April: Kickstarter and more.

Firstly I’ll share news about the Kickstarter campaign and then below is some other news too!

The Kickstarter! 

Thank you so much to everyone who has already backed the Kickstarter, especially if you backed during the launch weekend. The swift funding meant not only that I would not have to worry about it all month but Kickstarter selected it as a “Project we love”! (As you can see in this image)

Here’s how the funding is going, for those of you who like a nice graph. We are getting close to the end, but have hit 2 stretch goals. (£11,000 which gives all the Jonah copies a special holographic laminate cover). There is still a little time left to back (Ends Sunday at 8pm UK):

[GO TO THE KICKSTARTER]

Gospel Colouring Factbook! 

Here's a little video about our other new product the Gospel Colouring Factbook, it's turned out even better than I thought and will be a really useful resource! These are currently only available through the Kickstarter and are £4 for one or 5 for £15.

Passover

We are currently in the week of Passover! In the images below are two sample pages from the gospel colouring factbook about the festival, Jesus' siblings and more. (If you open the email on a desktop you should be able to read it).

Foreign languages 

We are producing our own Spanish co-edition as we mentioned last month but we are also just yesterday signed a contract with Riggins Rights Management. This is an agency specialising in Christian books that finds publishers around the globe who wish to licence the rights to our books and produce them in alternative language version! I’m praying this will mean we can get the comics into Japan, Korea, China, across Europe and...well...just everywhere around the world!

Prayer 

I'm very pleased with how the Kickstarter has gone so that was a great answer to prayer! Please join me in praying that our rights agents, Cindy Riggins and her team will find many open doors around the globe with publishers keen to take on the Word for Word Bible Comic in their own country! This could be a huge step into increasing the reach of God's word into areas of low literacy in general and limited Bible literacy.

March Newsletter: KICKSTARTER IS LIVE!!!

IT'S ON!! The Kickstarter launched a few seconds ago! Not only is this for The Book of Jonah but the Gospel Colouring Factbook too (see below)! What's really exciting is now you can manage your add-ons on the Kickstarter platform with ease! This means you can pick and chose the other books you need to complete your collection and pick up T-shirts and all the other goodies available!

If you are planning to pledge, please can I encourage you to do it straight away? The faster the project funds and the more backers it has the more "popular" Kickstarter judges it which means they will feature it in prominent places.

Please don't forget to share the Kickstarter far and wide with your friends and you can even download a sample PDF on the Kickstarter page and send that out too!

THE NEW COVER

Thank you to so many of you who voted and gave their comments about the cover composition. You helped shape the cover! In the end, I managed to get the best of both worlds combining the favoured elements of both designs into one awesome!

Aside from grumpy jonah and the jaws style whale you can see an image of the King of Nineveh from the story, Adad Nirari III, the walls of Nineveh and some of the cuneiform of the day.

Both, the Book of Jonah and the colouring book, will be at the new format size of 245mm x 170mm. This is about 7m smaller than the previous titles but means we can print 32 pages per printing plate instead of 16. So it makes a huge difference for just a tiny change.

GOSPEL COLOURING FACTBOOK!

A brand new item is available with this Kickstarter! It's our all-age, 32-page Gospel Colouring Factbook.

Not only does this book contain images for you and maybe your kids to colour, but each image has the bible verses that relate to the image from all the gospels in which it features allowing you to compare the accounts. On the facing page will be facts about the historical and biblical elements that are relevant to that image. Check out the example below!

T-SHIRTS! 

On the Kickstarter, you can also bag yourself one of these great T-shirts. Again, thank you to everyone who got involved in the Facebook group voting for your favourites and making suggestions!

🇪🇸 Disponible en Español - Verso a Verso!

When you look at the Kickstarter you will also notice that we are making the books available in Spanish too! Leslie (our wonderful colourist/designer in Mexico) is working hard to create co-editions in Spanish for Jonah and for the Gospel of Matthew right now! It has an exciting new name too! Verso a Verso Biblia-Cómic, which obviously mean Verse-by-Verse Bible Comics. This is a better phrase to use in Spanish than word-for-word and it also has a correlation with a movement is Spanish preaching to be more expositional, which is a helpful parallel for these books. They will have a purply-pink band and feature the NVI translation!

The Spanish alternative will be released alongside the direct release of the same books in English into the US Market! This will mean the Gospel of Matthew/Mateo is on general release in Spanish in August, and the Book of Jonah/Jonas will be in November.

PRAYER

To fit with the theme of the rest of this newsletter, please could you join with me praying for the word of this Kickstarter to get out, to bring in lots of new backers who've never seen to project before and for the goal to be reached quickly without any problems. Please also pray against any technical issues that might arise as it's been a rough road setting up this Kickstarter with several technical issues which I'm attributing to the Enemy and his schemes.

(UPDATE: Thanks to all the prayers the launch went smoothly and the video is now in its correct place)

February Newsletter: Have your say & pre-Easter sale

We are excited to be gearing up for the Kickstarter for The Book of Jonah which launches in March, see below how you can get involved.
We love giving gifts and so we are giving you a huge discount on Matthew's Gospel which is brilliant a bible-centred option for Easter gifts, instead of a boring old chocolate egg.

HAVE YOUR SAY: JONAH COVER

I am about to develop the cover for the Book of Jonah. Head over to the FB group and cast your vote and add your comments and suggestions. https://www.facebook.com/groups/wordforwordbiblecomiccommunity

EASTER GIFT SALE! 

Give the gift of the Gospel this Easter! We are having a big sale on the Gospel of Matthew! You can get...
20% off on a single copy using code: EASTERGIFT or... 50% off a bundle of three copies!

Sale Ends: Fri March 5th (the start date of the Kickstarter). Why so early? ...

All overseas orders (that's outside the UK) weighing over 2kg (including this bundle of three) are only available on Economy delivery (up to 6 weeks with possible delays) due to BREXIT and COVID restrictions, so get your order in soon!

KICKSTARTER STARTS FRIDAY MARCH 5th

The moment the Kickstarter launches we'll email you this monthly newsletter and notify you. If you plan to back and get yourself a special copy of Jonah please don't delay. The faster a project funds the more publicity it gets on the Kickstarter platform for being "popular", this helps people see it and start a positive cycle! Some items and offers will be limited in quantity or early bird offers, so don't hesitate when that email drops!

PRAYER 

With the Kickstarter campaign on the horizon, I'd love it if you could please pray for its success. Please pray it gets publicity and far exceeds its goal! It's an uncertain time for people financially, so we can never be sure what will happen. Lastly, of course, please pray for the end of this pandemic so everyone can get back to normal life, church gatherings and other social events and conventions can just get going again.

January: New Year, New Book, New opportunity

[Note: I forgot to repost this newsletter as a blog in Jan, sorry, if you’d like to receive this straight to your inbox you can sign up for the email version of the newsletter here ]

So much is happening right now, there's a lot to tell you, and much I can't yet tell you. Most importantly we are announcing what the new title will be!

New Book

We are really excited to announce that the new book we are working on for 2021 is...

The book is already drawn and is currently being coloured. We plan to run a Kickstarter for Jonah in March so get ready for that!

The pages of Jonah have just today begun to be shared with our patrons on Patreon. If you'd like to have exclusive access to the pages now, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/WordforWordBibleComic

We truly value every patron and aside from the benefits included in backing the project you really help support the work. You also get to be involved in Patron Exclusive Hangout which has really shaped the project so far as members get to help decide on various aspects of the project!

Sneak peek

Here is the first look at one of the opening pages of The Book of Jonah. As Jonah is a short book I really took the time to bring out every element of the story and take my time telling the story. It has a lot of interesting things to draw like storms at sea and giant sea creatures, so it's been really fun to draw.

In this image, we see some of the historical elements as Jonah is told to “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it..."

New Opportunities: USA 🇺🇸

It's on! We have signed on the dotted line and from August 2021 Baker and Taylor will be distributing our books across the USA and Canada. They are not simply making the books available however, we have "full distribution" meaning they are promoting the books to all their clients, which includes all the major bookstore chains, Christianbooks.com, libraries, museum gift shops and even Diamond comics distribution. If this goes well we will then be able to see our books in comic shops across the US as well.

The current situations are impacting things, however, as new restrictions and surcharges due to Covid and Brexit are hugely increasing the cost to post to the USA. A box that used to cost about £45 to send before is currently being quoted at £140. We are seeking a new way to work with freight companies for business-to-business transit.

December Newsletter: Christmas Gifts, offers and updates

It's time to crack open the Baileys and the Lebkuchen and think about those last Christmas gifts. Right now you can get 25% off with our Black Friday offer (below). Next month we'll be revealing the next book we are working on and here's some other great news!...

Premier Christianity Magazine Cover

We are really excited to tell you that Christianity Magazine did a big feature of the Gospel of Matthew, using the nativity story in this months issue! The magazine contains 10 comic pages, which I believe is the best way for people 'get' what we are about. We've had a number of orders already and I'm hoping some people will also decide to become monthly patrons too.

Not only were we on the inside but they commissioned a cover piece too. Check it out! It's got Joseph holding baby Jesus instead of Mary, middle eastern complexions, more than three Parthian Magi on horses and Herod as a Roman monarch, all historically accurate but not your average nativity...

You can get a free copy using this link:
https://www.premierchristianity.com/Get-a-free-copy

Video: Explaining the Nativity pages

Please receive this video as a Christmas gift for you to see more about the events surrounding the nativity! The video is one of those created for Patreon supporters every two weeks. This one covers the pages from Joseph waking up after speaking to the angel until the introduction of the Magi. In this type of video I cover the historical research, creative decisions involved and errors corrected. Enjoy!

Getting distribution in the USA 🇺🇸

We are edging ever closer to being able to make a deal with a US distributor. One of the biggest distributors there is in the US was really keen but then got cold feet. I've sent them a revised proposal of how we, as a company, can up our game to meet their requirements and now we are just waiting to hear back from them. Please pray that God's will be done there. If they are meant to partner with us that God makes it happen and if not for some reason we can go on to other options confident that it is the right move.

Prayer 

Firstly, can I say a big thank you again for all those who prayed last month about US distribution you really made a difference!

Our focus this month is on Christmas! Please pray lots of people her about the truth of Jesus and the gospel this Christmas, generally, and especially through our comics!

Black Friday Deal 

You can get 25% off all books and digital versions today! Offer started Fri 27th Nov and ends 15th Dec. USE CODE: BLACKFRIDAY25%

November Newsletter

I'm not one to go on about Christmas too early normally, but we've got some new things to help you be ready for the Christmas season!

Biblical Christmas Cards 

We are really excited to tell you that this year you can get Bible Comic Christmas cards! I know you've been crying out, "Christmas is about Jesus, not candy canes and penguins!". Well, now you can send cards with nativity bible verses and historically accurate comic images. Also, as you can see in the image below we utilise the 'inside cover', adding an image there too which completes the verse with a second sequential image! There are three card designs, each card has two images. (These images were chosen via a poll on the Facebook group). They are A6 (4" x6") and come with festive red envelopes.

Introduce your friends to this new way to read the Bible with Word for Word Bible Comics!

Price: Pack of 6 = £3.99

https://www.wordforwordbiblecomic.com/buy

Click through to the shop to see all the designs more closely.

5 types of people who would love a Bible Comic for Christmas 

🎁 People who've never read the Bible: So many people these days have never read the Bible. Show them it's more than Psalms, Laws and boat of animals!

🎁 Comic lovers: Christian or otherwise, give a comic lover a comic and they'll read it. It's an easy way to share God's Word.

🎁 Church teens: Those who are getting too old for kids books but not ready to study a plain text Bible on their own. This will help keep them engaged!

🎁 Christians who want to study the Bible more: Seeing the story in images helps readers remember the details of the stories and makes reading whole books that much easier.

🎁 Bible Geeks and Bible experts: People who study the Bible and know all the tricky verses will enjoy seeing them resolved visually and seeing all the events happening in their cultural, geographical and historical context.

Ps. Don't forget monthly Newsletter subscribers get 10% - subscribe today

Shop now

For Europe Christmas deliveries- 5th November

If you are in Europe please be aware that due to COVID delays, if you want to order the books as Christmas presents for ECONOMY delivery before Christmas you have just a few days! After that, we advise you to use the "standard" delivery option.

Sneak peek

Here's a look at a verse of Matthew's Gospel that does not feature in Marks gospel, Jesus healing in the temple. 

Getting distribution in the USA

For the last month, I've been pursuing getting a US wholesaler or distributor. We decided to try using my network of people met at various events to find a connection over there and it really worked! We now have 4 potential companies who have responded and are at differing degrees in the process from sending in samples and forms to having Zoom meetings. I really feel the Lord has His hand on this to go ahead now, and I think this has been helped along by my elite prayer team, and all of you who've prayed off the back of these newsletters. Please continue to pray that we find the right one not so much to do well financially, but to get the books out and into not only the Christian market but the general bookstores across the USA.

Prayer

Firstly, can I say a big thank you for all those who prayed last month about US distribution you really made a difference!

Our focus this month is on Christmas! Please pray lots of people her about the truth of Jesus and the gospel this Christmas, generally, and especially through our comics!

HAVE YOUR SAY: Christmas card designs!

We are considering doing Christmas cards! But which images would make the best cards?

Head over to the Facebook group to cast your votes HERE

Please go to the facebook group link and "Vote" by adding 👍 for one vote or ❤ for two votes to your favourite. You can also, tell me any good ideas you have like captions or combos below or on the images.

We may only be able to do one design but we hope to make a batch of three. Which is the best?

October Newsletter : News and Reviews

Royal Mail advises 5th October for ECONOMY Christmas deliveries. 

If you are in the USA, Canada or another far-flung place, please be aware that due to COVID delays, if you want to order the books as Christmas presents for ECONOMY delivery before Christmas you have just a few days! After that, we advise you to use the "standard" delivery option. 

Head to the shop to order these today!

Shop now

UK Prisons to receive copies of the WfWBC! 

At the end of September, the trustees of a UK charity that focuses on ministering to the inmates in UK prisons gathered and made the decision to supply all UK prisons with copies of the Word for Word Bible Comic! These will be available through the prisons' chaplaincy to provide inmates with an easy and accessible way to read and understand the Gospel and the other Biblical books we have covered so far. 

Serving this community is something we are really passionate about but until now have had limited access to. We believe the hard-hitting action and un-sugarcoated presentation of Gods truth will really help them engage with the Word in a new way!

It is the early stages of making these arrangements and supplying the books, but I'd love you to join us in prayer. We'll be praying that these books will really make an impact on these people who need the transformative power of the gospel so keenly.

The Gospel of Matthew in Vanuatu!!?!?

During September we have made arrangements with a Wycliffe missionary group in the Republic of Vanuatu for them to create a version of the Gospel of Matthew in the local language.

These small tropical islands have just 5,000 local language speakers. This group can now freely produce versions of the comic to help communicate the gospel in word and image. 
 

Reviews of the Gospel of Matthew ★★★★★

Several blogs and sites have recently reviewed the new books to great acclaim. You can read those reviews following the links below.

Top 3 Review articles

• https://www.realworldbiblestudy.com/graphic-novel-bible/

• https://daniel-inthelionsden.blogspot.com/2020/09/review-word-for-word-bible-comic-gospel.html

• https://www.christalmighty.net/2020/09/comic.html

More importantly please would you write your own little review on Amazon and Goodreads, it really helps new customers have the confidence to buy when they see those ratings. Currently, the Gospel of Matthew has none on Amazon so please help. 

Please add your own review it REALLY helps 

• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gospel-Matthew-Word-Comic-Bible/dp/0995603561

• https://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Matthew-Word-Comic-Bible/dp/0995603561

• https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55468956-the-gospel-of-matthew

Sneak peek

In the Gospel of Matthew Peter walks on the water with Jesus, a detail that Mark omits. Here is the first few panels of that event. 

Prayer 

Firstly, can I say a big thank you for all those who prayed last month about the prisons and the other languages, as you can see it really helped! 

We have yet other alternative language opportunities to pray for, so please intercede for us there. 

Our big focus this month is going to be finding a USA distributor. Please pray the right company will agree to carry the books and do a good job of marketing them and getting them out to suppliers.