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You've seen them before. The little comic book tracts ... they measure 2-7/8"x5" and have 24 unnumbered pages (the newer ones have numbers on the pages). They are the brainchild of Jack T. Chick, World War II veteran and founder of Chick Publications. He's the most widely-published author in the world (he is no longer with us; he died in 2016 at the age of 92). His current catalog lists about 140 English-language tract titles. Another 131 titles have been permanently retired over the years, or are available only by special order in quantities of 10,000 or more. And that list doesn't include his full-size comic books. More than ONE BILLION copies of his works have been printed in over 100 languages. You can order Chick tracts directly from his website. He'll sell you any quantity you want. Or you can order an assortment — all of the English-language tracts that are currently in print. In his tracts, he comes down hard on homosexuality, witchcraft (the occult), Communism, the Catholic church, abortion, Mormons, Islam, Freemasonry, the theory of evolution, pedophilia, pride, the New Age movement, Jesuits, lukewarm Christians, and liberal theology. And, of course, atheists. Some of the "permanently retired" tracts are quite rare, and sell for hundreds of dollars. I myself am a collector; I have most of the English-language titles. One very rare Chick tract recently sold at auction for $500.00. In April 2014, a first printing of "The Poor Little Witch" sold on eBay for $81.00.
A page from "Happy Hour" (1976):
Some tracts have been re-issued with new titles. For example, "Support Your Local Jew" became "Love the Jewish People." Some specimens are nothing more than promotional tracts — their "message" is that you should buy Chick tracts! Some of them are stories from the Bible. Some recurring themes/motifs are: (a) somebody yelling "YAAAAAAH!" (b) somebody yelling "NOOOOOOOOO!" (c) somebody in anguish (or angry), with droplets of sweat spewing outward from his head; (d) somebody gasping ["GASP!"]; (e) a faceless god sitting (in judgment) on a throne; (f) a naked person being thrown into a lake of fire by an angel; (g) cartoon-style demons (or Satan himself) complete with horns and/or a little tail; (h) "encrypted" profanity ("@#!!&"); (i) somebody laughing roughly, with a hearty "HAW HAW HAW!" And there's a bent-eared dog named "Fang" who appears, in one form or another, in 25% of the tracts. In Chickworld, one can become so nervous that the sweat droplets spewing outward from his head will actually penetrate a crash helmet:
Any character in a Chick tract who smokes is a bad guy. The Christian character never smokes. And any woman who wears pants is a bad person. Chick started publishing these comic-strip booklets in 1961. His very first tract was "Why No Revival?" in a large booklet size (about 5"x7"). It was followed by "A Demon's Nightmare." His third tract, which originated in 1964, is the well-known "This Was Your Life!" which is the best-selling Chick tract of all time. Some tracts have been updated over the years ("Is There Another Christ?" which was "retired" in 1992, was re-introduced in 2009; the "updated" version includes a quote from George W. Bush). A 1970 tract, now retired, predicted a Communist takeover of America in 1973 ("Operation Somebody Cares"). Chick tracts have been compared to pornography: You get broad characterizations (or archetypes, or even stereotypes); you get character interaction which hits fairly predictable points along an assigned/expected spectrum; and you get some version of the climactic outcome you were expecting when you first started reading. Everything is either black or white; there are no gray areas in a Jack T. Chick tract. |
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