‘What does it mean to fight the good fight’
Greenhaw brings dimension and faith to the comic industry
When one combines a Grammy-winning career in gospel music with a passionate dedication to the Christian faith and a serious influence of the legendary Stan Lee, the result is a vibrant, full-color story about superheroes handpicked by the man upstairs, himself.
Gospel singer Art Greenhaw is the creator of “God’s Silver Soldiers,” a comic book series about a superhero team that fights for Judeo-Christian values and works to keep the world safe from the forces of Satan.
“We have various slogans that are associated in the book like, ‘In our darkest hour they were the light’ and ‘God gave them their powers, and the world gave them their passion,’ “ said Greenhaw in a telephone interview with the Advocate.
‘God’s Silver Soldiers’ is intended for all audiences, according to Greenhaw. “I think the book is just really outstanding, and it has universal appeal,” he said. The first issue of the series has a two-arc story, and in the second arc the team has to rescue its founder, Angelica, from hell where Satan is holding her captive.
“We just have a lot of real interesting, powerful stories – the fire and the brimstone and the demons and the devil himself are all depicted in a powerful way by the art and the coloring,” the author said.
Comic books have always been Greenhaw’s favorite literary medium, he said.
“I’ve just always loved sequential art which are art panels with text, one after another, that tell a story,” he said. “It’s a real all-American art form. I’ve always loved superheroes.”
He said he especially loved the Marvel era “when greats like Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby first created all of those first wave of marvel superheroes,” he said. The comics influenced his reading habits and “even (my) philosophy,” he said.
His gospel music earned Greenhaw a Grammy, along with eight more nominations. “I love music that talks about spiritual values and conveys subjects that are real lasting in nature,” he said.
“I’ve always wanted to do a comic book series. (it) just so happened, one of the greatest comic book artists of our generation is not too far from me in Forney, Texas,” he said. That would be artist Ben Dunn, who created the “Warrior Nun” comic book series and “Ninja High School,” and worked on the illustrations in God’s Silver Soldiers.
“We’re doing faith-based comic books that we hope will instill values and even questions among comic book readers of all ages on some of the more serious questions,” Greenhaw explained. “What is truth? What does it mean to fight the good fight? What is life? Is there life everlasting?”
Gods’ Silver Soldiers is published by Nodrskog Publishing, which can be reached at nordskogpublishing.com.
More information on the comic book itself can be found on godssilversoldiers.com.
Great article about a great undertaking! Art is amazingly creative and talented in his music as well as his writing. The Light Crust Doughboys are unsurpassed in musicianship, and his Silver Soldiers is now among gospel literature’s best.