Bach, 28, is the American artist behind Jason Bach Cartoons, a Facebook page that posts his religious- themed art: a combination of cartoons, his knowledge of the Catholic Church and a little humour.
“What’s our faith if we can’t laugh about it a little bit? If Catholic means universal, it should encompass everything,” said Bach. “I strive to be orthodox. I’m not interested in pushing back against the Church. I have too much respect, too much love for the Church... but at the same time, I don’t have an issue with making fun of things that are silly.”
His cartoons at times include characters such as Frank and Ben, who play off the fictional idea that Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI are “Holy Rome-Mates” having fun behind the Vatican’s walls and in the face of misunderstandings with the media.
Bach's Catholic comics began on Valentine’s Day 2013, with Bach combining his love of art and Catholicism. In the inaugural cartoon, Bach assumes how St. Valentine would really feel about the romantically themed day named after him.
“It was supposed to be a one-off deal. But it got such a huge response on Facebook that it made me realize or think that there’s a market for this kind of thing,” said Bach.
Bach has been drawing as long as he can remember.
“I’ve been doing cartoons honestly about as long as I can remember. That’s always what I’ve wanted to do. Formally, I did them for my high school newspaper and for my undergrad newspaper. I did them for my grad school newspaper,” he said. “It didn’t work out, but... the goal, was to do newspaper cartoons.”
But his comics weren’t coloured with a Catholic lens until after he became Catholic.
Born into an evangelical Protestant tradition, he had a crisis of faith in his first year of college in 2003. It affected him so deeply, he questioned God’s existence, became depressed and moved back in with his parents in 2004 after first semester.
He went back to school the following summer semester, but over the years, he would find himself reading Catholic religious literature, including C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. He kept this up even when he began to study theology at the Protestant Princeton Theological Seminary some time after finishing his undergrad degree in Spanish.
“One author led to another author, led to another author and I just got myself reading more and more Catholic authors. When I realized that, I thought to myself well... maybe I should look into this with more purpose,” said Bach. “What I learned about Catholic teaching is what I looked up myself.”
The turning point was when he joined a local Oregon Newman Centre in 2009.
When he began to attend Mass, “That was the point of no return,” Bach said. He was received into the Church at Easter in 2011.
But the idea of Bach's Catholic comics didn’t occur to him straight away because he didn’t think there was a market for it. With a positive response on Facebook and online promotion from Catholic Memes, he now targets an audience of those in their 20s and 30s who already have a knowledge of Catholicism.
“It’s been a very long complicated journey,” said Bach, but “it seemed like that’s where God was leading me to be.”
For more information on Bach's Catholic comics, visit jasonbachcartoons.com.