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Last Updated:

» November 23, 2024


Tract-ception. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh

o Introduction collapse_button

Charlie is saved by reading a copy of tract #224, Uninvited in tract #247, Home Alone? Charlie is saved by reading a copy of tract #224, Uninvited in tract #247, Home Alone? Oftentimes, characters within Chick tracts are shown either reading or providing a Chick tract to another character, typically for the purposes of salvation. This often serves as an expedient way to present Chick's message to another character while also being a cheeky bit of self promotion. Sometimes Chick used this trope to plug another tract with a similar theme, or tracts he thought were good for generic evangelism. Sometimes a tract will even contain itself.

The following page catalogs all the instances we could find of Chick tracts containing other Chick tracts or adjacent media. Some of the data is gleaned from observations previously catalogued by Bob Fowler and Kurt Kuersteiner, but all have been fully checked and confirmed. Also included are a few occasions where Chick tracts are not seen but are implied to exist in-universe.


 

o Tract Sightings collapse_button

Self referential sightings are indicated in red.

For more information regarding page/panel reference codes, please see the BUCINS page.


Tract Cover Tract # Tract Name Tract Count Page(s) Comments
Somebody Goofed 006A Somebody Goofed 1 006A.1972A.11 Fictional tract titled "Ye Must Be Born Again" given by Christian man to kid. Cover loosely resembles This Was Your Life!, Torn up by demon disguised as a man.

Oops! 006B Oops! 1 006B.2008.11 Fictional tract titled "You Must Be Born Again" given by Christian man to kid. Cover loosely resembles This Was Your Life!, Torn up by demon disguised as a man.

This Book Has Been Banned 008 This Book Has Been Banned 2 008.1969.04 Christian frozen by icy stare handing out unspecified tract
008.1969.09 Man throws away Non-Chick wall of text tract
008.1969.16 Multiple people fight JJ for Chick tract, cover style suggests This Was Your Life!
008.1969.17 Full-page display of This Was Your Life!

Who, Me? 009 Who, Me? 6 009.1995.04 Christian frozen by icy stare handing out unspecified tract
009.1995.08 Man throws away a non-Chick tract containing only a wall of text
009.1995.14 Multiple people fight JJ for Chick tract, cover style suggests This Was Your Life!
009.1995.15A&B The front cover of This Was Your Life! is shown; A Love Story, The Long Trip, Somebody Goofed, Best Friend, and The Choice are shown
009.1995.18 This Was Your Life! is shown hanging from a door knob and being inserted into an envelope
009.1995.23 This Was Your Life! is displayed along with a Chick Publications catalog

Somebody Loves Me 010A Somebody Loves Me 0 010A.1973.16B Generic, non-Chick tract titled "Somebody Loves You"

Hard Times 010B Hard Times 0 010B.2006.16B Generic, non-Chick tract titled "Somebody Loves You"

What's Your Score? 016 What's Your Score? 10 016.1971.12 This Was Your Life!, Holy Joe, Somebody Goofed, A Demon’s Nightmare, Somebody Loves Me, Big Daddy, The Beast, Escape, Bewitched, Creator or Liar? shown
016.1971.15 Above named tracts hammer a man in armor

The Lost Continent 017 Lost Continent, The 1 017.1971.07 This Was Your Life! shown in both English and Spanish (¡Esta Fue Tu Vida!)

The Assignment 022 Assignment, The 0 022.1972.08 Tim Dobbs considers giving Charles Bishop "a little tract", but never actually does

Breakthrough! 023 Breakthrough! 1 023.1972.14
A missionary show the tract Wordless Gospel to a native
023.1972.20 A missionary reads Wordless Gospel

Don't Read That Book! 024 Don't Read That Book! 1 024.1972.23B Demon shows up at the end throwing a copy of the tract in a bin, suggesting the reader does the same

Losing the Old Zippp 032 Losing the Old Zippp 17 032.1972.2B Multiple tracts held up by a saved individual
032.1972.4B Unknown tract being offered by a nervous man
032.1972.5A&B Bundle of unknown tracts is displayed
032.1972.7A This Was Your Life! is being stashed away in car's glove box
032.1972.8B This Was Your Life! is removed again from the glove box
032.1972.11 One Way is left on an escalator, a woman offers an unknown tract to a grocery store cashier
032.1972.14 Native American girl reads an unknown tract
032.1972.15 Woman struggles to remove Escape from her handbag
032.1972.16A Student leaves a copy of A Demon's Nightmare on a teacher's desk
032.1972.20 This Was Your Life!, Big Daddy, Somebody Loves Me, A Demon’s Nightmare, The Assignment, Creator or Liar?, Frame Up, Holy Joe, Somebody Goofed, The Fool, One Way!, The Passover Plot?, Bewitched, Escape, The Gay Blade, The Thing, and The Poor Revolutionist are shown

Humbug! 038 Humbug! 0 038.1995.17A Scrooge reads a sheet of paper Bob Cratchit gives him containing the gospel message. The "tract" is just a sheet of paper with text on it because Chick tracts didn't exist in Victorian London.

How To Get Rich (And Keep It) 044 How To Get Rich (And Keep It) 1 044.1978.19A Tract contains itself, being brandished angrily by a reader who’s just learned that it’s a Christianity thing and not actual financial advice

My Name? ...in the Vatican? 048 My Name? ...in the Vatican? 1 048.1980.08
The Alberto full-sized comic is displayed
048.1980.09 A Catholic priest angrily brandishes the Alberto comic
048.1980.12 A group of Catholic priests smoke cigarettes and discuss the Alberto comic at a table
048.1980.14 A female Catholic "plant" admonishes a Christian bookshop owner for stocking the Alberto comic
048.1980.15 A Catholic priest and nun guilt a woman over her endorsement of the Alberto comic

Kiss the Protestants Good-Bye 050 Kiss the Protestants Good-Bye Multiple 050.1981.16
Chick promo tract. Shows a spinner full of Chick tracts (no specific titles visible)
050.1981.19 The Alberto full-sized comic is displayed
050.1981.23 The Alberto full-sized comic is displayed, other comics in the Crusader comic series are name dropped

Reverend Wonderful 053 Reverend Wonderful 1 053.1982.13B "Chaplain" Dann Slator gives Dr. Arthur Westhall a copy of The Contract, title is obscured by dialog balloons in later versions

The Letter 055 Letter, The 1 055.1982.02 Chaplain Dann tries to give Mildred a copy of Somebody Loves Me and gets yelled at

Titanic 060 Titanic 0 060.1983.5A Aunt Sophie writes Chester a letter as Chick tracts did not exist yet

Ivan the Terrible 063 Ivan the Terrible 1 063.1984.02 The plot is kicked off by Ivan reading an unidentifiable Chick Tract

The Story Teller 069 Story Teller, The 1 069.1985.22B Ends by promoting The Prophet full-sized comic

Angels? 073 Angels? 1 073.1986.20B Tom reads The Contract and learns that "selling your soul" isn’t a thing

The Bull 074 Bull, The 1 074.1986.11A The eponymous Bull reads Somebody Loves Me and is emotionally moved by the story

The Last Missionary 078 Last Missionary, The 21 078.1987.14 Displays copies of the Spanish Somebody Loves Me (Alguien Me Ama), the Chinese (你的一生) and Tagalog This Was Your Life! (Maaaring Ganito Ang Buhay Mo), the Italian Is There Another Christ? (Esiste Forse Un'altro Christo?) and the Chickewa The Word Became Flesh (Mawu Anasandulika Thupi)
078.1987.16B African natives read a copy of This Was Your Life!
078.1987.18 Alternate language versions of tract back cover designs are shown
078.1987.24 Front covers of: ...are shown

Who Are They Gonna Remember? 079 Who Are They Gonna Remember?   079.1987.07 Promo tract plugging custom back covers
079.1987.11 Man and woman read This Was Your Life! on sofa
079.1987.13 Woman puts This Was Your Life! in a dresser
079.1987.16 Couple at end of rope call church that gave them Firestarter
079.1987.18A&B Two women hand Firestarter to woman on doorstep; Man gives another man an unspecified tract over fence
079.1987.19 Page shows 6 different tracts
079.1987.21 Page shows 5 tracts in suggested order
079.1987.22 Man who was going to shoot himself has open tract on desk.
079.1987.23 Custom backs of unspecified tracts shown

The Decieved 095 Decieved, The 0 095.1990.12A Two muslims read a booklet with a blank white cover that tells them Christianity is true and Islam is false

Earthman 099 Earthman 1 099.1990.03B Tract contains itself, being angrily brandished by a teacher who’s mad that someone brought it into school

He Never Told Us! 114 He Never Told Us! 2 114.1993.17
This Was Your Life! is handed to a young man in art reused from Somebody Goofed!
114.1993.21 The Assignment is namedropped but not shown
114.1993.23A A woman gives an older woman a copy of Firestarter, a copy of This Was Your Life! is seen being passed at a dinner table

The Tycoon 118 Tycoon, The 1 118.1993.07A A Christian man gives Yut Survamin a copy of This Was Your Life!
118.1993.08A Yut gives the tract to another man to dispose of

Trust Me! 121 Trust Me! 1 121.1994.18B
Unnamed protagonist recieves a generic, non-Chick tract titled "Jesus Loves You"
121.1994.20A The unnamed protagonist repents while reading the same tract

Ransom 122 Last Rites 1 122.1994.18B God reminds John Sullivan that a woman once gave him an unspecified anti-Catholic Chick tract

Ransom 124 Ransom 1 124.1995.06A Unidentifiable tract lies unread at pay phone

The Little Princess 134 Little Princess, The 1 134.1998.08A
The Smiths put a copy of Happy Halloween into Heidi’s Halloween haul
134.1998.10A Heidi asks her father to summon the Smiths while showing him the tract

War Zone 144 War Zone 4 144.2000.05A&B
Kid drops multiple tracts, including This Was Your Life!, No Fear?, The Choice and this one, on the floor; Moose picks the fallen tracts from the floor
144.2000.12A Moose show a page from an unknown tract depicting Sinner Slinging
144.2000.15A Randy and Moose discuss God's Love Gift at a table covered in unidentifiable tracts

The Scam 156 Scam, The 1 156.2002.06B Horror novelist Stephen King is seen weeping in the foreground while reading a copy of This Was Your Life!

You Are About to See... 174 You Are About to See... 2 174.2003.03
Stack of tract is seen with In the Beginning on top
174.2003.07A Someone is seen being handed a copy of Spanish In the Beginning (En El Principio)
174.2003.10B An inmate has Assumed the Position and prays on the floor of his cell surrounded by four tracts including This Was Your Life! and others
174.2003.11B A missionary passes out bundles of the LOTW Bible Tract Series to natives
174.2003.13A&B A Brazilian man is seen reading a tract from the Bible Series bundle; he distributes the tracts to other people in his community
174.2003.14B The Bible Tract bundle is displayed fanned out
174.2003.16A&B Sin City is namedropped but not shown; the front cover of The Outcast is shown
174.2003.17B God With Us is namedropped but not shown
174.2003.19A Here He Comes! is is referenced by series number, but is neither named nor shown

The Devil's Night 181 Devil's Night, The 1 181.2004.21B Susy and her grandfather insert Chick Tracts, including The Little Ghost, in Halloween bags

Something in Common? 185 Something in Common? 1 185.2005.22A Tract contains itself, as a warning that you’ll remember reading it while you burn in hell

Congratulations! 192 Congratulations! 13 192.2006.02
192.2006.03
192.2006.04
192.2006.05
192.2006.09
192.2006.10
192.2006.13
192.2006.15
192.2006.16
192.2006.18
192.2006.19A
192.2006.20B
192.2006.21A
Promo tract shipped with multipacks. Shows multiple tracts. Only distinct titles counted.

First Bite 207 First Bite 0 207.2008.14A Faith (the vampire's targeted victim) hands out candy and “little comics” on Halloweenwhich are clearly meant to be Chick Tracts but we never see which ones

Stinky 222 Stinky 4 222.2010.12A&B Woman hands out Chick Tracts including The Little Princess and Boo! to children trick or treating, which are eventually passed along to actual Satan.
222.2010.13B Amy and Denny read the tracts beneath a street lamp
222.2010.19B Satan is furious at the contents of tracts he's been given including The Little Ghost

Still No Revival? 225 Still No Revival? 1 225.2011.02 Displays the front cover of Why No Revival?, to which this tract is a sequel

Why Should I? 231 Why Should I? 1 231.2012.02A Tract opens with boy arguing with preacher holding copy of This Was Your Life!

Who's the Real Hater? 235 Who's the Real Hater? 1 235.2012.13 Street preacher hands out unidentifiable Chick tract

Home Alone? 247 Home Alone? 1 247.2014.19B Charlie reads Uninvited, which converts him to Christianity and cures him of The Gay

Rotten Rodney 254 Rotten Rodney 1 254.2015.13A Prison chaplain gives Rodney’s cellmate Jackie Jones Chick tracts

Kitty in the Window 259 Kitty in the Window 1 259.2016.06A
Claire Wilson hands out tracts to strangers
259.2016.13A Lizzy reads Who is He? after being given the tract by Claire

Look Out! 261 Look Out! 1 261.2016.22A Tract contains itself, being read by a man about to be eaten by a lion

Faithful 271 Faithful 1 271.2018.22A Iman holds up a Chick tract to her assailants

Friend or Foe? 272 Friend or Foe? 1 272.2018.09B Man sneering at Chick tract filmed by angel


 

o Comic Sightings collapse_button

For more information regarding page/panel reference codes, please see the BUCINS page.

*The exact publication date of The Great Holocaust I was not printed in the comic and is unknown, but is believe to have been originally released by Alberto Rivera's publishing company some time in the mid- to late-1980's

Tract Cover Tract # Tract Name Tract Count Page(s) Comments
Unwanted - A True Story C19 Unwanted - A True Story 1 C19.2010.02C&E "Chaplain" Dann Slator distributes unidentified Spanish language tracts to local gang members; Luis tears up a tract with a green cover immediately after receiving it
C19.2010.30A-E Dann watches a flipchart presentation delivered by Jack Chick.
C19.2010.31F Later another evangelist shows Dann Chick tracts, which he goes on to use.
C19.2010.33E Dann gives tracts to the Crusaders (Tim & Jim), who proceed to also distribute them to passers-by

The Great Holocaust I AIC7 The Great Holocaust I* 1 AIC7.19##.04B&C John is seen finding and reading the Alberto full-sized comic left on a bus
AIC7.19##.05A&D John continues to study the comic in his home; John send the comic to Clark Butterfield who also reads it
AIC7.19##.06A&D Clark ponders the comic; he then discusses its contents with Alberto Rivera


 

o Further Reading collapse_button

  • "Tracts w/in Tracts!" - A catalog of tracts featured in tracts.
    (Jack Chick Museum of Fine Art)

  • The World of Chick? (2001) by Robert B. Fowler - Section 4-40 contains a partial list of tracts appearing within other tracts found as of publication.
    (Last Gasp Publishing)