J. O’Henly created Spike&Mike for the comics

John O’Henly grew up in in the east end of Toronto and went to school at Danforth Tech. When he entered the world of Canadian comics it was at the Toronto company Commercial Signs of Canada at 165 York St. (later called Bell Features) in the downtown area. 

 

He created the two hobos, the Knights of the Open Road, and in the first comic they were named Mike and Spike but that soon changed.

John O'Henly enlisted in the service in September 1942 and always kept drawing when he was overseas.

 

 After V.E. day in '45 he settled in Ontario.

 

 "He returned to Canada a few months later, and decided to go back to school, choosing the Ontario College of Art, which led him to a career as a high school art teacher in London, Ontario.  Along the way he married and raised a family, falling into the rhythms of postwar Canadian life like so many of the soldiers returned from the war.  John O’Henly was interviewed by Scott Masters (see Crestwood) via Zoom, during the pandemic of summer 2020."

 

A longer more detailed bio of J. O'Henly is available at:

www.crestwood.on.ca/ohp/ohenly-john/ 

 

 

Doug Wright comic strip

Doug Wright made some great cartoons for years. He was born in England, and immigrated to Canada in his teens in 1938. A  proud Canadian citizen, this was often reflected in the modest, suburban Ontario life depicted in his comic strips Nipper and Doug Wright's Family (begun in 1967).   It's been reported that "His cartooning career really began when he landed a job as editorial cartoonist for the Montreal Standard.  In 1948 he took over the reins of Jimmy Frise’s Birdseye Center, retitled Juniper Junction. Signing the strip “DAW”, he continued with it until its end in September, 1968.  Wright created Nipper, a mostly silent comic strip, for the Standard in 1949."

(11 August 1917, England - 3 January 1983, Canada)

 

Giants of the North award to Fred Kelly

 In 2021 a Giants of the North, one of the Doug Wright awards, has inducted Fred Kelly into their Hall of Fame.

Fred Kelly was the Canadian creator of Doc Stearne who became a super monster hunter called Mr. Monster.

Frederick George "Fred" Kelly (September 8, 1921 in Toronto – September 14, 2005 in Owen Sound) was a comic book writer and artist known for his contributions to the "Canadian Whites" era during the Second World War. He worked on some stories for the Canadian Heroes comic before joining Bell Features.

The origin of Doc Stearne as Mr. Monster in the Canadian comics was rediscovered in Triumph Comics #31 ( and reprinted in the first issue of Micheal T. Gilbert's run for Dark Horse Comics)

Fred's last work in comic books looks to be a story called the Beachcomber in Superior Comics.

Grand Chef Pierre greetings for Christmas

 Brian Frey's Chef Pierre and a Merry Christmas cartoon.

The main characters were Chef Pierre, (who never spoke) the waitress Lola, and the head waiter Basil.

Spring as per Lou Skuce

Lou Skuce cartoon on Spring season as Mr. Fan begins his run in the Toronto World newspaper.

An very good look at Lou and his art appear in issue of Taddlecreek magazine.

www.taddlecreekmag.com/canadas-greatest-cartoonist

Lou would go on to work on some of the Canadian whites comics in Toronto's Bell Features comic books.

Mr. Fan is on his way

Watch for Mr. Fan, he's on his way to the newspapers.

Notorious Boodlers, apparently a political grafter. Hmm, maybe this phrase should be revived?

Mr. Fan is coming

Mr. Fan is coming, soon to be a feature at the Toronto World newspaper.

Watch this space for more.

Look Out For Yetis on the slopes

These images from the Department of Yetiology and the Canadian Ski Patrol System were warning back in the 1960s. The various cartoon images showed typical Yetis to look out for.

The Official Yetiologist's Gude by Alan Beaney, illustrations by Wicks.

If you spot one of these characters, it's best to report to your local Ski Patroller, don't approach by yourself.

More Christmas cartoons

Here are some more holiday cartoons from various artists around Canada

Christmas greetings from Jasper the Bear, by Simpkins

The Man in the Red Flannel suit by George Feyer.

 I had to add another Barron cartoon just for the humorous signs as various decorations on the X-mas tree.

Santa doesn't seem to be too happy with one of his reindeer that snacked a bit instead of eating healthy in this vintage Dewar cartoon.