FAQ

Who makes Doubting Thomas?

Doubting Thomas is written and illustrated by Cliff Hansen. I am a teacher, designer, and someone with an interest in science and mythology.

In two word’s what is the story about?

Occam’s razor.

When does it update?

I’m going to aim for about a page a week, trying for Sunday. Previous experience shows I will not hit that goal.

Thomas who?

Thomas was a character in Christian mythology who was the only one of Jesus’ posse who doubted that Jesus had risen from the grave and demanded to see evidence of Christ’s wounds.

Here’s how Caravaggio describes the scene:

Your comic offends me.

That’s not a question.

What genre is Doubting Thomas?

I honestly have no idea. There are so many elements of different genres I’d need to venn diagram it. I prefer the idea of assigning tags rather than putting it in a box. Volume 1 would be something like #mystery #drama #horror #sci-fi #atheism #religion #LGBTQI+ #supernatural #science #action #mentalhealth #policeprocedural #political #thriller #misc.

It is not a musical or spaghetti western, alas.

What software do you use?

Mainly Krita with some extra help from Blender.

Is Doubting Thomas published?

Currently it is only available online, but if the interest is there, I will be happy to consider a print edition.

Is there Doubting Tomas Merch?

Not currently, but again, should the interest be there, I’d be happy to change that.

I thought comic books were supposed to be funny, where’s the humor?

There are several characters in the story who literally believe in talking donkeys and snakes. That’s hilarious.

Are there any superpowers in this comic?

Science is a superpower.

Where did the story come from?

I had a list of several ideas that I’d wanted to write about for years. When I read Lee Burvine’s The Kafir Project I saw that one was able to successfully write atheist fiction, but his voice was completely different than mine and seeing the success of his book made me feel like these stories bouncing around in my head might actually be able to find a home.

Then, it was settled when I watched the X-Files for the first time since becoming an atheist. What the hell? When I was a kid, Mulder was the hero, working to get Scully to question her faith, no, not her Catholicism, but her faith in science. Ugh. I’d looooved the X-Files, but it was just no longer compatible with my secular humanist science-based world view. So, I set out to do my own thing and I hope you like it!

I’ve heard atheists eat babies for breakfast, is that true?

As long as they have pumpkin spice.

If I like Doubting Thomas, are there other stories you’d recommend?

Sure! Check out the excellent novel The Kafir Project by Lee Burvine. I also recommend two comics by Der-Shing Helmer: The Meek and Mare Internum.

You’ve mentioned Volume 1, will there be a Volume 2?

It takes a long time to do each page, so we’ll see if my drawing hand falls off by the end of Endzone, but yes, there is a first draft to Volume 2 and some ideas sketched for a few more if I really want to shun all of humanity and lock myself in my drawing room forever!