Do you remember the “funnies” in the Sunday newspaper? While my dad read the news and my mother read the sale ads, my brother and I put our irritations aside and devoured the comic strips. As I read The Catholic Cartoon Collection, I was transported back to that childhood joy of laughter through a comic strip.

The Catholic Cartoon is a slice of parish life that follows Father Otto—a young priest with blonde hair, a big nose. He’s kind and quirky and willing to take on whatever life throws at him. Whether it’s trying to dodge the church ladies and their unending questions, or stopping to watch a turtle cross the street with the parish children. In the beginning of the book, Father Otto is drawn as a silent character who passively absorbs the chaos around him. This is humorously displayed in the confessional, when a little girl tells Father Otto in the confessional that she doesn’t have any sins because her daddy thinks she’s perfect, he only has a shocked look on his face. Father Otto quickly finds his voice to the delight of readers. For Pentecost he made ghost pepper pasta sauce for the rectory so they can have literal “tongues of fire.” When asked to clean out his shed, we find him way too nostalgic to undertake such a task. The discovery of a long lost wiffle ball convinces Father Otto to take a break from cleaning and start a game with the parish children.    

Although Father Otto is the main character, he isn’t the only one giving us laughs. Straight man, Deacon Bob has big plans for going over the fourth commandment in First Communion class, but with only ten minutes to spare he barely made it through attendance. One altar server wanted to be the number one server so badly he sent a letter to the bishop to get it, only to discover he had no idea what the number one server did. Father Otto’s cat, Hippo conducts a sacred music choir for cats much to the frustration of neighbors.   

Joshua Masterson is the brains behind these clever and unapologetically Catholic comics. Through humor, he is educating readers on the Catholic faith. Within the pages, families line up for Confession. When something is lost, Father Otto contacts Saint Anthony who puts him on hold. Masterson gently reminds us to put Jesus first, others second and ourselves last, something many of us often fail to follow. Best of all, he shows us through art that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. 

This is a book for fans of Calvin and Hobbes and Family Circus. It’s Catholic and family oriented like Family Circus, and Father Otto’s pets talk which will remind readers of Calvin and Hobbes. From cover to cover readers will laugh at the chaotic and holy moments of parish life with Father Otto. There’s no need to worry about potentially crass content. It’s wholesome good fun for the whole family. My daughter was an immediate fan of the book. In fact, she told me if there is a second book we must get it. She related to the children playing games together as well as begging her mom to stop talking after Mass so she could go home. I encourage everyone to read this funny treat, even non-Catholics.