The Book of Comic Prayer: Using Art and Humor to Transform Youth Ministry

The Book of Comic Prayer takes a fresh look at prayer from an unexpected perspective: comic art, humor, and their relevance to today’s image-driven youth. Part explanation, part instruction, it explores the role of prayer and faith in mainstream and underground comics, and provides resources for incorporating comics and cartooning into curricula for children and youth. The Appendix includes an illustrated booklet created by one group of young people as a supplement to traditional forms of prayer and offers tips and tricks for creating books of comic prayer. The church has always used visual arts for prayer, worship, and education, and religious themes and figures still permeate popular culture. Comics, with their larger-than-life stories of villainy, morality, and heroism, have religious undertones ranging from explicit to metaphorical, offering opportunities to explore what post-modern prayer and faith look like and why they matter.

Comics are inexpensive, accessible, and adaptable to church school, youth groups, Bible studies, prayer groups, camps, and VBS. There have been illustrated comic Bibles and religious books, but no single resource dealing with prayer’s individual and communal aspects as they relate to the comic art form. This is that book!