Ward Potluck

Here's an easy joke on our culture's affinity for Jell-O.

By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them

I read an article recently on Jell-O's fiscal woes. Apparently, in this protein obsessed, paleo diet crazed era we live in; nobody's interested in a jiggly dessert. As I read the article, I tried to think of the last time I've had Jell-O and I was stumped. I'm sure some relative made some salad for Thanksgiving but that was almost a year ago. Jell-O, which was once a major part in every one of my Sunday dinners growing up, is now nearly completely out of my life.

I wonder if the rest of the Mormon culture has experienced the same shift. For years, Mormons' affinity for Jell-O* was the low hanging fruit for Mormon satirists (shoot, it's front and center on my masthead), but if Jell-O goes away where does that leave those of use who poke fun at the culture?

We Mormons need a new obsession and fast. Any suggestions?

*Particularly the green kind with carrot shavings mixed in.

Best. Gag. Ever.

In interviews with creative types you'll read all the time that asking them to select a favorite movie/project/album/etc. would be like asking them to pick a favorite child. That they appreciate every thing they've done equally and that together every movie/project/album represents the artists' progression, blah, blah, blah...

Now, maybe I'm not creative enough or maybe they're a bunch of liars, but I've never had a problem ranking my favorite works. And right now, I think today's comic is my favorite gag I've ever done.I love the simplicity of it. And I think it works on many levels. (Of course, knowing my luck, I may discover in posting this that one of the Bagleys, Grondahl, or Beckstrom already came up with this joke ten years ago.)

Lime Osmond

This week's comic comes out of a comment I made in my last post regarding the stale nature of Mormon jokes regarding both Jell-o and the Osmond family. By combining the two, you couldn't come up with a more cliche Mormon gag if you tried.

Or could you?

I'm issuing a challenge to my readers to please help me make the above gag the most cliche ridden Mormon cartoon ever produced. For example, you might add the text: "Now you can give it to your Home Teaching family on the last day of the month." or: "I'm going to place it on a doily as part of the centerpiece for my Relief Society lesson."

I eagerly await your responses.

On the LDS Cartooning Sub-Genre

I have come to the realization that I am working in a sub-genre that is somewhat limited. How many gags can various LDS cartoonists create about green Jell-o and the Osmond family before my ideas overlaps onto another person’s and vice versa?

About a month ago, mere weeks before The Puzzle Book for LDS Kids was due to appear on bookstore shelves, my heart sank a little as I flipped through one of Pat Bagley’s I Spy a Nephite books. On one of his pages, Bagley included a small sight gag of two children making snow angels on the ground. One snow angel was a traditional snow angel while the other was the angel Moroni as seen on top of the temple. I was discouraged because I had come up with the same sight gag independently and included it on a page of my soon to be published Puzzle Book. Apparently great minds think alike.

Someday I hope to be the person who flips through a new-release from another LDS cartoonist only to see a small detail of mine overlapped into their book.

Thankfully in this pool of LDS culture there is a bit of room for continued creativity and independent thoughts. There are also many different styles of art, so there may be a future for me yet. It will just require me to be even more creative.

Yeah, it’s a dangerous line of work I find myself in, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.