F. Guy Clark

Director of Ministries for AXIS Grafix

Attended Leadership Bible Institute, Honolulu Hawaii
Associate Arts Degree in Christian Counseling,
Summit Bible College, Bakersfield California
Currently attending National University to obtain a Teaching Degree
Part Owner and Teacher at Lighthouse Christian School, Bakersfield California
Favorite comic heroes: Spiderman, Tarzan, Batman
& D.E.D. Lev 1 (of course)

 

As most kids in my generation I was glued to the TV most every Saturday morning, watching all the various cartoons, and before long discovered the joys of reading comic books and, though not a serious collector, I eventually realized I had quite a stack of them. I would read just about any comic I could get a hold of but soon realized I really preferred certain types of heroes. Mostly the regular guy (or girl) who has been thrust into some irregular circumstances and now has to deal with all the challenges that go with them. Spiderman & Tarzan were my fav's growing up, probably in part because I had a subscription for The Amazing Spiderman for several years and my mom had one for Tarzan, but also because they were characters you could identify with in some way...they were real... well, as real as a comic can get I suppose. Unlike, say Superman, who comes from another planet, defies gravity, is virtually indestructible, inexplicably strong and fast, has heat-ray vision and can see through walls and who's only weakness is some green stuff from his own planet. Not that I'm raggin' on Superman, or never read any of his comics, he's just not someone I could really identify with. Later I discovered the real Batman and that he was just your average wealthy genius with social problems who really disliked bad guys. See what I mean... real.

Lets talk about real.

I grew up with both of my parents working full time jobs, at least until I was about to turn 17 when my father left the family and divorced my mom. Even before he left, my sister and I were basically latch key kids and were left to our own devices most of the time until evening when everyone got home. At which time the stresses of the day, the lack of real communication and the nagging feeling that life should have more meaning than this would turn each of us from our dirty dinner dishes (which my sister and I dutifully took care of) to the ever present fantasy-land for professional escapees... the television.

Discipline in our house consisted of Dad grabbing whatever part of the body was closest (usually my hair), spankings overdone and usually in anger or just an angry didn't see it coming smack upside the head that left you stunned with a loud ringing in your ears for at least two minutes. If the offense didn't warrant physical violence for whatever reason then it was probably a very loud GO TO YOUR ROOM!!!. One time I was lying on the floor at the foot of Dads lounge chair and for whatever reason he got mad at me and just started kicking me, with his boots on, until I could muster the sanity to scramble out of the way. Needless to say... I was pretty much afraid of my dad most of the time. I still remember the feeling of dread that would well-up in my stomach when I heard his car pull into the driveway at night, even when I hadn't done anything wrong that day.

I'm sure if you had asked; my parents would have said we were Christians, though had it been illegal I don't think there would have been sufficient evidence to convict anyone. We pretty much went to church on Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday. There were a few brief periods where we actually went every Sunday for a while, but those tended to die out before too long, especially during the summer months because we would either go camping on vacation or boating on the weekends. All in all I believed there was a God, and I didn't have any reason not to believe the stories in the bible, but that made me as much a Christian as standing in the garage made me a Chevy.

I don't remember anyone ever telling me that Jesus Christ died for my sins and, if I didn't accept this gift of Gods love for me personally, I was going to burn in Hell for eternity with the rest of my family.

After Dad left, about the only thing that changed around the house was the topic of conversation around the dinner table, usually something about what a jerk your father was. Oh... and I guess the fear factor seemed to let up a whole lot.

Like I said before, I was about to turn 17 when Dad left. I had a job after school so I was making some money of my own and was starting to hang out with other people my age more and more. Mom was working nights at this time and that meant she would sleep during the day, get up around four or five in the afternoon, fix my sister and I dinner, watch TV for a couple of hours and then leave for work around 10:00pm to return home around six-thirty the next morning.

What did this mean for my sister and me? Well... During the school year it was supposed to mean that we were headed to bed at 10:00 and had to get our selves out of bed in the morning. My sister is just four and a half years younger than I so legally we were allowed to be left alone in the house all night, being that she was 12 or 13 at the time. Raise your hand if you think we always stayed in bed after Mom was gone... I didn't think so. As a matter of fact, most of the time I had some friends come over after she left and we would party 'til the wee hours, especially during the summer months when we didnt have to go to school the next day.

My best friends at that time were a pair of brothers only 11 months apart in age, also victims of a broken home, pretty much did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and had access to a van. I actually had a sign in my bedroom window, like one you would see hanging on a stores front entrance, which you could see from the street. Printed on one side were the words "Yes We're OPEN" and the other side stated "Sorry, We're CLOSED." My friends would wait until they thought my mom would be gone and then drive by the house; if she was gone for the night I would have the OPEN side showing and they would park down the street and come on in, if she wasn't gone yet, or was staying home that night then the sign would warn them not to come in. The system worked pretty well, as far as I know my Mom was never the wiser.

Shortly after I turned 18 and finished High School I started to get the itch for real freedom. I had a job and a girlfriend who had a trust fund that paid her a specific amount of money to stay in school, and she had a friend who had a job and was looking to change her living situation. We all got together and started looking for an apartment that we could share.

Well... Freedom had its up's and its down's. Not being truly grounded in any kind of spiritual morality meant to me that if I wasn't hurting anyone else (and I could get away with it) then I could pretty much do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.

I quickly got to know all my neighbors in our new apartment complex and it seemed everyone in the place had the same goals in life; eat, sleep, work and party (in no particular order of importance). Im serious; the first three weeks I lived there was one continuous party. It moved around between apartments, people would come and go depending on who had to work the next day, but someone was up keeping it going 24/7 for three solid weeks. I think it finally ended when it just so happened that everyone had to work the next two days in a row and no one was going to be up to carry the torch.

For the next two years I partied my way in and out of jobs and relationships, not caring what was going to happen tomorrow as long as I was having fun right now. Alcohol, drugs, sex, it didnt matter, I just wanted to experience life... HAH!!! I didnt even know what real life was. I had no clue as to where I was going or what I was going to do when I got there...If I got there.

Sometimes it scares me to think about how close I came to death without knowing who I really was and what I was meant to accomplish. Looking back, it seems the enemy could have taken me out at any time... several times! But apparently God had other plans for me.

It was God who arranged for me to meet my wife. Even when we were yet sinners, God caused us to meet. It was God who made us realize our friends werent going anywhere. It was God who lovingly showed us that we were sinners and were destined for Hell, but also that He had already provided a way back home, forever with Him in Heaven. It was god who led us to the first church that ever told me the truth about Jesus Christ. It was God who gently led us to give up the alcohol, drugs and sex and to start actually living life.

I sit here now, with my wife of 16 years, my two beautiful daughters and my adopted son, and I look back through the years... the ups, the downs... and I wonder... What if?

What if someone had told me about Jesus and my need for Him when I was younger?

What if there had been a place here in town where I could go hang out, have fun and just be accepted no matter who I was or where I came from?

What if the people in that place could help me realize the gifts and potential that God had already placed in me, and help me use those talents to help others?

As the Director of Ministries at Axis Grafix it is my vision to help produce the finest Christian comics to ever hit the market. To help provide fun and exciting ways for young people to come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. To help provide that place where they can go and have good clean fun in a safe and friendly environment. To help them realize their potential in Christ and to help them help others. Sincerely,

F. Guy Clark
Director of ministries