Hey! It's another Alphabet one!

I ran across a couple of these in an old notebook. I can't help it -- I like them!

School's on!

Just a little technical note: I did some "Sundays" of 121 in color, but I hadn't tried colorizing any of the dailies. Back in the day the technology wasn't quite there. I kinda like how it looks.

Monday Sketchbook: Back to school special

Every year at our high school, the senior class sells a special shirt to raise funds for the end-of-the-year grad party. It occurred to me that as the Titans, we really ought to exploit the name. After all, which do you think would sell better, Class of the Titans or Clash of the Titans?

It ain't over...

When the ward bulletin says "special musical number" it's always exciting. Oftentimes the music is wonderful, other times it's, well, special.

I'm reminded of an old Andy Capp cartoon where Andy is singing and a woman is crying. He asks, "Why are you crying, ma'am? Are you sentimental?" She answers, "No. I'm musical."

Sequels happen

When we were in Provo, University Avenue was again under construction. Actually, it looked like a maintenance project, but there were cones and barrels blocking off lanes -- just like old times!

Tales from the road home

We had quite a conversation here at home about what the caption should be on this one, or even if it should have a caption. What do you think? Any suggestions?

Tales from the recessional

Our trip was to attend graduation at BYU. Guess which one of these was our student?

Tales from the trail

Hey, when you're in Provo you've gotta hike the Y!

Tales from the airport

Part of our group on the road trip came by plane. One member of the party got a little confused as to exactly where the rendezvous point was.

It could happen to anybody.

In reality, everyone else was waiting outside the restrooms; he went on to the car rental place. The cartoon just wouldn't have worked the same if was looking for the restroom in the car rental place, if you know what I mean.

Monday Sketchbook: Tales from the road

We just got back from a road trip, and there's nothing like driving hundreds of miles to get one's mind thinking of cartoon ideas. These, of course, are some that didn't make it past the sketchbook --

In Idaho there are several signs that say "game crossing." Animal crossing signs are usually more specific, like "cattle," "deer" or "elk." Why the Idaho DOT used the not-quite-generic "game crossing" I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I'm not the first person to envision this:


As we crossed into northern Utah, there are several interchanges that were developed for ranchers, not a specific town or city. They're labeled "ranch exit." So what else do they offer besides ranch?

This one is almost more of an editorial comment. In Oregon, when the sign says to slow down to 55 in the construction zone, most drivers slow down to 55. In Idaho the speed limits are a little higher, and traffic stays pretty close to the posted construction speed. In Utah, however, driving is more of a competition -- if you get there first, you win. It doesn't help that I-15 along most of the Wasatch Front is under construction. All I can say is, thank goodness for the HOV lanes and a V8 engine!

A special offer

When I was in Primary, one of the kids in my class was William. He was a memorable little boy!

Flashing color

This is a little experiment. Although some of the ads for the University Avenue project had spot color, I hadn't colored any of the cartoons -- they were strictly black and white. You can see the original here.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't help but think of the colorized version of It's a Wonderful Life. It works, but I like the original better.

By any other name...

We've heard from some of our missionaries recently who tell us about some of the strange foods that they've had to eat -- and not just overseas.

Prickly

What the world needs: one more joke about a porcupine going to see a psychiatrist.

Enter to learn

This week is Education Week at BYU, where people from all over the world descend on campus and take classes as one last fling before the end of summer. I used to go all the time when I was a kid; my Grandma lived right by campus so it was easy. Nowadays it's a little harder to attend, being nearly half a continent away.

I'm running a few special strips about Education Week (Nephite style) over on Zarahemla Times this week. Check it out.

The time is far spent

Anyone else counting the days?

Monday sketchbook: I can go the distance

My wife has been taking summer classes at the university. She swears she overheard this actual conversation!

By their fruits...

Here's another one drawn from real life. I was on yearbook.

The New Era ran this one long ago, back when the cartoons were called "Mormonisms."

The gift that keeps on giving

There are always a few elders who try to get ahead in the world. My shot at that was the day I gave Elder Kikuchi a couple of aspirin to help his headache. He said thanks and that was it. No promotion for me!

Three Dog Night

One thing I've noticed about Good Heavens is that sometimes it's easy to get a little close to the line...

Who's on first

Baseball plays a big role in Heaven, apparently:

Bennies

Here's a Good Heavens from a few weeks ago where I was playing around a bit with the layout and graphics.

Welcome

Good Heavens is one of my other cartoon blogs. I don't really publicize it other than having links on this blog and Zarahemla Times. It's kind of my cartoon sandbox where I play with ideas and artwork. Here's one from two years ago that I thought was kind of fun.

Monday Sketchbook: Protecting our turf

This weekend we had not one, not two, but three service projects in which to participate. One was to help put in a driveway, which involved moving a bunch of gravel. One was an Eagle Scout project to locate Chinese graves in Salem's Pioneer Cemetery. The third was to help load two moving vans for a family moving out of the ward. As for me, I enjoyed moving the gravel because that's something I don't usually get to do. Locating the graves was kind of fun, too, as I became the resident expert on Asia because I can tell the differences between Chinese, Japanese and Korean. But the best was the move. The family finished loading up the vans the night before, so all that was left for us to do was eat the donuts and say goodbye. I guess that's one of the blessings of service!

Line upon line

The Greatest

This idea has been in the back of my mind for a long time. The way I originally conceived it there was a buff missionary talking to a scrawny missionary, but every time I tried to draw it, it seemed too mean. Then it occurred to me that it could work with the line coming from the Mission President.

Today's cartoon has a special cameo from fellow Mormon cartoonist, Arie Van De Graaff. It's payback.

Watch the birdie...

...in your mind!

Another in the Zen series.

In memoriam

I got word this week that the mother of one of my best friends passed away, Colleen Bangerter. She was often like a second mom to me, including chewing me out on the rare occasion that I needed it.

I don't remember anything like this particular scene happening, but it could have.

Today is her funeral. I'm sorry I can't be there. The world was a better place because of her. Love and condolences to the family.

A spearitual fireside?

Teancum is known for creative use of his javelins.

Carpe aestate!

I used to love August because it meant we still had one more month of summer vacation. Then one day it dawned on me that August meant that there was only one more month of summer vacation.

Monday Sketchbook: Travel time

I've had this little sketch in the notebook for several years now, and this seemed like a good time to pull it out. It's vacation time for a lot of people, and the Daniel Craig/Harrison Ford Movie Cowboys versus Aliens just came out. It may be a little dated: a lot of airlines don't even give you the peanuts these days. As with many of these Monday offerings, there's a reason they stayed in the sketchbook!