Religion In The Comics - 009

[Cartoonist]

Last week we met Speck, the Altar Boy. Today we meet his older Brother, Juniper. Unlike Speck, which was distributed only to religious publications or papers in highly religious communities, Brother Juniper was distributed by a major syndicate.

Wikipedia:
Frederick Francis "Fred" McCarthy was an American Franciscan cartoonist, creator of the popular Brother Juniper single-panel comic strip. McCarthy grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and drew cartoons from an early age, some of which he submitted (without success) to the New Yorker. He attended Boston College, but, feeling called to becoming a Franciscan friar, transferred to St. Bonaventure College. He entered the Order and was given the religious name of Justin.

McCarthy began drawing a cartoon friar while a student there, at first for his own amusement, and then for posters and flyers. He named the short, freckled, and ever-cheerful (if sometimes naive) character "Brother Juniper" in 1942 after the historical Brother Juniper, a companion of St. Francis of Assisi. McCarthy later served as art director of Friar, a national Franciscan magazine, and this led to the Brother Juniper character coming to the attention of the Publishers-Hall Syndicate.

The Brother Juniper strip was published from 1958 until 1989. Running in over 100 American newspapers as well as overseas, Brother Juniper was the only religious-themed comic ever syndicated in daily newspapers internationally.
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It was a different world then. It is unlikely that such a cartoon would be syndicated today. As the entry points out, it was a one of a kind panel. I suppose there are online cartoons that might be similar, but that's vanity press, not professional work.

[edhopper]

1. Some of them

take a few jabs at the hierarchy. Not bad within the confines of the character and settings.
Better than when Johnny Hart went off.

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[Cartoonist]

2. Hart got a lot of criticism.

Some even said it was inapropriate for the comics. While I thought his strips were weak, I supported his right to say what he wanted.