Kingstone Media Group, which publishes Christian comics, has announced that Affirm Films/Sony Pictures Entertainment is currently adapting to film one of Kingstone's upcoming graphic novels.

The Remaining graphic novel is scheduled for release next July, with the movie premiering in fall 2014. The thriller follows a group of friends who must figure out what to do in the first three days after the rapture occurs.

Kingstone CEO Art Ayris also recently wrote an Op-Ed column for foxnews.com titled, "Why Jesus and comic books need each other."

"Christians know that the archetype for all superheroes is Jesus," said Ayris, referencing the Superman movie Man of Steel. "The Bible is full of heroes and hero tales. They've conquered film and TV, but an important battleground remains—comics and graphic novels. Our initial goal was that Kingstone would become the 'Marvel Comics' of the faith-based market, but eventually to be considered a legitimate player in the general comics market."

Kingstone recently released Eternity, the first graphic novel by New York Times best-selling author Randy Alcorn. Besides Eternity, Kingstone's 25 comic books and 12 graphic novels are available on the comiXology platform—the No. 3 top-grossing iPad app last year.

"This isn't about me or Kingstone," Ayris said. "It's about a large market virtually untapped by Christians. U.S. sales of comics and graphic novels top $750 million, and that is growing. In Japan—with about a third our population—it's a $5 billion industry. The bar is set high, and the opportunity—business and ministry—is huge. But the formula is simple: Story and quality sell. If that isn't an opportunity for Christians—for business and for ministry—I don't know what is."

Visit www.foxnews.com/opinion to read Ayris' Op-Ed.

• Prev
• Next