Non-masters of Modesty

I got to tell you, guys, today's gag was so much fun to draw! Although, if you had told 10-year-old me that I would draw a He Man comic for my blog before I'd get around to drawing a GI Joe comic, I never would have believed you.*

While we're one the subject of He Man, let me get some things off my chest since this will likely be the only chance I'll every get to talk about this small but important part of my childhood.

• While He Man was awesome, Prince Adam was the worst.
• Wait, I take it back. Orko was the worst.
• All three of the major 80s cartoons based on boy toys (GI Joe, He Man, and Transformers) misused their villains. Cobra Commander, Skeletor, and Megatron were whiny idiots in their respective shows--but of the three, Skeletor has the most to complain about. Dude had a skull for a head! He should have been the baddest baddie there ever was, instead he's defeated in the Christmas special when some orphan kid throws a snowball in his face.
• When it came to cartoons, the 80s were a barren wasteland until Duck Tales premiered late in the decade. After that, it was really hard to go back to the likes of Masters of the Universe.**
• The guy to the left of He Man is named Stratos. He can fly because he strapped wings to his arms. And as ridiculous as that sounds, he was one of the more normal He Man action figures. Plus, he rocked a pretty sweet Brigham Young beard.
• Seriously, there were Bee Man, Moss Man, and Skunk Man action figures--it was a messed up toyline.
• Despite the silliness of it all, I loved it so much! The Christmas I got He Man, Skeletor, and Castle Greyskull might have been the best Christmas ever.

*I also would have asked you just what on earth a blog was.

**It was pretty much impossible once Batman: The Animated Series premiered.

Speaking Klingon

If you are interested in learning the Klingon language, you might want to check out Duolingo. The popular language learning website and app is now offering courses in Klingon.

Restoration of All Things

I can't even restore a simple piece of furniture let alone all things!

Your April 2018 General Conference Activity Packet

As a missionary, I wrote one or two of those perfect letters home.

It's time to start planning for General Conference. To assist you, I prepared a supersized General Conference Packet. In the past, every packet I've ever put together has included 12 pages, this one has 16! Click here to download it. And, with the help of Gaby Herrera (Spanish), Sara Mayer (French), and Dani Queiroz de Souza (Portuguese); it is also available for non-English speakers as well.

But don't stop there. I've got lots of other aids to help entertain your little ones during the up to ten hours of General Conference weekend.

First up, consider subscribing to the Mormon Cartoonist Activity Page Newsletter.  The Mormon Cartoonist Newsletter provides subscribers with a free activity page every Friday morning delivered to your inbox to download for sacrament meetings, Family Home Evenings, primary lessons, or General Conference. Did I mention that it's free? Sign up for it here.

Next, you might want to download my collection of iOS apps. If you own an Apple product, your family will love the LDS Coloring Book, LDS Laughs, LDS Scripture Heroes, and the Book of Mormon Adventure App.

Additionally, you'll love my activity books the Puzzle Book for LDS Kids and Now That I am Baptized available to purchase online or at most LDS bookstores.

Finally, I want to brag about Mission Daze, my latest book published late last year. Subscribers of the Deseret News will recognize many of the strips featured in the book that chronicles the mission of Alex Van Dyke from his mission call to his homecoming. But Mission Daze is more than just a collection of the 100 plus strips featured in the Deseret News, instead the book collects nearly 500 strips that tell more of Van Dyke's story. If you have served a mission, have a missionary within your family, know a missionary, or have heard of a missionary; this book is for you! Trust me, you'll love it.

Trojan Horse

I'm pretty sure this is how things are done in the Greece Athens Mission.

More Antiquated Practices of 20th Century Missionary

Yep, I'm so old that we used to pull this trick when I was a missionary.

I justify putting strips like this in my missionary strip compilation Mission Daze by imagining that the made up country of Laputania--despite every appearance of a successfully westernized Eastern European nation--has very spotty internet necessitating written letters to home from time to time.

The Wheel of Talk Openers

I actually love this idea and might just have to use it the next time I'm giving a talk in sacrament meeting.* The one choice I won't include in my wheel is the "for those of you who don't know me, my name is..." line. That's a personal pet peeve. You don't need to start your talk this way--after all, your name is in the program and the member of the bishopric conducting the service did just announce you.

Still, I appreciate anyone who'll stand before a congregation and give a sacrament meeting talk, regardless of any beginning of the talk crutch he or she might use. It's about the only way a church with a local lay ministry could function.

Interestingly, these crutches used at the beginning of talks aren't limited to sacrament meetings. I subscribe to the BYU Speeches podcast and you wouldn't believe the number of BYU devotionals which begin with some kind of variation of "When I was a student attending these devotionals there is no way I ever would have guessed that I would be on this side of the podium." Just once I'd like a BYU devotional speaker to start her address with "Yeah, I totally knew from my first devotional on BYU campus that I'd be asked to address you. I'm just surprised it's taken this long for the administration to ask me to speak."

*Although, I might spin my wheel at home (the church handbook discourages props during sacrament meeting).

Antiquated Practices of the 20th Century Missionary

I really like today's strip, even though it doesn't approach today's reality. Missionaries don't take pictures on film, develop that film, and then mail it home. They don't even mail home anymore. Despite that fact, I'm publishing this strip today and I've included it in my book Mission Daze (available on Amazon.com for only $9.95--cheap!) because I like it so much.

Home Lunch

Did you know that most canned food is good long after its expiration date? Share that little nugget the next time your mom tries to get you to take food storage in your lunch.