Experiment Upon the Word

Elders Hammer and King are back! And just in time for Halloween. These poor missionaries called to the Transylvania Central Mission have tracted into and taught just about every monster, creature, or mad scientist you can imagine (or at least I can imagine--after nearly two dozen of these, I don't know how many more I have left in me). 

Just think of the homecoming talks they'll be able to give! (And the years of counseling that will follow.)

Dracula's House of Worship

At first he was excited about the general lack of crucifixes in the building...Poor guy is destined to life his afterlife without religion.

Baptism for Death

You didn't think I could go a Halloween without Elders King and Hammer, did you? These two missionaries are closing in on the sons of Mosiah's record for longest mission.

Jason

If I was doing this properly, I would have held onto this gag until Friday, October 13, 2023. Unfortunately, I don't plan that far enough in advance.

Jason Voorhees the hero(?) of the Friday the 13th series of movies has certainly had an interesting career. Not content with killing teenagers at Crystal Lake, he's since moved onto Manhattan, outer space, the dreamscape (where he battled Freddy Kruger), and even H-E-double hockey sticks. But is he ready to face the missionaries of the Transylvania Central Mission? And just what are their mission boundaries anyway?

Once again, I've guest hosted the Come, Follow Me with David Ridges podcast. I was pretty lucky because this week's lesson is Doctrine and Covenants 121-123--the Liberty Jail sections! If you have a spare half an hour give it a listen, won't you?

Ghosted

Is it too early to publish Halloween-themed comics? Absolutely. Do I care? No I don't. Every missionary has had the experience of being ghosted, but only the missionaries in the Transylvania Central Mission are ghosted from actual specters.

Transylvania COVID

I've been drawing the eerie adventures of this particular missionary companion for years now (they populate this page every Halloween). Today, they finally came in contact with a truly scary monster. 

 After living with COVID for eight months now, we've all learned how to deal with it. I worry that we are also becoming complacent. For months, we've been warned that COVID could get really bad once the weather changes. Well, the weather is changing. Let's be safe out there.

The Phantom of the Transylvania 1st Ward

Please don't bother telling me that it wasn't the Phantom of the Opera who burned the opera house down. I'm sure the authorities blamed him for it.

Creepy Clown

Today's special Halloween based comic is based off of that movie where the psychotic clown torments little children. You know: Patch Adams.

Wolfman Investigator

It's that time of year to check in on the exploits of Elders Hammer and King.

Did you know that the cycles of the moon repeat themselves roughly every 29 days*? I didn't. I always assumed that we got a full moon every 4 weeks (28 days). The Ward Cartoonist: Uplifting and Educational.

*29.5 days to be more exact.

Marrow of My Bones

There are a handful of expressions popular in the Church that I'd like to phase out of our vernacular. "Marrow of my bones" and "every fiber of my being*" are at the top of my list. (Followed closely by "nourish and strengthen.") Today's gag features Elders Hammer and King getting in trouble after using one of our quirky sayings.

*Kevin Beckstrom covered this one just a couple of days ago in a joke quite similar to this one.

The Blob

It is October, which means it is time to turn our gaze towards missionary work in the Transylvania Central Mission. Today's gag features some good old fashion member missionary work.

We can excuse Blob for using the old "Mormon" moniker to describe the Church. He's new and doesn't know any better. We can probably be a little less charitable to the publisher of this blog for his continued use of that name, which is why I'll be rolling out a new title for this website a week from today. The thing is, I'm still not sure what the replacement name of this site should be. I'm welcome to suggestions. Please leave your ideas in the comment section.

Zombie Dinner Appointment

Any time I run a zombie gag, I feel it necessary to recognize Kevin Beckstrom--the unofficial king of LDS-themed zombie cartoons (why, I believe he even published one today).

Fear the Reaper

For Elders Hammer and King, the missionaries serving in the Transylvania Central Mission, disturbing contacts are part of the job. Still, I imagine this particular door will remain with them for a long time.

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

I'd be very wary about anything served at this dinner appointment.

(Thanks to faithful reader, Emily P. for the idea for the main course.)

Mummy Trouble

Poor Elders Hammer and King.* This is why it is a good idea to find out the background of potential investigators before diving into a prepared lesson.

*Elder Hammer and Elder King are my regularly featured missionaries serving in the Transylvania Central Mission. Their home wards are in for the strangest homecoming addresses ever!

Not a Leaf on Your Vine

The poor Elders of the Transylvania Central Mission. I suspect they'll suffer PTSD for the rest of their lives. (And they really ought to be in their apartment after sundown.)

Teaching Mr. Hyde

I'm sure that every missionary has had an investigator or two who has a little Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in them: all happy to see them and learn about the gospel one day and cold and shut off the next.

Anyway, it's a little tradition here on the site to spotlight Elders Hammer and King and their strange service in the Transylvania Central Mission every Halloween.

Zombies!

Zombies are pretty much the go to monster of our time.* That being the case it only makes sense that I'd feature one in my ongoing Transylvania Central Mission strip. (Apologies to Kevin Beckstrom who pretty much owns the LDS-themed zombie gag.)

*Well zombies and sparkling vampires.

Baptism from the Black Lagoon

It's October, which means it's time to check in on Elders Hammer and King.

Hearts Knit Together

For the second week in a row, I've drawn a gag with a humpback. Honestly, those guys are tough to draw (I'm not especially satisfied with either of them). I think I'm going to take at least a one year break from them. (Mad scientists, though, are almost as fun to draw as crusty, old sea dogs.)