Mormon Ladybug charts the tragicomic journey of a young missionary in the California Bay Area (San Francisco and Oakland) in the mid 1990s. Color is used to denote different psychological states. This book is neither an expose nor promotion of faith, but rather a reflection on religion and the human desire for autonomy, acceptance, and meaning. In short, it’s a story about how beauty is not found in containment, but rather the process of letting go.
In 1995, there was around 50,000 full-time missionaries sent out to nearly 400 different proselytizing missions throughout the globe. This is a simultaneously funny, tragic, and hopeful story of one of them.
The full 215-page manuscript and finished art for Mormon Ladybug are available upon request.
Below is a gallery of the first 11 pages of MORMON LADYBUG
Below are 6 sample pages showcasing symbolic monochromatic palettes to track psychological transformations within MORMON LADYBUG. E.g., Lavender: Youth/Innocent; Green: Newness; Orange and greys: Conformity
Below are a few key characters featured in MORMON LADYBUG:
Left to right, top to bottom: Elder Buck, Elder Gaul, Elder Manu, Elder Mickelback, Elder Murpy, Elders Smith and Skelter, Elder Fuhu, Elder Wartson, Elders Snow and Wayward, Elder Nakama, Elders Smith and Ham, and finally, President Smartie
To get a feel of the missionary storyline, below are 13 extra pages
Graphic Novels for Religious Literacy
As a university educator, I utilize the graphic medium to translate complex social and religious histories into accessible narratives. Below are a few pages created for the purpose of establishing religious literacy, but also as a starting point for classroom conversations.
