Tricked

Just to be on the safe side, I think we'll skip the bishop's house this year...

Too ghoul for school

Monday Sketchbook: All in the Family

I really liked this idea, but I wonder if it's too close to that invisible line of good taste. But since when has that mattered?

Socking it away

Every now and then I look at the stuff we have in food storage and think, "When the Zombie Apocalypse comes, will I really be able to eat this?"

These profound heaves

Seems like Igor has made a lot of appearances this year. I was expecting more zombies! There're still a few more days left until Halloween -- we'll see, we'll see.

After hours

My kids use this line on me all the time.

It's a treat!

One of my sons is NOT a fan of chili. One year when it was announced that we were holding a chili cook off in our ward, I was surprised to see that he volunteered to enter.

Then I learned his recipe.

Candy chili.

He started with a chocolate pudding base, then added jelly beans, gummy worms and all sorts of other goodies, with orange coconut sprinkled on top to look like cheese. It was awesome! It was one of the first pots of chili to run out, and he won one of the top prizes!

Family ties

This must be relatives week. It's my brother's birthday, so I had to run a cartoon about brothers.

Please don't misinterpret this -- my brother isn't a redneck, not is he a monster. He's actually a pretty good guy.

Happy birthday, bro!

My niece is a zombie

This post is a little different than most. Rather than a gag, today we have an illustration and a story.

I've been doing some illustrations for a family history. One story is about my niece. When she was little and just getting a handle on the whole potty training thing, she tried really hard to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Well, one night she passed right by the bathroom and went into the laundry room, opened up the door to the dryer and...took care of her business.

Flash forward to present day. My niece is now a model working in Salt Lake City. One of her recent jobs? Zombie!

Here she is in all her gory.

So if you find yourself driving down the freeway and see a giant billboard of a beautiful blonde zombie, there's no need to be afraid -- it's just my little niece who went potty in the dryer!

Monday Sketchbook: Taste test

OK, this one takes a little more work than it should for not enough payoff, which is why it stayed in the Sketchbook. "Sweet" and "fruity" should lead to "melon-y'" or something that tastes like a melon -- which, in turn, sounds like "Melanie," who could have been a source for the sample for the vampire's taste test.

See what I mean? This one stays in the sketchbook, never to see the light of day -- kind of like the vampires!

Permanent transfer

This is an old idea I'd sketched a while ago, commenting on the state of cleanliness of some missionary apartments (my first area was a prime example). It seemed appropriate to run in the month of Halloween!

Worker's complaints

It seems like now matter the job or the workplace, there's always going to be someone who complains about it. Our office building just went through a complete remodel -- gutted down to the bare bones and rebuilt to current standards. The old building had asbestos, lead pipes, a '50s-era electrical system. All of that was replaced with new energy efficient and environmentally sound building materials.

So as we were preparing to move in, guess what the No. 1 complaint was?

Someone looked over the new plans, counted up the number of stalls in the bathrooms, and found there was one fewer stall in each of them! How could they possibly work in such an environment?

Seriously!?

Like Rosanne Rosannadanna used to say, "It just goes to show you, if it ain't one thing, then it's another!"

It's all in the head

Don't you just hate it when you get up after hanging there for hours and all the blood rushes to your toes?

Making it sustainable

I'm pretty sure Halloween cartoons are my favorites.

By their fruits...

It's October, so it must be time for zombie cartoons!

It's debatable

Tonight's the second round of the U.S. presidential debates. Should be interesting.

Monday Sketchbook: Trick or treat warning!

Most people know where the local cat lady lives. Around here it's a house on Stoneway. I wonder what kinds of treats they give out (although I'm not willing to find out). With this sketch I was trying to show the cat lady handing out little mice or catnip toys.

Watch your step

This is something I learned in my first area while on my mission, and I've never forgotten it.

Memories of Mum

I got an email from a British reader of Good Heavens a few days ago that had to be one of the nicest letters I've ever received. The reader said that her mother passed away about a year ago. As they were driving home from the memorial, she saw the vibrant fall colors. It reminded her of this cartoon. In her words, "I remember seeing this and smiling as it was something that she loved all the autumn colours and I could imagine her running round with a paint pot doing all the colourings."

In honor of Ms. Billings and her Mum, I'm running this cartoon today. Enjoy the day!

The thin of things

Ain't it the truth!

Conference leftovers: With spears and stones and slings

During the Priesthood session of General Conference, Bishop Stevenson talked about emulating the Army of Helaman. Personally, I think that could make Primary even more exciting than it already is!

Conference leftovers: Plane speaking

Our family was worried when Pres. Uchtdorf spoke on Saturday morning. He didn't make a single mention of being a pilot, flight, planes, or anything to do with aviation! However, he more than made up for it with his Priesthood address. If you had any doubts about how Pres. Uchtdorf feels about flying, he answered those questions in the first five minutes.

Conference leftovers: Change is in the air

In addition to my Conference notes, I have a couple of cartoons based on some of the talks from the past couple of days. This first one is based on Pres. Monson's announcement that in certain circumstances, young men can be called to serve missions at age 18; young women can be called at age 19.

Besides recruiting for BYU sports teams, there are other ramifications that stem from that decision. Will they have to change some of the Primary songs?

By the way, be sure to check out fellow LDS cartoonist Arie Van de Graaff's General Conference Recap Packet -- perfect for Primary, Sunday School, Family Home Evening or High Priests Group!

Monday Sketchbook: Conference Recap

These are some sketches taken from my notes from Conference. Click on the drawing to make the pictures bigger.

If you haven't yet, be sure to download either the MP3s or the transcripts and follow Pres. Monson's advice: study the addresses and learn what more there is for you. It was awesome!

Conference Enhancement Tips

Today is the second day of General Conference. Tune in and hear what they have to say.

I find that I learn and understand so much more when I listen to the sessions over again (the sessions are usually available for download soon afterward) and re-read the talks. Take advantage of the media and the messages available to you. And then share what you learned. Enjoy!

And be sure to tune in tomorrow for my Monday Sketchbook look at some of my notes from Conference!

Conference Enhancement Tips

Today marks the start of the October Semi-Annual Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tune in and listen: there are lots of ways.

A lot of people find it beneficial to listen with purpose rather than passively sit through the meetings. Ponder and pray about questions you may have or direction you'd like to receive.

Elder Holland said, "If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just for you."

Banned Books Week, part 2

The American Library Association has a list of books that have been challenged or banned. Some I can kind of understand the argument that they should be restricted to age-appropriate audiences. But some that are on the list are just crazy! The Hobbit, works by Maurice Sendak, Faulkner and Hemingway.

J.K. Rowling was asked if she was worried how critics might receive her new book, The Causal Vacancy. She responded with something like,"I'm not too worried about what critics say. After all, I've had my books burned!"

Today's cartoon celebrates Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games, three sets of books that have spent time on the list.

I promise I'll have General Conference stuff up here tomorrow. If you need a packet of conference activities, check out Arie Van De Graaff's stuff over on Sugardoodle.

Banned Books Week, part 1

It's Banned Books Week, Sept. 30 through Oct. 6. Time to celebrate all the literature that almost wasn't there for you and I to read. And there are a lot of excellent books on that list!

I find it ironic that books like Fahrenheit 451, 1984 and Animal Farm make the list. That's kinda what they're all about. In fact, it was Animal Farm that inspired today's cartoon.

Celebrate by reading a book you want to today!

Just in time for the debates

Actually, the debates aren't the annoying thing. Those are usually quite interesting. It's the commentary afterward.

Should you feel inclined to censor

Almost done with the Good Heavens commentary on the elections.

Monday Sketchbook: In style!

Ahh, PSY. The Korean "rapper" who has ridden Gangnam Style to fame. I know there have already been dozens of imitations and parodies, but I have to throw in my two cents' worth as well. After all, there haven't been too many Korean pop songs that have charted in the U.S., nor have there been many rap songs that people have asked me to translate!