Edgar Williams' comic book characters don't have superpowers. They don't fly. They can't lift buildings. Some of them don't even carry real weapons. "The Liberator," a character who sports a leather military jacket, a ponytail and some stylish Army boots, rescues kidnap [victims] and carries a dart gun. "He's a cross between James Bond, Bruce Lee and Billy Graham," Williams explains. "He goes in armed with his faith."

It's an unconventional comic book cast. Spartacus, a pretty-boy Goliath, is an evil product of some DNA experiments who saw the light after a run-in with The Liberator and became a good guy. And then there's Strongarm, the only hero who is not a born-again Christian. He's a veteran of the Gulf War who got his arm blown off and had to come home a broken man.

Williams shares more than a few attributes of the comic heroes he's created since he was 9 years old. He "lives by conviction, rather than by convenience," is a "man of faith" and "stands on a moral foundation" - three things that make a hero, according to Williams. He can't fly, either. But like his biblically inspired characters, he's concerned about children and idealistic enough to think he can help them.

A College Park native, Williams and his wife, Maeryia, have three children, Keshonda, David, and Danielle. When he's not sketching godly superheroes or teaching Sunday school class, Williams works as a draftsman for the state Department of Transportation. At 32, he is planning to teach his first drawing class at the College Park Recreation Department.

"Drawing Comic Book Heroes God's Way" will start July 7 at the Conley Recreation Center. The 12-week course will teach how to draw geometric shapes, shadows, facial features, basic anatomy and men with heroic proportions.

A devout [Christian], Williams plans to share what he's learned about art and about God with his students.
"All creation and creative ability comes from God," reads the preface to Williams' class text."The end product of that creative ability is what we call art, and those who produce it we call artists. Remember, God was the first artist. He deposited that creative ability into all of us. Glorify God with your talent and never be ashamed of it."

He said the racks are full of negative comic book series, brimming with half-naked women wielding swords, graphic violence and depressing plots. He thinks kids should have access to a more moral message.
"What happened to the days when Spiderman or Batman caught a bad guy robbing a bank and had to take him to jail?" asks Williams.

He hopes students will leave his class with two things - their own personal comic book hero and the knowledge that "artistic talent is a God-given gift."