Due East: A Christian Webcomic by Allen & Angel Steadham

In 2003, I collaborated with my wife, Angel, to make a webcomic with a Christian story. The result was "Due East." It focused on a multiracial family trying to come back together after a divorce.

Chinese-American and Caucasian Doug Hu was married to African-American Crystal Mills. They had two daughters, Sapphira and Brielle. Work pressures fractured and ultimately broke the marriage apart. Doug moved to Canada for his job and Sapphira went with him. Crystal stayed in Texas with Brielle and started her own insurance business.

Six years have passed but Doug and Crystal stayed in touch concerning their children. Over time, they lost their bitterness towards one another and fell in love again. At the start of the webcomic, Doug arranges to move back to Texas and 21-year-old Sapphira reluctantly agrees to accompany her father. 

In Texas, 16-year-old Brielle has become best friends with Carolyn Maye. Like Brielle, Carolyn is mixed (Hispanic and Caucasian). Carolyn is also a Christian. Brielle has seen the ordeals that led Carolyn to give her life to Jesus Christ but has made no spiritual decisions for herself. Brielle has conflicted feelings about her sister's return and is now hostile towards her father.

One event happens early on that affects every character in the webcomic: a thunderstorm injures and nearly kills Brielle but a miracle happens that allows the teen to survive. It's a mystery to Brielle, one that she needs answers to in order to recover mentally and spiritually. It is just as important to her as trying to recover physically.

Due East had a popular run from 2007 to 2008. It was even voted "Best Spiritual Comic" and "Most Profound Comic" in 2008 by the community at The Duck Webcomics.

Due East is still available online. You can read it from the beginning at this link.