The Lord is my Shepherd, Psalm 23:1

Large image

Larger image (take shower while downloading)
Even larger image (organize 2005 taxes while downloading)

Like me, a little cluttered on the right side. Replacing some of the detail with areas of ice and snow should improve the composition. That or have a Yeti cart away a few of the sheep.

I apologize that this image lacks penguins.

The new Planned Parenthood cartoon meant for today is delayed until sometime after Hurricane Rita exits the stage.

Faithmouse fan Kevin Lauer has launched Poly-Ticks, which features the weekly adventures of Polly-Tick, Luna-Tick, Psycho-Tick, and the rest of their bloodsucking friends. Kevin is mixing photo resources with cartooning to very good effect, especially in his Kayne West cartoon (best pronounced Con-Ya). Kevin reports that his cartoon was inspired by faithmouse, which should inspire a weath of interesting emails in his inbox, including some which should read a. your characters don't look like ticks, and b. your cartoon isn't funny. All the best.

One must come to the conclusion that America is still very strongly blessed after a major terrorist attack, two wars, hurricanes, high gasoline prices and the incarceration of Martha Stewart haven't conspired to 86 our economy.

Gosh darn, have to blacktop the driveway....

Everybody's talking at me, and Terry Schindler Schiavo

Larger version.

A longtime fan of faithmouse has been inspired to create his own socio-political Christian toon, which I'll plug on both sites in a day or two. I think he's off to a grand start.

Did someone say links?

Much appreciated observations by Veronica Nichols can be found in her Inadvertent Masterpiece post at Aldalhia and also by Alex at Blog On The Run.

I intended to update the illustration but now I suppose I shouldn't touch it. All I can say is that it's partly about my own father and that I'm sorry I didn't make it more obvious that the veteran is blind.

The 522 offers this recent comment on the cartoon-

If you're keeping score at home, Faithmouse is an interesting and thought provoking Christian political cartoon ... I've used the cartoonist's work before on this blog ...

I'm saying a St. Michael the Archangel for highschooler Craig at Craig's Crazy Life and posting his very nice link from last Monday. Sirc-Valence at ForewardUSA posted last week's Inri Katrina toon under an agreed Amen. Amy Wellborn at Open Book gave me a plug I overlooked last month-thanks Amy!

Grateful She's Dead

Draft version of a full color toon I'm planning on posting tomorrow.
Tomorrow's version should be much cheerier.

Rosary Powered Helicopter

The second cartoon still in progress references the seven children found wandering alone in New Orleans, later reunited with their mothers. This cartoon and the one I have planned for Friday will be the last in the Hurricane Katrina series. Onwards!

T-Boi has posted an older Timothy toon from last year's paper doll series to his Zupp site. Thanks also to Bobbie Joe at Life As Bobbie Joe for adding the regularly updating toon. MasterP7777 at Clan Boxroom gave faithmouse a nice thumbs up, as did a young man from Xavier high in Ohio who posted the recent Hurricane Katrina/9-11 toon on his blog, and who for the time being will remain in stealth mode.

And while we're discussing Stealths, thanks to Craig at Black Anthem for adding the cartoon to his links page. Faithmouse has fans in the services, including a number of military chaplains, all of whom have stumbled over the cartoon by way of Christian or conservative news sites. It's nice to have the opportunity to directly reach out to this group of heroes.

No Christian approves of war or killing, but we have a duty to encourage those who strive for the protection of the innocent, which is the real, everyday work of our armed forces both here at home and overseas.

Hurricane Katrina / 9-11 Commemorative Illustration

A larger image of the above illustration can be viewed here.

This is a revised version of Sunday's post. The Life magazine is the November 5, 1945 U.S. Navy Returns Home issue featuring on the cover a photo of a sailor eating ice cream; the Purple Heart box is similar to the ones used during World War II. Dr. Nut is the cola favored by Ignatius J Reilly in the New Orleans based A Confederacy of Dunces.

New work will be posted on Tuesday.

Pure Water II

Got carried away again. Still needs shading in the water and rain drops falling, but the basic elements are in place.
Cartoon finished 9/10

Pure Water

I'll add more debri and shading to this toon later this evening.

Thanks to Sharon at Yahoo News Message Boards for posting a link to the current Katrina collection, as well as to Vee at TV Clubhouse for posting yesterday's toon. Christian Homeland promoterVee at EdenNow (right down the middle with a chain saw) has posted a link to the cartoon.

Crescent of Embrace

Flight 93 National Memorial Project web site.

Power Point presentation of the final memorial design.

Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Biloxi, Mississippi

Faith survives the storm
There’s no shortage of faith for the victims of Katrina
South Mississippi Sun Herald

The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Biloxi Mississippi was destroyed and subsequently rebuilt following Hurricane Camille in 1969. It has been destroyed again 35 years later by Hurricane Katrina. The photo below is of Reverend Harold Roberts speaking to his congregation during a service last Sunday.

The cartoon is an act of my imagination; other than the photo above I have no idea what's become of the historic belltower, nor do I have any reason to believe a flock of chickens have served fried eggs on the spot anytime recently. The cartoon is meant to reflect the eternal altruistic mission of the church, whether it be Protestant or Catholic, which is revitalized in times of duress.

Redeemer Church will rebuild again, even as Sacred Heart Catholic church rebuilt following the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Churches rebuild because earthly structures are at best only a temporary home for the body of Christ.

I originally had Reverend Rhino ringing the bell in this cartoon, but he was edited out for the sake of balance. Just imagine he's off-panel a few inches to the right, coaching a squad of chickens to lay more eggs. Here's a link for anyone who would like to see a more detailed image.

I have two more cartoon in progress this week referencing Hurricane Camille, both featuring Faithmouse herself, who has been active though unseen. I should have the first online later this evening.

Pray

Hurricane Katrina Cartoon Gallery

I've added a new Hurricane Katrina gallery to the HTML site, which I'll update regularly over the next week or two. My hope is that these cartoons might be an encouragement to anyone who knows someone engaged in relief efforts in the area, or who knows of someone who might be in trouble.

My main thought about the Hurricane, and in particular concerning the tragedy which is the Gulf Coast, is that there must be many unknowns who have given their lives for others. We'll probably never know what they did or their relationship to the people they saved. Some were (are) probably strangers, others family members, possibly dying together. This is rich earth for a cartoon which claims itself to be Christian.

Adding to the current political battle over New Orleans is best left to those who also draw and/or debate and who can form sturdier arguments than I. The number of purely spiritually oriented cartoons about this crisis I suspect runs much lower, and this is the well to which I wish to contribute.


I've added a new gallery of Prayer and Encouragement cartoons to the toon site. The Berlin Wall between Church and State has posted the recent cartoon about 3 of 4 U.S. doctors believing in God, and Michael Tosh at Crazy Catholic has posted a Kerry/Abortion toon from last year. Christmania (cool name) has added the regularly updating cartoon. Thanks also to Teresa who has added the cartoon to her Bouquet of Love.
God bless!

St. Joseph's Catholic Church, New Orleans

Utterly Surreal: an assessment of Hurricane Katrina by a Baton Rouge Resident -Full Circle Blog at Early Church Fathers.org

The linked post is by faithmouse friend Bill who operates the Early Church Fathers site and who also happens to be a Louisiana resident. This cartoon is part two of two, following up on Monday's toon.

St. Joseph's is a few blocks away from the Dome in New Orleans. According to it's own web site (now offline) St. Joseph's is the largest Catholic Church in the South. The church was designed by Carl Kaiser of Vienna in the Romanesque style, and was built between 1869-1892. The towers were never completed.

My aim with the toon is to pay homage to the Catholic heritage of New Orleans and to show that the spirit of the Church remains a source of salvation. Even though the church itself is Catholic, the message of Christian spiritual refuge extends to all.

HURRICANE KATRINA

First of two panels.

DAVID STEIN AND FRIENDS AT WORLD YOUTH DAY

Faithmouse fan and world traveler David Stein of The Cave has posted a collection of photographs taken from his trip to Cologne for World Youth Day.

I happened to catch a little of the final mass at 3 A.M. Minnesota time on EWTN, as I sat on the couch nodding off over an unfinished cartoon.

A big hat tip to Mr. Stein and friends for doing such a great job representing U.S. Catholics.

THE PUNISHMENT OF PAT ROBERTSON

The news oriented 700 Club currently garners 1 million viewers a day and growing, and yet I've never seen this figure compared against the nightly news numbers for the major, secular networks-but they should be. The 700 Club audience rightly belongs to the major networks, but they've long decided to abdicate this part of their traditional base audience. Taking hard shots at Pat Robertson, as wrong as he certainly is for his recent pro-assassination commentary, is a no lose situation. Considering the insanity coming out of the mouth of their created darling The Peace Mom, it's been a welcome diversion for the MSM.

I've spent more time than I intended on this toon, so the finished version of Tuesday's toon is delayed. The good news is that I have a great headstart on my Garrison Squealer/Grunt Noir toon planned for Saturday.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Sure do hope people like unfinished cartoons. I should have the completed versions of both of these cartoons posted later this evening.

WE'RE GOING TO THE HUNTER S. THOMPSON SUICIDE PARTY

I'll fix George's tie in a day or two...
Some Decry Glitz of Thompson Blastoff - Breibart.com

Suicide-awareness hike ends in time for funeral - The Aspen Times

Living and Dying According to the Voice of Faith:
A Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of the State of Michigan- Michigan Catholic Conference

STUPID EXPERIMENTS IN INFINITENESS

Here's a variation of yesterday's cartoon. Technically, I was playing with the convention of the infinitely repeating panel, which as a result of this experiment I hereby dismiss. This convention is normally accompanied by an oppressively thick sky of dialogue which hovers over the speakers, and manifests itself usually in the form of a rant, which helps to mask the frozen artifice below. Nothing can mask the artifice. I do my best to avoid cliche structures, and I only delved into this one up to my ankles to see if the water was hot or cold. It was cold. Today's variation helps clear my conscience.

Eric Eranko at his Christifidelis has posted the Brother Roger toon for a few days ago. Eric has a great archive of photos from his trips to both Italy and Israel available for viewing at his Eranco page. Little Bit Tired, Little Bit Worn has linked to one of the Planned Parenthood toons, as has Amy at Real Catholic. A poster at Protest Warrior has given a previous faithmouse Pro-Life toon a link. I don't know how long this has been up, but The Church in Misamis Occidental, Philippines is showing one of the Pope John Paul II/Terri Schiavo toons, which really makes me want to find the time to refine the image.

PIECES FOR ISRAEL

Well, the neighborhood bully, he's just one man,
His enemies say he's on their land.
They got him outnumbered about a million to one,
He got no place to escape to, no place to run.
He's the neighborhood bully.

The neighborhood bully just lives to survive,
He's criticized and condemned for being alive.
He's not supposed to fight back, he's supposed to have thick skin,
He's supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in.
He's the neighborhood bully.

The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land,
He's wandered the earth an exiled man.
Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn,
He's always on trial for just being born.
He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized,
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize.
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad.
The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad.
He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, the chances are against it and the odds are slim
That he'll live by the rules that the world makes for him,
'Cause there's a noose at his neck and a gun at his back
And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac.
He's the neighborhood bully.

He got no allies to really speak of.
What he gets he must pay for, he don't get it out of love.
He buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied
But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side.
He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, he's surrounded by pacifists who all want peace,
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease.
Now, they wouldn't hurt a fly. To hurt one they would weep.
They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep.
He's the neighborhood bully.

Every empire that's enslaved him is gone,
Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon.
He's made a garden of paradise in the desert sand,
In bed with nobody, under no one's command.
He's the neighborhood bully.

Now his holiest books have been trampled upon,
No contract he signed was worth what it was written on.
He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth,
Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health.
He's the neighborhood bully.

What's anybody indebted to him for?
Nothin', they say. He just likes to cause war.
Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed,
They wait for this bully like a dog waits to feed.
He's the neighborhood bully.

What has he done to wear so many scars?
Does he change the course of rivers?
Does he pollute the moon and stars?
Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill,
Running out the clock, time standing still,
Neighborhood bully

Bob Dylan, Neighborhood Bully track exerpt WMP

- Copyright © 1983 Special Rider Music

BROTHER ROGER, 90, MARTYRED AT TAIZE

Taize's founder stabbed to death during service
Leading ecumenical figure is slain at community he founded in France - MSNBC
Taize Founder Killed - Catholic World News
Taize Community Web Site, France
About Taize - East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh USA

Cartoon drawn between midnight and 3 A.M. Wednesday morning. The Taize symbol is the water below Brother Roger Schultz, inspired by John Paul II's quote about Taize being a place where one could pause on a spiritual journey and have a refreshing drink from a stream (the bridge passing over the stream).

Brother Roger attended the funeral mass for John Paul II.

As with many of the images I draw, it would be nice to find a week or so to refine this...

Roger Schutz-Marsauche was a Protestant theologian who left the safety of Switzerland during World War II and went to France in order to create a home for the destitute, which included persecuted Jews. The Nazi secret police forced him to leave in 42, but he returned after the war and began his monastic community.

Brother Roger was one of those brave and independent souls who have helped to bridge the gap between Protestantism and Catholicism, who's lifelong dedication to respect, reconciliation and powerful, world changing prayer was a rational rebuff to the devastating consequences of an imposed secular multiculturalism.