In 2007, Ward was hired to work on the first season of Cartoon Network's "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack" as a writer and storyboard artist. "Flapjack" was a storyboard-driven show, allowing the storyboard artists to write all the dialogue and draw all the action based on an outline assigned to them. The artists each worked in pairs, and during his time on "Flapjack" Ward was partnered up with Mike Roth (formerly the supervising producer of "Regular Show") and later Alex Hirsch, who has since gone on to create the show "Gravity Falls" and develop "Fish Hooks" for Disney Channel. The experience inspired Pen to approach "Adventure Time" the same way once it was picked up as a series.