Religious Comics Publisher Pays Ode to The Late Stan Lee
Lisa Maria Garza, Orlando Sentinel Reporter
Marvel Comics mogul Stan Lee’s death had an impact on Art Ayris, founder of Kingstone Comics, publisher of the most complete graphic adaptation of the Bible ever done.
Ayris credits the comic book icon with creating an environment of acceptance among people from all walks of life and notes the influence of religion in cartoon superheroes.
“What I tell people is that Marvel and DC help me preach the Gospel,” said Ayris, who also is executive pastor of First Baptist Church of Leesburg. “It really felt like he and everything that he [Lee] did set the bar and I don’t know that there will ever be another Stan Lee.”
Although Lee never overtly inserted any religious references in his works — despite his Jewish background, Lee was widely believed to be agnostic — he once cited the Bible as a literary influence for the language he wrote for characters in Thor’s universe.
Kingstone publishes science fiction, action-adventure, fantasy and biographies but is best known for its graphic adaptation of the Bible. The company recruited more than 40 artists with Marvel and DC pedigrees and spent seven years painstakingly illustrating and explaining in comic book form the entire 66 books of the Bible.
This article was originally published in Orlando Sentinel. Read the full article here.
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