The countdown has finally officially begun at waypoints.jp!
“Waypoints” is the name of our first manga project. What’s it all about? First, let me remind you about the vision for Drawbridge Creations, so you can see how this first project fits into that vision.
Manga (Japanese comics) are a large, influential and unique part of pop culture in Japan. They’re so popular that in one week Japan buys more comics than the US does in an entire year. Japan is also one of the most “connected” countries in the world, with over 90% of people online, and about 99% of university students owning smart phones.
Meanwhile, Japan is about 99% non-Christian.
Drawbridge Creations is a web-based manga outreach with the three-fold purpose of reaching the unchurched, resourcing the Church, and empowering Christian artists, in order to bridge the gap between Church and culture; between Jesus and Japan.
We will follow a webcomic model, serializing the content for free online, collecting the stories for print publication later on. If our first project is successful, we envision it having the potential to grow into a larger, multi-series/multi-platform ministry. But while we’re dreaming big, we’re starting small, with one self-contained series — “Waypoints.”
“Waypoints” is an anthology — a collection of short stories. These short stories will be taken from the New Testament Gospels, with each tale told from the point of view of someone whose life was changed by encountering Jesus. That’s why, until recently, this series was tentatively called “POV,” because it’s all about looking at Jesus from different points of view.
The focus in this series will be on simply but creatively showing how Jesus changes people’s lives, rather than on doing educational material or even a complete biography of Jesus. By focusing on regular people in the Gospel stories, we will tell stories people can relate to. By showing them how He changed those characters’ lives, we will whet readers’ appetites to know Jesus for themselves.
Another sense in which this series will reflect different points of view is that we have multiple writers and artists involved. Each artist and writer brings a unique perspective to the project, as creative Christians from various backgrounds.
Our first wave of stories are written by me (Robin White) and Zach Motts (WGM missionary), with art by Azumi Ryo, Makito Mukai, Mashu, Youmin Park, Ian Lammi and myself.
As we look at Jesus from various different viewpoints, both in terms of the characters and creators, it’s our hope and prayer that God will use us to open readers’ hearts to seeing themselves, life, faith and of course Jesus Himself from a fresh, new point of view.
Ultimately, we hope that readers, like the characters in this series, will have the opportunity to encounter Christ along the way.