So, here it is: my own stretch of public wall to scrawl on. Well, perhaps an introduction is warranted.

My name is Devin Parker. I'm a 30 year-old male, a Caucasian-American currently living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I will have been married for a year by the middle of this month (October), and I find that I'm enjoying it more and more. I was born in California, where I've lived my entire life until June of 2003, when I picked up my belongings and moved across the country in order to attend art school.

Ultimately, I want to be qualified to teach Sequential Art ("comic books" in layman's terms) back in the West, where there are no schools which feature the subject. I also want to create comic books - graphic novels, actually, since we're getting technical here - on my own time. Not only am I into comic books, but I'm also a gamer - I love writing and playing roleplaying games. I own a considerable library of games, and spend more time on them than I really should. I like to convince myself that they're helping me to hone my writing abilities and my sense of drama for my comics. All I need to do is get myself to move about three feet to the right of my computer desk, where my art desk is standing.

There's something else I should mention, as it will become (hopefully) readily apparent over the course of these entries - I believe that the historical Jesus, who was born, lived, and died in the Middle East around 2000 years ago came back from the dead and proved that He was just who He said He was - God Himself. I believe that only through the sacrifice that Jesus made can a human being - anyone and everyone - be saved from the fate that awaits us because of our sins.

My primary reason for this blog isn't to evangelize, but I've got no reason to be silent about Jesus. He's given me everything in this world that's worth having, and He's inspired me as an artist and a creator. I can only hope that my work reflects Him, because I want to make Him proud of me. I do this not out of a sense of obligation or duty, but because He's gone to such incredible lengths for my benefit, even though I didn't - and still don't - deserve any of it.

So there you go. The title of this blog, "Mystery Cycles," is based around the idea of the medieval mystery cycles and passion plays, in which townsfolk would celebrate certain holidays by performing scenes from the Bible, primarily those pertaining to Christ Himself. As I said, I want my work to reflect Him, to celebrate the mystery and wonder of God.

Okay, that's plenty for today; I have to get ready for work. Once again, it looks like I won't have time to go to the comic book store like I had wanted to... O Internet, how seductive is your hold over me...