Grok! Comics
I am a social worker/therapist and mentor of teens and young children. It’s hard to want to share my love of comic books with them but not feel safe about giving them most modern-age comic books. I could find your stereotypical, early Saturday morning cartoon-aimed books, but nothing beyond a 3rd-grade level that I thought would be engaging and entertaining. That is where the true origin of Grok Comics’ Remnant Universe begins.
The Remnant Universe from Grok Comics is a superhero universe with a unique take on the genre. Grok Comics was formed in 2019 by creator Bill Raupp, who states, “I started reading comic books at the age of 12 and fell in love with superheroes. My influences for The Remnant include things like AC Comics Sentinels of Justice, The Legion of Super-Heroes, Chris Claremont’s X-Men, Silverwolf/Greater Mercury, Mighty Crusaders, and the Charlton universe of action heroes. It was my hope to take the superhero genre and combine it with my love for Christian theology.”
The publisher boasts that their characters are not only fun but are multi-dimensional. The characters struggle with real-life issues such as depression, PTSD, self-image, and many of the issues individuals experience in our day and age. While these stories contain real-world issues, they are presented in a manner that is not loaded with left-leaning agendas.
Grok Comics began publishing through another small press publisher for their first year but ended the relationship due to conflicts of interest. From there, Grok Comics began publishing independently and hit high gear with output and stories. The other advantage of being their own company is that they have been able to bring in a crew of writers and talent that have brought a new dimension to the universe and characters.
Grok Comics’ primary goal is to put out comic books that appeal to long-time comic book fans and those who have never picked up a comic book before. They endeavor to present entertaining and thought-provoking stories that reflect a variety of real-world issues along with bizarre fantasy and sci-fi concepts.
The premise of the Remnant universe is as follows: God appoints an ordinary man named Hector to form a team of superhumans to prevent Apollyon and his team, The Watchers, from tampering with God’s plan. The soon-to-come anti-christ, Apollyon, is trying to push forward his end-of-day agenda before its prescribed time.
Now, before you write this off as a preachy Christian propaganda piece, it is far from that! The book is an ideological successor to works such as Chronicles of Narnia, The Omen, Exorcist, etc. It has a Christian framework at its core, but it is all superhero fun, action, and drama—and NO, it doesn’t preach to you!
The Remnant saga boasts a variety of powerful and noble heroes. The leader of The Remnant, Grok, is an everyday man who is directed by God himself to form a team of warriors. Even though he leads this group of righteous heroes, he is not above having many flaws, which are explored in the series. Thief in the Night is our “urban adventure” type. A popular MMA fighter by day, he struggles with his ego and selfish nature. The Black Cobra, fresh off of a successful Kickstarter campaign, is a missionary who gains incredible powers. After a major battle in which he was captured and tortured, he presses on as a hero, even though he battles with PTSD. The main character, The Apostle, is John, one of the original 12 disciples of Jesus, who somehow hasn’t died and was confined by the popes throughout the ages. His return marks a major event in history and affects our universe in cataclysmic ways. The uber-intelligent Raytheon and Tek-9 are tasked with utilizing and safeguarding the Angel-Tech that powers many of our heroes and keeps the Petra headquarters safe and secure in a hidden pocket dimension.
Just as our heroes are noble and true, The Watchers are pure evil incarnate. The Watchers, a United Nations-sponsored team of “peacekeepers,” are hailed by the world and media as true heroes. The world loves them, and the media celebrates them, but they are, in fact, the embodiment of evil. Apollyon, the leader, is the image of the perfect man: handsome, charismatic, and well-spoken. He was engineered and groomed from birth to be the human representative of Satan on earth. Nephilim VI is almost as old as creation. He is the product of a union between a fallen angel and a human woman. He is ruthless, cannibalistic, and a world-renowned reality TV star. Warriora is a tragic brainwashed woman who believes she is the descendant of Roman gods and may never find out the truth of her origins. Lastly, The Blue Flame is the youngest member and child of Remnant heroes Flameshot and Pink Spade. All of the Watchers (excluding Warriora and Blue Flame) have engaged in the Red Baptism ritual, which imbues them with incredible superhuman abilities but also commits their soul to Apollyon forever.
The Remnant universe is told through three main titles: The Remnant, Parables of The Remnant, and Secret Files, along with some one-shots and mini-series. 2024 will see an expansion of the line with exciting titles like Swords of the Remnant, Golden Age revivals of Atoman and The Atomic Thunderbolt, Last Gen, which features teen heroes, and Thief in the Night.
- The Remnant, the flagship book, tells the overarching story of the universe. This is where the universe-shaking battles and overarching mission of The Remnant unfolds. The team’s initial mission is to rescue The Apostle John, who is being held captive in the Vatican.
- Parables of the Remnant sheds light on some of the other characters by getting into origins and solo stories about the heroes and villains in The Remnant Universe.
- Secret Files is the all-encompassing encyclopedia of The Remnant Universe. It is comprised of character profiles, short stories, and journal pages that explore the mythology of the universe.
If you want to follow along to find out how The Remnant handles fighting a war that they are destined to “lose,” how they handle all their good deeds being cast down as wicked, and why the apostle John is still alive 2,000 years later, pick up any of the titles and join the adventure.
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