CARTOONS RIGHT OUT OF OLD TESTAMENT.Byline: Holly J. Andres Daily News Staff Writer The devil didn't make Leigh Rubin Leigh Rubin is the creator of the syndicated comic strip Rubes. External links
The religiously correct answer from the Palmdale-based cartoonist is that divine inspiration motivated him to publish ``Rubes Rubes is a syndicated newspaper single panel cartoon created by Leigh Rubin in 1984. Leigh Rubin began making and distributing his own greeting cards in 1979 through his company Rubes. Bible Cartoons.'' The down-to-earth reason for Rubin to do the book was the fan mail he received for his cartoon ``Rubes,'' which is syndicated in more than 400 newspapers worldwide, including the Daily News. ``I got letters and e-mail from people across the U.S. A woman back East wrote me to ask if she could use one of the Bible cartoons for her son's bar mitzvah Bar Mitzvah (bärmĭts`və) [Aramaic,=son of the Commandment], Jewish ceremony in which the young male is initiated into the religious community, according to tradition at the age of 13 years and a day. program, and why didn't I put them all in one book? ``I got a really nice letter from a priest in Pennsylvania who said that he had laughed out loud over the cartoons. He also wrote `We in the piety need some levity lev·i·ty n. pl. lev·i·ties 1. Lightness of manner or speech, especially when inappropriate; frivolity. 2. Inconstancy; changeableness. 3. The state or quality of being light; buoyancy. ,' '' said Rubin, a New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of native who has lived in Palmdale for 15 years. One of his earliest Bible cartoons depicts Adam and Eve Adam and Eve In the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, the parents of the human race. Genesis gives two versions of their creation. In the first, God creates “male and female in his own image” on the sixth day. being commanded to ``go forth and multiply'' as a startled star·tle v. star·tled, star·tling, star·tles v.tr. 1. To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start. 2. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly. See Synonyms at frighten. rabbit also hears God's words. ``That is my favorite My Favorite is an independent synthpop band from Long Island, New York. They released two CDs: Love at Absolute Zero and Happiest Days of Our Lives. My Favorite broke up on September 14, 2005, when singer Andrea Vaughn left the band. , God telling them to be fruitful with the rabbit listening in,'' said the Rev. Ken Simon of the First Lutheran Church of Glendale. ``I think Leigh has the ability to help people think larger about the old stories of the Bible. Humor has a way to pull people out, to see a larger view of the message.'' Simon, who admitted to using humor in his sermons, said that if he could, he would project Rubin's cartoons on a screen on Sunday mornings to illustrate his sermons. He also doesn't have any reservations about the humor used. ``Only the people who look at the Bible in the most literalistic way would find any objections to these cartoons,'' said Simon, a Lutheran minister ordained or·dain tr.v. or·dained, or·dain·ing, or·dains 1. a. To invest with ministerial or priestly authority; confer holy orders on. b. To authorize as a rabbi. 2. in 1978. Rubin attended Granada Hills High School Granada Hills Charter High School (Granada Hills High School) is a public, charter, co-educational, secondary school consisting of students in grades 9-12. The school colors are green, black, and white. and Pierce College In 2006 the Library won a national Excellence award. Academics Pierce College offers associate's degrees, mainly in the arts and sciences. There are also certificate programs in early childhood education, social services, dental hygienist, and others. in Woodland Hills. ``I studied advertising art there at Pierce for about a year and a half. I didn't graduate. Do you think they would give me an honorary AA degree?'' said Rubin, who joked about knowing his future success was in the art field. He just didn't know the specifics. The cartoonist found himself using the layout skills he learned during his college experience when he worked in his father's printing company in Panorama City. In the late 1970s, Rubin produced a line of greeting cards which, along with other drawings, he sold at street fairs and art shows. He self-published his first book, ``Notable Quotes,'' a collection of musical cartoons in 1981. The Bible cartoon book is his seventh book. Why draw Bible cartoons? Rubin said ideas ``bounce all over the universe'' when he's deciding what to draw. The Bible was just one of his experiences that he could draw from. Rubin said that he was a bar mitzvah and was confirmed after attending two Northridge temples, Ramat Zion and Ahavat Shalom. Drawing the cartoons, which takes 45 minutes to 1-1/2 hours, is the easy part, Rubin said. ``Getting the ideas and the puns, that's another story.'' His personal favorite of his Bible cartoons shows one primitive man bowing down to a pile of rocks. Two others, pointing to another pile of rocks, express the opinion that the first man is bowing down to the wrong pile. ``That one speaks volumes about humanity,'' Rubin said. ``Religion can get very, very serious. Really, 99 percent of my e-mail is positive. The only negative comments I've ever gotten on a biblical cartoon was due to a math error,'' Rubin said. He was referring to a cartoon about Adam and Eve discussing how much the population of the world would increase if they had children. The math was corrected for the book. Rabbi Alan Henkin, of Congregation Beth Knesset Bamidbar in Lancaster, appreciates the humor. ``I think the cartoons show insights into the familiar biblical characters that we wouldn't think about initially. I see nothing offensive about them. They're very funny and very clever,'' Henkin said. Rubin said that anyone who was familiar with the icons of the Old Testament or anyone who has ever attended church or temple would understand the cartoons. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Leigh Rubin says fan sentiment was behind his idea to do a Bible-inspired book. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News |
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