Sunday morning, when I went out to pick up the paper I discovered that someone had placed a small pamphlet on the railings of all the houses in the neighborhood. It was about the size of a gift certificate, with a black & orange wraparound cover featuring a smiling jack-o-lantern and the word BOO! Imagine my surprise when I found that it was a mini-comic from those wacky folks at Jack C. Chick.

For those of you unfamiliar with the good Christian group, Jack Chick has been around for years. He pushes a born-again brand of Christianity, very anti-gay & anti-choice. Some folks have said he's anti-Semitic, as well as anti-Catholic, but I'm not going to go that far, having only had the chance to read a few of his publications.

Most are in the format known as mini-comics (or Tijuana Bible style, for those of you more familiar with that) and generally run from eight to sixteen pages. Usually in black & white, with occasionally another color added for effect in some panels. I've never seen any credits in the book, other than the indicia stating that it's from Jack C. Chick.

You can learn a bit more about the Chick "tracts" over on their site http://www.chick.com/

Warning: Not for the squeamish!