Happiness is

Stumbled across this old Good Heavens cartoon and thought it was worth sharing. 
 

It was a dark and stormy night in the spring of 1820...

This begs so many questions! Is Woodstock his junior companion? Is there a special Beagle-speaking mission he was called to? What about that stupid cat next door?

It's fairly well-known that Schulz's daughter Amy is a member of the Church. Her mission inspired some of Linus' adventures as he shared his belief in the Great Pumpkin. And if Amy was a member, why not Snoopy?
 

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

 

Sketchbook: Rock stars

Couldn’t decide which I liked better. What do you think?

Have a safe and happy Halloween, and may you score more candy than rocks!

 

This time for sure

There was a quote I saw at the Charles M. Schulz Museum that said something like "You can tell someone that you feel just like Charlie Brown and they'll know exactly what you mean."

If you've ever been a missionary and have been dropped by a good investigator, you know exactly what this means.

Rats.
 

Dangerous vegetation

Every mission has areas that are best to avoid. 
 

Outreach

Our recent vacation took us to the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA. That tidbit may be apparent in some of my cartoons over the next few days.
 

Light the World: Fast Relief

I heard this statement in a lesson once, and it stuck with me. It helps explain why sometimes it's easier to fast than others. 

For today's Light the World, the suggestion is to "go without for a meal or two" and donate the cost of the meals to a charity that feeds people in need. 

Editor's note: Snicker Snacks and the jagged line on the cereal bowl are throwbacks to Peanuts — the jagged line was on Charlie Brown's shirt (a recurring motif you'll see in numerous comic strips for that exact reason), and Snicker Snacks was often the cereal of choice in the strip. Bonus points in your Comics History class if you got those references!
 

It's the missionaries, Charlie Brown!

One of my favorite things about the Great Pumpkin is that it was in part inspired by missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Charles Schulz's daughter Amy joined the Church and served as a missionary. He created several strips in which Linus' experiences going door to door parallel those of his daughter. 

And that's what the Great Pumpkin is all about, Charlie Brown!

Curse you, coronavirus!

My wife bought me a Snoopy protective mask to wear in public. It got me to thinking how Snoopy may have responded to the coronavirus. I can see him as the world-famous doctor. I could also see him in his World War I flying ace uniform, ready to take off and fight the disease.

What I settled on was the most likely scenario. Wear a mask, and stay home!

Yeah, that's cold

The more I think about this, the more I think that it would be fun to make snowmen that depict stories from the Book of Mormon. I'll make a note of that.

Editor's note: There may be some who say that this is derivative of Calvin and Hobbes, but actually Linus made armies of snowmen long before Calvin came around!

WWI flying...turkey?

Whenever cartoonists include something from Peanuts in their work, they usually offer apologies to Charles Schulz or say that they are paying homage to him. He's my favorite cartoonist and one of my heroes.

Schulz had a huge influence on the world of cartooning. Even today, Peanuts is carried in more than 2,000 newspapers worldwide (who knew that there were still that many newspapers?!).

Jim Borgman and Jerry Scott, creators of Zits, say that they often put the zigzag pattern of Charlie Brown's shirt onto things in their strip: cereal bowls, lampshades, etc., to pay tribute to him. You may notice how often that motif appears in the work of other cartoonists as well. 

Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see

OK, purists — yes, I know it was Linus who wrapped the tree in his blanket. I'm taking some literary license.

Besides, any day you can work a Peanuts reference into a cartoon is a good day!

It's never too late to panic!

Yes, it's time to get ready for General Conference! There are several ways you can prepare: ponder and pray about questions you may have or guidance you need. And, if you teach a class, print out the Mormon Cartoonist's General Conference Activity Packet — a great way to help your students, your family, or even yourself enhance your General Conference experience. And this time around it's available in multiple languages! What could be better than that?

And now, a word about this cartoon. Did you know that Charles Schulz has a daughter who is a member of the Church. Not only that, she served a mission — which he referred to in a series of cartoons that had Linus going door-to-door to spread the word about the Great Pumpkin!

The more you know.

Lesson tips

It's always good to have a subject matter expert on hand.

Office hours

I was reading through an old Peanuts collection the other day, and this popped into my head -- although in my experience, most bishops aren't as crabby as Lucy!

2012 Countdown: Top Ten, part II

And now, the rest of the 2012 Top Ten!

No. 5 - A couple of my Scout cartoons scored big this year. This is one of the favorites.

No. 4 - Airport security and Peanuts. What could go wrong?

No. 3 - Angry Birds were omnipresent this year, including on my Top Ten list!

No. 2 - I think this one works on many levels.

No. 1 - Ahh, Pinterest.

Thank you for your continued support and readership! Happy New Year!

Blanket coverage

Monday Sketchbook: Halloween doubleheader!

First, because it's topical and probably won't make sense next year:

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And second, I was at McDonald's the other day eating a McRib sandwich and began to wonder if zombies would like McRibs. Then I remembered that McDonald's is known for adapting its menu to match local cuisine. Then it hit me...

Be safe out there!
Happy Halloween!

Tricking and treating

I usually stay away from political messages in my cartoons, except for the few editorial cartoons I did in college. So don't think of this as me editorializing -- I was just thinking about Halloween while reading the news and this idea came together.

Here's something for the Gee Whiz File: The kid on the bottom step is holding a rock. Originally he was going to be a ghost (in a bit of an homage to Charlie Brown), but the color distracted from the overall cartoon.