Post-war .28late 1940s.E2.80.93early 1970s.29 Canadian comics

doug wright s nipper mainstay in canadian newspapers in post-war years

the crackdown not aimed @ comic strips, however, , several notable new ones appeared, lew saw s one-up, winslow mortimer s larry brannon , al beaton s ookpik. after jimmy frise s death in 1948, juniper junction taken on doug wright, 1 of canada s best post-war comic-strip artists . continue strip until 1968, while working on own nipper 1949. in 1967, nipper became doug wright s family when wright moved montreal ontario, , popular strip continued until 1980. doug wright awards inaugurated in honour in 2005. 1948 1972, james simpkins cartoon jasper bear appeared continuously in maclean s magazine. jasper hugely popular across canada , used, , still today, symbol jasper national park.

to express anger @ military s nuclear tests in bikini atoll in 1946 english-born artist laurence hyde produced wordless novel in 1951 called southern cross. in 118 silent pages, book depicts atomic testing military , effects polynesian island inhabitants. while had no direct effect on comics @ time, has come seen precursor canadian graphic novel.

early editorial cartooning lacked local flavour, tending pale imitation of american examples. tended cheery, non-confrontational, , supported causes. following war broke typical american clichés , took on more of savage bite, compared more allegorical tendencies of american editorial cartoons. @ le devoir, robert lapalme first cartoon in particularly canadian idiom, , in 1963 organized international salon of caricature , cartoon in montreal. lapalme later followed duncan macpherson @ toronto star, leonard norris @ vancouver sun , ed mcnally @ montreal star. these cartoonists took political positions contrary of papers in published. macpherson drew cartoon of john diefenbaker marie antoinette saying let them eat cake in response prime minister s cancelling avro arrow project, historian pierre burton has called beginning of canadians disillusionment diefenbaker s government. macpherson in particular fought fiercely editorial independence, challenging editors , threatening quit star if not given way, paved new path other cartoonists follow.

in spring of 1966, canada saw first specialty comic shop open doors on queen street west, toronto: viking bookshop, established captain george henderson. entirely unfamiliar new phenomenon, store dubbed campiest store in town toronto star reporter robert fulford. no longer in existence, viking bookshop earliest known such specialty comic book store in north-america (or worldwide matter), predating oldest known comic book store, gary arlington s san francisco comic book company (est. april 1968), 2 years. 1 year later, in may 1967, store renamed memory lane books after had relocated markham street in same city, , such became inspiration pioneering retailer harry kremer , bill johnson open & books in kitchener, ontario. newsletter, , times, published work young dave sim in inaugural issue in 1972, , later employed him 1976 1977.

in late 1960s, along countercultural movement, new form of comic art appeared avant-garde , literary scenes—underground comics (or comix ) aimed @ adult audience. examples appeared in magazines, precursor of canadian underground comic books scraptures, special issue of toronto avant-garde literary magazine gronk in 1967. in 1969, canada saw first true underground comics, sfu komix , snore comix. these comix drew inspiration american underground movement exploded after release of robert crumb s zap in 1968. martin vaugh-james produced graphic novel when had elephant released press porcépic in 1970. underground movement paralleled of us, in peaked 1970 1972 peak of counterculture, , witnessed sharp decline afterward. saskatoon, saskatchewan s dave geary , vancouver, bc s rand holmes key figures, holmes being creator of harold hedd comic strip.

humour magazine fuddle duddle, named after famous euphemism then-prime minister pierre trudeau, short lived attempt @ canadian mad-style satirical magazine. first comic book of canadian content available on newsstands since 1956. 2 of contributors, peter evans , stanley berneche, go on bring superheroes canada first time since demise of nelvana in 1947, captain canuck.

the fan press , fandom grew throughout period, , bolstered when patrick loubert , michael hirsh, founders of animation company nelvana, published of great canadian comic books in 1971, book-length study of bell features comics, , touring of related exhibition mounted national gallery of canada, comic art traditions in canada, 1941-45, served introduce english-canadian comics creators , fans lost heritage.

towards middle of 1970s, comics aimed @ children gradually disappeared. new breed of underground, alternative , independent comics aimed @ more mature audience, ran counter public s perception, legal restrictions. first wave of alternative comics in seventies largely made of science fiction , fantasy comics, made budding cartoonists gene day, dave sim, augustine funnell, jim craig, ken steacy, dean motter, , vincent marchesano.