Wildlight and Other Musings

Salutations.

A while back, I wrote about how I was going to be back to drawing. And, along those lines, how I would repost WIldlight comics. I’m happy to report that the project is about 20% done. You can now read 12 issues of Wildight on the web! And each week, another webisode is posted. So, feel free to subscribe to get reminders of when each of those hit the internet.

Many times, I write about New Year’s Resolutions about this time. Well, I’m very focused on getting Wildlight reposted. From there, I can start working on some new issues. At the same time, I run five Pathfinder campaigns. And while I feel I do a pretty good job there, I want to push myself a bit more to improve the experience for my players. Aside from that, I’m looking at trying to diet and exercise more, as most Americans are, I imagine 😀

And, most importantly, I want to take steps to improve my walk with God. I could go into detail here…but some of it is dirty laundry. So, I’ll save that for one on one conversations with Friends. Speaking of that, if you ever want to chat with me, feel free to hit me up on Discord at jcservant.

What about you? Are you working on anything new this year?

By His Grace,

Phil aka JCServant

Merry Christmas

Salutations.

Full audio of the article.

Right now, across the country, children are opening presents. Family members are gathered together to share Christmas stories and delight in holiday meals. And all of that is great. I also want to remind everyone to take some time to give thanks to God for all of the blessings in our lives.

Over two thousand years ago, a baby was born to Mary. This child, Jesus, would bring us the Gospel’s good news. For, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3.23), and “the wages of sin are death.” However, “For God so love the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3.16).

We are not promised tomorrow. This week, I had one of my pets died. This is a gentle, yet powerful reminder that my days, as many others, are numbered. And none of us know what that number is. Some may think because they are younger they have plenty of time left, but we have seen many young people die well before ‘their time.’

I urge you, this Christmas, to turn your thoughts towards God. If you currently follow God in your walk, use some time today to thank God for the blessings in your life and seek His will for the future. If you have not considered whether or not to truly follow Him with your whole heart, please do so. Today is a great day to spend time in God’s Word and prayer. And, if I can be of any help, please feel free to reach out to me (jcservant on discord – email jcservant316 at gmail dot com).

In the meantime, I hope and pray that you have a peaceful, joyous Christmas season. By God’s grace, I’ll see you soon for the New Year 🙂

Your’s in faith,
Phil aka JCServant

Getting Back to Drawing

Salutations! 

I’m back to working on Wildlight! The original story arc took me years to make. From my first ideas back in the early 90’s, to the 7 or so years it took me to draw it all out in the 2000’s. I sought to make a comic that captured the spirit of the 80’s Marvel comics I read, infused with my own ideas and perceptions of the world. Ironically, I decided to do this through the eyes of an imaginary character completely different from myself – Tammy Tanaka, aka Wildlight. 

Over the next year, I will get these old ‘webisodes’ or comic pages reformatted for modern-day devices, enabling people to easily read them on cell phones. Thankfully, I made the comics (even back then) vertically to be easily scrolled with a mouse wheel. Today, people use tablets and cell phones for the most part, so I just have to resize a lot of the text to work better on smaller screens. I’ve been working to readjust the text size, and I’m happy to provide a status update here.

I have seven issues ready to go, and with the process I have nailed down, I should knock out another webisode each week!

While it will likely take me around a year to get it all up, you can read the first 7 webisodes right now at the following sites!

Wildlight’s Home on ComicFury
Webtoons
Tapas

As always, feel free to leave comments and I will certainly respond to them. You can follow me on the following sites as well.

Twitter / X
DeviantArt

Find Your Community

Salutations.

I wanted to name this article “Find your community, or create your own,” but I can only fit so many characters into the subject heading.

Jesus calls us to be a light to the world in the Bible. Many call this the great commission. We find these verses in Matthew 28.

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I believe that God calls us to reach out to others with the Gospel message. For some, that means going out and preaching on the street corner. For others, it might mean helping in the homeless shelter. And for others, it may mean playing a heavier role in supporting others in their church. However, I strongly believe that God calls many of us to be out in ‘the world,’ in a manner of speaking. And for different people, that means different things.

For a mother with children, it could mean the soccer group her child participates in. For an older man, it might mean his golfing group or a bunch of guys he goes out hunting with. Most of us have hobbies that fit into a group setting. Even those who have more solo-friendly hobbies can find groups to plug in with that help encourage them to grow in that hobby.

These communities can be local, or online. Local communities offer you better opportunities to connect directly with people, but can certainly be more time-consuming to set up and run. Online communities lack the face-to-face interaction found in local groups but offers flexibility in scheduling. And with tools such as Discord, building your own community is easier than ever.

Becoming a part of these communities allows one opportunity to witness for Christ in a variety of ways. Of course, how one conducts oneself is the first testimony. A Christian’s behavior reflects on Christ. Critics quickly point out any time a Christian does anything unethical, intentional or not. However, more importantly, becoming a part of a community gives a Christian opportunity to discuss the faith with others. Where most might avoid the street preacher on their way to shop, they may be quite willing to listen to a friend from a hobby group speak on the matter.

Of course, some do not want to hear about God, regardless of the context. You will have to be bold and trust in the Spirit to guide you through such waters. If you need some advice, I am always happy to help. Below, I also list a couple of resources I found helpful. I believe God is glorified whenever we testify about Him with others, regardless of the outcome, and that knowledge has helped me to boldly proclaim the truth, even if I worry that others may reject me in the process. And, as Jesus said in Mat 10.22, “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

So I want to encourage everyone to find their community. Enjoy your favorite hobbies with others, Christians or no. And may the light God has placed in your heart help to light these dark corners where hope is lost.

As always, you can get a hold of me via email (jcservant316 at gmail dot com), via Twitter, or by leaving a comment below. Thank you and God bless you!

Book: Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions

Book: Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World

Don’t Tap Out

Recently, Jason David Frank, the actor who played the Green Ranger, committed suicide. This impacted numerous people, myself included. I enjoyed watching the show back in the early ’90’s and was recently re-watching it via YouTube when I heard the news. I had even made it a point to follow some of the other works Jason David Frank did. He engaged with fans regularly and was seen in many Power Ranger projects well after the first show. Most important to me, however, he had a ministry called “Jesus Don’t Tap.”

All of this brought up a subject dear to my heart, suicide. Men commit suicide three to four times more often than women, a statistic that exceeds car deaths in many areas. There are likely countless reasons for this. And with the statistics rising again, I would point to our culture as one such area for concern, which has targeted men over the last 10-20 years. Regardless, many agree that one reason men kill themselves more often is that they don’t seek help.

Jason David Frank was going through a divorce. According to reports, his wife filed for legal separation three months before. According to the CDC, relationship issues like this can certainly be a contributing factor. Having witnessed a few divorces, I have seen firsthand the emotional devastation it has wrought. Many men also have a tendency to not seek help and support when needed. It is not hard to imagine that Jason David Frank might be that way, given the ministry and things he has said about being tough.

I want to encourage anyone, including men, to seek help as needed, including emotional support. The Bible points out over and over that we are to be a community of believers. Brothers support each other in times of need. In our increasingly individualistic culture, it is easy to become cut off from many traditional forms of Christian grouping. So, work to always have a circle of Christian friends you can talk to, and who can pray for you. Next, do not hesitate to seek professional help and support if you need it. It exists for a reason, and many Christians work in these fields specifically to help others. God has used these people to help me through some rough times, and I can attest to what a blessing they can be.

Again, if you need help, please get it. Try to get it from a Christian when possible, but do get help.

And if you need someone to just talk to, or you want to widen your circle of Christian prayer and friendship support, feel free to reach out to me. I’m JCServant#9884 on Discord or email jcservant316 at gmail dot com .

Until next time, God Bless you.

Untenable Positions

Salutations.

As I eyeball the news, I notice numerous articles featuring a self-proclaimed religious person stating something that clearly goes against their faith. Examples include a Christian who supports abortion or a church that embraces homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle in God’s eyes. I could also pull examples from other religions, such as Mormonism and Islam, however, I shall stick with Christianity since I am most familiar with its Holy book, the Bible.

To have this discussion, understanding the scriptures underlying the religion is key. After all, men are fallen creatures. We have a tendency to warp and disobey any direction given to us if it serves our purposes. Even if we do embrace what we are told to do, we usually do a poor job of following through. Walk up to anyone on the streets and ask them what they feel are the top five rules for ‘being a good person’ in life. Then ask them if they follow these rules fully going each year without breaking one. Or even a month. A week. Or, even a day. None of us are good, not even one.

Today, I’ll just focus on abortion. Simply put, you cannot claim to be a Christian and claim to support abortion. These are conflicting views. The Bible is the foundation of the Christian religion. It is the Word of God. To dispute the Word of God puts you at odds with the Creator. And while some things in life are left to our discretion or interpretation, this subject is quite clear. Christians must hold life sacred.

Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.”

Jerimiah 1.5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Job 31:15 “Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?”

There are other scriptures, however, I’ll move onto the logical side of the argument. A while back, I wrote a logical argument against abortion. This ties directly into the Christian discussion. Just based on the logic I laid out, one cannot coherently hold a position supporting abortion, and somehow say they also believe in the Bible. The Bible clearly says that murder is evil and wrong. It points out that He creates life in the womb, so that’s where life starts. Even if that was somehow debatable, the logical argument I laid out in my other article shows that at best, those who support abortion can only claim they do not, for a fact, know when life begins. Therefore, to proceed with the termination of a pregnancy is wrong. In any other area of life, where we are unsure of the existence of life, we always err on the side of life. After all, no one wants to find out, years later, that they were a murderer because they assumed life did not exist where it actually did.

It is simply illogical to believe someone’s claim to follow Christ when in the next breath, they directly contradict His Word. Yet, that is exactly what our society does. The news puts out an article explaining how this ‘Christian’ person or leader supports abortion and uses that as leverage to argue that this is a debated topic in ‘Christian circles.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. That’s like suggesting that Christians are debating the resurrection of Christ, or whether God wrote the Bible, because some segments of people, self-identifying as Christians, are doing so.

This does not mean there is no forgiveness for this or any other sin. For those willing to repent of the sin of murder/abortion, or any other wrongdoing, God is merciful. His Son died on the cross so we might be saved from our sins. But in order to do that, we must first repent of our sins. We cannot do that if we believe the lies that somehow these are ‘debatable matters open to interpretation.’ While some subjects certainly fall under that heading (many of which I have written about here), abortion is certainly not one of them. We must submit our wills to God or we simply cannot call ourselves “Christians” or “Followers of Christ.”

Start Playing Pathfinder

Salutations.

I do not believe I have written much about my passion for tabletop role-playing games in the past. However, in short, I have played games like Dungeons & Dragons for decades. I was around when the news worked hard to convince people that D&D was satanic. And, for a while, my parents even forbid me from playing, concerned I may string our cat out on a pentagram. Back then, D&D was niche, and only a handful of nerds in each town even knew how to play it. Fast forward to 2022, and it’s hard to find a person who has not heard of Dungeons and Dragons. And even more remarkable, most people now see it in a more positive light. Thanks to a push from YouTube, numerous stars, and even television shows, more people are playing D&D in record numbers.

Wildlight Is Coming Back

Salutations.

For those who do not know, Wildlight is a webcomic I started over 20 years ago. I worked on it for roughly seven years and completed around 70 webisodes. For comparison, that’s roughly equal to 18 standard comics or 3 full-sized graphic novels. For the last 13 years, I have done very little in the way of comic book work for a variety of reasons. And about seven months ago, I took down the Cyberlight website where Wildlight was hosted with other comics. Well, some good news for those who miss the adventures of Tammy, and her charming AI, CHRISTI.

This is how the comic looked originally on the site. Click for full size.

First, for those who have never read Wildlight, a bit of background is in order. I started drawing the comic in 2001. As the header reads, “The legacy of faith starts here! Given an advanced personal stealth and armor system, Tammy is thrust into a classic battle of good vs. evil. However, the greatest battles she fights are the ones within.” The 70 issues I completed formed the first act of a three-act story I wanted to tell about the life of Tammy Tanaka Saiko, otherwise known as Wildlight. I barely finished it when I took a break due to increased work, social involvement, and college. I left the comics up on the Cyberlight Comics website. However, due to increasing costs and issues with the aging HTML programming behind it, I had to take that down earlier this year.

Here’s a cell-phone-friendly rework of that first issue. Click for full size.

I had a few people reach out to me about the decision. At the time, I told them I had no immediate plans to get Wildlight back on the internet. However, a while ago, a good friend told me about Webtoons. He explained to me that there were a number of websites designed for hosting webcomics that could be read easily on a cellphone as well as PC. These comics read from top to bottom, designed to be continuously scrolled as the readers work through the story. In a way, Wildlight was ahead of its time.

I did a bit of research, and I believe I can convert the old comics to work in this new format. It does require a significant reworking of panels and text, to make things easy to read on smaller devices. This will take a lot of time, but it is significantly faster than if I redrew everything from scratch.

I believe I can also make this a bit more interesting for any who read this back in the day. I plan to add an ‘artist interaction’ section towards the bottom. There I will have a caricature of myself giving some behind-the-scenes tips, answering reader questions, and dropping hints about future issues.

I believe I can get the first few episodes up in under a month. Based on how smoothly those go, I will choose either a weekly or bi-weekly schedule for the rest of them. Once I get some of them posted, I will put links here in a separate article, as well as post them on Twitter.

Even as some of these comics are going up, I will be working on the epilogue to Act 1, which was never finished. That will show Lyndey’s reaction to these stories about her mother. From there, I start work on Act 2, where Tammy looks to join the Department of Special Forces. That way, new issues will be able to start going up once the old ones are finished.

I am considering doing streams of drawing while doing so. Please let me know if you might be interested in that. Also, let me know what you think about this news! You can post in the comment section below, or hit me up on Twitter (jcservant) or email (jcservant316 at gmail dot com). Twitter is also a great place to keep tabs on my practice drawings and up-to-date news about the comics. You do not need to subscribe or login to Twitter to read my posts, as I keep them public. Until then, may God Bless you!

Cut The News

A number of years ago, I was driving down the road with my wife. She had the news turned on in the car. As the broadcaster gave one piece of bad news after another, she sighed. And then she sighed again. After the third time, I turned off the news. “Why did you do that?” she asked. “Because it is stressing you out. You started listening to the news months ago, and ever since, you have become more and more stressed. You cannot do anything about the things they talk about, which makes you feel hopeless. Why not leave it in God’s hands?”

Abortion & Gaming

Salutations.

Back in the old days, most companies, including game developers and publishers, steered clear of political talk. After all, while half the country or more will support the stance taken, you risk alienating the remainder. In most companies, every sale matters to the bottom line. Now, it would seem those days are far behind us. Disney made a public statement about Florida’s new Parent Protection Act. Prior to that, Major League Baseball not only had something to say about a new voting law in Georgia, but they moved a planned game. And recently, many video game companies have decided to publically denounce the decision by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v Wade.