Jack Chick is an asshole...

...but I will admit he does have some good ideas. Here's the thing- almost everyone, like em or hate em, has heard of Chick Tracts- those little comic books that tell you why you're going to hell.
The point is that they get the word out. Think about it, you're Joe Public, going along for a stroll when all of a sudden you see a group of V-masked protestors outside a Scientology building. Your curiosity is piqued. Noticing this, one of the protestors asks you if you would like a free comic book.

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Most people are visually inclined. My proposal- we produce a small zine-type publication highlighting our core reasons for protesting against the Co$. Remember: Lots of pretty pictures. I'm sure it would not be that hard for people to recruit artists, inkers, and writers to our cause. We could then put the completed files on a public image site like DeviantArt or photobucket for people to download, print, and distribute. Admittedly, it would be a lot more effort and resources than flyers, but I think people might have a bit more fun with it.

What say you?

Ugh, Jack Chick and the KJV-only cult. (<-- former KJVO-ist) But yes, it works, and it might be a wise idea.

I don't think so -- because, especially thanks to Chick, people know these things are bullshit. So if you see something in that format, the reasonable inference is that it is false.

Good point, Seebs.

Just like the tracts are Chick's trademark, the "V" for Vendetta has become Anonymous' "trademark." (Not literally, of course... But when people see the mask, they think of Anonymous more than they think of the movie, I'll wager.)

Originally Posted by Ten Tigers

Good point, Seebs.

Just like the tracts are Chick's trademark, the "V" for Vendetta has become Anonymous' "trademark." (Not literally, of course... But when people see the mask, they think of Anonymous more than they think of the movie, I'll wager.)

I don't think so. Nearly everyone I've run into has been like "oh, from that movie!"

It may take a little while before we can clear the effect of tens of millions of dollars of marketing and publicity. :)

One of my Polish friends saw a pic I took of two people in masks and first thing she said was "V for Vendetta"

Originally Posted by seebs

I don't think so. Nearly everyone I've run into has been like "oh, from that movie!"

It may take a little while before we can clear the effect of tens of millions of dollars of marketing and publicity. :)

Okay. But we're GETTING THERE!

Huh, when we did our hug raid I had alot of people come up and say "Hey, you guys are with Anonymous!"

Getting back to the original topic, isn't there already a Scientology-inspired Jack Chick parody strip? I could have sworn I've seen it before. Links anyone?

Originally Posted by seebs

I don't think so -- because, especially thanks to Chick, people know these things are bullshit. So if you see something in that format, the reasonable inference is that it is false.

We don't have to do one in the chick-tract format. We could make it crazy and intentionally campy (as opposed to unintentionally campy *cough*battlefield earth*cough*) instead of srs business. We make it funny, but at the same time we make people think. Put links to enturb, xenu TV, xenu.net at the end. Maybe we could even put in some of those old-school comic book ads in the back, like this one

Only with ads like "what's the price of Salvation? Only as much as you have! Order now!" or "The Next Awesome Invention: The Electrolysis Meter! Audit Your Friends!"

Maybe have the cover be a parody of a famous comic cover? Like Anonymous punching Xenu in the face in a parody of Captain America's first appearance,

or the Days of Future Past X-men cover with those people who got "Fair-Gamed" as the X-men in the background and WiseBeard Man and Magoo as Wolverine and Kitty Pryde


These are merely suggestions, so strike them down or improve upon them as you see fit.

Posters and visually oriented fliers will work the best. Anything we can do to create a visual mark that will become recognisable by Joe Public will work a lot in our favour.

Though Anonymous uses a lot of V masks and stuff, we also need to distinguish ourselves from the movie somewhat. The headless suit is a good one, and I think it work well in our favour if we do more with that with our posters/fliers/hand-outs...

Just my $0.02 on the thing...


And yeah, Jack Chick sucks cocks...

I actually put together an 8-page ZINE as a test a few weeks back with some protest information I hacked together from various flyers and such. I was actually incredibly impressed with the result, to be honest. It sorta feels like an "underground newspaper" of sorts.

I'll see if I can find it and repost it here with instructions on how to fold it correctly.

Jack Chick isn't famous because of his format.

He's famous because of his utter absurdity. There's nothing funnier than humour that's not meant to be humour. People like to see his stuff to remind them just how crazy some fundamentalists are, not because they're particularly attracted to the format (although it does make for good tl;dr).

That being said, suggestions for parody formats is great. Also retro styles is good, from handbills to old comic book ads. I think a mockup of the 80s Xerox zines done on shitty typewriters with the black and white photo pics that are so crappy they might as well be a Rorschach inkblot, might also have some limited appeal to a certain demographic.

Gentlemen, the Chick Tract idea is totally fucking awesome, and here's why this Anonymous thinks so:

1) It's a well-established and fertile medium for parody

Originally Posted by Edges

Jack Chick isn't famous because of his format.

He's famous because of his utter absurdity. There's nothing funnier than humour that's not meant to be humour. People like to see his stuff to remind them just how crazy some fundamentalists are, not because they're particularly attracted to the format (although it does make for good tl;dr).

Yes, Jack Chick sucks cocks. Agreed. BUT, as Edges pointed out, there is a huge underground following in collecting these things and having a hearty laugh at the crazed fundies. Unintentional humor is the best kind. I myself, am a fan of the disjointed ramblings and implausible conspiracy theories of Chick Publications. A few favorites from my personal collection:
.

There are people that make a whole hobby of collecting these. I've only managed to pick up a few over the years, but the real gems in my collection are the parody tracts:

(top one is a cthulu parody, middle one is about a kid that goes to hell for collecting Chick Tracts on ebay, and the bottom one is a limited edition fan-tract by Dan Clowes)

Point being, there IS a following for Chick Tracts in an ironic context that I think you guys are writing off too quickly.

2) Anonymous has meme-ified Chick Tracts before
Remember this comedy goldmine?

Yep, that's from a Chick Tract. (Original [and MOAR] here, more on the meme at E.D.)

3) Who the hell doesn't love free comics?
Especially if they're not made of AIDS and fail like real Chick Tracts. People who might be turned off at protesters with flyers might be drawn in by the novelty, and everyone loves to have funny reading material around for boring moments in line, on the bus, etc. We know that the more popular flyers for handouts have been the ones with really striking graphics as well as text; tracts would have the same advantage, as well as being able to get a longer message across while retaining the reader's attention span with funny words and pictures. A lulzy Anonymous tract about the dangers of scientology would be hotter than a sinner's ass in hell as picket handouts, and would spread our message like herpes.

A really good example of a Chick Tract that practically parodies itself and would be perfect for quick and dirty Anonyfication is Dark Dungeons. I can totally see the story retooled to tell the tale of a girl lured in by Dianetics, only to find herself a PTS forced to Disconnect from friends and family, hounded by the cult to fork over all her dough! A guy in a GF mask can come and take her to a Co$ protest at the end, instead of that dickhead in the football jacket from the original.

I am totally up for this project. Anyone else in?

HEY!!

I just had a idea, might be stupid.

Why not make some Chick Tracts for Scientology?

Could go the anti-psychiatry thing and talk alot about how great L Ron is, how Jesus is a pedo and that's why many psychiatrists are Christians, etc etc and pass them out at CCHR conventions.

Ooh ... and another ... maybe someone could social engineer Chick into making an anti-Anonymous tract. Tell him we're the Atheist Hate Machine and refer him to ED's Christianity page.

^^^
I like the cut of your jib, good sir.