Craig Schutt, creator and writer of Welcome to Holsom, wants to create stories that tackle real world problems and can be used to start discussions about life and faith among readers.
As a comic book professional with experience working for DC Comics and Disney, it is no surprise what his chosen medium to present those stories would be. “I deeply believe in comics as one of the most effective means of communicating a message. The language of comics is universal, especially for kids,” Schutt explains.
That belief led him to create Welcome to Holsom, a comic book about “a small group of kids in a typical midwestern town who discover a secret underground complex that had been hidden away for half a century and they awaken a giant robot. In other words,” Schutt says with a grin, “it asks the question, ‘What would you do with a personal giant robot?’”
It asks other questions as well, tackling what Schutt calls “traditionally taboo topics” such as substance abuse, peer pressure, bullying, and even parenting issues.
“It is one of those God things,” Schutt says, remembering Holsom’s beginnings. “I worked in comics for years and Assemblies of God was looking for new products that were contemporary minded. We wanted to tell a story that would be palatable to the Christian audience and yet say some serious things to the kids.”
Originally a twenty-four issue series, Influence Resources is publishing the entire story in four graphic novels. They are currently developing a new Welcome to Holsom series that will focus on topics for a teen audience: life, faith, and maybe even giant robots.