Jimmy Frise was a living, breathing phenomenon. Once as close as it was possible to be a living legend in the world of Canadian publishing. A genuine character. A twinkling star that shone so bright, one could even catch a glimmer of his light, in a sullen, self-absorbed pubescent daze.
     It was probably the winter of 1971. A 13 year-old kid from the farm rides shotgun into town with his mom to get away from his perceived dreary rural existence. She shops for groceries and clothing, wh...
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    Canadians have watched their game flogged and marketed like soap, ever since the game was introduced to Americans. The game just never reached the level of football, baseball and basketball, despite the sports greatest efforts.
    One of the techniques explored has been comics and cartooning, with varying and variable degrees of success. Animation icon Walt Disney, (whose father actually lived in Goderich, Ontario briefly), produced a couple of the earliest hockey cartoons: "The Hockey Ch...
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     When Canada declared war on Germany in 1939, it inadvertantly resulted in an embargo on U.S. based fiction literature. It caused an entertainment vacuum, which four Canadian owned publishers feverishly positioned themselves to fill. Maple Leaf Publishing, was based in Vancouver, while the other three: Anglo-American Publishing, Hillborough Studios, and Commercial Signs of Canada, called Toronto home.
     In March of 1941, Maple Leaf and Anglo-American hit newsstands, while Hillborough a...
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     Since I was a boy, the role and prominence of comics in the world has changed. First of all, publishing and the print medium has transferred over largely to the world of the internet and the explosion of something called "social media". The simple line cartoon seemed to be lost for a time, while newspapers downsized, or vanished altogether.
     However, there seems to be a brand new phenomenon bringing this style, perfected by such bygone stellar Canadian talents as Jimmy Frise, Doug Wri...
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