Creating Joy with Catholic Cartoons with Josh Masterson

A. Cahill (00:10.766)
Hello and welcome back to The Creative Catholics, a podcast on creativity, faith, and the hidden life. I'm your host, Alex Cahill. As always, a huge thank you to Marie Miller for letting us use her music for our intro and outro. And a huge thank you to Riverside that sponsors this episode. We use Riverside to record this episode. If you are interested in recording or editing audio files, please check out the link in the description and in the show notes. Our guest today is Josh Masterson.
The Catholic cartoonist who draws a slice of life comic strip about a parish priest named Father Otto. Josh has been drawing his whole life, but it wasn't until about four years ago that he decided to take his cartooning more seriously. And it was an absolute pleasure to sit down with Josh and talk about the Catholic cartoon. Please grab whatever creative project you're working on today and let's chat with Josh Masterson. Thank you so much, Josh, for coming onto the Creative Catholics today. It's great to have you.
Josh Masterson(01:08.502)
Thanks so much for having me on. It's a pleasure to be here.
A. Cahill (01:10.86)
I'm really, really excited to talk to you about the cartooning work that you've done. And you've told me that you've been drawing your whole life, but you only decided to kind of pursue cartooning seriously about four years ago. What gave you the courage to finally say yes to that particular creative calling?
Josh Masterson(01:27.79)
Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, it was about four years ago when I really started Catholic cartooning, you know, making cartooning more of a profession. but it was around that time that I was really discerning what I was gonna do with my life, you know, where I was gonna go. At that time, you know, all of my friends were going off to college or dating and and things like that. And so I was kind of just taking taking a look at myself in the mirror and saying, you know, now's the time to decide on
Who I want to be and what I wanna do. And all's that to say is, you know, lots of prayer, lots of thinking. And so around that time, as I was drawing a lot, I'm always drawing, but I was drawing illustrations of parish life, is how you could put it. They weren't cartoon. I tried to imitate the style of a famous painter by the name of Norman Rockwell. I'm a big fan of his his art. And so I was trying to kind of make Catholic, you know, versions of
Norman Rockwell art, you know, depictions of parish life, things that everyone would be familiar with. And so I tried that and I wasn't very good at it. I wasn't very good at capturing the Norman Rockwell style. But that didn't stop me. You know, I still liked the idea of showing parish life. And so I thought, you know, what am I good at? What do I what do I like doing? You know, what comes naturally to me? And that's cartooning. You know, that's something that I had been doing since I was a kid. And it was always more of like a hobby. It was just something I did on the side. I never really thought very seriously about it.
And so I thought, you know what? Why don't I make cartoons, you know, showing Parish Life? Why don't I use cartoons and and mix that with the faith and try that out? And there was really this great sense of peace. I know it it's i it sounds silly, you know, it's cartoons. It's it's No, no, yeah. it's a k almost kid thing, I guess, but there was this peace, with me and and this decision and I really felt that, you know, God wanted me to pursue this, that there was really something
more to this, something that, you know, this could really be something special to share. And so that was really the start of Catholic cartoons and sharing that online.
A. Cahill (03:32.49)
amazing. And I think, you know, that piece that you're talking about is so it's so important, but it's also a great, if you will, quote unquote, kind of sign from God that, you know, that we're on kind of the right path that he that he wants us to to be pursuing. And so I think following that I think is a really, really good decision when it comes to kind of creativity and which path we should be going with and these sorts of things. And you created a character called Father Otto.
Who's obviously become such a well known character in this in these cartoon series that they're all about, Father Otto and the and the parish. How did he first come to life? And what do you think he reveals about kind of the the beauty and the humor of ordinary parish life?
Josh Masterson(04:11.682)
Yeah, it's a great question. So obviously when you think of church, when you think of parish life, the Catholic priest comes to mind. That's a very obvious one. And so, you know, in my early cartoons, my illustrations, I was illustrating a Catholic priest. And at the time he didn't have a name or anything like that. He was just, you know, this character that I had drawn. And then eventually named him Father Otto, gave him a voice and a personality. But I think that what's great about Father Otto, you know, as a character
is that he's so versatile. And what I mean by that is that he can be in any situation. And there's always going to be a sense of, you know, the faith or God in that situation. It could be like baseball, for instance, right? Baseball isn't inherently about God, by any means. But let's say it's a Catholic priest playing baseball. All of a sudden there's like the fun of baseball, but you know, now you have this priest character who's involved playing baseball. And so seeing this character can
bring our minds to God to some degree. So I think in that sense, you know, he works really well.
A. Cahill (05:16.598)
Yeah. And I think it's I think what's amazing too about these cartoons is the fact that so when I was growing up in the Midwest as well, we had a lot of older parish priests. It was one of those things where I never really thought of a parish priest younger than probably, I don't know, fifty-five, sixty or something. And I met my husband and his brother is a priest.
And the community that his brother is in, we went to spend some time with them before we got married. It's amazing because the community is all young people. Right. It's like young nuns, young priests. And I think now I've been talking to a number of my friends back still in the States, and they were saying there's kind of this renewal of younger priests coming back into parish life and those sorts of things, which I think is amazing and fantastic. But these cartoons then, it's like one of those things that I had always had a difficult time kind of imagining a priest in something other than church.
So like doing something other than church until I met my brother in law and it's like, yeah, they do normal things. But that's what I think this cartoon does such a great job of is this idea that obviously the priest is going to be in the church, but the priest is also going to have a life and do other things as well. How do you think that awareness of a priest has a normal life, what is that signaling to your audience?
Josh Masterson(06:28.35)
Yeah, I think that you're kind of right on the nose there. Like for me as well growing up, I always saw priests as just these older men, you know, involved with the church only, you know, very busy. And it wasn't until I moved. So I was originally from Michigan and I moved to Illinois and we became a part of this one parish and one of the priests there, he was a younger priest. And so he did a lot of things with the youth, like, you know, like teen nights and and things like that, or, you know, we'd go on like trips with him.
So he was really involved with, you know, the parish as a whole, but especially with the youth. And that was to me was something that was new. I had not experienced that. And what what's great about that too is as a younger guy, I'm able to see myself, you know, kind of in his shoes and relate more with him and kind of envision myself, you know, maybe priesthood could be a thing for me as well. All that is to say that, you know, this priest that I'm referring to, he did inspire a lot of Father Otto. You know, Father Otto.
in the comics, you know, he's a younger priest and, you know, he's involved with the parish, but especially, you know, with the kids of the parish. I think that, or at least I hope that, you know, when people read this, they can see being a priest, there's still people, right? At the end of the day like us. And so my hope is that, you know, maybe people will see that, maybe young men will see that. And the idea of priesthood and and praying about priesthood and possibly pursuing that as a vocation, you know, I hope that it might inspire that in them.
A. Cahill (07:49.422)
I think that's a great motive, if you will, for having kind of this younger priest character in the cartoons. Because I think it is one of those things that until well, I don't want to say everybody, because I'm sure there are people out there and young men out there who are inspired even when they have older priests that they've only known. But I think seeing younger priests is extremely inspirational for loads of young men. And I think being around, you know,
People who are in religious life at a younger age is really, really inspirational, actually for both young men and young women as well. But not everybody would have access to that. And so seeing it in a cartoon, I think, is a great way to kind of come about it. Humor as well has also kind of it has a really unique way, doesn't it, of kind of opening people's hearts. Why do you think laughter can be such a powerful way of sharing the Catholic faith with people?
Josh Masterson(08:36.058)
humor is just such a universal way of connecting with people, you know, smiling and laughing. You know, we all can relate to that no matter what side of the the planet you're on. So I think that that, you know, works as a way, almost as like a bridge. You know, it's not the destination, but it's it works as a bridge of connecting people, you know, getting them to that point where now they they may be curious or will want to learn more about the faith.
A. Cahill (09:01.196)
Yeah, and I think that's a great realization, isn't it? Because obviously I was talking with a priest friend of mine for one of the episodes earlier on, but he was talking about how trying to find those different bridges to to bring people in and talk to them about the faith when maybe they're not necessarily ready to talk about everything in the faith. Right. But again, like you were saying, cartoons especially, it's a humorous way, but there is a lot of depth to that as well, you know, like because it's talking about the faith. And I mean, your cartoons find
humor in everyday parish life, yet they're always filled with this affection for the church. How do you capture those kind of lighthearted moments while also revealing something very true, very beautiful about the Catholic faith?
Josh Masterson(09:41.398)
Yeah. So I'd say for you know, for the lighthearted, and maybe just the humor aspect and as a whole for the comics. I grew up reading comics. That was like the main thing I read growing up was just collection books of, you know, old comics. And so I was just very familiar with the the style and and the humor. So to me a lot of that kinda comes naturally. But kind of blending it with the faith, you know, that as well that comes just from my own upbringing. You know, I was brought up a Catholic, I was home schooled.
Yeah, we'd go into daily mass for most of my life. So I was just very involved with, you know, whatever parish I was a part of and the faith was always just first and foremost in my life, you know, thanks to my parents. So a lot of that, you know, I guess i he kinda comes naturally. Do you
A. Cahill (10:24.664)
find it, every creative project has obviously kind of moments of doubt and are we supposed to be following this path? Are we not? Have there been seasons where you've kind of questioned whether to keep going and what has helped you remain faithful to that work?
Josh Masterson(10:39.114)
I'd say yes. You know, there's there are times definitely I can't lie where, you know, it's harder. you know, maybe I have lack of inspiration or maybe I'm just not seeing the fruits of my labor right away. And I I think this is just for a lot of artists too. You know, you work so hard on something and maybe it doesn't, I guess, perform well to people. There's always things like that. But I think that ultimately, you know, what's helped me, for one thing, I really do truly believe that, you know, God has a hand in this.
And then this is something that God wants and He's calling me to do. For me, I just love what I'm doing. I really enjoy it. I enjoy the process of it. I just enjoy what I make. You know, despite what, you know, other people might think. And I think that that's I think that's a very important thing. It's kind of a basic thing, but to really love what you're doing and enjoy what you're doing. And so that's really helped me a lot in kind of keeping going. And and yeah, there's definitely times of it's a bit of a struggle, but I'm always kind of able to
To lean on the fact that I believe that there's a higher purpose for this, you know, that God has a plan.
A. Cahill (11:39.33)
think that's a great way to look at it too because when you do find yourself in that creative rut, if you will, or even just not even a creative rut, but you're just kind of, you know, questioning like, is this how I'm supposed to be spending my time? Is this how I'm supposed to be actually doing what I'm supposed be doing? Right. But knowing that, first of all, like you were talking about earlier, with that peace that you have inside you, I think that is such a huge clue that you're on the right path, you know? And and having that peace because I I know so many artists. And I mean I was like this when I was trying to find kind of what
Creativity line I was supposed to be in, these sorts of things. Perhaps maybe how you felt with like when you're doing like the Noah Rockwell style as well, but you're kind of trying to do something and it's just not working. And you also just don't feel at peace with it. You're just like, there's something not exactly right here, or something's a bit off. And so then when you do find that creative line, I think that's really important because you do feel this huge peace inside of you. yeah. As Catholics, as well, we're often quite encouraged to seek truth and goodness and beauty. Where do you think?
humor and joy fit into that conversation. I they definitely fit there, but where do you think they fit and how?
Josh Masterson(12:44.386)
Yeah. that's a question. Again, I I I think that I'm trying to think of I know there's a lot of saints have even spoken on being joyful. I mean Saint Philip Neary, is speaking on a joy and just as Catholics, that's what we should be. We should be joyful. Yeah. You know, we shouldn't be dull and gloomy, but light and joyful. And so I think that the cartoons almost kind of embody that, you know, 'cause cartoons we always sort of associate with fun and humor and things like that. And so I think that
I kind of again going back to what we were talking about earlier where humor sort of works as this bridge. I think that, you know, despite this being a cartoon, it really is to me, I still see it as art. A totally different kind of of art that, you know, most people aren't familiar with, especially in faith, but it is still, you know, art, something that can draw us deeper, deeper relationship with God, you know, bring us to higher thinking. And I think i humor, like we were saying too it it's a way of just
breaking the ice and filling us with a lighter spirit and that works as just a way of kind of bringing us to the faith if we use it properly.
A. Cahill (13:47.798)
Yeah. And I think too what you were saying earlier about how when you were younger you would read loads of comic books, like old comic books and things like that. And I was just thinking actually, because I have a child who absolutely loves reading comics. I would read comics before any other sort of literature, a hundred percent. And I was thinking, you know, there's actually not that much for her to read regarding the faith in the comic style or in the graphic novel style. But you know, you kind of opening that door of the fact that Catholicism can be integrated.
into cartoons, potentially into graphic novels, those sorts of things. I think it opens up a door of this idea of seeking truth, seeking goodness for Catholics that might have been actually closed or at least partly ajar for for a lot of people who don't naturally find reading very exciting or they find comics and graphic novels a lot more accessible.
And I think I was just like you just speaking there just reminded me. I was like, I should maybe have her just read the comics instead. Because I think she, you know, like that's that's just a style of learning for some kids. That's just how they like to learn to read and those sorts of things. So yeah. So I mean, I think by applying your Catholic characters into that style is really an accessible way for a lot of people that might, you know, not necessarily sit down with a book on a saint or something. So tell me about you're currently working on an animated Christmas special.
Josh Masterson(15:01.653)
Right.
A. Cahill (15:06.168)
What has that journey been like and what are you most excited for people to experience with that?
Josh Masterson(15:10.294)
Yeah, so this is all fairly recent. it wasn't till May, April, around then when things really started getting official. So we're still very much in the thick of pre-production and kind of getting things ready. First of all, so the Christmas special, what we were trying to do, me and my publishers, Voyage Comics, our hope is to just bring all the characters like Father Otto and, you know, all the other characters to bring them to life, to have them animated and moving.
And we wanna make a a Christmas special similar to Charlie Brown Christmas, you know, which is something that almost everyone is familiar with. Using Charlie Brown as an example because these comics, you know, they're very reminiscent of an older style. And that's, you know, one of the gimmicks of this comic too, is it's sort of nostalgic feel. But really our our goal is to you know, it's not just, you know, for the sake of nostalgia, but we really wanna bring something new. Hopefully this can be a tradition in Catholic homes in the future to be watching this every Christmas.
On the production side of things, you know, things are things are moving moving along very well. We're currently hiring animators and we're storyboarding everything and you know, the script's already written out and in my opinion it's a very, very good, very beautiful story. You know, it's it's fun, you know, as a cartoon should be, but there's still that very deeper side of it, the truth of Christmas and and the birth of Christ. And so that's something that, you know, we're working hard on and we're very excited for
know, where God is taking us in all this and, you know, for the future and people eventually getting to see it.
A. Cahill (16:39.114)
Amazing. And when are you hoping so is it this Christmas or is it for next Christmas?
Josh Masterson(16:43.468)
Yeah, so the hope is that it will be done August of twenty twenty seven. So that way, you know, advent of twenty twenty seven we can have it released. You know, obviously again, we're still kind of weaving our way through pre production, so there's no concrete date yet, but we're we're pretty we're fairly confident that next year, next Christmas is when people will get to see it.
A. Cahill (17:05.358)
That's amazing. How is it gonna be released, do you know yet or?
Josh Masterson(17:08.3)
That we don't know just yet, unfortunately, but
A. Cahill (17:11.67)
Yeah. No, that's fine. There's loads you know, though there's loads of like kind of question marks in pre production. So that's totally understandable. And how has creating the Catholic cartoon changed your own faith or the way that you experience Parish Light?
Josh Masterson(17:26.008)
Well, for one thing, it's certainly made me, you know, more observant, looking for joke ideas. Mm-hmm. It's helped me to really just sometimes, you know, I'm making jokes, but other times I'm making more serious comics. And when I'm making a more serious and I guess holy comic, that allows me to really just sit with myself and to see where I am and to hit a pull from what I know, but also a wait for myself to learn more about the faith. And so I would say that throughout these four years of making these Catholic comics I've
certainly grown far more in my faith and a deeper relationship with God and and praying while I'm doing this, but also in connecting with other people in the faith, you know, whether that's them asking me questions and, you know, I have to learn more to answer these questions or just, you know, kind of guiding them, you know, in the faith, whether it's deeper to the faith, or maybe they don't know anything about the faith and they're curious and they want to know more. You know, all around this is really something that's drawn me a lot closer to God in all of it.
A. Cahill (18:23.424)
Yeah. I think it's interesting too because it's one of those things that obviously it's growing your knowledge base a bit, which I think is amazing, but then also helping others kind of come to the faith as well. And looking back, what is creating the Catholic cartoon? What has it taught you about God that you don't think you would have learned another way?
Josh Masterson(18:39.534)
Well, I think that and maybe this isn't very deep, but I think this just has a lot to do with my own gifts. I was brought up Catholic, and so surrounded by Catholics my whole life. And I was always kind of pushed by other people, not in a bad way, but they would be more encouraging for me to pursue the fine arts or sacred art. And so I spent the majority of my life trying that. And that was never something that really edified me personally. Well, there's a lot of art that I made that I'm certainly proud of. Yeah.
Done in that more, I suppose, realistic, you know, style. But something that I've really learned is looking at what we have, what has God already given us? That's something that I I think that's the one big lesson I've learned the most. And it's something I try to pass on to other artists as well, is to just kind of like take a step back and reflect and just see what God has given you. What things do you enjoy and find a way that you can integrate that, you know, into the faith. Find a way to integrate.
using that as a way to, you know, bring people closer to God and to edify his people. My grandmother was the actually the only one who was the most encouraging towards me in pursuing cartooning, you know, 'cause it w it was always like a hobby to me. I never saw it as something that could be anything more than just that, something to do on the side. But she was always like, No, you can really do something amazing with this. And so again, going back to that that piece, right? I really felt like letting go. It really felt like this is just what God wants. I feel like I can trust him totally in this. And so
To any artists out there, I always just encourage them to just kind of look at what you have, you know. It's it's good to try and, you know, maybe we we want to be better at something and of course, you know, pursue that. But don't be afraid to use what you have as well, you know, the things that God has already given you, the gifts He's already given you.
A. Cahill (20:19.894)
That's a great tip. And actually it's kind of answers my next question of if you could encourage one Catholic out there who's quietly carrying this creative dream, what would you want them to hear? And I I think that's amazing. Is there anything else you kind of want to tag on to that just as inspiration?
Josh Masterson(20:32.814)
I would say also just pray. You know, make sure that you're praying and staying connected with God and in what you're doing and just to really enjoy the process of what you're doing. You know, and it shouldn't be something that's making you anxious or stressed. It should be something that makes you happy and joyful.
A. Cahill (20:49.794)
That is some great advice. It's just such a great kind of note to end on because it's that idea of enjoying the process is so, so important because that's life basically too, isn't it? Just like enjoy the process of of working towards heaven. So yeah, so that was a that's a great note to end on. Thank you so much, Josh, for joining me today. I really appreciate it.
Josh Masterson(21:08.526)
Thank you so much for having me. It was a great time.
A. Cahill (21:11.168)
And thank you so much to all of you for listening to this episode. Until next time, stay creative and keep making what matters most.