November/December 2002 Vol. 34, no. 6

SAVOIR FAIRE
Beyond the Funnies

Amy Fisher, Research and Information Services

The first SAVOIR FAIRE presentation of the 2002-2003 season, entitled "Beyond the Funnies: The History of Comic Books in English Canada and Quebec," was given by John Bell and Michel Viau and was accompanied by a display of comic books drawn from the collections of the National Library and from Mr. Viau’s private collection. In addition to celebrating the history of comic books in Canada, the presentation also served as an introduction to the National Library’s newly launched Beyond the Funnies Web site (a complement to the earlier Guardians of the North site).

John Bell is a senior archivist and curator with the National Archives of Canada. He is the author of Canuck Comics: A Guide to Comics Published and previously curated the Guardians of the North site. In 1996, he donated the John Bell Canadian Comic Book Collection to the Rare Book Division of the National Library. Michel Viau is the author of BDQ: Répertoire des publications de bandes dessinées au Québec des origines à nos jours and is a regular contributor to the BD Quebec Web site. He is associate editor of the humour magazine Safarir. Jamie Martin, from the Digital Library of Canada Task Force, assisted in the navigation of the Web site as the two speakers made their presentations.

Comics in English Canada

Mr. Bell began the English portion of the presentation with a brief discussion about what comics are and why they are worthy of attention and study. He suggested that in addition to acting as a reflection of the social climate, comics are a unique art form combining striking imagery with an economy of text to tell their stories. The progression of comics from popular culture artifact to serious art form served as the basis for the historical review on the Web site.

Many of the early comics in English Canada were those of political cartoonists such as J. W. Bengough and Henri Julien. Actual comic strips emerged at the turn of the century; the earliest ones were created by Canadian artists such as Palmer Cox and Raoul Barré (although many of these artists pursued their careers in the more lucrative American market). One of the first to create and maintain a successful strip in Canada was Jimmy Frise, whose "Birdseye Centre" appeared first in the Star Weekly, and then the Montreal Standard (under the name "Juniper Junction") for over a quarter of a century.

Comic books arrived on the scene in the early 1930s with the appearance of characters such as Superman. Mr. Bell mentioned how the wartime ban on non-essential foreign goods prevented American comic books from reaching Canadian readers, allowing Canadian-produced books and characters to flourish. The social panic that arose during the late 1940s and 1950s over the potential negative influence of comics on their readers gave rise at first to legislation governing comic-book content, and then to an agreement within the comic-book industry to "clean up its act." These actions resulted in largely sanitized publications, a sharp contrast to the wide range of comics available in previous decades.

This would change radically by the mid-1960s, when Canadian comic books made a resurgence based on comic books aimed at an adult audience exploring underground culture. During the 1970s, comics began appearing in genres other than traditional superhero stories. These new genres included science fiction, fantasy, and police detection.

Mr. Bell then discussed the rise and fall of the alternative comic industry in Canada during the 1980s and current trends in Canadian comic publishing, such as the appearance of Drawn and Quarterly.

Mr. Bell took a few moments to point out some interesting features of the new site, including a gallery where people can browse through comics from different eras, a "Create Your Own Comics" page, a list of related site links, and a bibliography.

Comics in French Canada

Mr. Viau’s presentation focussed on the history of Quebecois comics. As with English comics, many early cartoons lampooned political figures. Comic strips gained popularity with the turn of the century, a period that witnessed the launch of many major French-Canadian newspapers. One of the most successful comic strips of the era was "Les Aventures de Timothée," which began appearing in Le Patrie in 1904. After a lull in strips during the First World War, comics again began appearing in the weekend newspaper supplements. Due to the large number of American comics, it was difficult for many Quebecois comics to find a market; among those that did were "Oncle Pacifique," by Vic Martin, and "La Mère Jassette" by H. Christin. During the Depression era, Quebecois strips did not follow the trend towards realistic series to the same extent that those in other parts of North America did, although there were a few examples of those that did.

Outside of the mainstream press, the majority of the comics appearing in the first half of the 20th century were produced by religious groups and organizations intent on idealizing a traditional Quebec society. Oddly enough, the lift of the ban on American comics after the end of the Second World War stimulated the production of local comics in Quebec, in contrast to the effect the ban’s removal had in English Canada. In the years during and after the Second World War, there were also a number of comics that specifically targeted young people.

The change in Quebec society during the 1960s and 1970s affected comics as well. Beginning in the 1970s, titles aimed not at children but young adults used satire and criticism to challenge society. Throughout these years, Quebecois strips had difficulty breaking into the mainstream press. However, the medium was gaining increasing recognition as a serious art form: comic strips were exhibited at the Salon international de la caricature in 1971; the "Festival de la bande dessinée de Montréal" was held each year from 1975 to 1978; and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal mounted a retrospective of Quebecois comics in 1976.

Another phenomenon was the appearance of comic magazines. The magazine Croc, which first appeared in 1979 and continued for 15 years, proved to be an effective showcase for Quebecois comics (others included Titanic, Iceberg, Bambou, and, of course, Safarir).

In the late 1980s and 1990s, authors and creators began banding together in authors’ associations to promote their work more effectively. This same time period also saw a resurgence of the underground comic movement. The emergence in recent years of Éditions Mille-Îles as a publisher has been of vital importance as a vehicle for distributing Quebecois comics of all genres. Through the interest of European and American publishers, more and more authors are reaching a wider and wider audience. The English publication Drawn and Quarterly has allowed Quebecois creators to reach a broader Anglophone audience.

To learn more about Canadian comic books, visit the Library’s Beyond the Funnies site at www.nlc-bnc.ca/comics and its Guardians of the North site at www.nlc-bnc.ca/superheroes.