Voyage Comics Introduces New Series ‘Medal Knight’ Inspired By St. Maximilian Kolbe With Artwork By Sergio Cariello
John F. Trent
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Voyage Comics recently announced the first issue of their brand new series Medal Knight that features artwork by Action Bible creator Sergio Cariello and is inspired by St. Maximilian Kolbe.
Medal Knight #1 (2023), Voyage Comics
Medal Knight follows an 18 year-old named Max who is making a number of incredible scientific breakthroughs in the field of robotics while attending an advanced technical school.
However, Max quickly discovers that the breakthroughs and inventions he came up with that he intended to be used to truly help people are now being used for nefarious purposes.
Max will be faced with a number of tough decisions including whether or not he will sit by and continue to let his creations be used for illegal activities or if he will take action and stay true to his beliefs.
Medal Knight #1 (2023), Voyage Comics
As revealed by writer Philip Kosloski, the character of Max is inspired by Polish priest and martyr St. Maximilian Kolbe.
For those unfamiliar with St. Maximilian Kolbe, Kosloski explains, “St. Maximilian Kolbe is most well-known for his example of self-sacrifice at the concentration camps at Auschwitz, where he stepped in the place of a man condemned to die and convinced the Nazi soldiers to kill him, instead of another prisoner who had a family.”
Medal Knight #1 (2023), Voyage Comics
However, you might be wondering what does the life of a man who sacrificed himself at Auschwitz have to do with a young man making a number of scientific breakthroughs.
Kosloski explains, “His example of Christian charity has always been an inspiration to me, but what surprised me when I started to dig deeper into his life was his fascination with technology and space travel.”
“One of his classmates in seminary later explained how he was enamored with the Wright Brothers and the aerodynamics of flying,” Kosloski continued. “He was often seen by his fellow seminarians sketching drawings of spacecraft in his spare time, filling the margins of his theology notebooks.”
Medal Knight #1 (2023), Voyage Comics
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Kosloski goes on to detail that Kolbe’s doodles were not just doodles, but were “back-up by scientific speculations! He went so far as to submit his idea for a spacecraft to a scientific journal in 1918! He was only 24 years old at the time, but had a creative mind, matched with a remarkable intellect. After reviewing his proposal, one of his professors even suggested that he should file a patent for his spaceship!”
He even notes, “When looking at his original drawings is how he anticipated the Apollo spacecraft in the design of his spacecraft, decades before any rocket was launched into space.”
Medal Knight #1 (2023), Voyage Comics
Kosloski would also possibly hint at what might be in store for readers of the Medal Knight by explaining Kolbe’s interest in technology was superseded by “his desire to win souls for Christ. He sought to evangelize the world, recruiting his own ‘soldiers’ to form a ‘militia.’”
“St. Maximilian’s ‘militia’ was called the Militia Immaculatae (Knights of the Immaculate) and their weapon of choice was the Miraculous Medal,” Kosloski explained.
He elaborated, “For the rest of his life Kolbe would carry a pocketful of these medals, which he would call his ‘silver bullets.’ After meeting someone and exhorting them to live as a faithful Christian, he would hand them a Miraculous Medal and let the Blessed Mother take care of the rest. Throughout his life many souls were brought back to Christ through the handing out of these ‘bullets.’”
The Miraculous Medal has clearly been incorporated in to the character of Max as he can be seen holding one on the cover, whether or not he forms his own militia to fight back against those trying to use his inventions for naught we’ll have to find out in the story!
Fr. Maximilian Kolbe
Medal Knight #1 is available to pre-order now through Voyage Comics’ website. It retails for $5.99. It is expected to ship this month.
Medal Knight joins Finnian and the Seven Mountains, Champion of the Poor: Father Joe Walijewski, The Mission of Joan of Arc, Jonah’s Voyage to Atlantis, The Tale of Patrick Peyton, Digital Disciple: Carlo Acutis and the Eucharist, and The Phantom Phoenix that are available from Voyage Comics.
The publisher also has a number of books available including Brave Water, The Book of Saints and Heroes, The Last Monks of Skellig Michael: The Mysterious Real-Life History Behind Luke Skywalker’s Island, and Tolkien & Faith: Essays on Christian Truth in Middle-Earth.
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