Monday, 18 November 2024

Provisions: Kingstone Studios


Provisions: Kingstone Studios Provisions: Kingstone Studios

Kingstone Productions

Category: Multimedia, comics, graphic novels, books, animation, and film.
Founder: Art Ayris
Founded: 2004
Location: Leesburg, Florida
Representative products:The Kingstone Bible comics series, Dean Cain-starring movie "No Vacancy," The U.S. Constitution as a graphic novel, and “The Stars & Stripes,” a history of the American flag.

At a glance:

  • Unapologetically faith-based and patriotic content.
  • CEO Art Ayris serves as executive pastor of First Baptist Church.
  • The company’s Kingstone Bible was a finalist for Christian Book of the Year in the children’s category in 2017. The comic Bible is now in over 90 countries and 70 languages.
  • Upcoming feature films include “18 Summers” and “The Lincoln League,” a historical biopic of the first black spy network in America.
  • The pro-America comics series U.S. Comics was motivated by a desire to connect the great American story to the next generation through comic books and animation.
  • The studio was selected to produce "LarryBoy" (2026), a VeggieTales feature film by NBC Universal.
  • In their own words (CEO Art Ayris)

    Like many conservative companies, Kingstone already realized there was a major societal disconnect on what it means to be an American as well as dwindling patriotism in our shared history. But after reading the 1619 Project, seeing American flags taken down as symbols of hate, experiencing some big tech shadow-banning, we knew there were major initiatives to unhook American history from the historical moorings, that we no longer had a shared canon.

    After exhibiting at an American Library event and experiencing the far-left leanings of the library bloc, Kingstone realized it needed an additional imprint as a face to the general comics and educational markets.

    Teens and young people read comics and graphic novels. It is a popular medium, so I feel Christians should be there with truth. Marrying the text with images also helps with long-term memory. We want young people not only reading but also remembering. I am a pastor, and I’m appalled at the biblical illiteracy in both the church and the general Western culture. The Bible lends itself well to a graphic novel format.

    I love to reinvent things. A new boat should not be a warmed-over version of the last boat you had. I like being able to take an idea and create something that has never been done or take an existing boat and find a way to reinvent it so it’s new and fresh and gets people really excited. I like to figure out what the boater wants and come up with a way to create it and use it on the boat.


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