Sometimes being from Alberta is downright embarrassing

forgotten toons (a week or 2)

Roy Peterson

Shocking news that Roy Peterson has been let go after 47 years at The Vancouver Sun. Worse is they actually killed his last cartoon, his farewell cartoon. Classy. 

Roy Peterson is more than one of this countries greatest cartoonists of all time, he is a national treasure. One of the greatest editorial cartoonists the world has ever seen. When I first saw his work (I think I was 12), I was hooked. His layouts, his line.... And then years later, I got to see an original. It was sick. No pencil lines, no whiteout, just pure beautiful ink flowing from what must have been a magical brush. More than that, he is one of the kindest men you could ever hope to meet. When I first met him, I was so frightened to be in his presence. A real "fanboy" moment for me. He and his wife, Margaret immediately put me at ease. It's something I will never forget.

After 47 years, some might think, "maybe it was time to go"... No way, baby. Roy was still knocking them out of the park. Even if The Vancouver Sun had shrunk his cartoons to the size of a thumb stamp, it was still the best looking and most read piece in the newspaper. You don't win seven National Newspaper Awards without staying relevant. I was actually looking forward to his 50th Anniversary. A big 50 Years of Roy collection to put on the shelf next to my Doug Wright Collection. 

The Sun letting Roy go, is just another reason not to bother reading the newspaper anymore. When will newspapers get it? Content matters. Roy's cartoons matter and they'll be remembered long after newspapers go the way of the dinosaur. The Vancouver Sun now has a huge void on it's editorial page that can never be filled. I hope for it's reader's sake, Roy resurfaces someplace else, doing something. Anything.

 With that magic brush of his. 

Thank you, Roy Peterson. 

some toons....

A shout out to JH Picard.... Much fun.