38 FT389Chick,evenaChristianversion of metal
could onlyeverbeSatanic.For astart, the
music itself (ormorespecifically,the drums)
possessed inherent demonic power. The
comic claims that “the same beatthe Druids
usedisinthe rock music of to day... in both
hardand softrock ,the beat isstillthere!”
Chickwas keen to showhow
comprehensively this ‘Druidmusic’could
corrupt.In his infamous tractAngelsa
Christianrock band calledGreen Angels
signs with an agentcalled LewSiffer
(Geddit?Chick’s stripsare filled with names
likethis).After theysignacontract in blood,
theircareer descends intochaos and tragedy.
Band memberBobby turns gayand wants to
marry aman. So Siffer thinks: “I’ll give yo ua
littlewedding present...some AIDS!” Bobby
soondies from it, while Jimoverdosesand
Don somehowgetssuckedinto‘vampirism’.
Tomisthe onlybandmembertoget out
alive,because he finds Christ through a
Chick tract andpromptlystarts telling
everyone to burn theirrockalbums.
Claims ofsuchwidespread demonic
conspiracywerebolsteredby Chick’s
growingbankofcontroversialadvisor s, su ch
as Rebecca Brown. Shewasamedic al doctor
whose bookswere publ ishedby Chickin
1986(He Came to SettheCaptivesFree)and
1987(Preparefor War). Brownshared the
story of Elaine, who claimedtohave been
asenior member of Satanicgroup ‘The
Brotherhood’. Sosenior,infact,that
she wasformallymarri ed to Satan
himself. Elainewarnedofaworld
thatchime dwithChick’s fears.
She’d witnessed baby sacrifices
and the summoning of eight-f oot
talldemons. She’devenmet the
Pope in theVatican, so they might
strategisetogethe rfor Satan. She
met ‘rockmusic stars’ whohad sold their souls to the Devil,and on two
occasionsshe even metawerewolf.Zombies
andvampires alsoexist,she says,but this is a
“ver yclosel yguarded secretby Satan”.
Chickwas fascinatedby Brown’sclaims
and, aswell as publishing her books,he
used her storyasaninspirationfor tracts
likeThePoor LittleWitch,whereayoung
girl called Mandyislured into witchcraft
on th epromise it will improve her netball
skills. She’sput offwhen her newSatanist
friendsslaughteran in fant in front of her
and forceher to drink thechild’ sblood
from achalice,and sheturnstoChrist
instead.
LikeAlbert oRiverabefore
her,RebeccaBrownwas quickly
denouncedasafraud by critics.
Some accused her of beingaparanoid
schizophrenic,and she lost
her medical licence. Sheclaimed thiswas al lpart of the conspiracy,
and thatthe hospital whereshe worked had
beenoverrun by witches. David Daniels
admitted to me thather booksmade “alot
of money” butInotice dtheynolongersell
themonthe site.When Iasked him why, he
simplysaid that “Oneday Jack waspraying,
and the Lordtold himtogiveRebeccaall her
stuff back.”So, he obeyed.“He gave her the
plates, the rights,all the work,every thing.”
Brownwent onto fin danother publisher.Her
books maybegonefromthe Chicksite, but
her influence is still felt through the tracts
today.
Anotherkey Chickadvisor wasJohn
Todd,who claimedtobeaformerGrand
Druid onamissio ntoexpose the secrets
of the Illuminati.Toddwas convinced that
JFKhad fakedhis owndeath, and that
theactress Cindy William s(Shirley, from
Laverneand Shirley)had startedawitch cult
which became oneoft he largesthomosexual
covens in California. In the 1970s, several
of Chick’sfull-colour comicswere based on
Todd’s claims.
As we’veseen,the worldofJackChick
is anightmarishone. Despitehis mission
to ge tusall to Heaven, it ’s ironicthat he
seemed to findthat destination uninspiring,
artisticallyspeakin g. His depictions of
aChristian paradise areweirdl ybanal,
with afaceless God–lookingmorelikea
giant anthropomorphic alien –sitting on a
mysterious throne.Yet, in Chick’scomics,
the sicko witches,the fanged demons,the
slobbering, obeseCatholic priests areall
vivid ,detailedand fullofl ife. Chick mayHTTPS:/
/CHICK.COM/PRODUCTS/TRACT?STK=32
HTTPS:/
/W
WW.CHICK.COM/PRODUCTS/ITEM?STK=0110
ABOVE:Timmyfindshimselfin theAbyssin
Happy Halloween.LEFT:SpellboundsawChick
warning ofdemonicinfluences in rockmusic.
BELOW:Rebecca Brown’s booksdescribed all
manner ofSatanichorrors.