Page 31 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Huh... this time they're sleeping in undershirts in separate beds. Though they still seem to have some pillow banter, and Tim's pose is more than a little suggestive...
Jessica	You just know the action will heat up once the lights go down.
Sean	Uh... that's a kind of femmy running style for a guy like Jim. I kinda expected him to be in a full sprint in hot pants... What? It's a Fred Carter book!

Page 32 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Apparently we've found the good Mr. Carter's biggest shortcoming as an artist, he doesn't seem to know how to draw fire.
Jessica	"Eh... just make it kind of red. They'll get the idea." Chick depicts communism as vehemently anti-religion, but the relationship between religious dogma and marxist philosophy is a bit more convoluted than that.

Page 33 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Wait, Santosh set the fire? Then what the hell was the point of that scene with Arjun and the Commie? Also, where did he get the Kerosene? I doubt a kid his size could carry a can of the stuff big enough to burn down a church anyways. And how did he manage to pull it off in the short time span in between his mom checking on him and Big Jim Slade's midnight stroll?
Jessica	Demons. That's how. The dad is far too daft to put two and two together. Maybe communism makes you an idiot?

Page 34 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	No, that's not an ordinary lamp, they do have electricity in India you know.
Jessica	Unless this is taking place in the early 20th century Chick seems determined to portray these people as living in poverty and squalor.

Page 35 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Hoo boy, a dinner party scene with a possessed kid! This is going to be wacky!
Jessica	Can you get promoted in Communism? Is that what his father does for a living? He's a Communist? Like he goes down everyday to the Communism plant for his eight hours? Does he belong to the Local Communists 419 Union?

Page 36 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	*Hysterical bout of laughter* Oh god... that bottom panel! I don't know if it's the artwork, the scene of the kid puking on the table, or the priceless reactions of the dinner guests but man is this hilarious! I'm guessing Chick and Carter didn't want to do a scene of the kid urinating (Well... maybe just Chick) you know, like that movie this is totally not a rip off of?
Jessica	This panel is soooooo exploitable... and it's not the only one we'll find before this is all through.

Page 37 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Oh yeah, because Godless Communists have absolutely zero tolerance for children getting sick.
Jessica	It isn't Arjun's fault the kid blew his cookies. Why should he be held responsible?

Page 38 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	I dunno, a shaking bed doesn't really inspire terror in me. Yeah, it's an obvious supernatural event, but it's hardly anything compared to twisting one's head 360 degrees.
Jessica	Does Santosh even own shirt?!? I don't think I've seen him wear one in the entire comic. Nice ragdoll he's pulling off in that lower panel there, also.

Page 39 ⇑ ⇓

Jessica	Now the kid looks like he's trying to channel Edward G. Robinson there. Is this possession like that crappy scene from Casper where Bill Pullman pulls of a bunch of nonsensical actor cameos?
Sean	Sure, a seizure. Everyone knows seizures cause heavy wooden beds to left two feet off the ground and shake around like a rodeo bull.
Jessica	Twenty seconds?!?! HA!!! In my prime I could make a bed shake for a half hour, minimum! Santosh has no dedication.

Page 40 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Really doc? You have no idea how to deal with a patient pretending to be a dog?
Jessica	Good place to start would be to dope that kid up so much he could be used as a paperweight.

Page 41 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Wow, contemporary medical technology. I wasn't expecting to see that outside of the U.S. in a Chick comic.
Jessica	I was expecting something a little closer to this. Now Santosh looks like a 1960's Morlock. Is he running through the entire golden age of Hollywood's A-list?

Page 42 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Then why didn't you kill him ages ago?! Nice right cross by the way, enough to deck a grown man!
Jessica	Santosh SMASH!!!

Page 43 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Putting aside the fact that Santosh really is possessed, this doctor is way too quick to dub it a spiritual issue. Three weeks is hardly enough time to properly analyze something like this, especially in the Psychiatric field. I'd be more inclined to believe the kid has repressed trauma after seeing his best friend die from a snake bite. Just saying.
Jessica	Given their archaic understanding of medicine as depicted by Jack Chick I'd think they'd be more inclined to recommend a lobotomy before an exorcism.

Page 44 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Uh, no. If your Doctor suggests an exorcism your first instinct should be to sue for malpractice or report him to the Medical Council of India (Established roughly 40 years before this comic had been printed.)
Jessica	Atheists... do not... act this way. He flip-flops from the first panel to the second. "What's an exorcist?" Duuuurrrrr...

Page 45 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Why is Santosh getting a beer gut? If the Demon is eating him alive inside shouldn't he be all skin and bones?
Jessica	His face has become just one giant tangle of pubic hair. Or is this supposed to be symbolic, like the frame is a photograph and the demon inside of him prevents his face from being caught on film? ...somehow I doubt it.
Sean	Also, why does this Buddhist Temple look more like a mosque? They don't share any kind of common lineage aside from the fact that they're both practiced in India.

Page 46 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Ah yes, Buddhist monks, well known for their harsh attitudes and lack of compassion. I did some research, and while there are some branches of Buddhism that have exorcisms in their practices, they're mostly off-shoots in other nations and not strictly part of the core philosophy so I guess that's a point for Chick. Still, Santosh's mom really should have known that.
Jessica	As I pointed out earlier though, finding a Catholic in India shouldn't be all that difficult. Let alone one willing to perform an exorcism. "All he does is blame everything on the actions of a former life" because that is the only belief in Buddhism that I, the author, am even remotely familiar with. Go figure.

Page 47 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	I doubt he could have missed it, it's the only book on that shelf. I have to wonder what the good revs has in the way of reading material actually. Aside from the "good book" and this biblical demonology text (Why does he have that anyways?) how much you wanna bet his tastes amount to the Left Behind series and about a thousand Harlequin romance novels?
Jessica	I really don't think he seems to be the type to keep a copy of the Encyclopedia of Hell lying around in his library.

Page 48 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Uh... am I the only one unsettled by the way Tim's holding on to that boy's shoulder?
Jessica	"God forgives you, Sabu. But we're still going to have to give you a whoopin'." <banjos playing>

Page 49 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Because Chick couldn't just label one Religion as satanic/false/secret catholic plot (Trust me, he'll find a way to connect Hinduism to Catholicism.)
Jessica	Oh, yes. Christian holy men would NEVER concern themselves with only the acquisition of earthy wealth.

Page 50 ⇑ ⇓

Jessica	His name is Ganesh. Because again I, the author, heard once that that was a name somehow associated with India in some way.
Sean	*Hysterical fit of laughter* I can't breathe! Kudos for topping the kid puking on the table scene! Such an exploitable panel, make that a meme, internet! Call it the Running Sadhu or something, but spread the hilarity!

Page 51 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Really smart move there lady, just let the two random gentlemen into your house because they want to see your underage son.
Jessica	I'll have to try that sometime at a concert or movie theatre. "No, no. It's okay. God sent me here. I'm cool."

Page 52 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	.... you know, the reason the backwards speaking was unsettling in that other possession story was because it wasn't easily identified, and required the priest to play the recordings backwards to understand it. Oh, and it was also full paragraphs and sentences spoken backwards, not just two words.
Jessica	So... if Santosh didn't want help (or wasn't able to speak) then Jim and Tim would be like "Oh, well then fuck 'em I guess. The kid can suck cocks in hell for all I care."

Page 53 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	So now they're back at the Reverend's house? I'm pretty sure a demon possessed kid is a pretty high priority. Yeah, he can't harm you with his Supernatural powers, but we already established that he had no problem setting fire to holy ground. Even putting that aside, he could get loose and harm the people who didn't accept Jesus yet (That is, if you really do care about the souls of those who are currently hell bound, which I really doubt given your indifference.
Jessica	Yeah, Chick seems to think that a necessary part of an exorcism involves going off and leaving the afflicted. He's included it in other tracts as well, leading to the inevitable wacky hijinks.

Page 54 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	"Greater is he that is in you." Oh myyyy!!!
Jessica	Once again, Jesus is coming soon, says the man in 1975.

Page 55 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Santosh had actually escaped and murdered about six children before getting shot by a vengeful villager, this is what happens when you leave the demon possessed kid alone while you go discuss biblical passages for a few hours.
Jessica	They already came and asked the demon questions. Maybe they should have gone through the tutorial with old Harvey here first.

Page 56 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Hinduism and Buddhism are secretly satanic plots to move people away from Christ, ours is the glorious true faith full of sunshine and goodness! Now let's cover the sinful in blood so that they can be accepted in the eyes of the lord!
Jessica	If the battle is God's then why doesn't he get off his lazy ass and do something about it instead of sending in the Ambiguously Gay Duo here?

Page 57 ⇑ ⇓

Jessica	Cover the room in blood. I think that was what the demon wanted to do from the start. "But you're a communist" which really shouldn't have anything to do with anything, but whatchagonnado?

Page 58 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Why hasn't anyone tied Santosh to the bed? He could have offed himself at any time to escape the vessel. Also, if he hates the boy so much, why did he possess him!?
Jessica	He's rocking a 'fro now. That's.... kinda racist, actually.

Page 59 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	And how do you intend to kill them without a body? Just stab them right now!
Jessica	The demon hasn't put a whole lot of thought into this. He's just sort of winging it.

Page 60 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Well, that was easy. Exorcisms are usually supposed to be lengthy rituals, but these guys did it in like two seconds. Come to think of it, why didn't they just do this when they visited him earlier?
Jessica	Are those supposed to be flies or something coming out of his mouth? Because that would be frickin' awesome.

Page 61 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	As I said earlier, the Holy Spirit seems to be the ultimate in personal fitness. Santosh has dropped about 40 pounds of belly and ended up with a set of rippling biceps.
Jessica	One possessed kid was all it took to convert a whole village worth of Buddhists, Muslims, Communists and God knows what else? Yeah, right.
Sean	Yes, God's methods are perfect. To convert the village to his side he crippled an elderly man, set fire to his own church, had a kid go through the sheer torture of being possessed, and probably cast his friend into eternal damnation in order to do it! So much easier than simply visiting everyone at once. Or, you know, making the reverend float gently to the ground thus showing how he takes care of his own.

Page 62 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Taken out of context it sounds like Big Jim Slade thinks the picture of the devil is really cool.
Jessica	And the cycle begins anew...

Page 63 ⇑ ⇓

Sean	Jim's dialogue here is really off, I'm sure Jack was trying to sound hip by showing off his ability to speak jive. Even if he obviously slips up here and there. It probably helps that the only black guy he's known personally is Fred Carter. Yes, really.
Jessica	So humans are basically just game tokens in one huge game of supernatural keep-away? That's a pretty limited and sad view of humanity.

Conclusion ⇑ ⇓

Sean

There was a weird sort of undertone to this one, because it's pretty obviously a rip off of "The Exorcist" (Big shock, I know.) This implies that Jack Chick actually saw the film himself, which means he's been to the movies since at least the 70's, something I never imagined would happen. All that said though, this one is a riot. It's got all the makings of Chick tract gold, from the bad artwork to the satanic shenanigans. Definitely worth reading for a laugh.

Further Reading ⇑