One of our biggest heroes at Voyage is J.R.R. Tolkien. He’s been a constant inspiration ever since we started Voyage in 2018.
I first was initiated into Middle-Earth when I was in junior-high. Like many others in the year 2001, amidst the hype of the movie adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring, I decided to ask for the one volume Lord of the Rings for Christmas. Upon receiving it, I went ahead and read the whole book, from The Fellowship of the Ring to The Return of the King by the end of the school year. This was the first substantial fantasy novel I ever read.
After that moment I was hooked.
I wanted to know more. I proceeded to purchase The Unfinished Tales and The Silmarillion. In addition to learning more about the mythological realm of Middle-Earth, I also bought a biography on J.R.R. Tolkien and was fascinated by his life and his devout Catholic faith. At the time I was experiencing my own inner conversion to the Christian faith and so reading his biography proved to strengthen my own faith.
Through this exposure, I was brought to understand the power of Fairy Tales and how they are meant to take us out of the ordinariness of life to see the world in a new way. The world around me began to teem with life and history. By delving into Middle-Earth, I began to see that my life was indeed a part of an even greater Story and that I had a role to play just like Frodo and Sam.
Ever since, I’ve wanted to create something that would truly honor J.R.R. Tolkien and his legacy.
The Graphic Novel
We’d like to create the first graphic novel biography on his life that features his Catholic faith.
There are relatively few graphic novels that have adapted any of his works and recently there was a Tolkien graphic novel that was published, but it focused almost entirely on his war years.
As a result, there is a void in the world of graphic novels, one that does not properly narrate Tolkien’s life, showcasing the powerful faith that drove him to create The Lord of the Rings.
Currently our graphic novel is under development and is also looking for support from the online community.
If you would love to see a family-friendly graphic novel about J.R.R. Tolkien, please consider becoming a sponsor, and contributing to its creation.
If all goes well, the graphic novel will be available in the Fall.
–> Sponsor Tolkien Graphic Novel
Philip Kosloski
Philip Kosloski is the founder of Voyage Comics & Publishing and the writer and creator of the comic book series, Finnian and the Seven Mountains.