Lackawanna, N.Y. (WBEN) - After months of concepting and development, leaders of the creative team at Our Lady of Victory National Shrine & Basilica announced the production of an original comic book — "Father of the Fatherless" — depicting the life of Father Nelson Baker.
This special edition comic book, published by Voyage Comics is meant to connect young people with his incredible story of Father Baker in a way that is engaging, colorful, and fun. It also comes in a time of the Centennial celebration of the Basilica that Father Baker built in Lackawanna.
"We want his legacy to be known for all generations, so this was a way to engage the young people today who may not know, and probably a lot don't know, about Father Baker," said Rev. Msgr. David LiPuma in an interview with WBEN. "To really engage the young people today, that's why they came up to the idea now to make this happen. We couldn't be happier."
OLV Chief Creative Officer (CCO) Tom Lucia says this project was on the minds of his team for many years.
"We were just kind of waiting for the right partner to come into the picture, and we were lucky enough to find a Catholic publisher out of Wisconsin, Voyage Comics. They had done a lot of work, actually, with other candidates for sainthood, so that was nice," said Lucia with WBEN. "We knew they could tell the story in a way that was appealing, but also could do it with the sensitivities that were required to do this project. So we were happy to have them on board, we were able to get a grant to do it. Everything kind of fell in place, and we're really, really happy with the result."
Lucia says the challenging part of this project was getting 94 years of history in the life of Father Baker condensed to just 25 pages.
"What we did is we really tried to focus on the themes that were there," Lucia explained. "Father Baker's life is very, very much relatable to everybody. He did things, he was a normal person, he had a life before [becoming] a priest. He was a war veteran, he was a small business owner, and there's a lot of things there that we wanted to draw out. So being able to do that in 25 pages in a format that is something we think kids can relate to and can get into and can see the action involved with, it was something I think we did a really nice job with."
And as it turns out, this isn't the first comic book published highlighting Father Baker's legacy over the years.
"He was in a comic book that dates back to the '50s or '60s that we have had in our archives, and we've always said, 'Hey, that would be a great idea,'" Lucia said. "I happened to get a copy of the Marvel run that they did with the Pope, John Paul, and Mother Teresa from back when I was a kid. It's been sitting on my shelf, and just kind of knew this was a good idea for us. It's a medium that really does a nice job speaking to people, drawing them into the story. So it's not a new idea, but it's one that we were excited to be able to do."
Rev. Msgr. LiPuma says this project is an opportunity for OLV to not only educate younger families and generations about Father Baker, but also welcome them to the Basilica again.
"He was compassionate, he welcomed people, he changed lives for the better. So if we can get young families and young kids to come and be part of this great legacy, that's really what the goal is: To let people know they're welcome here, and that this is a place that our lives can always be changed for the better," Rev. Msgr. LiPuma said. "And we have such great hope, as Father Baker did, in our children today, that they're going to be good, faithful and loving Catholics as they grow up."
What Rev. Msgr. LiPuma likes about the comic book is it allows people of all ages to not just get a glimpse of Father Baker's legacy, but also being able to connect and relate to his life.
"They show Father Baker as a young boy, playing with his friends, and even then he was a good athlete. And then fast forward when he becomes the pastor and also in charge of the protectory for boys here, it shows him on the courtyard playing baseball with them, and how the young people that he was taking care of were so engaged by his life and just excited. That's what I think touches young people's hearts is you can be excited about your faith, and you can be excited about this role model, this great priest," LiPuma said.
"Actually, we got a note from a student who had received a copy of the comic book. The note was from the dad, who had said that after reading the book, the son said to the dad, 'Wow, Father Baker like baseball, just like I do.' That was kind of the 'aha' moment, that's what we want. We want him relatable to young people and old people alike," Lucia added.
The OLV creative team has already sent out over 3,000 copies of the comic book to every Catholic grade school in the Buffalo Diocese. It is also available in the gift shop at the National Shrine & Basilica in Lackawanna.
"Also, it's available through Voyage Comics' website, VoyageComics.com, where folks can pick up some," Lucia added. "We're also looking for local retailers, either comic book shops or Catholic bookstores. If they're interested in purchasing it, they can go through Voyage so they can have it in their stores so as many people can read it as possible."