Jack T. Chick

Jack Thomas Chick was born on April 13, 1924, and spent the better part of nine decades producing some of the most widely distributed — and widely debated — Christian comics in publishing history. He died on October 23, 2016.

Working primarily through his own company, Chick Publications, he created the small, pocket-sized pamphlets known as "Chick tracts," sequential-art morality stories rooted in fundamentalist Baptist theology. Over a career spanning roughly four decades of active comics work, from 1970 into the 2010s, he served simultaneously as writer, artist, and inker on some 291 issues, with titles including *This Was Your Life!* among his most frequently produced works. Chick Publications claims cumulative sales exceeding 750 million items — tracts, comic books, videos, and related materials — translated into more than 100 languages, making him one of the most-read cartoonists in raw numbers alone.

Theologically, Chick held to dispensationalism and aligned with the King James Only movement, rejecting modern English Bible translations as corrupt. His tracts frequently targeted Roman Catholics, Freemasons, and Muslims, portraying them in conspiratorial and condemnatory terms. Los Angeles magazine critic Robert Ito memorably characterized his work as blending hate literature with fire-and-brimstone preaching.

No major industry awards are recorded in the available sources, though his cultural footprint — controversial and enduring — remains undeniable.