List of Canadian comics creators explained

Canadian cartoonists have been active since the earliest days of cartooning, in both English and French, the two official languages of Canada.

Canadian cartoonists are prominently active in every area of comics and cartooning, from editorial and gag cartoons, to comic strips, comic books, graphic novels and webcomics.

Brief overview

While earlier examples of Canadian comics tend to imitate American and British examples, over the course of the 20th Century, Canadian cartoonists have cut out niches of their own, as in Hal Foster's pioneering adventure comic strip work on Tarzan and Prince Valiant;^[1] in Lynn Johnston's For Better or For Worse, readers follow the characters as they grow older and deal with a variety of issues, unusual for the gag-a-day comic strip world of the latter 20th Century; Dave Sim's Cerebus tackles epic-sized themes over the course of a 6000-page, self-contained story, while providing new publishing models in the forms of self-publishing and graphic novel collections.

John Wilson Bengough and his Puck-inspired humour magazine Grip (1873–1892) was a popular forum for political cartoons in the earliest decades following Canadian Confederation in 1867.^[2] At the start of the 20th century, Albéric Bourgeois brought what may have been the first continuing comic strip to use word balloons to Canadian newspapers when he created Les Aventures de Timothée in 1903.

In 1938, Toronto-born artist Joe Shuster, along with American writer Jerry Siegel, released Superman to the world, kickstarting the fledgling comic book industry while popularizing the superhero genre. During World War II, Canadian superhero comic books got their start when Adrian Dingle debuted Nelvana of the Northern Lights in Triumph Adventure Comics, one of the "Canadian whites", comic books with colour covers and black-and-white interiors that were common in Canada during the war years.^[3]

Canadians made a bigger impact on alternative comics later in the century. Dave Sim's 6000-page epic Cerebus pushed creative boundaries with Sim pushing a model of self-publishing as an ideal. Chester Brown had a broad influence breaking taboos in his Yummy Fur series, and was part of an autobiographical comics trend in the 1990s that included Seth and Julie Doucet. Graphic novels have since become more prominent, and webcomics have also become a popular outlet for Canadian cartoonists.

What is "Canadian"?

The Joe Shuster Awards considers eligible anyone who has Canadian citizenship (regardless of residence) or permanent residence.^[4] The following list reflects that inclusive philosophy in choosing whom to consider "Canadian".

JS HoF = year of induction into the Joe Shuster Hall of Fame

CC HoF = year of induction into the Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame

Name	Born		Died		Notable works	Primary language	Nationality	JS HoF	CC HoF	Honours
Leo Bachle	1923	Toronto, Ontario	2003	Toronto, Ontario	Johnny Canuck	English	Canadian	2005
Bado		1949-05-21	Montréal, Québec^[5]			Editorial cartoons	French English	Canadian
Raoul Barré	1874-01-29	Montréal, Québec	1932-05-21	Montréal, Québec		French	Canadian American
Jimmy Beaulieu	1974					French	Canadian
Albéric Bourgeois	1876-11-29^[6]	Montréal, Québec	1962-11-17		Les Aventures de Timothée	French	Canadian		2005
Serge Chapleau	1945-12-05	Montréal, Québec			Editorial cartoons	French	Canadian
Albert Chartier	1912		2004		Onésime, Séraphin, Les Canadiens	French	Canadian	2007
Adrian Dingle	1911	Barmouth, Gwynedd, Wales	1974-12-22	Toronto, Ontario	Nelvana of the Northern Lights	English	Canadian	2005
Julie Doucet	1965-12-31	Montréal, Québec			Dirty Plotte	French English	Canadian
David Finch	1971-07-04					English	Canadian
Pierre Fournier	1949				Red Ketchup, Les Aventures du Capitaine Kébec, Croc, Michel Risque	French	Canadian	2008
George Freeman	1951-05-27	Selkirk, Manitoba				English	Canadian	2010
Jimmy Frise	1891	Scugog Island, Ontario	1948		Birdseye Center	English	Canadian		2009
Tony Gray					The Incredible Conduit	English	Canadian
Annie Groovie	1970-04-11	Trois-Rivières, Québec			Léon	French	Canadian
Tom Grummett	1959	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan			"The Death of Superman"	English	Canadian
Pia Guerra						English	Canadian
Rand Holmes	1942-02-22^[7]	Truro, Nova Scotia^[8]	2002-03-15	Nanaimo, British Columbia	Harold Hedd	English	Canadian	2005	2007
Jacques Hurtubise (cartoonist), aka ZYX	1950		2015		Croc	French	Canadian	2007
Stuart Immonen						English	Canadian
Geof Isherwood	1960-12-04	Quantico, Virginia				English	American
Henri Julien	1852-05-14^[9]	Québec City, Québec	1908-09-17			French	Canadian
Dale Keown	1962				Pitt	English	Canadian
Karl Kerschl		Toronto, Ontario				English	Canadian
Eric Kim	1977					English
Leonard Kirk	2000	United States				English	American
Gerald Lazare	1927	Toronto, Ontario, Canada			Nitro, The Wing, The Dreamer, Drummy Young, Air Woman	English	Canadian	2007
Francis Manapul	1979-08-26					English
Jason Marcy					Jay's Days	English
Michael McAdam	1969-04-30	Fredericton, New Brunswick			Thunder, Spectrum, Twilight Detective Agency, Gloaming, Diaperman	English	Canadian
Bruce McCall	1935	Simcoe, Ontario			New Yorker cartoons	English
Ted McCall	1901		1975		Men of the Mounted, founder of Anglo-American Publishing, Freelance	English	Canadian	2008
Owen McCarron	1929	Halifax, Nova Scotia	2005-06-27		Ghost Rider, Spidey Super Stories, Marvel Fun and Games	English	Canadian	2006
Todd McFarlane	1961-03-16	Calgary, Alberta			Spawn	English	Canadian, American	2011
Bernie Mireault	1961	Marville, France			The Jam, Mackenzie Queen, Dr. Robot, Bug-eyed Monster	English	Canadian
Win Mortimer	1919-05-01^[10]	Hamilton, Ontario	1998-01-11		Superman, Superboy, Batman, Legion of Super-Heroes, Plastic Man, Supergirl, Scooter, Stanley And His Monster, Spider-Man, Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery, The Twilight Zone, Supernatural Thrillers.	English	Canadian	2006
Mark Oakley					Thieves and Kings	English	Canadian
Yanick Paquette	1974					English	Canadian
Louis Paradis	1959-06-06^[11]	Montmagny, Quebec				French	Canadian
Guillaume Perreault	1985	Rimouski, Quebec			Pet et Répète: La véritable histoire	French	Canadian
Dušan Petričić	1946-05-10				Editorial cartoons	English
Michel Rabagliati	1961^[12]	Montréal, Québec			Paul series	French	Canadian
Steve Requin	1968-07-21	Montréal, Québec			MensuHell	French	Canadian
Yves Rodier	1967-06-05	Farnham, Québec				French	Canadian
Arn Saba	1947	Vancouver, British Columbia			Neil the Horse	English	Canadian
Seth	1962-09-16	Clinton, Ontario			Palookaville, It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken	English	Canadian
Leanne Shapton	1973-06-25					English
Dave Sim	1956-05-17^[13]	Hamilton, Ontario			Cerebus	English	Canadian	2006
Steve Skroce		Canada				English	Canadian
Kean Soo		England			Jellaby	English
Jon St. Ables	1912-12-23^[14]	Ulverston, England	1999	Seattle, Washington	Piltdown Pete, Brok Windsor, Bill Speed	English	Canadian	2006
Ken Steacy	1955-01-08				The Sacred and the Profane, Night and the Enemy, Astro Boy, Johnny Quest, Tempus Fugitive	English	Canadian	2009
Jay Stephens	1971-03-22	Toronto, Ontario			Chick & Dee, Oh, Brother!	English	Canadian
Cameron Stewart	1967	Toronto, Ontario				English	Canadian
Jillian Tamaki	1980-04-17	Ottawa, Ontario^[15]			Skim	English
Ty Templeton	1962-05-09				Stig's Inferno, Batman Adventures, Justice League	English	Canadian
Marcus To	1983-10-20					English	Canadian
Colin Upton	1960-04-02	Winnipeg, Manitoba				English	Canadian
Henriette Valium	1959-05-04	Montreal, Canada				English	Canadian
Peter Whalley	1921-02-21	Brockville, Canada	2007-09-18	Saint-Jérôme, Quebec		English	Canadian		2005

See also

• Canadian comics
• The Great Canadian Comic Books
• Québec comics

Further reading

• Hirsh, Michael; and Loubert, Patrick. The Great Canadian Comic Books. Peter Martin Associates, 1971.
• Bell, John. Invaders from the North: How Canada Conquered the Comic Book Universe. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2006.
• Bell, John. Guardians of the North: The National Superhero in Canadian Comic-Book Art. National Archives of Canada, 1992.
• Bell, John. Canuck Comics: A Guide to Comic Books Published in Canada. Matrix Books, 1986.

References

Works cited

• Bell, John. Invaders from the North: How Canada Conquered the Comic Book Universe. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2006.

External links

• The Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists/L'Association des Dessinateurs d'Éditoriaux website
• Joe Shuster Awards website
• Doug Wright Awards website

Notes and References

1. Bell, Invaders, page 33
2. BENGOUGH, JOHN WILSON. 2011-12-16. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Ramsay. Cook.
3. Web site: Canadian Golden Age of Comics, 1941–1946. Library and Archives Canada. 2011-12-16. 2002-06-24.
4. Web site: About. For the purposes of the JOE SHUSTER AWARDS (as determined by the Nominating Committee), a Canadian is defined as a native (citizen) or long-term inhabitant (permanent resident) of Canada, or an individual who was born in Canada and now resides elsewhere (possessing either Canadian or dual citizenship). However, this is a fluid definition which can be re-evaluated by the nominating committee on a case by case basis. Awards may change from year to year, including or subtracting, as determined by the awards Executive Committee. In order to qualify as a resident, a creator must live in Canada for three years, and that residency status is revoked if the person moves away from Canada.. 2011-12-14.
5. Web site: Bado's blog: Profile . 2011-12-15.
6. Web site: Albéric Bourgeois (Marius) . . 2011-12-15.
7. Web site: Rand Holmes . . 2011-12-14.
8. Web site: HOLMES, Rand (1942–2002) . Joe Shuster Awards . 2011-12-14.
9. Guilbault . Nicole . Julien, Henri . Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online . 2011-12-14.
10. Web site: Win Mortimer . . 2011-12-14.
11. Web site: Louis Paradis . . 2011-12-14.
12. Web site: Michel Rabagliati Biography . . 2011-12-14.
13. Web site: Dave Sim . . 2011-12-14.
14. Web site: Jon St. Ables . . 2011-12-14.
15. Web site: Jillian Tamaki . 2011-12-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141214120240/http://www.walker.co.uk/contributors/Jillian-Tamaki-8413.aspx . 2014-12-14 . dead .