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;Bell, Invaders, page 33 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. 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.

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, including cartoonists like David Hayward also known as The NakedPastor.

What is "Canadian"?

The Joe Shuster Awards considers eligible anyone who has Canadian citizenship (regardless of residence) or permanent residence. 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

NameBornDiedNotable worksPrimarylanguageNationalityJS HoFCC HoFHonoursLeo Bachle1923Toronto, Ontario2003Toronto, OntarioJohnny CanuckEnglishCanadian2005Bado1949-05-21Montréal, QuébecEditorial cartoonsFrench EnglishCanadianRaoul Barré1874-01-29Montréal, Québec1932-05-21Montréal, QuébecFrenchCanadian AmericanJimmy Beaulieu1974FrenchCanadianAlbéric Bourgeois1876-11-29Montréal, Québec1962-11-17Les Aventures de TimothéeFrenchCanadian2005Serge Chapleau1945-12-05Montréal, QuébecEditorial cartoonsFrenchCanadianAlbert Chartier19122004Onésime, Séraphin, Les CanadiensFrenchCanadian2007Adrian Dingle1911Barmouth, Gwynedd, Wales1974-12-22Toronto, OntarioNelvana of the Northern LightsEnglishCanadian2005Julie Doucet1965-12-31Montréal, QuébecDirty PlotteFrench EnglishCanadianDavid Finch1971-07-04EnglishCanadianPierre Fournier1949Red Ketchup, Les Aventures du Capitaine Kébec, Croc, Michel RisqueFrenchCanadian2008George Freeman1951-05-27Selkirk, ManitobaEnglishCanadian2010Jimmy Frise1891Scugog Island, Ontario1948Birdseye CenterEnglishCanadian2009Tony GrayThe Incredible ConduitEnglishCanadianAnnie Groovie1970-04-11Trois-Rivières, QuébecLéonFrenchCanadianTom Grummett1959Saskatoon, Saskatchewan"The Death of Superman"EnglishCanadianPia GuerraEnglishCanadianRand Holmes1942-02-22Truro, Nova Scotia2002-03-15Nanaimo, British ColumbiaHarold HeddEnglishCanadian20052007Jacques Hurtubise (cartoonist) , aka ZYX19502015CrocFrenchCanadian2007Stuart ImmonenEnglishCanadianGeof Isherwood1960-12-04Quantico, VirginiaEnglishAmericanHenri Julien1852-05-14Québec City, Québec1908-09-17FrenchCanadianDale Keown1962PittEnglishCanadianKarl KerschlToronto, OntarioEnglishCanadianEric Kim1977EnglishLeonard Kirk2000United StatesEnglishAmericanGerald Lazare1927Toronto, Ontario, CanadaNitro, The Wing, The Dreamer, Drummy Young, Air WomanEnglishCanadian2007Axelle Lenoir1979Notre-Dame-du-Lac, QuebecSi on était, Mertownville FrenchCanadianFrancis Manapul1979-08-26EnglishJason MarcyJay's DaysEnglishMichael McAdam1969-04-30Fredericton, New BrunswickThunder, Spectrum, Twilight Detective Agency, Gloaming, DiapermanEnglishCanadianBruce McCall1935Simcoe, OntarioNew Yorker cartoonsEnglishTed McCall19011975Men of the Mounted, founder of Anglo-American Publishing, FreelanceEnglishCanadian2008Owen McCarron1929Halifax, Nova Scotia2005-06-27Ghost Rider, Spidey Super Stories, Marvel Fun and GamesEnglishCanadian2006Todd McFarlane1961-03-16Calgary, AlbertaSpawnEnglishCanadian, American2011Bernie Mireault1961Marville, France The Jam, Mackenzie Queen, Dr. Robot, Bug-eyed MonsterEnglishCanadianWin Mortimer1919-05-01Hamilton, Ontario1998-01-11Superman, 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.EnglishCanadian2006Mark OakleyThieves and KingsEnglishCanadianYanick Paquette1974EnglishCanadianLouis Paradis1959-06-06Montmagny, QuebecFrenchCanadianGuillaume Perreault1985Rimouski, QuebecPet et Répète: La véritable histoireFrenchCanadianDušan Petričić1946-05-10Editorial cartoonsEnglishMichel Rabagliati1961Montréal, QuébecPaul seriesFrenchCanadianSteve Requin1968-07-21Montréal, QuébecMensuHellFrenchCanadianYves Rodier1967-06-05Farnham, QuébecFrenchCanadianArn Saba1947Vancouver, British ColumbiaNeil the HorseEnglishCanadianSeth1962-09-16Clinton, OntarioPalookaville, It's a Good Life, If You Don't WeakenEnglishCanadianLeanne Shapton1973-06-25EnglishDave Sim1956-05-17Hamilton, OntarioCerebusEnglishCanadian2006Steve SkroceCanadaEnglishCanadianKean SooEnglandJellabyEnglishJon St. Ables1912-12-23Ulverston, England1999Seattle, WashingtonPiltdown Pete, Brok Windsor, Bill SpeedEnglishCanadian2006Ken Steacy1955-01-08The Sacred and the Profane, Night and the Enemy, Astro Boy, Johnny Quest, Tempus FugitiveEnglishCanadian2009Jay Stephens1971-03-22Toronto, OntarioChick & Dee, Oh, Brother!EnglishCanadianCameron Stewart1967Toronto, OntarioEnglishCanadianJillian Tamaki1980-04-17Ottawa, OntarioSkimEnglishTy Templeton1962-05-09Stig's Inferno, Batman Adventures, Justice LeagueEnglishCanadianMarcus To1983-10-20EnglishCanadianColin Upton1960-04-02Winnipeg, ManitobaEnglishCanadianHenriette Valium1959-05-04Montreal, Canada EnglishCanadianPeter Whalley1921-02-21Brockville, Canada2007-09-18Saint-Jérôme, QuebecEnglishCanadian2005

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

Notes

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