Weird Tract Number 91: "Operation Somebody Cares" by Jack Chick of Chick Publications

Troy Davis writes:

“Operation Somebody Cares” is an oversized 20-page Chick tract that was in print for probably no more than a few months in 1970; it is extremely rare. It was made shortly after Jack Chick implemented the current 5” by 2.75” format for his tracts (I wrote about this development and its consequences for Chick Publications here). Unlike most Chick tracts, the tract’s message is aimed at believers, not the lost. The tract gives information about the proposed Operation Somebody Cares outreach program. Chick came up with the idea of evangelizing people by having church groups visit peoples’ homes and giving the homeowner or family a new tract each visit for a total of six tracts delivered on six visits. The tract mentioned that Bethany Baptist Church of West Covina, California had implemented the program on a limited basis with some success: of the 100 households targeted with the tracts, 23 had made a decision for Christ. Nevertheless, the outreach program never took off and the tract was quickly discontinued.  A few years ago, I called Bethany Baptist Church hoping they had tracts and materials from the campaign; I spoke with the longtime secretary who told me any materials were long gone but that she remembers the outreach program well and that the church was involved with the project for only a short time. 

Because the tract was available for just a few months, probably fewer than 100 tracts currently exist. Since 2009, I’ve only seen two copies auctioned on eBay; one went for $500 and the other (which was sold with even rarer promotional materials) went for $1000. I found the museum's copy on AbeBooks for about $5.00 a few years ago.

Some unique characteristics of the tract: 1)  It is oversized, approximately 3 and 1/16” by 5 and 6/16” 2) One of the reasons OSC is oversized is that the tract contains a postcard that the believer could send to Chick Publications for a sample OSC pack (USPS regulations dictate that a postcard must be 3.5” by 5”). 3) The first 4 and last 4 pages (which contains the postcard) are made from a thin cardboard stock. 

Although the tract is a humdrum exposition of an proselytizing campaign, there are some interestingly disturbing images: the front cover has some unsavory and obese leftist characters dominated by Satan; the Bolshevik character is such a crude stereotype that it looks like the handiwork of Julius Streicher (the black militant is just as offensive). There’s also a panel with a dystopian view of a future 1973 straight out of Chick’s febrile mind; bloodthirsty radical militants butchering an innocent family. Also, the tract contained an inflammatory quote falsely attributed to Communist Party USA leader Gus Hall. 

NOTES ON JACK CHICK: In my introductory post, I listed just a few of the many rare and valuable objects from The Museum's extensive Chick-related collection . . . The role of Ralph Rushtoi in the publishing careers of both Jack Chick and another comics-based tract writer Vic Lockman. . . I discuss the role of Bill Bright's prolific tract The Four Spiritual Laws that led to a format change in Chick tracts that was a key reason why they have become much more popular since the late 1960s . . . My thoughts on Jack Chick's spreading of the peace symbol/broken cross mythology . . .  Jack Chick's retro-futuristic car in the scarce 48-page version of "The Beast" . . . Chick tract parody "Constitutional Rites" . . . Jack Chick's cold war tract "Ivan The Terrible" . . . Article on Chick by fellow Catholic-baiting Bob Jones University magazine . . .Catholic-bashing tract by Chick's protege Alberto Rivera . . . Knock-off of a Chick tract by James Lloyd:"Left Behind" . . . Chick tract parody "Donald Trump Is The Antichrist; Prepare for the Rapture!" . . .The 1972 Chick tract "The Last Generation." . . . .The rare Chick Publications comic book "Jonah" by Chick and Fred Carter . . . The museum's prized cultural artifact, original art by Jack Chick . . . Artifacts from the museum's collections:all of Jack Chick's high school yearbooks (which include the first published cartoon by Chick) . . . "Closet Witches" by Jack T. Chick (audio-cassette interview with Dr. Rebecca Brown and "Elaine").

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 90: "The Devil's Alphabet" by Kurt E. Koch

Troy Davis writes:

Back in 2012, during the production of the short film I wrote, Ivy League Exorcist: The Bobby Jindal Story, I created a promotional Chick tract parody, "A Demon-Hunting Veep" (read it here) because right when the film was released in July, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney had Jindal on his short list to be his running-mate (Romney eventually picked Rep. Paul Ryan) . I even went to San Diego Comic-Con 2012 and passed out about a thousand of the tracts (Matt Groening was one of the recipients).

The original comic book, "A Demon-Hunting Veep?", didn't let the reader know that it was a spoof. One panel became an Internet meme: the panel that warned about the numerous "doorways to demonic possession," an eclectic list of the various practices that composed "Satan's Spiritual Structure"; the list included diverse elements such as "marihuana" and pot parties, yoga, Harry Potter, postmodernism, and Yale's Skull and Bones. Somebody took a pic of the panel and posted it on the Internet without any context. The decontextualized panel soon became a meme and over the past eight years has appeared on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. People would list the number of the alleged satanic practices they've engaged in. I wrote a couple blog posts on the panel in the context of memetics, cultural deconstructionism, and Poe's Law (here and here).

One of the reasons that the list has endured as a meme is that the list is mostly based on practices attacked by fundamentalists as being the Devil's playground. There were a few on the list that were obvious put-ons such as cyberpunk culture, postmodernism, and "alt" comix, but most of the listed items have been the scourges of Chick Publications. Jack Chick has railed against most the things on the list and former Chick Publications author Rebecca Brown singled out astral-projection and vegetarianism as being demonic in her creepy book He Came To Set The Captives Free.

Theologian Kurt E. Koch (1913-1987) was a German Protestant theologian who focused on the occult. The list of devilish activities in 156-page book The Devil's Alphabet has a lot of overlap with Chick's list. Koch includes as diabolical practices: clairvoyance, Christian Science, fire-walking, Freemasonry, hypnosis, spiritism, wart removal [!], and yoga.

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 89: "1998 Christian Coalition California Voter Guide" by The Christian Coalition

Troy Davis writes:

I was living in California in 1998 and I forget how I got this Christian Coalition Voter Guide. Nutjob televangelist Pat Robertson founded The Christian Coalition as a political outfit to take up the slack because of the decline of Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority (see the museum's Moral Majority artifact here). Under the leadership of oleaginous grifter Ralph Reed, the coalition became influential in the 1990s. It sputtered in the early 21st century and pretty much exists in name only.

Like a lot of sectarian Right groups, the Coalition created voter scorecards that gave numerical rankings to political candidates and issues (this particular one supported Proposition 228 which would have ended compulsory union dues). Another group, Christian Voice, had voter scorecards in the 80s; columnist Mike Royko had a hilarious column on those candidates Christian Voice deemed as moral and immoral.

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 88: L Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition Magazine and Exhibition Ticket (both circa 2000)

Troy Davis writes: 

I lived in Los Angeles the first decade of the 21st century. LA wasn’t my lady but there were a lot of great things about being an Angeleno. Mocking Scientology was one of them. All around town, Dianetics zombies set up card tables and offered “personality tests” and sometimes a chance to experience the E-meter’s mystical powers. This led to a steady stream of mockery from wags like me. A few of my choice digs:

• Could you get John Travolta to give me a part in one of his movies?
• I think I have a thetan cluster on my foot--or maybe it’s a really ginormous and smelly corn. If I took my shoe off, could you give me a diagnosis?
• I spoke to Xenu and he told me I was already Clear.
• (To a table with an E-meter) Ain’t nobody gonna hook me up to no jumper cables!

It was after I left LA that I created the Scientology-mocking comic book Cock-Tale: A Modern Tijuana Bible (read it here). 

The Church of Scientology has extensive real estate holdings in Los Angeles from their ill-gotten loot. In Hollywood, it spent lavishly on a museum, The L Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition, dedicated to a mythical ideal life of the deranged cult’s founder. The Church bought the historic 12-story former Guaranty Building on Hollywood and Vine. Like many pre-FDIC bank buildings, the first floor where the bank was located is an example of neo-classical architecture which gave then-depositors the feeling of substance, conservatism, and solvency. 

When I first got to LA, I took a tour (a friend told me to get baked first but doing it straight was enough of a trip). The lobby had a fountain with a sculpture of Hubbard. They wouldn’t let me take my camcorder in the exhibit. The museum was a series of impressive exhibits giving a whitewashed biographical portrayal of the Hubbard's life and career. There is a small movie theater in what used to be the bank’s vault that played a short film about the publishing of Hubbard's book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. The tour ended with walls of plaques Hubbard received from various cities and groups. It was a spectacle. 

After the tour, the Scientology people tried to sell me some overpriced Scientology tapes and books. I gave them my address and a few days later received the magazine. 

Here is the ticket to the exhibition.

 

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 87: "The Mini-Skirt Speaks" by Don W. Hillis (Pilgrim Tract Society)

Troy Davis nwrites:

I haven't counted the number of tracts in the museum's collection, but it's in the tens of thousands. Most of them have the standard anodyne accept-Jeebus message; only about five percent of them are truly demented. That's okay because one percent of tens of thousands is still a buttload of material.

It's also good to keep in mind that the museum is actively seeking out new bizarre tracts. There are plenty of tracts I've heard about or seen on the Internet that the museum doesn't have so there are there is absolutely no fear that this website will ever run out of material.

Recently the museum received a treasure trove of demented tracts, some of which are long sought-after treasures. I received the sampler from the Pilgrim Tract Society and it is good stuff. The crown jewel of Pilgrim's sampler is "The Mini-Skirt Speaks." I had seen the cover of this tract on the Internet and thought it might be a parody. Efforts to find the tract had been elusive until now.

This, like many of Pilgrim's tracts, is a reprint of another company's tract from decades ago. This tract originally came out probably around 1970.  This mini-bio is the most I could find on Hillis' life; he served as a missionary in India from 1937 to 1953 then went on to author many books from the fifties through the eighties. In 1959, he wrote a 48-page Catholic-baiting booklet "If America Elects a Catholic President," in anticipation of JFK expected 1960 candidacy; Hillis dedicated it to "the thousands of Christians who have suffered for Jesus' sake at the hands of Romanism."

I've decided to reprint the entire tract because of its so-bad-it's-good quality from Hillis' Neanderthal view on rape and sexual desire as well as its ham-handed narrative style. I haven't fixed my scanner yet so apologies for the quality of the pics.

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Museum Artifact: Bilingual Dianetics Personality Test Invitation Card

Troy Davis writes:

When I lived in Los Angeles, these cards were ubiquitous as were Scientology zombies sitting at card tables on the corners of the cities offering personality tests and E-meter demonstrations. Sometimes, when I had the time, I would grab the E-meter cans and see the needle move; other times, I would yell out things like, "Nobody's gonna hook me up to jumper cables!" or "Could you get me John Travolta's autograph?" The idea of filling out a survey asking about personal details of my life and giving to a predatory cult is not too smart. I was so disgusted by Scientology that I created the
comic book Cock-Tale: A Modern Tijuana Bible (French version here).

OTHER SIDE

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Weird Tract Number 86: "Ronny Reb!" by Life Messengers of Seattle

Troy Davis writes:

I previously wrote about the story of  Life Messengers of Seattle here and how, mostly in the '70s, it served as the main fundamentalist Christian comic tract competitor to Chick Publications,  (LM went out of business sometime in the early '80s). Ronny Reb is a 24-page comic from 1973 that takes on the hippies (quick aside: I'm going to be featuring another counterculture-bashing tract from the Museum's collection "Hippie Come Home" by Vic Lockman soon).

As you can see from the cover art and the panels at the end of this post, the artwork by Fred Basher is amateurish (if Tony Tallarico is the Mario Mendoza of comic book artists, Fred Basher is the Morris Buttermaker). Ronny is a hippy who embraces the counterculture and the high life. "I'll split to the big city," Ronny crows, "There I can do my own thing and LIVE!" He lives the life of the prodigal son and when he's out of dough, Ronny's fair-weather friends split the scene. Ronny escapes through drugs an he has a "real bummer" and ODs on acid. Ronny finds himself in Hell where Satan in the form of a serpent torments him. Ronny implores Old Scratch, "But . . . I don't dig this gig. I want out. PLEASE."  Satan shows him how he messed up by not accepting Christ when Bill, a student preacher, implored Ronny to become a Christian. Ronny is damned for eternity and The Serpent breaks the third wall and asks us to join Ronny. The last page tells us how to become born again.

NOTES:  The Museum has featured other Life Messengers tracts: "Hooked For Good: The True Story of Sammy Hall"; "The Lonely Cabin on the 40-Mile"; and "I Discovered The Real Person and Power Behind Witchcraft"

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.