Dry Bones Books

We, the LSW (Long Suffering Wife) and I have published a line of fabulous Dry Bones cartoon books.

1. the Dry Bones Jewish Traditions Holiday Coloring Book,
From the candle lighting of Hanukkah to the munching of Passover, from the honey-dipped apple slices of Rosh HaShana, to the tree-plantings of Tu B'Shvat, this coloring book invites you to color (or just read) your way through the traditions of our Jewish Holidays.

2. Dry Bones Cartoons Fight Back
This is a collection of the Dry Bones cartoons that fight back against the antisemites, the deniers of our history, the anti-Zionists, and the enemies of our JudeoChristian civilization. None are Politically Correct. Most are angry. But if you are a Zionist Jew or a Righteous Gentile, they will bring you comfort, a smile, and a few laughs.

3. Young and Innocent, the way we were
Do you remember Israel the way it used to be? Before we were the "Startup"nation? Do you remember measuring floors by counting the floor tiles? Sniffing the cottage Cheese? Here's a collection of "You Know You've Been Here Too Long When . . ." and other classic Dry Bones full Page cartoons. Return with us now to those thrilling (and funny) days of yesteryear when we were Young and Innocent.

4. Trees, The Green Testament
A 208 page Dry Bones Graphic Novel that presents the story of Israel as told by the Trees. It bridges the gap that divides Jews, Christians, environmentalists, historians, Zionists, millennial students, and angry senior citizens. This remarkable book simply overwhelms the reader with its shared message of hope.

You can go to my Amazon author's page to see all our books.
There you can "Look Inside" and if you like them (And why wouldn't you?)
You can buy these and a book-shelf of other Dry Bones books at amazon.com/author/kirschen
In the UK it's www.bit.ly/drybonesbooks

Hurricane

Today's cartoon is an outreach to the communities being hit by terrible destructive hurricanes. When I was a young art student I was taken with the mastery of the Japanese artist Hokusai and this is sort of an homage to him.

The years have slipped by and I am no longer a "young art student."

I'm now an old newspaper cartoonist (in a post-newspaper age) about to celebrate his 80th birthday (March 8).

I'm not starving in a garret, I'm living in a rambling old house in Israel with my LSW (Long Suffering Wife). If you are a fan of Dry Bones it would be great if you could/would make a donation to keep us going. http://mrdrybones.com/donate.html

and, of course, perhaps buy a copy of my graphic novel Trees, The Green Testament. Get yours at http://amazon.com/author/kirschen or order a copy directly from me for me to autograph and for my LSW to mail to you from our local Post Office. http://store.drybones.com/

It makes a wonderful gift and comes with our love and best wishes in this time of wonderful miracles and terrible stress.

Approaching 80 Years Old

Trees, The Green Testament is a Graphic Novel that I wrote and drew back in 1993.

I was shocked when the front page of the Wall Street Journal reported that my book was being accepted by American Christians as a work of prophecy. Ultra-Orthodox Jews declared that it had actually been written by the reincarnated soul of a long-dead Jewish sage!? I immediately withdrew all support for the book! I was a political cartoonist and did not want to be seen as some kind of religious nut-case!

But the years have slipped by, I'm about to celebrate my 80th birthday (March 8) and I want to share the incredible "Trees" experience with my friends and fans. so I wrote a free book in which you can read the story of how I came to write Trees, The Green Testament
And with the growing isolation of Israel, the explosion of antisemitism, the street attacks on European Jews, and the world's apathy to the genocide of Christians in Africa and the Middle East, I've also decided to publish an Annotated Edition of the original book. The story of Israel and World History as told by the Trees!! Get yours at http://amazon.com/author/kirschen or order a copy directly from me for me to autograph and for my LSW (Long Suffering Wife) to mail to you from our home in Israel http://store.drybones.com/

It makes a wonderful gift and comes with my love and best wishes in this time of wonderful miracles and terrible stress.

PART TWO: The Story of Trees Continues

Click to read Part One

The story so far:

I was the political cartoonist of The Jerusalem Post.
I lived in Jerusalem and I was writing a graphic novel.
Because I was a completely secular and “rational” Jew I did not tell anyone that what I was writing and drawing was being "dictated to me" by “The Trees” (who referred to humanity as the rootless ones.)

Taking Dictation?:

The Jewish National Fund (JNF) is the American wing of the Israeli organization that plants trees in Israel.
The Israeli part of the operation is Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael (KKL).
JNF/KKL manages forests, pushes back the desert, and builds water reservoirs in the State of Israel. Israelis often enjoy holiday picnics and family outings in KKL forests. As a journalist I had been invited to take a JNF bus tour of their operations and facilities. I saw how seeds were sprouted, saplings pampered, and trees planted. And so when “The Trees” spoke to me I understood the world that they lived in and the images that they showed me. Having been on the journalist tour allowed me to maintain the fiction that I was the one writing the book, not “The Trees.”

On the days that “The Trees” were silent I attempted to write an outline of the book,
but I couldn’t.
I tried to estimate the length of the finished book,
but I couldn’t.
I attempted to write a chapter "on my own",
but I couldn’t.

Telling the story of Israel had always been difficult for me. There were three conflicting stories.
One story was the long and painful history of the Jewish nation.
A second story was the religious one, complete with bizarre Biblical “end of days” prophecies.
The third story was that of the modern state, the revival of our dead language, the ingathering of our brothers and sisters, the building up of our cities.
And so I was not surprised when ”The Trees” argued between themselves in their dictation to me. Maybe they weren’t dictating. Maybe it was all just my subconscious. It was a comforting thought, but I dutifully continued to watch as each page surprised me as it flowed from my pen.

A heavy Jerusalem snowstorm blew down neighborhood trees and damaged the little house we lived in. In reaction, my wife and I moved to a Tel Aviv apartment. Soon I would find myself sitting, every day, at a table in a local Tel Aviv café across the street from our apartment, furiously drawing page after page. The book was now nearing completion, but I had no idea of what lay in store.

To Be Continued . . .

You can buy the book from Amazon (Print copy or Kindle) at http://amazon.com/author/kirschen
Or you can order a signed copy to be mailed directly to you from my home in Israel http://store.drybones.com/
And if you buy a copy from Amazon PLEASE leave a review. It would be really helpful.

Trump: Bring Him Home

My fight against the long, harsh, antisemitic, and unfair treatment of Jonathan Pollard has gone on for decades!!
I hope and pray that Donald Trump will now end this evil miscarriage of American "justice" and bring Jonathan and his wife Esther home to Israel.

TREES 20th Anniversary

Trees is a book I wrote and drew back in 1993.

It became an underground cult classic and has been out-of-print ever since.
We've decided to issue a 20th anniversary edition ebook and to make it available to everyone. We've priced it at $2.99 at store.drybones.com

a Dry Bones Passover Gift

At Passover we all dutifully pledge to be living "Next Year in Jerusalem". In 1971 I did it. I came "home" to Israel from America, the land of my birth.

Two years after arriving in Israel, I began drawing a political comic strip for the Jerusalem Post. I called it Dry Bones. It became an overnight success and was soon being quoted by major international media as revealing what the Israeli “man in the street” was thinking.

In 2005, after 32 years of non-stop newspaper publication, I started the Dry Bones Blog. Every day I post a Dry Bones cartoon along with a column of explanation/commentary.

But in the forty years that have passed since I made aliya in 1971, only once did I ever try to explain the vision and passion that had gripped my imagination and had totally changed the path of my life.

Only once did I ever try to explain Zionism.

I did it in 1993, in a graphic novel called Trees ...the Green Testament.

* * * Here in Israel, I'm surrounded by the frenzied Passover gift-shopping in crowded shopping malls. So I've decided on a Passover gift to give my loyal readers. A copy of Trees. I've converted the 192-page graphic work into a "flipBook". It's a kind of eBook that feels like a book on paper. You use your mouse to grab page corners for page-turning. Neat! * * * To get your free copy of "Trees" just click on Trees, the Green Testament ...and there's a "Share" button on the flipBook so you can send a free copy to your friends too.

click me for flipBook gift.

Happy Passover

Next cartoon on Thursday April 21st.
For a full explanation of the writing of Trees, click HERE.