FAQ
Q: Who is Captain Miracle?
JAQ: He’s a superhero with powers granted to him by God Almighty. He’s the alter-ego of a kid named Billy Batista, who transforms into Captain Miracle when he speaks the name of God.
Q: Any relation to Captain Marvel? Or Miracleman?
JAQ: They were kind of the inspiration. In part, Captain Miracle is a parody of those characters, a satire of the god-like, god-powered superhero, especially. But he’s also his own character, with his own story to tell.
Q: Any legal problems with the name? It would seem like you’re tempting most of the comics industry to sue you for trademark or copyright or something.
JAQ: I think it should be obvious to anyone that this isn’t Captain Marvel (or Mar-Vell) or Marvelman or Miracleman, so that whole “confusion in the marketplace” thang shouldn’t apply. And if I’m wrong, then DC, Marvel, Mick Anglo, Dez Skinn, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Todd McFarlane can get together and file a class action law suit against me.
Q: Isn’t this trivializing Christianity, treating God like the Greek or Norse gods as just another source of super powers?
JAQ: More like bringing the Christian God up to par with them. The Olympians have had Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel as their champions for over 60 years. The Mighty Thor has brought more attention to the Norse gods over the past 40 years than all the school mythology classes put together. But the only time anyone does anything with the Christian mythos in comics it’s either gothic fantasy stuff like Sandman or lame evangelical propaganda. This is more of a thinking person’s religious superhero, and more “fun” than “fundamentalist”.
Q: So are you promoting Christianity or making fun of it?
JAQ: Neither. I’m giving my take on it, and people can take away from it what they want. There’s some fun here, but it also tackles some serious theological questions about Good and Evil. Like “Who’s who?” and “Who’d win?” I’m not kidding: those are the two main themes of this story.
Q: Is this going to be an ongoing series?
JAQ: I’d like it to be, if there’s interest. There’s a lot of potential for this character, and this story sets things up for a lot of that, complete with a beginning roster of adversaries for the hero. But this is a one-shot story with a beginning, middle, and end. All for one low price.