All too well

If I had a better Reputation as a Swiftie, I would Speak Now with some sort of Fearless pun. Yeah, I know I Need to Calm Down, but that's what happens when you give me a Blank Space!
 

You need to calm down

Some of those fandoms can get pretty worked up!

*This is not meant to imply that Sis. Swift or any of her followers would argue with the sister missionaries, much less  quote Tay-Tay's songs to try to refute scripture. Mother is a very nice girl.
 

Folklore

There are two sides to every story. Unless it’s a double album on vinyl. Then there are four sides. 
 

Sketchbook: A swift ensign

I liked the idea behind this sketch, but it occurs to me that one has to be of a certain age to truly appreciate it. And that age is not in the same demographic as the Swifties.

Way back in the 20th century, some of you might recall the Church magazine for youth: The New Era. That's where I got my start as a cartoonist. But before The New Era, there was The Improvement Era. I'm pretty sure that it was later shortened to just The Era, but I haven't found any documentation to back that up.

There's a cool Church History website that talks about different periodicals we've had over time. Interesting reading! 
 

Sketchbook: Improvement Era

A few decades ago, Hank Ketchum had a gag in the original Dennis the Menace. Dennis and his family were sitting in church. Alice, his mom, was looking at him in a mix of shock and embarrassment, while the people in the pews round about were chuckling. Dennis said, "Because I know 'Yankee Doodle' better, that's why!"

That cartoon has always stuck with me as an example of a cartoon coming in at the perfect moment in the middle of the story. We know what happened moments before, and that makes it all the more amusing.

This sketch is, yeah, a blatant ripoff of that cartoon. But with the pervasiveness of Taylor Swift and her influence with teen/tween culture, I thought it might be fun to explore. At least in the sketchbook.
 

Looking back

It't time for a look back on the year that was! Usually I have a couple of things from work, memes or what have you. This year we paid homage to our snowplow drivers with a takeoff on Taylor Swift with our Snowplow Eras.

One of the things that's been in the news a lot this year is artificial intelligence, or AI. I've used it a bit, more to generate suggestions or ideas rather than to generate art. I haven't used it for writing —yet — but I think there could be some good potential there if used right.

This is the first cartoon I made with an assist from AI:

The other recurring set of cartoons this year is the ongoing Disney book that I'm working on with Ryan Stoker. It should be coming out next year. Stay tuned!

With that, we start the annual countdown tomorrow! See you then!