IVAN ANAYA'S MERCY WAYS STUDIO CREATING NEW FAITH COMICS STANDARD
Mercy Ways Studio founder Ivan Anaya holding the first issue of "Fear Not" and an award it earned for Best Children Bible Product, in Germany, 2017. Artwork at left, the cover of the first issue of "Fear Not," at center, three pages from the "Two Kingdoms" graphic novel and a page from an issue in the "Chronicles of Faith" series, at right.
▶ BY KEVIN SCOTT COLLIER
If you’ve never heard of Mercy Ways Studio in San Salvador, EL Salvador, you’re about to now. It’s the creative hub of game-changing, comics content, soon to be unleashed on an unsuspecting, fallen world. And Ivan Anaya is spearheading the new standard for Christian comics.
“Now [Mercy Ways] is a fully developed studio and God has put wonderful people that is part of our team,” Anaya told CM.
Mercy Ways presents visual narrative content about Jesus, the Bible, Christian faith, and a variety of resources that teach Christian values and principles “to help grow a life of faith,” Anaya explained.
The Mercy Ways team has experience in illustration, design, video games, and animation, which enables the studio to create quality projects that are highly competitive with mainstream ventures. The studio boasts five core team members, two freelancers (coloring and design), an illustrator/writer, project manager, two graphic designers for lettering, and one digital developer for their media and web exposition.
Artist and storywriter Anaya first entertained the idea for Mercy Ways Studio in 2014. It developed it into a comic book and graphic novel venture two years later. Currently two titles in production, Two Kingdoms (a 120-page visually stimulating graphic novel that is 50% complete), and Chronicles of Faith, an epic comic book series.
Not only do both projects display stunning art, but revolutionary stories. Both titles are in search of a publisher and have samples to show to potential partners/investors.
Mercy Ways is also working on a Bible for kids in Latin America.
Two Kingdoms is a Christian sci-fi adventure about the city of Hevel and the way of the Kingdom of God contrasted by the ways of this world.
“Hevel is the metropolis of the moment with its technological advances, its skyscrapers, and its cutting-edge technology,” Anaya said. “It has become the pinnacle of humanity. It’s not only the most advanced, but its inhabitants come from all over the world. Here, everyone lives a life to satisfy their pleasures and desires.”
However, everything starts to change when three young Christians arrive in this city and fight to keep their faith. God uses them to shine in the darkness of the city.
Chronicles of Faith is geared toward how to engage kids with the Bible.
“It occurred to us to try to repeat the impact that the Book of Chronicles had on the people of Israel,” Anaya said, “because the book was created to retell the story of God and Israel, and build back the faith, to people who had lived in exile and didn't know God.”
The objective is to retell the stories from the past to assure the faith of the future generation.
“We know everyone knows the tale of the young man who defeats the giant, but our intention with this story is to develop in the reader's mind’s role models to follow in their walk through faith,” Anaya added. “We implement narrative, historical context, and also settings that help to put the readers in the middle of the story. Each Chronicles of Faith [in the series] aims to point to the arrival of the hero of everyone: Jesus.”
Ivan Anaya has come a long way since his days of drawing and writing as a “little boy, just for fun.” His overactive imagination was continually creating worlds of characters. When he discovered the world of comics, he stated he had found the perfect medium.
“I ended up studying at the University of Comic Book Design in Argentina,” he said. “Then I met Jesus and He became my passion. Jesus changed the type of story I want to tell, or create; he helped me to reimagine what I want to share.”
Anaya has racked up a decade in the comics industry and also worked in animation and video games for Okam Studios, in Argentina. His resume includes working for an indie publisher in Brazil (now Timberwolf Entertainment), Stonebot Studio, Dormworld Comics, and Dynamite Comics. He also had one page published in DC Comics, has been featured in some art books, and has a few samples on file for Marvel Comics.
In 2017, Anaya received an award for Best Children Bible Product Award, in Germany, for Fear Not, a critically-acclaimed comic book series that has been translated into three languages, so far. Published by the Bible Society of El Salvador, the title--created, written, and illustrated by Anaya--conveyed how faith and trust in Jesus help kids to overcome fear. Catch a glimpse of the Fear Not series trailer.
No doubt, a publisher will snatch up Mercy Ways’ latest book projects.
“We want to do our best to give our readers a great adventure of faith in Jesus,” Anaya explained. “But mainly, for me, and the entire studio, we want them to know Jesus and also have fun when they read it. Maybe it sounds simple, but it is our goal.”
If you’ve never heard of Mercy Ways Studio in San Salvador, EL Salvador, you’re about to now. It’s the creative hub of game-changing, comics content, soon to be unleashed on an unsuspecting, fallen world. And Ivan Anaya is spearheading the new standard for Christian comics.
“Now [Mercy Ways] is a fully developed studio and God has put wonderful people that is part of our team,” Anaya told CM.
Mercy Ways presents visual narrative content about Jesus, the Bible, Christian faith, and a variety of resources that teach Christian values and principles “to help grow a life of faith,” Anaya explained.
The Mercy Ways team has experience in illustration, design, video games, and animation, which enables the studio to create quality projects that are highly competitive with mainstream ventures. The studio boasts five core team members, two freelancers (coloring and design), an illustrator/writer, project manager, two graphic designers for lettering, and one digital developer for their media and web exposition.
Artist and storywriter Anaya first entertained the idea for Mercy Ways Studio in 2014. It developed it into a comic book and graphic novel venture two years later. Currently two titles in production, Two Kingdoms (a 120-page visually stimulating graphic novel that is 50% complete), and Chronicles of Faith, an epic comic book series.
Not only do both projects display stunning art, but revolutionary stories. Both titles are in search of a publisher and have samples to show to potential partners/investors.
Mercy Ways is also working on a Bible for kids in Latin America.
Two Kingdoms is a Christian sci-fi adventure about the city of Hevel and the way of the Kingdom of God contrasted by the ways of this world.
“Hevel is the metropolis of the moment with its technological advances, its skyscrapers, and its cutting-edge technology,” Anaya said. “It has become the pinnacle of humanity. It’s not only the most advanced, but its inhabitants come from all over the world. Here, everyone lives a life to satisfy their pleasures and desires.”
However, everything starts to change when three young Christians arrive in this city and fight to keep their faith. God uses them to shine in the darkness of the city.
Chronicles of Faith is geared toward how to engage kids with the Bible.
“It occurred to us to try to repeat the impact that the Book of Chronicles had on the people of Israel,” Anaya said, “because the book was created to retell the story of God and Israel, and build back the faith, to people who had lived in exile and didn't know God.”
The objective is to retell the stories from the past to assure the faith of the future generation.
“We know everyone knows the tale of the young man who defeats the giant, but our intention with this story is to develop in the reader's mind’s role models to follow in their walk through faith,” Anaya added. “We implement narrative, historical context, and also settings that help to put the readers in the middle of the story. Each Chronicles of Faith [in the series] aims to point to the arrival of the hero of everyone: Jesus.”
Ivan Anaya has come a long way since his days of drawing and writing as a “little boy, just for fun.” His overactive imagination was continually creating worlds of characters. When he discovered the world of comics, he stated he had found the perfect medium.
“I ended up studying at the University of Comic Book Design in Argentina,” he said. “Then I met Jesus and He became my passion. Jesus changed the type of story I want to tell, or create; he helped me to reimagine what I want to share.”
Anaya has racked up a decade in the comics industry and also worked in animation and video games for Okam Studios, in Argentina. His resume includes working for an indie publisher in Brazil (now Timberwolf Entertainment), Stonebot Studio, Dormworld Comics, and Dynamite Comics. He also had one page published in DC Comics, has been featured in some art books, and has a few samples on file for Marvel Comics.
In 2017, Anaya received an award for Best Children Bible Product Award, in Germany, for Fear Not, a critically-acclaimed comic book series that has been translated into three languages, so far. Published by the Bible Society of El Salvador, the title--created, written, and illustrated by Anaya--conveyed how faith and trust in Jesus help kids to overcome fear. Catch a glimpse of the Fear Not series trailer.
No doubt, a publisher will snatch up Mercy Ways’ latest book projects.
“We want to do our best to give our readers a great adventure of faith in Jesus,” Anaya explained. “But mainly, for me, and the entire studio, we want them to know Jesus and also have fun when they read it. Maybe it sounds simple, but it is our goal.”
