Top Ten, Part I

10
I lost the original of this in the Great Computer Crash. The artwork was much, much better.

9
I introduced a new series this year based on interviews with the mission president. This was one of the standouts.

8 
Ah, yes, missionaries:

7 
For some reasons, zombies keep cropping up all over my pages as well.

6 
Sometimes you’re lucky enough to get the timing just right. I think I got lucky on this one — luckier than the missionaries, at least!

Top Ten: Runners Up

I’m going to cheat with my “best of” list this year.

Usually I run five runners-up before heading into my Top Ten. This time around, however, I’m going to have six also rans, ‘cause there were a couple that I just really liked. Thanks in advance for your indulgence.

Scouts and scouting are favorites of mine. As a Cub Scout leader, one of my pet peeves is when people try to make Webelos singular. According to the Handbook, the name comes from WE’ll BE LOyal Scouts. This cartoon is an expression of that befuddlement.

Thanks to Calvin and Hobbes, and Linus in Peanuts before that, snowmen can take on a different dimension in cartoons. The guy who draws Tundra (Chad Carpenter) has practically made a career out of it! This is one that I particularly like.

Grammar plays a role in this cartoon as well. I noticed while watching BYU in the NCAA basketball tournament, that No. 32 could have been an irregular French verb.

One of my (very) small claims to fame is that I may have been the first to earn the Genealogy merit badge in Scouting (the council office said I was — I don’t know if they keep a record). As a kid, our family used to spend the summer in the Family History Library…where we discovered that someone (my grandma) had fudged on a few dates to make parts of our history a little cleaner, a little more respectable. Didn’t help.

Star Wars and Star Trek references show up in a few of my cartoons. To complete my geek trifecta, I had to include The Lord of the Rings (I won’t even mention Dr. Who). First, Gandalf’s other career:

 

…and the truth behind the ring!

Stay tuned tomorrow for numbers six through ten in the Top Ten Countdown!

Countdown: Top Sketchbooks of 2011

This year I'm adding something new to the year end countdown: the Sketchbook. Some of the sketchbook 'toons have garnered the most attention this year. Here are some of the greatest hits. My General Conference recap was by far the most popular sketchbook topic.

Now the rest, in ascending order.

It must have been a challenge to go to church on Super Sunday in Green Bay.

This was more topical, dealing with policy changes in the U.S. military.

Although this one is a little creepy, it's personally one of my favorites. 

Then we get to the back back story of 007. 

And who can forget BYU's run in the Big Dance? They only missed out on the Final Four because it conflicted with General Conference.

Tune in tomorrow for the runners up, followed by the Top Ten Cartoons of 2011!

No keys for you!

All the safety ads tell people to have a designated driver. Wouldn't it be safer to have a designated drinker?

Hazards of banking in the tundra

I found one more little cartoon that I wasn't able to work in before Christmas.

Monday Sketchbook: Santa's stats

I have a couple of thoughts about this one. First, he just visited every home on the planet, right? So I'm pretty sure for this month he's going to be at 100 percent. Second, just how old is Santa, anyway? Don't you think by now he'd be a high priest?

The Nephite Christmas Story

The story of the birth of Christ according to the record in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

"And they knew it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given."
(3 Nephi)

Merry Christmas!

The Nephite Christmas Story

The story of the birth of Christ according to the record in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

“And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets.

“And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word.”

The Nephite Christmas Story

The story of the birth of Christ according to the record in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

“And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.


“And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid…had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.

“In fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth

The Nephite Christmas Story

The story of the birth of Christ according to the record in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

“And behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:

“Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world."

The Nephite Christmas Story

The story of the birth of Christ according to the record in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

“Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful."

“And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers."

The Nephite Christmas Story

The story of the birth of Christ according to the record in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

“And it came to pass that in the commencement of the ninety and second year, behold, the prophecies of the prophets began to be fulfilled more fully.
“But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite."


“Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet."

The Nephite Christmas Story

The story of the birth of Christ according to the record in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

“And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many things.

“And behold, he said unto them: Behold, for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.
“And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld.
“And behold, this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven.”
(Helaman 14)

Special doubleheader: Hung with care; dnt txt n fly

Tomorrow Beckstrom Buzz starts retelling the story of the Nativity, so as a special bonus -- a Christmas present, if you will -- I'm adding a special Sunday edition of the Monday Sketchbook in addition to our regularly scheduled cartoon.

Thank you for your patience.


What kind of goodies do you think Santa would put in an old, sweaty gym sock? I don't think I want to know!

---

With the call for banning the use of all handheld devices while driving, I got to wondering what would happen if Santa got distracted while messing around with his iPhone?

Mini-editorial: One of the most effective PSAs I saw on this subject showed broken cell phones that displayed the last message the driver texted before being involved in a fatal crash. The tagline was something like: "Is this a message worth dying for?"

You can see my contribution to the conversation here.

Travel safely this holiday season, whatever mode of transportation you use!

Thumpety thump thump

At the winter concert the other night, the band played both Frosty the Snowman and selections from Polar Express. They put two and two together, I just added it up.

Far, far away

Most parents -- and probably a lot of kids -- have stories of Christmas programs gone awry. I remember one program where I announced my trumpet solo as "Odd dusty fiddles," my mispronunciation of "Adeste Fideles." The audience laughed, and I was scarred for life. For a little while, at least.

So, pondering such mishaps, I thought of poor casting choices -- which brought me to the thought of casting a zombie in any role in the Nativity. One of the Wise Men seemed to be a good choice.

You'll go down in history

Poor Rudolph. He may be the most famous reindeer of all, but he also seems to be the most mocked. Seriously, how many Blitzen jokes do you ever hear?

We won't go

Why do we sing about figgy pudding to the point of extortion? I mean, have you ever tried the stuff?

A feeling I haven't had since...

Young Anakin wouldn't have had a problem at ALL with mistletoe! See what happens when you turn to the Dark Side?

Monday Sketchbook: To the storehouse with you!

I'm sure most bishops have dealt with members who don't quite get the real meaning of tithes and offerings!

Darn those stockings!

Actually, my guess would be that they've had this request many times over.

Who's got a beard that's long and white?

There's a reason why Santa tries not to get caught as he makes his rounds...

Once there was a snowman

It's not so much the dieting, rather it's the side effects that will get you.

It's an art

When your main media is snow, you tend to get a little fatalistic about the staying power of your art.

The coal truth

To Like or Unlike, that is the question

You'd probably have to be pretty bad to be unfriended by Santa.

Monday Sketchbook: True colors

It could be that Avon has some nosestick product in their Christmas catalog that would work to keep up the color, I don't know. Grecian Formula seemed the better fit. Meh.

Correlation

We just heard from our missionary in Chile -- the weather is hot and they're singing Christmas carols. It's freaking her out just a little bit!

Of course, weather doesn't always pay attention to the calendar. I remember it snowing in August when we took a trip to Canada one year, and here in Oregon it's December and my neighbor is mowing his lawn. Either way, I'm sure it's snowing on some poor pair of missionaries somewhere in the world!

My heart will go on

Last week we went to see the new movie Hugo. One of the previews was for the upcoming 3D re-release of James Cameron's Titanic. Suddenly this cartoon came to mind.

I'd highly recommend Hugo. Titanic, not so much. But that's just me.

Many are called, few are chosen

I think every ward should have an officially called ward cook. Of course, they'd probably have to stick to the recipes that are printed in the handbook...

Open the Windows (or iOS) of Heaven

Let your light so shine

One of my neighbors threatened to just plug in a big ball of lights in the middle of his front lawn as his Christmas decorations. It may not be that bad of an idea.

Close encounters of the cupboard kind

We were cleaning up one of our food storage shelves the other day when we discovered a can of pears that had somehow seeped out of their can. It was kind of creepy.