With the world economy tumbling around us, we couldn't blame one for being mindful of a time when our ancestors faced these challenges in the 1930s, the deepest days of the Canadian depression.
There seems not much specific about where the present crisis may take us, nor has it reached a point where anyone has given it a name, but the warning signs of depression are clear. We hear about it in the news internationally. However, the rubber test is when things are affected locally. More real estate is on the market, but no one seems to be buying. The retail market has gone soft, if not flat. Money is not moving. Blank expressions fill the faces of people we pass on the street. The general feeling is doom and gloom, Very little hope to build on. A dark time may already be upon us.
How did our parents-grandparents-great grandparents cope in the 1930s, when the Great Depression hit?
According to longtime Toronto Star columnist Gregory Clark, the only point of mirth in the Star Weekly were the two pages, where Jimmy Frise's "Birdseye Center" and single-panel cartoon appeared. To many readers of the Star Weekly, these two pages represented the only bit of hope to be found. They revered the levity and clinged to the pages passionately. The Star, either accepting social responsibility, or recognizing opportunity, offered to pay Frise to illustrate humour columns composed by Clark. He accepted and a new phenomenon was born.
The two became close friends and sporting buddies. The lightness raised moods, until the end of the second world war, when Frise jumped to the Montreal Standard, just before his untimely passing. Clark and Frise books are still around today and if you sit down and read one, still joyfully entertaining.
Jimmy Frise (left) the great Star Weekly hope of the Depression years
and author Gregory Clark (right).
Where is the mirth coming from in publishing today? Just as it was 80 years ago, no one wants to always read about economic downturns and market collapses. Perhaps the future belongs to they who can restore confidence in the hearts of the people. So where are the comics? For whatever reason, newspapers in recent years consider them a necessary evil. Due to a number of reasons and public pressure points, the material of today is watered down, compared to the fare of the post-war years. The most popular newspapers of the late 1940s were full of comics and illustrations. More importantly the tone was upbeat and full of promise.
Could we use that in 2011 and beyond? The answer is obvious and right in front of us. History does repeat itself. Whether it comes this year, next year, or within the next five years is immaterial. But, it IS coming.
At this point, it would be remiss of me not to mention that I am a cartoonist. Making mirth is my business. My colleagues and myself are primed, ready and open for business.
Inquire within.
