Preemptive Dear John

It must be close to Valentine's Day, because I'm publishing Dear John missionary comic strips. Long-time readers of the blog might remember that Elder Van Dyke is known as a "mission curse" in that every companion who serves with him is ultimately Dear Johned will serving with him.

When starting the strip, I briefly toyed with the idea of having Van Dyke compile girlfriends over the course of his mission to the further consternation of his companions (of course all these girls would come from back home), I scrapped those ideas once I came up with today's strip--I liked it too much not to use it.

Pushy Salesman

At least this salesman is honest.

Buying a Missionary Suit

Having received his call, now Elder Van Dyke needs to purchase some clothes.

Finding Laputania

Ah, the curse of teenage sisters!

Laputania

Alex Van Dyke finally gets to open his mission call and it's to a place no one has ever heard of. When I originally began drawing these strips, I was planning on sending my cartoon alter ego to the same mission I served, but ultimately opted for a fictional country--where I could create the cultures and norms as I saw fit. Laputania is a twist on the island of Laputa from Gulliver's Travels.

From Bad to Worse

Poor Alex Van Dyke. Things certainly aren't going his way.

A Rousing Start

It's interesting for me to go back and revisit these very first comic strips about Elder Van Dyke. By the time he actually gets out into the mission field, he's become the unflappable straight man to all of his mission companions with all their quirks and idiosyncrasies. But for now, he's the crazy one going to outlandish lengths to read the contents of his letter. I guess I didn't really have a handle on his character quite yet.

Still Trying to Decipher a Mission Call

Sometimes patience is the best course of action.

Sneaking a Peek

Poor Elder Van Dyke has to wait hours until his parents come home before he can open his mission call. Of course, this is no longer the case today.

Now when a mission receives his mission call, it won't get opened until he can gather dozens and dozens of his closest friends, a camera crew, and a sizable following on social media. Once all of that has taken place, the missionary can open his call.

Sheesh, kids these days.

Here Comes the Mission Call

Thanks to everyone who offered their opinion on the future of Missionary Monday. It looks like the majority of you would like this little feature to continue in some sort of capacity. So here's what I'll do: I'm going to rerun a number of story lines, but I'll also sneak in some new strips that explore aspects of missionary life that I may have somehow missed previously. I'll also explore the ideas of tracking Alex Van Dyke's post-mission life from time to time. It should be fun.

In the meantime, here's the very first strip with the arrival of Elder Van Dyke's mission call.