www.catholic.com/library/sr_chick_tracts_p3.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> and "often grotesque in their arguments,"<ref name=CatholicAnswersHistory>{{cite web | last = Keating | first = Karl | authorlink = Karl Keating | title = Burden of History | work = Up Front | publisher = Catholic Answers | url = http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2000/0004up.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-21 }}</ref> and calls for the tracts to be pulled from the market and corrected.<ref name=CatholicAnswersp6>{{cite news | title = Chick Tracts: Their Origin and Refutation | pages = 6 | publisher = Catholic Answers | url = http://www.catholic.com/library/sr_chick_tracts_p6.asp | accessdate = 2008-02-20 }}</ref> In the early 1980s, Chick's stance on Catholicism led some Christian bookstores to stop stocking his tracts, and he withdrew from the Christian Booksellers Association after the association considered expelling him.<ref name=CBA>{{cite news | title = Booksellers’ Group May Expel Chick | pages = 62 | publisher = Christianity Today | date = [[October 23]] [[1981]] }}</ref> ''Christianity Today'' described Jack Chick as an example of "the world of ordinary, nonlearned evangelicals," for whom "atavistic anti-Catholicism remains as colorful and unmistakable as ever."<ref name=ChristianityToday>{{cite news | last = Mark | first = Noll | coauthors = Carolyn Nystrom | authorlink = Mark Noll | title = Is the Reformation Over? (Registration and payment required for online access) | publisher = Christianity Today | date = [[July 1]] [[2005]] | url = http://www.ctlibrary.com/bc/2005/julaug/1.10.html | accessdate = }}</ref> ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== <!-- Before adding external links, please review the guidelines at [[Wikipedia:External Links]] and [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not]]. Remember that Wikipedia is not a depository of links; the external link section at the end of articles is meant to provide a few brief links that are representative of further material available online which is not already found in the article. If you feel a link is of sufficient importance to add to the list, please discuss it on the talk page; or, better yet, add the relevant content in your own words to this article. Thank you. --> * [http://www.chick.com/ Chick Publications website] * [http://www.catholic.com/library/sr_chick_tracts_p1.asp Catholic Response to Jack Chick] * [http://skatoolaki.com/tricktracts/ Trick Tracts: The Truth Behind Those Little Comics] * [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030706/ai_n12744201 ''Los Angeles Magazine'' article by Robert Ito] * [http://enterthejabberwock.com/?cat=12 Enter the Jabberwock], humorous dissections of Chick tracts * [http://www.316now.com "Hot Chicks": a collection of 9 filmed tracts] * [http://www.weirdcrap.com/chick/ The Jack T. Chick Parody Archive] * [http://members.aol.com/monsterwax/chick.html Jack T. Chick Museum of Fine Art] Includes tracts discontinued and removed by Chick Publications. * [http://www.jackchickmovie.com God's Cartoonist: The Comic Crusade of Jack Chick] Documentary film about Jack Chick & Chick Publications {{DEFAULTSORT:Chick, Jack}} [[Category:1924 births]] [[Category:American comics writers]] [[Category:American military personnel of World War II]] [[Category:American cartoonists]] [[Category:Anti-Catholicism]] [[Category:Anti-cult organizations and individuals]] [[Category:Comic book publishers (people)]] [[Category:Conspiracy theorists]] [[Category:Creationists]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from the San Gabriel Valley]] [[Category:Anti-Islam sentiment]] [[Category:Baptists from the United States]] [[es:Jack Chick]] [[fr:Jack Chick]] [[pl:Jack Chick]] [[fi:Jack Chick]]