Self-sorting

I learned this week that Noah's Ark could be compared to a temple: It's protected with a covering, it had three stories (similar to how they did the endowment in the early days), and Noah took his family inside to save them.

I started to feel a twinge of guilt about my Noah cartoons. But then I got over it. I think he'd get a kick out of some of them.
 

They check in...

Noah was a brave man among the prophets. Not only did he have to take care of the cute and fuzzy animals, he had to keep an eye out for the creepy bugs and reptiles as well.
 

Sketchbook: Good pitching

There's so much symbolism to uncover in the story of Noah's Ark! Not the least of which is that good pitching wins games.
 

Something to chew on

This was among the first gags I sold to the Church magazines back when it was The New Era and I was still in high school. They had another cartoonist do the artwork (Cal Grondahl), so I was a little disappointed at the time.  My skills as an artist have improved over the ensuing years. I can't say I blame them.

As a result, this little gem has been hidden away. Yes, it would have been better to revisit it last year while we studied the Old Testament. 

My hope is that many of these old prophets have a sense of humor — or at the very least they're forgiving!

Groundhogs, two by two

One of my favorite things about the story of Noah is how he used gopher wood to build the Ark. No, it wasn't wood made out of or cultivated by gophers. It's a transliteration of the Hebrew word, and nobody knows what kind of wood it really was. Dang. I was hoping for actual gophers!
 

Can I get that to go?

We read that Noah packed food for his family before they entered into the Ark. It had to come from someplace!

There was debate as to whether Noah was a good tipper. The consensus was that (1) he could afford to tip as much as he wanted — money wouldn't be good for much longer anyway; and (2) he gave everyone in the land tips about repenting before it was too late, but that didn't seem to do much good. 

Lastly, I still have nightmares about that old Russel Crowe movie from 2014. The name was one syllable too long!
 

From Noah's dad

I guess this is less a cartoon gag and more of a dad joke. That's why we call him Father Noah.
 

Snakes on a boat

I was searching through my archives the other day to find a cartoon to go with our Sunday School lesson about Noah. This one didn't show up in my search, but it's one of the first cartoons I ever sold to the New Era.

Tickets, two by two

They're always coming up with new regulations!

And not a rest area in sight!

I've taken trips with kids and pets. I'll bet there were days when Noah was ready to park the ark and throw everybody off!

Big box office

Ever wish you could unsee a movie?

I read the reviews. I knew going in that it wasn't going to be an epic Charlton Heston/Cecil B. De Mille interpretation of Noah and the Ark. But I wasn't prepared for rock monsters, magic seeds, cannons and bad graphics repeating the story of Cain and Abel! It was so close to being a sword and sorcerer-type fantasy movie, I wish they would have taken it one more step and made that film.

Instead we got a meandering, plodding, abrasive movie in search of a genre that was based on names and plot devices suggested by Genesis, and drew on apocryphal sources for supplemental material whenever possible. Not only that, but Russell Crowe sang. Again! Wasn't Les Miserables enough?

On the plus side, there was Hermione.

A lot of folks have said that after seeing this film, they're going to go back and read the story in the Bible, just to refresh their memories. That could be a good thing, right?

Even here in Oregon, theater goers sat in stunned silence when the movie ended. Seriously: dead silence.

It's not the worst movie I've ever seen. But it comes awfully, awfully close.

Following the prophets

This just proves the point that meaningful scripture study takes time, planning and effort. But it does have the potential for a big reward!

Two by two

Do you ever wonder about menus aboard the Ark? Suppose Mrs. Noah came up with a great recipe for a certain animal dish that proved to be really popular -- what would have happened then?

Grab a shovel

I kind of feel sorry for Noah. He had an immensely difficult task and he was mocked by the people in his day while he fulfilled his duty. Even today he's the subject of jokes, gags and cartoons. I really hope he has a sense of humor!

Monday sketchbook: The weekly bath

I liked this idea until I sketched it out, and I started to wonder what would be in the bathtub that would remind the kid of Mt. Ararat. The sketchbook stops here.

Special guest artist: Shauna Mooney

Here's another one from way back when...I have to say that this is a lot more calm than my original drawing!

Monday sketchbook: Entrepreneur Ship

People always wonder what it was like at the bottom of Noah's Ark. Probably pretty nasty, I suppose. But I think at least someone was wise enough to take advantage of the situation!

Special guest artist: Calvin Grondahl

From time to time, The New Era only bought the cartoon idea and farmed it out to have someone else do the artwork. This is one that was done by Calvin Grondahl, who at the time had Deseret News as part of his byline. He since moved on to bigger and better things at the Standard Examiner in Ogden.

While it was a little disappointing (and less financially rewarding) to have the idea drawn up by another artist, it was interesting to see how they ran with the idea. For example, I like how Grondahl gave Noah a telescope and christened the ark "Ark."