The day dawn is broken

Personally, I'm not a fan of any meeting that starts before 7 a.m.
 

For those days...

Emergency Pop Tarts are for when the emergency chocolate has run out.
 

It's all in the name

And that's the important thing, isn't it — that the badge still fits?
 

All this for a lame joke?

I had the pleasure of visiting with fellow cartoonist Arie Van De Graaff (aka, the Ward Cartoonist) and his family the other day as they hosted my family for lunch. We talked shop, we shared favorite jokes, we told mission stories. We talked about works in progress (we both have a couple of cool projects in the pipeline). And the food was outstanding — and abundant — as well!

One of the nicest things we talked about, however, was how we as a group of cartoonists support and encourage each other. We've promoted each other's books, we worked together on telling the Nativity story in cartoons, and we met together (via Zoom) with the Church magazines when they changed format. We celebrate each others' successes.

It would be easy to consider ourselves rivals in cutthroat competition for what is definitely a niche market. But that seems the antithesis of what LDS cartoonists should do. I'm honored to rub shoulders with such outstanding people!

Pictured here are: Summer Bird, me, Arie Van De Graaff, and Ryan Stoker. Don't know who the MC is!

 

Sketchbook: A rose by any other name

For the longest time, an investigator in our ward was known as "the couch lady." It really helps the fellowshipping process if you know their names.
 

You lift me up

I keep waiting for this to happen. 
 

It's our turn

With stake conference this weekend, we've been asked to kick it up a notch...
 

...and he's stuck!

That was one of the worst things as a new missionary — you're going along just fine, then someone asks a question that throws you off your train of thought. I certainly could have used a reset button!
 

Crossing the line

I admire our seminary students for being able to make that transition on a daily basis. Strength of Youth indeed!
 

Sketchbook: An acquired taste

Nothing better to a dog then the taste of fresh missionary in the morning!

Sounds of silence

I think I’ve mentioned Elder McCormick before. He was outstanding at sound effects, too. 

Another story I don’t share in sacrament meeting. 

 

The back story

Biblical scholars don't know the origins of the Book of Job — who wrote it, or when it was written. 

Recent studies, however, have brought new information to light. Like how his trials started when he was a kid.
 

A milestone!

It's time to celebrate another milestone! This marks the 5,000th cartoon posted on this site! 

In case you don't recall, this is my first cartoon that was ever published — a long, long time ago. Never did I dream that it was the first step in the road that would bring me here.

Thank you for your readership and your support. Here's to many more!
 

Another set of toys

The kids are back! And I really like the idea of a Job action figure!
 

Sketchbook: Perilous times

Job thought he had trials, but what he went through is nothing compared to how our kids suffer if the Wi-Fi is down.
 

Catch the wave

I had a friend serving in the Carolinas who was walking down the street with her companion one day. They said hello to a little old lady who was working in her garden, who promptly turned her hose on them and shouted, "You're not going to get me to marry Joseph Smith!"
 

This little gospel light of mine

 

When my son returned home from his mission in Arizona, his face and his arms had a deep, golden tan. The rest of him? Not so much. 

For such a time

I had a companion named Elder Mitchell. He knocked out a guy on the street my first night in the area. It's a long story, and one that I don't usually share in sacrament meeting.
 

A refreshing idea

 

They’d probably do great business if they set up outside of the elders quorum!

Sketchbook: The new bishop

I came across this old sketch and it made me laugh — although I think it's obvious why this one isn't going any farther than the sketchbook.

It might have been more appropriate to run when Infinity War or Endgame came out. And in a way having Bishop Thanos reminds me of the time we had Darth Vader as president of the elder's quorum. That didn't turn out too well either.
 

A place for everyone, and everyone in their place

As a kid, sometimes the best way I could help my dad with a project was by staying out of his way.
 

Keeping it clean

It's difficult to keep clean when you sleep in the dirt.
 

Orientation

Someone should ask about the air conditioner too. 
 

Before the journey's through

Oftentimes the anticipation is far worse than the actual event.
 

Sketchbook: Sweet!

It occurred to me that missionaries often need to adjust to the local cuisine. I went from a bland diet at home to eating kimchi practically every day. What kinds of adjustments might other missionaries have to make?
 

We're all in Jeopardy

I wonder what the answer is?
 

When life gives you crickets...

I struggled with deciding whether the contestants should be crickets or seagulls. Then it occurred to me that having both would certainly ratchet up the tension!
 

Keeping to the path

 

It's a multiplayer game

After I drew this, I realized that outside of an LDS audience, this cartoon wouldn't make any sense at all!
 

Sketchbook: On the wagon

As we enter in to Pioneer Day joke season, I like to remind myself that it wasn't all fun and games. It was serious stuff that set the saints on the road to Zion; these were real people facing difficult challenges, going forward with faith.

The heavens opened

There are few things less fun than camping in the rain. Pulling a handcart in the rain is one of them. 
 

Some of our options have changed

It's summertime, so that means it's time for Young Women's Camp, Young Men's Camp (formerly known as Scout Camp), FSY and the Pioneer Trek! It's another busy summer!
 

Topping things off

OK, to be fair, it was more than just little kids teasing a bald guy that led to the bears devouring 42 people in Beth-El. They were mocking Elisha the prophet because he wasn’t as hairy as his predecessor Elijah. And they didn’t accept him as the prophet — and they had been warned! 

 

The last word

Wouldn’t it be poetic justice if tonight all the dogs that were spooked by Fourth of July fireworks got together and started barking and howling? In my neighborhood they’d be going until one in the morning!
 

Sketchbook: Where can I turn for peace?

There are a lot of pet owners who dread the Fourth of July because the fireworks scare their animals. Be mindful of animals as you celebrate, and protect your pets if you've got 'em.

That's not a problem we've had with our pets. We had one dog who tried to fetch the lit fireworks — ground flowers were his favorite (he also liked to fetch golf balls). Our current dog is just as content to sleep through them. I guess that's one way to cope!

Have a safe and happy Fourth, wherever you are!

Stadium of fire

You may say, what about Sodom and Gomorrah? There may have been fireworks, but only Lot's wife saw the show — and she was kind of salty about it!
 

Which prayer was that?

Out of all those critters, the most dangerous I ever encountered were the squirrels.
 

Special facilities

Everything is a matter of perspective. 
 

Bringing the heat

This is what happens when our stake's Girl's Camp coincides with our Come, Follow Me study of Elijah.

In my experience, Girl's Camp usually has great food. It's what is on the Young Men's menu you have to worry about!
 

I loveth it!

I can't imagine that the menu Elijah had to choose from was great, but there was probably comfort in knowing that he'd get fed. 
 

Sketchbook: Special event planning

The ol' mission president has to put up with a lot of stuff. Joining a special event is one thing, creating anything that ends in -palooza is something else entirely.

But it might be interesting to see what the missionaries could come up with!

 

A voice from the dust, hissing and scratching forth

My son just discovered the joys of vinyl. I was willing to give him some of my old albums until he referred to them as ancient records!
 

Knock your socks off

Sometimes a testimony can be so powerful it just hits you square in the spirit. And sometimes it knocks the couch over!
 

Think of it as an act of service

My guess is that LDS cartoonists often sit in sacrament meeting and think of worst case scenarios that could happen at the pulpit. The reigning champion of What Not to Say at the Pulpit has to be the Ward Cartoonist, Arie Van De Graaff.
 

Head of the class

This makes me wonder — where do you think other prophets would have excelled in school? 

• Adam: agricultural science. 
• Noah: carpentry or animal husbandry.
• Enoch: urban planning.
• Jonah: marine science. 
• Isaiah: poetry and literature. 
• Malachi: meteorology. 

 

Sketchbook: Reflections

 

This is one of those times when the sketchbook is full of sketches, even if it's a day late. 

As I pondered Father's Day, I thought about my relationship with my own dad and with each of my kids. I found that I didn't have room to draw all the highlights, but here are just a few.

It's awesome to be a dad!

Defeating Goliath

Turns out that David wasn't afraid of that, either!
 

Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head

We’ve had record-breaking amounts of rain this spring. It’s good for the water table, but a little challenging for the missionaries who are on foot. 
 

Summer plans

Because that’s what summer vacation is all about!
 

This thought entered my head

Please indulge me while I whine about the woes of being a cartoonist. If you ever plan to travel, you have to either (a) plan and draw ahead, (b) fall back on reruns, or (c) make careful preparations so that you can do your work from the road.

I chose the latter option for my most recent trip, but even the backup plans seemed to go wrong. Here's what I didn't expect: just because a place says they have internet doesn't mean that it's reliable internet. Connectivity was a challenge.

Scanning is another challenge. It's one thing to pack a laptop; quite another to pack a scanner. There's the ol' scan-with-your-phone trick, but that's less effective when you can't get good lighting. You may not notice, but the perspective on this artwork is a little bit off. I had to shoot at a slight angle and make a few corrections in production. 

Anyway, I think I've got the bugs worked out and I can catch up on things. Thank you for your indulgence. Have a better day than mine (and it's actually pretty good)!