It was the opening of CBC-TV's "Hockey Night In Canada" for at least one season and it featured a "Field Of Dreams-like" sequence of stylized hockey players soaring on and off camera, around and about one another other on a multi-plane ice surface. The player's heads were blac...

Continue reading ...

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 esta...
Continue reading ...

Continue reading ...

Fifteen year-old Toronto youth Leo Bachle had just been dismissed from the Canadian army for lying about his age and through a chum, had taken a job delivering lenses. During one delivery at the Percy Hermont building, Bachle came across a stack of comic books in front of an office for Bell Features. He began to thumb through several, when a middle-aged man stormed out of the office and confronted him. A heated exchange ensued, which led to the gent challenging Bachle to do a rehearsal...

Continue reading ...

     In my brief, but enriching cartooning career, I got to view some great cartoons and meet many talented people. Of these, I got to know one or two very well, through sharing the road of discovery of the craft. One such person, is someone I have great admiration and respect for: Paul Curtis, creator and artist of a comic strip I hope to have permission to share and talk more about, one day.
     I met Paul during my two years at Sheridan College's Cartooning and Graphic Story Arts course, i...
Continue reading ...

    Yard sales are a great place for cheap history lessons. Recently, I browsed at a community yard sale in my local area and came across a book by a Canadian cartoonist who was hitherto unknown by me.
    The book was a 1959 reprint of "Herbie!", by William Garnet "Bing" Coughlin, published by Nelson and Sons from 1946. The material in the comics seems best suited for those with military background and inclination, so most of the humor went over my head. I was a bit surprised at the ra...
Continue reading ...

     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...
Continue reading ...

     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...
Continue reading ...

     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...
Continue reading ...