Taking the Culture Back! This article J-P Mauro piece was originally published in Aleteia. It's a good sign of things to come. We need more Catholic Superheroes!
New comic book superhero inspired by St. Maximilian Kolbe
Courtesy of Voyage Comics
With phenomenal art from Sergio Cariello and Phil Kosloski’s realistic dialogue, 'Medal Knight' is the exact comic needed in the post-Avengers comic book world. There’s a new superhero on the block, and his story was inspired by a Catholic saint. Medal Knight is the latest graphic novel from Voyage Comics, a publisher committed to creating high quality entertainment informed by Catholic values. Voyage’s offerings include features on the lives of saints, like Digital Disciple: Carlo Acutis and the Eucharist, and adventures inspired by the works of great Catholic thinkers, like The Phantom Phoenix series. Now, with the addition of Medal Knight, St. Maximilian Kolbe joins their list of influences.
Medal Knight follows the story of Max, a gifted 18-year-old with a penchant for invention and engineering. Enrolled at a highly advanced technical school that pushes him to achieve great things, Max makes great strides in the field of robotics while taking pride in the potential of his inventions to help the world.
However, after Max completes his first robot, he discovers his talents were being used for nefarious purposes by the owner of the school. Will Max keep his head down and let his robot be exploited for illegal activity, or will Max stay true to his beliefs and refuse to sit idly by? Find out what happens in the first chapter of Medal Knight!
Philip Kosloski, author of Medal Knight and founder of Voyage Comics, explained that Max was inspired by the influential Polish saint Maximilian Kolbe. Kolbe is most prominently known for his martyrdom at the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz, but what many do not know is that this Catholic saint was a technology enthusiast:
“One of his classmates in seminary later explained how he was enamored with the Wright Brothers and the aerodynamics of flying. He was often seen by his fellow seminarians sketching drawings of spacecraft in his spare time, filling the margins of his theology notebooks.” Philip Kosloski added, “In the biography A Man for Others: Maximilian Kolbe, Bronislaus Strycznys explained, ‘Already, he anticipated the possibility of reaching the moon with a rocket and he thought of many other unusual inventions.’” Kolbe’s passion for technology was only surpassed by his desire to evangelize the world. He was known for “recruiting” people into a Catholic “militia,” called the Militia Immaculatae (Knights of the Immaculate), for which the only weapon to bear was a Miraculous Medal. Kosloski explained:
“For the rest of his life Kolbe would carry a pocketful of these medals, which he would call his ‘silver bullets.’ After meeting someone and exhorting them to live as a faithful Christian, he would hand them a Miraculous Medal and let the Blessed Mother take care of the rest. Throughout his life many souls were brought back to Christ through the handing out of these ‘bullets.’”
Medal Knight pays homage to all these elements of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s life with this new, exciting superhero. With phenomenal art from Sergio Cariello of the Action Bible! and Phil Kosloski’s genuine and realistic dialogue, Medal Knight is the exact comic needed in the post-Avengers comic book world. Tony Stark, eat your heart out! Medal Knight is scheduled to release in early May, but it’s already available for pre-order. Visit Voyage Comics to secure your copy today.
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