Cardinal: Comic book hero learns hard lessons on bullying

This spring, we are helping parents, educators and community leaders to grapple with the rapidly changing nature of bullying. ReadTheSpirit just teamed up with students from the Michigan State University school of journalism to publish a book on this evolving problem.

That news prompted nationally known comic artist and author Kurt Kolka to contact us. Kurt’s day job is as a journalist in the editorial department of a regional newspaper. But his vocational passion has made him an influential online advocate for preserving vintage comics as well as for encouraging the best work among Christian comic artists. His own super hero is The Cardinal, who has evolved through print comics, and even some film adventures, into a colorful online hero who readers can follow free of charge at Go Comics. ReadTheSpirit has recommended Kurt’s work and even chimed in on some of his efforts on behalf of such classics as Alley Oop and Brenda Starr.

Kurt praised our new book with MSU, The New Bullying. This is a daily problem in our schools, Kurt wrote, and for the sake of the many young people and families who are affected: “The more we can get word out about the seriousness of this issue, the better!”

Kurt created an epic anti-bullying adventure for The Cardinal—whose alter ego is a mild-mannered high school student who sometimes is a target for bullies. The lengthy comic adventure involves the Cardinal facing the torments of bullies himself, plus sub-plots about several other young people who face various forms of abuse and react in different ways. One former victim turns himself into a super villain bent on revenge, which is an additional tragic outcome of bullying.

Here is Part 1 of the epic Cardinal adventure that involves various forms of bullying and features a hairy, snaggle-toothed super villain known as … dunnn, dunnn, dunnnThe Warthog!

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Originally published at readthespirit.com, an online magazine covering religion and cultural diversity.

 

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