The Word for Word Bible Comic

We're making an expansion, and it's coming sooner than you might expect!

We've been slaving away behind the scenes to come up with a new, exciting expansion for the Great Commission Strategic Card Game. And this isn't just more of the same!

The Great Commission: Roman Oppression

Our new competitive game could be summed up with this statement: 

"Bless those who persecute you" Romans 12:14 

 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/word4wordbiblecomic/the-great-commission-roman-oppression-strategy-card-game?ref=8p64k2

ROMAN OPPRESSION COMPETITIVE ELEMENTS One side plays as the Roman State, seeking to increase its control, build imperial monuments and suppress the troublesome message of Jesus. The other is the church spreading the gospel before time runs out, similar to the base game, with some exciting new mechanics, including blessing those who persecute them!

New types of cards for the Romans

Roman Oppression Rules

EXPANSION ELEMENTS Cooperative game scenarios: Play the original solo/co-op game with brand new content and different setup or win conditions. Scenarios can be played with this stand-alone box set or integrated into the base game for even more variety.

Solo campaign mode: Travel with the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys. Experience the joy and heartache of encouraging churches, visiting far-off locations and even imprisonment in Rome. This mode is played by integrating the base game to include all the locations and key personalities from The Book of Acts.

More Named People (Apostles, and characters from Acts)

More People Cards

More Locations

More Blessings

More Troubles

More Activities

More Events

New Rule book featuring extra game modes  

Our planned launch is...

                                            🗓️    Mid May!    🗓️

So go and hit that "NOTIFY ME" button now to be sure you don't miss it. (Plus the number of prelaunch followers is displayed and builds that excitement!) 

Have you say

Watch out for polls and posts on our social media, which allow you to vote on elements of the game, stretch goals, etc

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wordforwordbiblecomic

FB group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/wordforwordbiblecomiccommunity

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordforwordbiblecomic/

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/wforwbiblecomic.bsky.social

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Wordforwordbiblecomic

Twitter - https://twitter.com/WforWBibleComic

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wordforwordbiblecomic

Why now? 

Paul and I have been working on an expansion for a few months for fun, and we've hit on a really good concept. Originally, we were going to do the campaign in 2027, but with my Skies of Belief RPG project being pushed back and opportunities like the UK Games Expo, we're bringing it forward! If you didn't know about Skies of Belief, the low fantasy tabletop role playing game, find out more and follow the pre-launch page here: 

Another Campaign to shout out

When reading the Epic of Gilgamesh, there are so many interesting parallels with the biblical narrative, and I would say not necessarily contradictory.

What are the parallels, and what did I learn from listening to The Epic of Gilgamesh?

Parallels

Before reading the story of Gilgamesh, I thought that people were saying that Gilgamesh was an alternative version of the ark and flood story, and it was merely a contradictory alternative version. But I was really surprised to find that the character of Noah is in the story as someone Gilgamesh needs to go and see and so many of the details line up between the narratives!

NOAH: In the story, Noah is called Utnapishtim. The man who built an ark and survived the flood. I found it fascinating that Gilgamesh had to seek out Utnapishtim for his wisdom, and that the account of what happened to Utnapishtim is extremely close to the Genesis account.

One difference between the stories seems to be that Utnapishtim is considered to have been granted immortality by the gods, whereas Noah is mortal. However, Noah lived 950 years, so it makes sense that his contemporaries would consider him immortal. (Genesis 9:28-29)

The name Utnapishtim is obviously different to Noah, but it means "he has found life", so it would seem to be more of a title than a name anyway.

THE ARK: The ark is described in some detail, as in the biblical narrative, including its size, dimensions, materials, and even the number of decks. It was filled with many animals, including sacrificial animals. The dimensions were different, however: the biblical ark was a viable vessel (approx. 450–500 ft long), while the other was an impractical cube (200 feet on each side). Both were constructed from timber and sealed with bitumen.

THE FLOOD: It was interesting that in the epic, although it attributes it to other gods, it talks about the waters coming from above and from below, just as it does in the Bible. (Gen 7:11)

The duration differs, however, with the Genesis flood lasting over a year, with 40 days of downpour and the Gilgamesh flood lasting only six days and seven nights.

THE TELLING: In the epic, Utnapishtim recounts what happened during the flood, including sending out two birds that returned empty-handed, and then the bird that found land. Although the actual types of birds in Gilgamesh are dove, swallow, and raven, rather than raven, dove, and then a dove.

Utnapishtim also describes giving a sacrificial offering to God after the flood, which is described as having an aroma pleasing to the Gods. (See Gen 8:21)

NEPHILIM: There's a fascinating correlation between the fact that in Genesis there are Nephilim, heroic giants (Gen 6:4), created by the union of women with “the sons of God” a.k.a. fallen angels, and that in the epic, Gilgamesh is a super strong giant, 18 feet tall with armour and weapons 10x the weight of normal. He is considered to be three-quarters “divine”, a.k.a., his parentage including the “gods” of the Sumerians.

GILGAMESH’S MORALITY: I was also very surprised that, as the “hero” of the story, he couldn't be further from being heroic. He's introduced as a king who steals what he wants, rapes women, kills boys and is known to be unreasonable. These qualities are lauded in the story. Even once he begins questing, his objective is to slay a draconic beast, but it’s not to help anyone, but to gain renown. Some reference his great friendship with Enkidu as a good quality, but his friend is of no greater character than Gilgamesh himself. They are depicted as deeply devoted soulmates who share an intimate bond, described as loving each other "like a wife".

Gilgamesh is arrogant, and when the goddess Ishtar/Inanna tries to seduce him, rather than simply rejecting her, he heaps her with endless abuse. Then, later in the story, he prays to her and asks for her help.

It was very interesting to me to see the pre-mosaic morality expressed in this story.

—-

This list is not exhaustive. There are lots of little parallels and differences to explore, but as the story is not so very long and can be listened to within two hours, I would encourage you to do so, especially if you're familiar with the Genesis story.

If you're considering listening to the story with children, be warned that it is rather lewd towards the beginning and has a lot of adult themes (like Genesis)

The epic is written in a much more poetic style than Genesis, not only with repetition but also with the level of exaggeration, saying Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel 1,000 miles in a day and carry a sword weighing 200 lb. As such, the details that clash, like the cube-shaped ark and length of the flood being only several days, I see as the same poetic hyperbole.

Listen

The Epic of Gilgamesh is available to stream on Spotify Premium. It only takes one hour and forty-nine minutes, including the Intro.

In this month’s newsletter:

Purim Mega Sale

Kickstarter fulfilment

All Spanish Editions heading to US prisons

and more…

Purim Mega Sale!

Get 60% off when you buy one The Book of Esther: Word for Word Bible Comic: W.E.B. Translation in time for Purim (March 2nd and 3rd, 2026).

Buy in multiples for an extra discount. You can even combine our “FIFTYQUIDPLUS” discount code, giving you an extra making Esther just £2.25 each for 10. That’s 78% off!

There are just 200 copies left of this edition. The World English Bible is just as good as the NIV, but we use NIV across the board now, so these previous editions have got to go! NOTE:  All these books are in the UK, so if you are outside the UK, you need to select the UK import option for delivery.

Kickstarters rewards on their way!

PHYSICAL REWARDS: We received all the books on Friday morning last week, and fulfilment is now in full swing. 61% is already sent.

I’m ordering all the t-shirts tomorrow, so they will arrive separately within the next 2 weeks. DIGITAL REWARDS: All the Digital Rewards went out this morning on a Kickstarter Update. There you’ll find a Dropbox link to download your items.

All Spanish editions to US prisons

Inspired by hearing that the Christmas Appeal Spanish books were going to ICE detainment units, where the detainees are 97% Spanish speakers, we partnered with the OPTIM charity once more to send out all our UK stock of the Spanish editions too. So there are another 1,500 Spanish Bible Comics on their way to the USA prisons right now.

Become a Patron

If you’d like to support the Bible Comic Project long term, why not consider becoming a Patron? With Patreon you can donate $1 or more each month. Patrons get exclusive content, like seeing the comic pages first, hangouts and videos that explain the historical and biblical research that goes into the work. We will have a Hangout this month to talk about what book is up next, and our plans going forward. If you want to be part of the conversation, jump on at any tier!

We’ve had amazing support over the years, and we still have over 100 Patrons! But the numbers have waned in the last year, so I’m hoping to see some new faces come along and join us for 2026!

New members get 30% off their first month. If you’d like to give it a try, use code WORD30. (Offer Expires at the end of Feb). Note: Use a browser to sign up, as with the Apple App, or Apple will keep 30% of your support.

Prayer Requests

Prison Books Donated: Please pray that the books arrive safely, and that these Bible comics will make a big impact on the lives of the people who receive them. Pray that for many, it will share the gospel with them for the first time. We want to pray for the people in ICE detainment units, and even for those detaining them, that they might discover the peace of the gospel too.

Partnerships: Please continue to pray for us as we have talks with bigger players as we look at potential partnerships.

PURIM MEGA SALE: Get 60% off The Book of Esther: Word for Word Bible Comic: W.E.B. Translation in time for Purim (March 2nd and 3rd, 2026). There are just 200 copies left of this edition. As we use the NIV now, the equally worthy World English Bible Esthers are the last of the previous edition!

You can even combine our “FIFTYQUIDPLUS” discount code, giving you an extra making each Esther just £3.

Happy New Year. Here’s what we’ve got this month…

Backers: It’s time to fill in your Kickstarter Pledge Manager

Charity Crowdfunder Results

Review the Great Commission Card Game

Urgent: It’s time to fill in your Kickstarter Pledge Manager!

Lots of you have done so, but 165 backers are still outstanding. 

We didn't include shipping costs in the campaign, so they need to be covered now as well, please.

Get a Thank You: You need to supply your permission and name in order to be thanked in the back of the book. These will be locked in on Thurs afternoon.

4pm UK/11am EST

If you submit your name for thank-you after that, it won't be in the printed book because it will already be off to the printers. 

Apologies that this wasn't done earlier. I couldn't send the survey without the pledge manager, and we needed the pledge manager to be completed as close to the fulfilment as possible to avoid price hikes. 

Charity Crowdfunder Results

Firstly, thanks so much to everybody who supported this charity Crowdfunder. It hits its goal, allowing us to send over 2,500 Bible comics into prisons across the USA this Christmas. A special shout-out to those handful of heavy lifters who gave generously to this initiative!

Many of the Spanish editions were sent to ICE detention units. These detainees were given the Gospels and other books before Christmas, thanks to you. Here they are getting send out by the Touching Lives charity.

Here is a message from Joyce at Touching Lives about how it's going… ”We are working in the states that start with "O" and "P" right now. So, we would have sent to facilities in Ohio, Oregon, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania. We did special shipments to a couple ICE units in TX, CO and a youth facility in TN.  We will continue to send out as many as we can until we run out.  

We will be starting Texas soon so there will be a lot go there. There are tons of prisons in TX. The shipping lineup for the next two weeks will not only have the O and P states, but I have orders lined up for ICE/Spanish language units in California, Nevada and several more in Texas. 

The comics are becoming something that is asked for quite frequently. Thank you for partnering with us in getting the gospel to the incarcerated.  It is making a difference and people are coming to know Jesus through the comics. A youth in TN gave his heart to the Lord last year after reading a comic we sent to the facility.”

Reviews: Did you play The Great Commission at Christmas?

If you haven't already added your review to our Board Game Geeks page, we'd love you to do so. The score is an aggregate, so feel free to vote up the number to get it closer to what you think the game deserves ;) It's still standing strong at 8.4, which is an outstanding result in comparison to other games.

Head here:

Or there’s Amazon. Pleae add a score there too (there’s only 3 so far):

Prayer Requests

Prison Books Donated: Please pray that these Bible comics will make a big impact on the lives of the people who receive them. Pray that for many, it will share the gospel with them for the first time. We want to pray for the people in ICE detainment units, and even for those detaining them, that they might discover the peace of the gospel too.

Partnerships: Please continue to pray for us as we have talks with bigger players as we look at potential partnerships.

Luke 1:39-45: Mary visits Elizabeth in Judea.

🗓️ New vid each day before Christmas Bible Passages answering: What did Elizabeth say to the virgin mary? What did Elizabeth prophesy about the Baby Jesus? Did John the Baptist sense Jesus in the womb?

"Historically Accurate, Unabridged and Untamed": The illustrations come from The Word for Word Bible Comic: Gospel of Luke. Featuring the New Testament Scripture, chapter-and-verse from the NIV translation. Lk 1:39-45: The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission from HarperCollins Christian Publishing. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses Luke 1:34-38. “I am the Lord’s servant”, the virgin Mary says to the angel Gabriel.

New video each day until Christmas! 🗓️ By Christmas, we'll cover the whole illustrated nativity story verse-by-verse! Luke's Gospel and Matthew's Gospel Graphic Novels are available to buy in our TikTok shop at a discounted price.

Bible Passages Answering: What did Mary ask the Angel Gabriel? How did the virgin Mary conceive? What did the Angel Gabriel say to Mary?

"Historically Accurate, Unabridged and Untamed": The illustrations come from The Word for Word Bible Comic: Gospel of Luke. Featuring the New Testament Scripture, chapter-and-verse from the NIV translation. The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission from harpercollins Christian Publishing. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses Luke 1:26-33. Introducing the virgin Mary, Mother of the Christ. There will be a new post each day of Advent, so Like and Follow us to see more. To find the parts you've missed, go to our profile. By Christmas, we'll cover the whole illustrated nativity story verse-by-verse!

"Historically Accurate, Unabridged and Untamed": The illustrations come from The Word for Word Bible Comic: Gospel of Luke. Featuring the New Testament Scripture, chapter-and-verse from the NIV translation published by Zondervan The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission from HarperCollins Christian Publishing. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses Luke 1:18-25. Zechariah questions the Angel Gabriel in the Holy Place in Herod’s Temple at Jerusalem. There will be a new post each day of Advent, so Like and Follow us to see more. To find the parts you've missed, go to our profile. By Christmas, we'll cover the whole illustrated nativity story verse-by-verse!

Verses Luke 1:12-17. An angel appears to Zechariah, inside the Holy Place in the Temple at Jerusalem in Israel

New video each day until Christmas, so Like and Follow us to see more. To find the parts you've missed, go to our profile. By Christmas, we'll cover the whole illustrated nativity story verse-by-verse!

CHRISTMAS NATIVITY: ADVENT PART 1: New video each day until Christmas! Starting with verse Luke 1:5-11. We begin the story of the birth of Jesus in an unlikely place. With Zechariah, an old priest in the Temple of Jerusalem, who encounters an angel! There will be a new post each day of Advent, so Like and Follow us to see more. To find the parts you've missed, go to our profile. By Christmas, we'll cover the whole illustrated nativity story verse-by-verse!

"Historically Accurate, Unabridged and Untamed": The illustrations come from The Word for Word Bible Comic: Gospel of Luke. Featuring the New Testament Scripture, chapter-and-verse from the NIV translation published by zondervanbibles

The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission from HarperCollins Christian Publishing. All rights reserved worldwide.

@harpercollins

#Nativity

#christmasstory

#adventcalendar

#biblicallyaccurateangels

#comic

Christmas Nativity: Advent Day 1 - Zechariah's Encounter

Join us for Advent as we share the Christmas Nativity story, starting with Zechariah and the angel! Follow for daily updates! #Nativity #christmasstory #adventcalendar

This month we are focusing on just 2 super important things:

Christmas Charity Crowdfunder!

New Christmas Nativity Reels/Tiktoks/Shorts

Charity Crowdfunder at 50%!

It's been really exciting to see this Christmas Charity Appeal fill up; quickly at first, and then a gradual climb, and now we approach the final few days. This is an all-or-nothing campaign, so if you've thought of backing it but haven't yet, please don't delay.

We've already got to 50%, but that means there's 50% left to go in just 6 days.

If we reach our target, we will be able to gift thousands of copies of our Spanish Word for Word Bible Comic editions into prisons across the USA! You can get a certificate to gift at Christmas and a discount for our web store when you support it.

Also, please share the link to the appeal on your social media!

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/bible-comics-to-prisons-christmas-20

Here are some more quotes from inmates and chaplains who have received the comics in the past…

Nativity Series Reels/Tiktoks/Shorts

Today, we launch our exciting Advent series of short videos on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and more. We really think they could go viral and give us a huge step up this Christmas. It’s the comic in motion with the official Dramatised NIV Audiobible! You gotta see those angels!

You can help enormously, each day at 1pm UK (8am EST/7am CT) by:

Watch the video to the end (about 60 Seconds)

Like/Love the Video

Share it to your timeline and groups (Your church etc) each day

Add a comment (ideally 6+ words)

Pray for it to bring the real story to people for the first time.

The series covers the whole Nativity story from Luke and Matthew, including John the Baptist's Nativity and the genealogies. Let’s get people experiencing the Bible text where they are at!

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wordforwordbiblecomic

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Wordforwordbiblecomic/shorts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordforwordbiblecomic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wordforwordbiblecomic

Prayer Requests

The Charity Crowdfunding!: Even if you can’t financially support this right now, we’d love your prayer support! Not only about funding, but also getting the books there, and quickly and efficiently distributed to inmates in time for Christmas!

Audiobible Videos: Please join me in praying that when the videos launch, they are really successful and have a great reach and impact. Getting in front of people with no connection to the Bible or the church this Christmas

Thanks so much to everyone who supported the Thessalonians Kickstarter! We ended on 507% funded! Thank you. This month:

Christmas Charity Crowdfunder!

Bible Comic x Audiobible Channel

The Great Commission Mats are here

Christmas Gifts and Cards

+ more

Christmas Charity Crowdfunder!

Instead of a Black Friday campaign, yesterday, we launched our exciting Christmas Crowdfunder Charity Appeal to raise the money to gift thousands of copies of our Spanish Word for Word Bible Comic editions into prisons across the USA! It’s been running 24 hours and it’s already at about 25%! The campaign is like Kickstarter with an all-or-nothing goal of £7,000. We'd love you to get on board and help us hit this goal. You can get a certificate to gift at Christmas and a discount for our web store when you support it. There isn’t anyone browsing in this Crowdfunding platform, however, so this newsletter is our main push. So if you’re considering it, please don’t put it off and forget, but go ahead and pledge today. I know it's not long since our last campaign, but the time is now, as we’d love to get them in for Christmas! (See more about why on the campaign page)  

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/bible-comics-to-prisons-christmas-2025

Also, please share the link to the appeal on your social media!

Here are some quotes from inmates and chaplains who have received the comics in the past…

Bible Comic + Audiobible Nativity

We are currently finishing creating a nativity series of short 60-90 sec videos/shorts/reels/TikToks to post every day of Advent. Below is a link to an “unlisted” instalment as a sneak peek for you subscribers. Take a look and let me know your thoughts! On TikTok, this will mean the launch of a new channel for us, and I’d really love your support! When the time comes on Dec 1st, please go to the channel and start liking and sharing the videos. We believe they have great potential to go viral, especially during the Christmas period, but we’d love you to help give it a bump and get it in front of all your friends.

Great Commission, Great Reviews

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed the game on BGG and on your regional Amazon. There's still room for plenty more! Currently, our BGG score has fallen from 8.6 to 8.4, mainly due to someone putting a 2/10 on there because “he’s not interested in playing it”. If you haven’t added your score yet, please add it today, it really helps support the game.

It has now also been reviewed by several professional reviewers. Here’s Unfiltered Gamer:

Great Commission Game Mats

What many of you have been eagerly waiting for. The Great Commission Player Mat in now available to buy! In our online store, you can now order the luxury neoprene mats to augment your gaming experience. If you wish to purchase x4 player mats, we’ve set up the Discount Code 4MATDEAL to save 30% on the additional 3 mats when you buy the first. So instead 4 of £140, it’s £108.50. Is it the same as the Kickstarter ones? These new ones are like the Kickstarter ones and the same size, but made “print on demand”. They are about 10% paler than the KS special editions, and we’ve done the logo a little differently so you can tell them apart with ease. But they are similar enough to play side-by-side at the table, without a massive difference.

Christmas Gifts and Cards

We have 2 Christmas books that are designed to be a great gift or stocking stuffer! Don’t forget they are all available in bundles so you can get more at a cut price! We have just 10 sets left of our Christmas Cards, and these are now available if you are in the UK.

Prayer Requests

The Charity Crowdfunding!: Even if you can’t financially support this right now, we’d love your prayer support! Not only about funding, but also getting the books there, and quickly and efficiently distributed to inmates in time for Christmas!

Audiobible Videos: Please join me in praying that when the videos launch, they are really successful and have a great reach and impact. Getting in front of people with no connection to the Bible or the church.

This month:

KICKSTARTER ENDS SOON!

Bible Comic x Audiobible Channel

The Great Commission News

Black Friday Notice

+ more

Kickstarter has just a few days left

Thank you so much to everyone who jumped on the Kickstarter immediately and helped us to hit our minimum goal within just 30 minutes! The funding has been slowly climbing ever since, and now there's only a short time left for you to get on board and help us hit the next stretch goal.

If you haven't yet backed, please do so as soon as possible. There's still some limited rewards remaining, including hand-drawn pages from the Epistles to the Thessalonians

Don’t miss the Kickstarter Campaign t-shirt in Add-Ons

Bible Comic + Audiobible Channel

We are currently working on creating a series of short 60-90 sec videos/shorts/reels/TikToks to post every day of Advent. Below is a link to an “unlisted” instalment as a sneak peek for you subscribers. Take a look and let me know your thoughts! On TikTok, this will mean the launch of a new channel for us, and I’d really love your support! When the time comes on Dec 1st, please go to the channel and start liking and sharing the videos. We believe they have great potential to go viral, especially during the Christmas period, but we’d love you to help give it a bump and get it in front of all your friends.

Great Commission, Great Reviews

The game launches in shop on Tuesday, and we’d love you to help us get ranked and show quality with your reviews! See how to review on BGG and Amazon below.

It has now also been reviewed by several professional reviewers. Most significantly Sam Healey at The Dice Tower!

Also, from Colin at “Meet me at the Table”

…and Board Games with Joe

“The 'Good News' is that the gameplay stands on its own merit as accessible and enjoyable to all, regardless of familiarity with Christianity; religiously or historically.” Board’s Eye View Review

BOARD GAME GEEK: Thanks so much to everyone who already scored the game. Our official score recently dipped below 8.7 on Board Game Geek! 8.5 is really good, but if you’d like to add your score and help us reclaim 8.7, that would be great!

AMAZON REVIEWS: If you were to add a review on Amazon on Tuesday (4th Nov), it would be a huge help. You can cut and paste from BGG if you’ve already done it there, but having positive reviews is the best way to succeed on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Great-Commission-Strategic-Card-Game/dp/1914299191 (Just change the .com to your region “.co.uk” if needed)

Hints and Tips

If you’d been finding the game hard, I created this hints and Tips video for those who’ve tried the game but have yet to win.

Game Mats

I’ve ordered prototype that are arriving any day now. The new (non-kickstarter) version will be almost exactly same size (within 5mm/¼ inch) and look very similar but have a slightly different logo. So they will blend in but be different enough to distinguish from the Kickstarter ones. Once the prototype arrives and I see which design fits best, I plan to make them available. Watch on BGG and socials for this announcment if you want to get a neoprene mat or four for the game.

Black Friday is on the way

Your December Newsletter will be coming to you a few days early, at the end of November, with your Black Friday Deals, so be sure to look out for that!

Prayer Requests

Audiobible Videos: Please join me in praying that when the videos launch, they are really successful and have a great reach and impact. Getting in front of people with no connection to the Bible or the church.

Kickstarter!: Please pray that it finishes strong!