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  Wounded Children. Tract #059. Art by Fred Carter - © 1983 Chick Publications

Wounded Children - Tract #059 (WOUN)
Art by Fred Carter - © 1983 Chick Publications

First Published: December 26th, 2017

"Wounded Children" is another long-discontinued tract of Jack Chick's. In it, we follow little David from childhood and see how demonic forces influence him into the dark world of homosexuality. After many trials and tribulations he meets a portly Christian in a bar and is saved along with his suicidal friend Kenny.

 

Introduction ⇑ ⇓

Jessica

Like "Lisa", Jack Chick has discontinued printing and withdrawn this tract from his website. Which is surprising considering that besides the whole "demons cause gayness" bit it isn't much more virulent than most of his other anti-gay works.

 

Cover / Page 1 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Spoiler: None of these children feature in this story.
Jessica	Yeah, who are these so-called "Wounded Children?" The one in the very back kind of looks like Brad from The Marriage Mess.

 

Page 2 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	"Based on a True Story." Right. Just like The Amityville Horror. Here's a drinking game for you. Take a drink every time someone says, "Daddy," in this cartoon. Take another drink for every Bible verse. (Even by Chick's standards, this one is heavy on the Bible verses. ) After all, as Proverbs 31:6 says (the KJV version, guys!) "Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts." I'm not responsible for any liver damage that may ensue. Drinks: 5

 

Page 3 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Well, yeah. I'm feeling pretty sick thinking of that guy whacking off, too. Also, the verse cited goes, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." So...having a gay son is punishment for having a porn collection? Or something? Notice the demon has a reflection? That's...interesting. Also, judging by how ripped he is, I guess hell has a pretty good gym. What do you want to bet this is Carter's work? Drinks: 7
Jessica	Edith there doesn't even have a face. Is there a high-powered industrial fan directly behind her or something?
Cate	To be fair to Edith, I wouldn’t want my face shown in a Chick Tract, either.

 

Page 4 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Christ, what sort of porn warrants that facial expression? Does his dad just have images of Goatse.cx in there? "The door has been opened to the world of sexual fantasy." That's right: without exposure to porn, humans would be completely unable to fantasize about sex." Drinks: 9
Jessica	Actually, I haven't heard the one about the traveling salesman. Does anyone know the punchline to that one?

 

Page 5 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	If demons are implanting thoughts in your mind, that seems less "subliminal" and more "call an exorcist." Or, in the real world, a shrink. David's face is the face of a person who has just realized they are in a Chick Tract, and there is no escape. Drinks: 11
Jessica	If he's as shocked and disturbed as he looks from looking at porn then why does he keep doing it? Also, how old is this kid? Chick (or Carter) can't seem to get his face the same in any two panels and it makes determining his age really difficult.

 

Page 6 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Change, "It's wrong," to "You're doing it wrong," and I can't say I haven't sent men away with the same words... Drinks: 13
Jessica	Ah, he's ten. If you say so. Matthew 10:26 doesn't have anything to do with sexual immorality. It seems to be about everything being revealed. Also, to quote the infamous Jabberwock: "If the extent of his sexual activity thus far has been masturbation and sexual fantasy, what the fuck did he need her around for?"

 

Page 7 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Well, so much for being David's friend! So I thought that demon (and I think he needs a name - I'm calling him Ted) was just assigned to David. Is he supposed to be tempting the whole family? Or what? Maybe it's a time share thing. "Note: Not all homosexuals have been programmed to be feminine. Many are extremely masculine." Some are even police officers, construction workers, cowboys, or other types of macho men. Drinks: 14
Jessica	You know, if the kid wants a doll that badly, get him one of his own. There's no reason dolls have to just be for girls you know. And just because a boy wants one doesn't necessarily mean he'll grow up to be gay. Holy shit, homosexuals have ranks? That's pretty awesome actually! Peggy also looks like she's about to beat the ever-loving shit out of David with that stick she's carrying.

 

Page 8 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Fishing! The cure for homosexuality! So it's pretty clear we're not supposed to like David's father, what with his porno habit and all. But here's what I don't get: how is putting all the gays on an island and blowing it up worse than, y'know, torturing them for all eternity? Drinks: 15
Jessica	This is the first indication we get that the mother or the father are even nominally religious which I guess explains why they are bugging out so badly on David's feminine tendencies.

 

Page 9 ⇑ ⇓

Jessica	"I'm really your sister." You know, Jack, there really is a difference between gay people and transgender people. Not all (or most) gay men would refer to themselves as someone's "sister."
Cate	Ha, (or HAW!) I love Ted's facial expression here. He looks as exasperated as I feel.

 

Page 10 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	"Gay Baths." Oh boy, here we go again. You know, I have never heard anyone actually say, "I'm so high, I'm flying!"
Jessica	Amyl Nitrate? I think you mean Amyl Nitrite, also known as Poppers, which were/are a popular recreational drug among gay men. Amyl Nitrate is a diesel fuel additive.

 

Page 11 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	I like how everyone else is wearing business-casual clothes, except for Mr. Leather Slave in the middle. "CRUISE, YOU FOOL, IT'S GETTING LATE!" The gay nightclub version of "The End is Nigh!"?

 

Page 12 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Shit, moving a bit fast there, aren't they?
Jessica	Seriously, they just met and the guy is practically proposing marriage.

 

Page 13 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Man, Ted needs some focus. Choose a single objective and stick with it.
Jessica	Brian just lounges around the house, topless, showing off his six-pack.

 

Page 14 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	So I wonder what religious tradition Chick imagines these charming gentlemen hail from. Because I kind of doubt they're a bunch of secular humanists.
Jessica	At least Jack doesn't seem to paint the gay bashers as the religious ones. That probably hits a little too close to home for him.

 

Page 15 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Holy shit, his face is imploding. That's it. I give up trying to find any consistency in this demon's actions.
Jessica	Apart from the whole "ever think of suicide" part the demon comes off as a pretty good friend for David. He's both encouraging and attentive.
Cate	Seriously. It’s bad when the demon comes off as the most sympathetic character in a Chick Tract.

 

Page 16 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	"The Lord sent me here to witness to you." That's going to be my new pick up line. Oh, hey, it's the same verse what's-her-face underlined in Father Figure. That verse is the cornerstone of the "Pray the gay away," brigade. You notice, though, that no-one seems to be spazzing out over say, thieves and drunkards going to heaven? To be sure, no-one would endorse that sort of behavior has Christian, but I think most would view that sort of thing as a sin to be repented, but not this giant all consuming block to salvation that being gay apparently is. Drinks: 16

 

Page 17 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Wait, so this is all taking place at a gay bar? I'm thinking someone isn't quite as "cured" as they're pretending. I don't believe for a second Ted is motivated enough to destroy David. Annoy him a little bit, maybe. Drinks: 17
Jessica	How is David out of control? We've seen him date one person, monogamously at that.
Cate	Well, he’s gay. Ipso facto, per Chick, he is out of control.

 

Page 18 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Special love indeed... Does Jack even read what he writes? Drinks: 18
Jessica	Special love will fill that emptiness. Bow-chicka-bow-wow.

 

Page 19 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	So this ties back into what I said earlier: sure, all of those things are "sins," but none of them spark the sort of moral panic that homosexuality has provoked in conservative Christianity. If Joe Christian tells a lie, obviously that's not good, but no-one is going to seriously suggest that he can't be a Christian because of that. Probably because everyone has told a lie at some point, but only a minority of people are gay. Also: as can be seen in his other tracts, Jack is pretty clear that he endorses a "faith not works" view of salvation; i.e. it is belief in Jesus alone that saves. There's no reason that belief is incompatible with being gay. Of course, Jack would argue that salvation changes one's behavior (because God overrules free will?), and if one doesn't change...well, one wasn't saved to begin with. It's all very No True Scotsman. David's face is melting. Drinks: 19
Jessica	Is smoking necessarily a sinful behavior? Also, how does smoking compare to homosexuality?
Cate	Maybe it’s because a cigarette isn’t always a cigarette…

 

Page 20 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Um, David and Jonathan were Jewish, so I'm not sure what being Christian has to do with anything...? Anyway, I am not an expert on same-sex relations between men in Bronze Age Israel. It's certainly true that a lot of behaviors that would have been seen as perfectly normal in one age can take on second meanings in another (for a example of this, check out Robespierre's letter to Danton following the death of the latter's wife. It's full of phrases like, "I love you more than ever, and shall love you until I die." That being said, the verse that Chick includes here doesn't do much to convince me these two weren't lovers: "...the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." Add in David's lament for Jonathan, wherein David says, "I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women," (2 Samuel 1:26), and, well...yeah. Drinks: 23

 

Page 21 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	Wow, what a great friend David is! "My friend's suicidal - I'm going out clubbing!" (Also, why has this friend not been mentioned before now?!?) See, Kenny's demon has the right attitude! He's staying focused on the task at hand, even as David and Bible Boy work to distract him. Also, is it just me, or do Kenny and his demon have matching mullets? Drinks: 24
Jessica	Eh, it was the 80's. Unfortunate hair styles were par for the course.

 

Page 22 ⇑ ⇓

Cate	2 Hours Later. Hmm, wonder what took so long. Also, I notice that this time Chick didn't draw them all in that "Butt in the Air" pose he's so fond of. "I want you as Lord of my life. I give up. I want you to control everything..." 50 Shades of Grey, or Jack Chick? So I looked up Pastor Perry Roberts, the "converted homosexual" who helped write this tract. He appears to (now?) go by "Perri," with an I, and judging from the photo of him, I guess Mr. Bearded Proselytizer is supposed to be him. He has a website, GaySavedByJesus.com, and it's...something. It talks about how he was "called to preach even before he was born (when a midwife prophesied over his father)," and how, in his halycon days of homosexuality, he and his friends, "flamboyantly flaunt(ed) their homosexuality and beauty." He has a book for sale on his site that promises readers will "learn of Perri’s gay lover, “James Bond,” who was indeed a secret agent like 007!" Now, however, we are assured, he is, "a single, abstinent minister of the Gospel." Yeah. Drinks : 28 (11 "Daddies", 17 verses)

 

Conclusion ⇑ ⇓

Cate

So that's Wounded Children. While you'll sometimes see it referred to as "the tract so homophobic Chick recalled it," or something along those lines, I don't think that's why it was discontinued. Sure, it's bad - but is it really more homophobic than, say, Doom Town? If anything, I think he may have discontinued it because he decided it wasn't homophobic enough. By Chick standards, the gays here come off as pretty sympathetic - a low bar, I admit. David's father and the random gay bashers come off worse, and I think Chick decided that muddled the message. (Also, like Father Figure, Chick can't seem to decide why David is gay - aside from Mr. Ripped Demon's influence. He vaguely blames the parents, then seems to suggest if that girl hadn't rejected him David might have just been a regular straight pervert.) I have to say, this tract has a far number of parallels with "Born This Way" by Tim Todd and Co., and I kind of wonder if they weren't inspired by it. Both take a "both gays and gay-bashers are wrong," line, both feature conflict between the gay character and a homophobic relation, and finally, both have a mustachioed ex-gay set everyone straight...in a manner of speaking.

 

Further Reading ⇑ ⇓

• Vintage page at Boolean Union


• Comments Section at Boolean Union

 

Other Reviews & Commentaries ⇑ ⇓

• Enter the Jabberwock (via the Wayback Machine) - https://web.archive.org/web/20071027042933/http://www.enterthejabberwock.com/?p=465


• Lady Sunami Tumblr - https://theladysunami.tumblr.com/post/24455203351


• The Bible Reloaded (YouTube Video) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhoBkb686C4

 

Parodies ⇑

• Hot Chicks segment "Wounded Children" (via Archive.org) - David learns that the "homosexual lifestyle" isn't quite all that it's cracked up to be.
  "You can love a brother in the Lord, you don't have sex with him! God forbids it!"
  (The Internet Archive)