Kurt J. Kolka of Northern Michigan is known for both his writing and artistic skills. He has spent 30 years in the newspaper industry, doing everything except running the presses. During his career he has written stories, taken photos and created comics for the Gaylord Herald Times, Weekly Choice, UpNorth Voice, Traverse City Record-Eagle and the Crawford County Avalanche.
During his tenure at the Herald Times, Kurt was awarded two state journalism excellence awards for his feature stories, "Alexis finds a special mission" and "Seaman remembers the horror of Nov. 10, 1975." He also wrote an extensive series of articles on bullying.
Today Kurt is the Editor for North Michigan Christian Voice, an online newspaper based in Grayling, Michigan, a division of One Christian Voice, Inc.
Kurt also created "The Cardinal" comic strip which appeared in newspapers from 1990 to 2006. After that, it became a webcomic at ComicsSherpa.com, part of the GoComics website. Today, the strip appears in One Christian Voice's online newspapers. "The Cardinal" features the continuing adventures of a Christian superhero. The strip has been recognized as the longest-running, Christian superhero strip in the United States by the Christian Comic Arts Society.
In 2014, Kurt joined with a group of professional cartoonists to published a book called "Bullying is No Laughing Matter" (Front Edge Publishing, LLC; Ann Arbor, Mich.). Comic strips like "Dennis the Menace," "For Better Or For Worse," "Blondie," "Beetle Bailey," "Pickles," and many others share strips about bullying. Their cartoonists also their personal experiences when they were bullied as children and their advice to children today.
Currently, Kurt finished his first novel, tentatively called "Afraid We Are Not," It is the story of a teen growing up in the 1970s in Northern Michigan, searching for answers about what it means to be a man. He hopes to publish it soon.
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