2egdeswordProd's Blog

When I took a media class at Illinois State University the question was asked, does the media reflect society, or are we as a society influenced by the media so much that we become what we see? While that is a debate for another time the question does cause me to think from time to time. Personally, I pray that the situation is more complex than either sanario. But I do believe that if used properly media can be used to influence positive change.



My name is Philip Craig and I am the author/creator of The Chronicles of the Thunderbird series. As I type this the books is only days from bieng released. This is something I am really proud about because I have been getting in trouble for writing short stories and drawing comics in class since I was in the second grade. And the main characters of this book were actually a few of the creations I came up with in 4th grade.



Back then there was not as much to them as thier is now. They were just super powered heroes who could take out any opponent. But what do you expect from an eight year old? My friends and I enjoyed them, and as time went on they began to grow into something more. By the 6th grade I had created the first chapter book version of the book. I attended a summer camp at UIC and even some of the proffessors who wanted to see what I was spending so much time doing began to encourage me to keep writing. At that time the characters were more rounded, but in all honesty they had no purpose. They were powerful and they all had past histories, but at the end of the day the world was not a better place because they existed. And what was even funnier now was the fact that one of my best friends in grammar school who used to love to read my comics and stories begged to borrow the book to read it. But unfortunately he misplaced it.



I was very distrought over it at that time. Because in my eyes the story was ready for publishing. But I was wrong, God had more of a plan for the young Eagle and his friends. Since that time there have been various story lines and demensional jumps that these characters have lived through. They have been everything from being human like aliens from another planet to common thieves in a world ruled by an evil dictator. But in the end thier natural selves shined through, because afterall they were created to be eagles and frogs and other animals.



Skipping ahead to the present I am proud to say that the main character who is now coming up on 13 years will be introduced to the public. Not just as a light hearted, quick footed, power house of an eagle... But also as a Christian. Thats right! <br />rnI had a friend ask me something I had never thought of before. He said, "Philip, What if this book gets big and becomes a movie and millions of millions of people know everything that has to do with anything concerning these guys.... Wouldn't it be cool if they could in some way show people more about God?" And you know what he was right...



I did not realize it that day, but I did pray about it and I listened to God. And I wont explain it all in this blog but somehow The Chronicles of a Thunderbird has come to a place where the Christian principles of the Flying House can meet the addicting storyline and action of Dragon Ball Z... <br />rnIn the next few months I will tell you guys more and more about the characters and how they came about and even my expierences as the book (and prayerfully TV series in the near future) began to grow in popularity. So stay with me, check out the book and keep your eyes open for The Chronicles of Thunderbird in the Future...<br />rnGod Bless You and may you allow God to Keep You...



Philip Craig



PS. The Chronicles of the Thunderbird: Book 1: Faith hits stores next month!!!

Welcome to the official blog of the Chronicles of the Thunderbird!!!



For those of you who have never heard of this before... its a good thing you stumbled upon this blog because I will use this article to explain the concept and purpose for this new and growing franchise.



The Chronicles of the Thunderbird is a project that has taken 13 years of planning, praying and growing to reach a level where it will have the impact it needs to have on society. The best possible way I can explain it is to just say it like this: A little over 24 years ago there was a Cartoon called Superbook that was created to help take the word of God to places it had not been before. This show originally aired in Japan and as far as I am concerned it was just genuis. The show was written in a way that the viewers were able to expierence the bible story through the eyes of the main characters without tampering with biblical facts at all. Which mean that in countries where many people did not own a bible they could be given the seeds that would encourage them to go out and learn more about God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.



And guess what? The show was a hit, it became one of the top 3 anime in Japan reaching over 4 million viewers a week. And the thing that really made it a success: The Bible became one of countires best selling books during that time period AND some Churches banded together in order to buy advertisement when the show aired and thier phone lines began to ring off of the hook as people called with questions and wanting to learn more about Christianity.



What does this have to do with me? Everything. I believe that it has become self evident that the world is ready of the next superbook. And in the past 25 years the world has changed a lot. Where Speed Racer (an Anime about a young racer with dreams of being the best who did not know his brother was the masked racer who always got him out of tight spots) and Superman (a cartoon about a super powered man duh who had the heart of gold and always wanted to do the right thing) were once the top cartoons, now we have cartoons that openly encourage witch craft, sorcery, demonology, and death spirits as if they were as natural events as catching butterflies.



That does not sit well with me. I have learned something these past few years. And the truth is the kids can care less if thier hero is the strongest witch in the world... they just want to know will he be able to save his friends and achieve his live long dreams. Kids and Kids at heart watch cartoons for the storylines. Not the demonic biproducts. And that is where we come in!



The Chronicles of the Thunderbird is Superbook meets Dragonball Z... The story line is one where you can relate to the characters as if they were as real as you and I... And because they are animals there is not need to worry about race or culture, they were made to be able to connect with the people because of whats on the inside and not whats on the outside. (we will go into that another time though) The bottom line is this story is about characters youth around the world can connect to who find them selves in the middle of an action packed story where the answers to thier questions all lie in the bible.



Now the world feels that biblical cartoons are childish, but we aim to show them something different. These Heroes will see that its not by power, nor by might... But the victory in these tales lie in the Spirit of the Lord. Our animal friends in these tales are super powered with various skills that will allow for amazing action. And thier are many twist and turns. But the thing is that the Heroes in this world are like a cobination between Ministers and Police officers in ours. Meaning not only is it thier goal to bring order and peace... but they do it using the word of God. They don't kill anyone. But they aim to show them the way with scriptures, bible stories, and parables.



We use an Epic Story format with mini plots and suspenseful denumas (cliff hangers) that will keep our viewers and fans coming back to not only see how our heroes will succeeed. But to see how they could not do it without the word of God. Every single book and soon every single episode will leave you thinking about the word of God and how it applies to our lives.



I'm telling you. I'm exicted and its not about money or fame or anything... But I want this to reach the world becuase I know that if God breathes on it, it will bring life to the world... It was created to do just that, and that is exactly what it will do.



Thanks for reading guys,



Until next time May God bless you and I pray you allow him to keep you...



Philip Craig

Long ago on planet Amazon, a world with conditions similar to our own a great civil war broke out. This was populated by many powerful men like animals who could walk and talk and think great thoughts. Soon they all became engaged in a battle to see who the superior species was. But some of these creatures were so powerful that the world could not handle so much destructive violence so chaos broke loose.



But there arose an eagle that was stronger, faster, and far more powerful than any other creature, the eagles wanted him to destroy their enemies and enslave the rest of the world to bring peace but he refused. He felt there was a better way. His name was Elijah and he was destined to become the worldâs very first hero. You see Elijah was slothful and very laid back, one day as he decided to hide in the deepest forest in order to avoid another long days work but that day something strange happened and he stumbled upon a strange book. This book had a black leather case on it and on the cover were two words that stood out to the young eagle: âHoly Bibleâ.



Elijah read the book cover to cover, and he was intrigued by its stories and the Savior it spoke of. It was then he knew what he had to do. It was his destiny to share this book with the world; and so he did. Elijah created the Hero Forces an organization of powerful warriors who dedicated their lives not to war, but to protect those who were weaker than themselves and to teach everyone who was willing to learn about the love and blessings that God was willing to offer them. He believed the hero forces would be the answer to ending the war and it seemed that it was. The Hero Forces spreads like wild fire and there were heroes all over the world teaching people the ways of God and one day it happened, the wars just stopped and all of the creatures made peace among themselves.



But there was one organization that did not like how the war had ended. The Shadow Kingdom felt that they were superior to any type of Creature so this secret organization of many of the darkest selfish and destructive creatures banded together to take Elijah down once and for all. They created a powerful weapon and sent a powerful Serpent named Dreadful Scales to challenge him. He gave Elijah an ultimatum; if he did not fight him they would use the weapon to evaporate everything and everyone he cared about.



So the Hero accepted the challenge and went out to fight him, but they ambushed him and he found himself alone battling not only the poisonous serpent, but also many other monstrous creatures. They thought they had him defeated, but that is when the unexpected happened Elijah began to transform and change into something different. He was more beautiful than ever. He was bigger and his feathers were all fiery red and he was far more powerful than you could even imagine. They called this transformation the Phoenix and it was the first and last time it was seen. Dreadful knew that if the shadow kingdom was to survive they had to get rid of Elijah, so they tricked him and used the destructive weapon directly on him and he was never seen again.



The shadow king was intrigued to hear about this transformation and to be sure this never happened again he had his men raid every eagles nest and village in the world and make sure that the entire eagle species was extinct. But his hunger for power got the best of him and he could not live without unlocking the mystery of the Phoenix so he secretly had his scientist keep one egg frozen in hopes that one day they would have a phoenix under the control of the Shadow Kingdom.



Time passed it is now about five hundred years later and without the powers of the eagles, the Shadow Kingdom had completely taken over the world. The hero forces were beaten to a pulp. Only three heroes remained in the entire world, a Nerdy Dog, Fighting Frog, and a big mouth Turkey. The Problem was that these three did not stand a chance against the Shadow Kingdom and they no longer trusted in the word of God the way the old heroes had. It seemed like all was lost that is until one day when a the young dog accidentally walked into the middle of an epic battle between a few dozen of the Shadow Kings destructive centurions and a young eagle chick no more than 7 years old. And the rogue eagle was winning, this was a great feat because the Shadow King controlled all of the world resources and made his centurions so powerful that even the greatest adult fighters could hardly defeat one or two. Yet he was crushing them as if they were tin cans.



Thinking quickly Shepard (the dog) invited the young eagle to return home with him, and as he learned more and more about the word of God he decided to dedicate his life to God, and even vowed never to shed the blood of another again. With the new found power of this young eagle in the ranks of the Hero forces anything is possible, and once again the battle to free the world from the brink of destruction is on, but can the mysterious Jason lead them to victory, or will the Shadow King and his men stop him in his tracks?

If this grabbed your attention, post a comment and let us know how you feel. So far we have discussed a little of the history and mission of the Chronicles of the Thunderbird and here we have an intro that goes right into the first book... which is probably available of purchase

The Chronicles of the Thunderbird: Book 1 Faith.

But the bottom line is, this storyline can reach souls and be used to teach millions upon billions about Gods love. I can't wait to see how God blesses this and I hope you guys are ready for a miracle because I am definitely expecting something big to happen.

Until next time.

May God bless you and I pray you allow him to keep you!

http://thethunderbird.blogspot.com/