I just loved when stories came out that theaters were having to adjust because of how ethanol was driving up the cost of corn.

This cartoon was several editors’ second favorite for several days, always to be kept on hand in case we needed it, until it just became too dated.

Not much to explain here, I suppose. Maybe the idea of a rat feces sandwich turned off editors? Regardless, I think the notion that the state shouldn’t regulate health concerns is pretty absurd when you think about it.

I was thinking about finishing this cartoon and using it as a Christmas card, but my wife figured we’d probably only be able to send it to about 3 people.

The Journal Star had a seven part series called “What I Believe,” which featured a random person each day and talked about what their essential beliefs were toward life, spirituality and society. This was my contribution, which was rejected on the notion that it was probably not best to poke fun at the people who cooperated with the paper for the series.

And on top of that, there’s the valid assertion that it means absolutely nothing. But it made me laugh a lot.

…will be the countdown of my Top 20 Rejected Cartoon Ideas of 2007.

I’ve gone through all the sketches I’ve accumulated over the past year, looking at every reject, laughing along at those I wish would’ve run and those that thankfully didn’t, and chosen my 20 favorites. Starting tomorrow, I’ll count down to my absolute favorite of the past year. That winner will be unveiled on New Year’s Eve so I can clean off my hard drive in time to start another year’s worth of cartoon ideas.

Along the way, I might even get inspired enough to finish a few of these ideas. There’s something about the rawness of the sketches that gives rejects a level of humor entirely their own, so if I decide not to finish any of them, that’ll be my excuse.

In the interest of providing all-new content, and to get you in the mood, here are four previously-posted rejects from the past 12 months:

I was wondering if the cartoonists of the world would respond to the Omaha killings in the way they did to the Virginia Tech shootings. It may have only been nine dead, but I was still surprised that only Omaha’s Jeff Koterba cartooned about it.