For Jason Tucker, that first picture showed him his calling.

"I remember in fifth grade having an assignment where we had to know what we wanted to be when we grew up, and who really knows the answer to that so early on?" Tucker said. "For some reason, I had it down. I wanted to become an architect, and I wanted to write and illustrate a comic book."

More than 20 years later, Tucker, a graphic designer (the architecture career stumbled during the housing crisis) is still following half of his dream: he's crafting a graphic novel, or long form comic book, where faith and social media collide.

"I wanted to create an environment where people could express their views and sculpt a direction and choices of characters in a way that's not so polarizing, like so many other conversations or media about faith and religion," Tucker explained.

The graphic novel, called "The Way," focuses on a character whose faith translates into a violent vendetta on the rest of the world. It's up to other characters, whose powers and abilities conjure up thoughts of X-Men or Spider-Man, to restore an understanding of that character's faith and, in turn, save the world.

Something that's unique about "The Way" is how the storyline proceeds. While Tucker has his idea of where the characters will go and how they will end up, Tucker is depending on fans and followers of the graphic novel to debate and vote on what will happen to the characters and the direction of the overall plot.

"It's a choose your own adventure for our new Twittering, blogging, Facebooking generation," Tucker said. "How many of us Star Wars enthusiasts would have loved it if George Lucas had said, 'Hey, I'm starting these prequels, and I want [fans] to give me everything you want to see happen in these movies?'"

Tucker's goal isn't to convert anyone into sharing his own Christian faith, or to convince another person that their idea is wrong. Rather, Tucker wants to create a venue for a constructive conversation and discussion about religion, where a community can come to a consensus on the best way to make decisions. "The Way" and its characters will showcase how that conversation runs its course.

"I'm not trying to convert anybody with this book," said Tucker. "I want to open things up so that God can be seen as exciting again."

To learn more about Tucker's graphic novel, "The Way," visit the website's MySpace page, Facebook page or on Comic Space at http://www.comicspace.com/theway