As many of us are visually oriented, pictures do speak a thousand words. "Together Again: Illustrating God's Word" does just that. As a speaker will rely on his/her words to convey an analogy, Kartoon Knuggets uses cartoons to convey the meaning of God's Word. The cartoons came as a direct result of God's inspiration as I studied His Word to see what God had for me to learn. As He supplied the understanding, which often came after a lengthy study of various translations and comparing scripture to scripture, so also did the illustrations. Much care was taken to ensure that the message and the cartoon accurately conveyed the meaning of the verses. Kartoon Knuggets began in 1999 when I was challenged to draw Christian cartoons. After four years and hundreds of cartoons, life-changes temporarily hindered the cartoons to continue to be drawn. Now, ten years later, the Lord reminded me of the calling He gave back then and paved the way for the cartoons He inspired to be put into print. I pray the cartoons are as much of a blessing to you as they were to me when drawing them.
About the Author: Dr. Troy Knechtel, author and illustrator of "Together Again" has been a cartoonist for most of his life. For many years his work was limited to sketches in all the vacant spaces of the church bulletins when he was supposed to be taking notes. But in junior high and high school his cartooning ability was put to more practical use as he regularly drew posters and calendars for his youth groups, advertising upcoming events. While in college at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California, his artwork was his way of taking notes, choosing to illustrate the points the professors were making instead of the typical note taking format. As a youth pastor his senior year the cartooning was also utilized for lessons as well as the usual calendars, t-shirts, and posters. Then, as a teacher, he had aspirations of drawing for a educational purposes. However, when those plans failed to get off the ground, the Lord opened another avenue for Troy to use his talents for the Lord. In 1999, Marty, the webmaster for christiancartoons.com contacted Troy, asking him if he had ever drawn Christian cartoons. Making it a matter of prayer, Troy then went to church the following Sunday and the ideas for illustrating God's Word began flooding into his head and onto the open spaces on the church bulletin; again. But this time the cartoon ideas made their way onto his computer, through the email, and posted on the internet. For the next four years hundreds of cartoons were drawn, sent, and used around the world in bulletins, on websites, as part of Vacation Bible School and many more uses that Troy has no idea of. But with a change of jobs from teaching to administration, kids growing older, his wife's illness, and pursuing a doctoral degree in School Leadership through Azusa Pacific University, the cartoons had to take a back seat for a few years. But in 2013, the Lord again stirred up Troy's passion for cartooning what God placed in his heart and mind! "Together Again" is a collection, his fifth collection (the others are available on Kindle) of the cartoons and the messages that were posted to his Kartoon Knuggets Facebook pages, on his kartoonknuggets.com website, and now on his Kartoon Knuggets blog along with a short devotional giving more insight to his cartoons. His prayer is that the cartoons will be as much of a blessing to you, the reader, as they were for him as he drew them. And, as always, may Christ ever receive the glory for the works that He has inspired.