The Sun, London's largest English circulation tabloid newspaper in the world.
...and His Backup Group, The 12 Apostles by Beth Gimmel, Boca Sun,
2.4.08
AN
URBAN artist is bringing a sense of humor to the gospel by writing
and
drawing a hip-hop comic book starring Jesus Christ and the 12
apostles.
Demetrius Veasy, a graphic designer from Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, has
reimagined Satan, the Lord of Darkness, as a modern-day gansta,
complete with platinum chains around his neck and a diamond studded
grill over his teeth.
The devil is drawn in the style of
ultra-popular Japanese animation, or "anime," and tempts the masses
with offers of "cash money."
But fighting against his works is a
superhero called The Lion - as in the Lion of Judah, a biblical name
for Jesus Christ. His crew of 12 brothers include P.Rock (Peter), and
J. Money (Judas).
The Lion has bulging biceps, dreadlocks, furious
skills in the martial arts - and a message of compassion and mercy.
When He addresses God, He calls Him "Pops."
The comic book is
called Lions 12, and Veasy describes it as a "hip-hop/kung fu/anime
re-enactment of Jesus and his 12 disciples."
The plot came right from the Good Book and the inspiration
came from above.
"The idea just popped into my head one day," Veasy explains.
"I started drawing like a madman."
"I'd love to make a career of this. It's what everybody
wants, to do what they love," he explains.
What The Newspapers Are Saying About Lions.12
Aspiring artist finds divine inspiration for work on show at anime
convention Hip-hop take on Gospels is part of annual anime event
By Jamie Malernee / South Florida Sun-Sentinel
January 5, 2008
In the imagination of aspiring artist Demetrius Veasy, Satan has
gone gangsta.
He wears platinum chains, flashes a diamond grill when he smiles
and tempts the masses with "cash money."
In
this same world — which Veasy brings to life each night after work,
drawing his own Japanese-style comic book — mankind's hope is The
Lion,
a Messianic superhero with dreadlocks, ripped abs, mad martial art
skills and a crew of 12 brothers.
Veasy's artwork will be on
display today as part of the Broward County Library's annual anime
convention, an event celebrating Japanese animation and still comics,
known as manga, that drew about 1,000 fans last year.
Anime is
often seen as being popular among American schoolchildren (remember
Pokémon?), but some of those children have already grown up to
become
adults like Veasy, 29. He hopes the exposure he gets this weekend
will
help him turn his passion into a profession.
"I would love to make a career of this. It's what everybody
wants, to do what they love," the Fort Lauderdale resident said.
For
now, Veasy pays his bills overseeing audiovisual equipment at Florida
Atlantic University in Boca Raton, where he graduated with a degree
in
graphic design.
The convention, which is free and open to the
public, will be held today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Main
Library,
100 S. Andrews Ave., downtown Fort Lauderdale. It will feature anime
screenings, art and computer workshops, a costume contest, Japanese
taiko drumming and an appearance by a voice actor for the anime
series
Dragon Ball Z.
Along with Veasy, other young artists will
display their work and do "drawings on demand," said event organizer
and teen services librarian Arlene Garcia.
"I really wanted to highlight the talent that goes into anime:
the art, the voice characters, the music," she said.
Breaking
into the business is no easy feat. Hope Donovan, an editor at
Tokyopop,
the largest publisher and distributor of American manga, said
would-be
artists must be passionately driven because industry pay is often
low.
To encourage young talent, her company runs an annual manga
contest to identify rising stars in the United States.
"It's
a bridge from being an amateur to being a professional," she said.
"If
you're passionate about it, just do it and people will notice."
That's
what Veasy is hoping for. He used his own money to publish the maiden
issue of his own comic book and will be selling it at the convention
for $4.75 a copy — about 50 cents over what it cost him to print.
"Right now, I don't care about the money," he said. "I just care
about getting the message across."
That
message is as eclectic as Veasy, a South Florida native who grew up
loving rap music, all things Japanese and church. He describes his
comic strip as a "hip-hop/kung fu/anime re-enactment of Jesus and his
12 disciples." The name of the strip, Lions 12, comes from a Biblical
verse that refers to Jesus as the Lion of Judah. The plotline is
lifted
from the Gospels.
"The idea just popped into my head one day," he said. "I started
drawing like a madman."
Veasy
has taken certain license to make the strip appeal to a young,
diverse
crowd. Each disciple kicks butt with a different style of martial
art,
and Veasy has changed some of the names: Peter, for example, is P.
Rock, Judas is J. Money and the devil is Damien. Jesus, The Lion,
often
refers to God as "Pops."
The slang-filled dialogue also includes
a dash of Hebrew. Veasy's mother, a devout Christian, sent him to a
private Jewish academy during middle school in hopes of bettering his
education. Some rudimentary bits of the language, along with a deep
respect for Judaism, stayed with him, the artist said.
While
Christian-themed manga may sound unusual, Veasy sees parallels with
the
values extolled in Japanese culture and said he hopes to counter the
materialism, senseless violence and laziness that permeate the U.S.
mass media.
"I love my country, but so much of what we are being taught is
so backward," he said.
"In
Japan, everybody studies, they are very astute, where with American
kids, we're slackers. Those kids have nothing but respect for their
elders. Here, there are kids shooting somebody."
Veasy said some
may be turned off by his vision of Jesus as a muscled street fighter,
rather than the often placid portrayal given in Sunday schools. But
he
hopes his work will give others the courage to fight wrongs and take
on
the establishment.
"People like to see [Jesus] with blue eyes,
always happy," he said. "I like to see him bruised and beaten, always
being chased, always looking over his shoulder.
"I believe he's the first superhero."
Jamie Malernee can be reached at jmalernee@sun-sentinel.com or
954-356-4849.