The 2022 Top Ten, part 1

Here we go with the countdown, starting with...

No. 10: When it's a counting month, a good ward clerk will leave no stone unturned!

No, 9: What better combination than fusing the Great British Bake Off and missionary meals? And, yes, all of these made it to my plate at some time over the course of my mission.

No. 8: What girl could say no to a dozen camels?

No. 7: Our ward held a dinner and auction to raise funds for youth camps and EFY. One of my contributions was for the winner to be included in a cartoon. This also ran in Meridian Magazine, much to the delight of the family!

No. 6: This was based on a real experience of one of my friends. It really happened.

Tomorrow: the rest of the Top Ten. Let's be safe out there!

The 2022 Countdown: Runners Up

This hovers in that no man's land (pardon the pun) between sketchbook and cartoon. It'll get there eventually.

Change is difficult, isn't it?

Alternate title: "If you a prepared, ye shall not fear." Every area has places that are best avoided at night!

If you have siblings, you know how this works.

When the Lord gives us commandments, he often gives us warnings associated with those commandments. Best heed this one!

Seriously, how do you misplace an entire city?

One highlight of my summer was visiting my friend and fellow cartoonist Arie Van De Graaff. Give us enough time together and we could definitely crank out a plethora of lame jokes!

Tomorrow we start the official Top Ten Countdown. Please join us!

The 2022 Top Ten: Best of the Sketchbook, part 2

 Here's the rest of the best of the 2022 Sketchbook!

No. 5: Our world comes to a screeching halt of the Wi-Fi goes out. Glad that Job didn't have to endure that hardship!

No. 4: When I originally thought of creating cartoons to correspond with our Come, Follow Me lessons, this is one of the first ideas that leapt to mind.

No. 3: I think we all owe Pres. Nelson a debt of gratitude for tying BYU sports to spiritual growth. In a good way.

No. 2: You can improve attendance numbers through fellowshipping and reactivation. Or you can purge the records. Either way.

No. 1: It's a matter of degree.

Tomorrow we take a look at the runners-up from the year before we move into the Top Ten!

The 2022 Top Ten: Best of the Sketchbook, part 1

It's the beginning of the year-end countdown! Let's start with the Top Ten from the Sketchbook. Today we bring you the first five.

No. 10: It's often a good contacting technique to tie into a holiday or local event. This ran on Valentine's Day.

No. 9: Learning the name of your investigator can go a long way in getting teaching opportunities!

No. 8: It becomes air traffic control when she's on her broom.

No. 7: It's a good thing that Pharaoh relented. Next was a plague of Karens.

No. 6: Sometimes the stars line up and make it easy to write a lame gag!

Sketchbook: The day after

He’s probably not the only one feeling this way. 
 

Merry Christmas!

 

The third spirit

Just like Scrooge had a change of heart, you can too.
 

Christmas on Seti Alpha 6

Holidays aboard the Enterprise are always exciting!
 

O be wise

Who hasn't had that same feeling?

Wouldn't you hate to miss out on the trip to see the newborn Messiah just because you weren't prepared for the test? Hmm. That might be deeper than I thought!
 

Stocking surprise

It’s not always a good thing to find surprises in your stockings. 
 

Sketchbook: Firelight

Chas Addams was one of my favorite cartoonists. He not only had a unique sense of humor, he was a master of subtlety. There are so many jokes hidden within his art! This sketch came about while we were watching Wednesday on Netflix. You might see the influence. 
 

Got a light?

I think this may be true for a lot of us — we bring a lot more light and love to the world than we realize. 
 

The windows of heaven

Remember that Church video called The Windows of Heaven? A rainstorm came to end a drought once the Saints remembered the commandment to pay their tithing — the windows of heaven opened up to bless them with rain. 

As I was drawing this, it occurred to me that the prophet who delivered that message was Lorenzo Snow. I must have made that unconscious connecting when I wrote this gag.
 

It's not just frozen on

Almost all of my bishops have had a welcoming smile, no matter what the circumstances. With just a couple of exceptions. There was one bishop in Provo who was a little bit cranky, and there were a couple of them who played church ball.
 

That's the spirit!

If anyone experienced that "mighty change of heart," it had to be Ebenezer Scrooge. And what's the next logical step? Sharing the joy — and sharing the joy with your ancestors!

Interestingly, A Christmas Carol — and, hence, Scrooge’s “turn of heart” — was written in 1843, just a few years after Elijah appeared in the Kirkland Temple. Coincidence?
 

Sketchbook: Wish list

Sometimes the Sketchbook gets jokes that are bad, sometimes it’s an idea that doesn’t quite work when it gets on paper. 

I remember as a missionary and talking to missionaries now, there’s not a lot they want for themselves. They spend more of their energy thinking of others. That’s what this was trying to do, but doesn’t quite get there  

 

Gonna need a bigger stocking

Someone's been paying attention in general conference.
 

Inclusivity

Christmas time is a great opportunity to include some of those who may feel they’re more on the fringe of things. 
 

You’ll go down in search history

Of course with Family Search there’s the opportunity to make updates to your status as circumstances warrant!

 

It's in the air

Lol.
 

Sketchbook: Call someone

Sometimes there's just nobody else you need to talk to!
 

Light the boards

Honestly, that's one thing that makes me happy — when my kids ask to play a little basketball.

Light the sky, light the world

One of my favorite times of the year is when they roll out the Light the World campaign. It's different this year. Instead of giving a suggestion or a prompt each day, there's a list of 50 ideas of ways to share the light. It will be fun to see how it turns out!
 

The times they are a-changin'

I don't think our ward has been so collectively excited as when the bishop announced that we're moving from the 9 o'clock start time to the primo 10:30 slot.

And don't take this as a slam on families with kids —anybody can be late! Our family is living proof that no matter the circumstance, we can walk in the door any time before, during or after the opening prayer!
 

Can you dig it?

Okay, maybe this one should have stayed in the sketchbook. 

Sketchbook: Thankful but

Like millions of other Americans, we traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a ton of family who got together.  We had a blast! It also meant there was a lot of cleanup when we were done. 
 

100 years of Sparky

Cartoonists everywhere are including Peanuts references in their comics today to celebrate the 100th birthday of Charles Schulz.

Although there have been many cartoonists who have influenced me, none has had a greater or more profound impact on me as a cartoonist — both in style and in writing. 

Schulz once said that a cartoonist has to be a “fairly” person — a fairly good writer and a fairly good artist. I try to be a little bit of both.

Thank you, Mr. Schulz, for the profound influence you’ve had on my life!

At the Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA

 

Magical vacation

Another sneak preview of the Disney cartoons I’m working on with fellow cartoonist Ryan Stoker. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy (US) Thanksgiving! It's a great day to remember our blessings and how much we have that we can be grateful for.

Today I've added a hidden picture puzzle. It might be difficult to do on a small screen, so here's a link to download a PDF.

Have a great day!
 

Dinner plans?

Yeah, I prefer my dinner inside me.
 

That's cold.

Because nothing says Thanksgiving like a Shakespearian tragedy.*

*Some scholars contend that Richard III is a history, while others call it a tragedy. Either way, it's Shakespeare's second-longest play. Hamlet is the longest.

The more you know.