COOPER Art:

Part of the Orb group of artists.

WORK:

ILLUSTRATOR:

PERIODICAL GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Content serial :

Orb Magazine 1-4, Nov./Dec. 1975: “Kadavar: Child Slayer – World Saver?” Writ., James Whaley. Let., Michael Cherkas: 38-43.

FOLIO:

Content portrait:

“Canada’s WWII Superheroes.” Limited edition of 20 sets of six prints signed by Art Cooper, 2017:                                                                                                                               “The Brain Battles Gorpo.” Originally created by Leo Bachle.                                             “The Wing.” Originally created by John G. Hilkert.                                                             “The Blade.” Originally created by Fred Kelly.                                                                     “Speed Savage.” Originally created by Ted Steele.                                                             “Nitro.” Originally created by Jerry Lazare.                                                                         “Black Avenger.” Originally created by Harvey Baldwin.

COOPER Albert

Al Cooper created the characters “Captain Red Thortan”, “Clift Steele”, and “Scotty MacDonald” and took over the cartooning duties for “The Young Commandos” while at Bell Features & Publishing in the 1940’s. He was particularly good at drawing military equipment, aircraft, tanks etc. His drawings are the best to be found in the wartime comics.

Born in 1925 in Toronto, Al received some art training at Central Technical School, a composite high school in Toronto. His interest in art was such that he would go to an art gallery on Saturdays and through a window, he was too young to register, he would try to copy what the students were learning.

He was among the first artists to be used by Commercial Signs/Bell Features. His “Captain Red Thortan” and “Scotty MacDonald” appeared in the first issues of Active Comics and Dime Comics respectively both published February 1942, just six months after their single predecessor WOW Comics featuring the work of E.T. Legault. In fact, “Scotty MacDonald” actually appeared earlier in Maple Leaf Publishing’s Better Comics 1-3, May 1941, as a three-panel cartoon on the “Prize Winning Cartoons” page.

In Active Comics 13, we are told Al was with the R.C.A.F. at Uplands Station in Ottawa, doing victory bond posters. The single page panel says that “Captain Red Thortan” will reappear in the next issue and it did. Al continued to cartoon this serial and “Scotty MacDonald” at nights after he finished his day duties and to send the results to Bell Features; however, both these serials were reduced in length by about a half and Al dropped both “Clift Steele” and “Young Commandos” in Commando Comics. The first was taken over by Adrian Dingle and the second by Jerry Lazare.

In July 1944, he was shipped to the R.A.F. base Croft in England. He continued to send his work to Bell, but the logistics were apparently too difficult. His involvement with “Captain Red Thortan” ended with Active18 and was taken over by Fred Kelly with issue 20. “Scotty MacDonald simply ended with Dime 20. Meanwhile, he improved his technical skills by enrolling in a program at Bournemouth College of Art with the R.C.A.F. paying his tuition. Although in Joke Comics 26, Cy Bell expressed confidence that Al would return to the “Clift Steele”, “Captain Red Thorton” and “Scotty MacDonald, serials this turned out not to be the case. By the time Al returned to Canada, the industry was in its death throes.

He bought a Gestetner machine with his discharge money and began designing and printing for clients. He followed this with work as a graphic artist at an agency and later became a partner and creative director at Maple Leaf Press in Toronto in the 1950’s. In 1963, he started his own company called Cooper Graphics and Associates in Thornhill Ontario.

In community work, he was president of the Downsview Lodge of the B’nai B’rith and worked on developing their newspaper The Covenant. He was involved with the Herbie Foundation at the Hospital for Sick Children.

He died of a heart ailment at the Toronto General Hospital 7 January 1986.

WORK:

CARTOONIST:

PERIODICAL GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Content:

Fact Sheet:

Active Comics … no date: “…” … Bell Features & Publishing Co. Black & white.

5: “Battle Tactics”: Inside front cover. 6: “Paratroopers”: 16; “Fighting Aircraft”: 31; “Tanks”: 63. 7: “Flying Tigers”: Inside front cover. 8: “Crack U.S. Fighters”: 12; “Communication Aero planes”: 15. 12: “The Typhoon”: 22. 13: “Torpedo Aircraft”: 18-19. 18: “American Bombers of the Three Wheeled Type”: 30.

Commando Comics … no date: “…” …

4: “Commando Weapons”: 22. 5: “ Military vehicles”: 36; “Tanks”: 37; “Italian Bombers”: 38; “Gun Turrets”: 39.

Serial:

Active comics …: “Capt. Red Thortan.” Car., Al Cooper: …. Commercial Signs of Canada. Black & white
1, Feb. 1942: 32-46.	2, Mar. 1942. 34-48.	3, no date: 17-30.

Active comics … no date: “Capt. Red Thortan.” Cartoonist., Al Cooper except where otherwise noted: …. Bell Features & Publishing Co. Black & white.
4: 38-49. 5: 38-49. 6: 36-47.	7: 35-46. 8: 39-50. 9: 39-50.	10: 26-34. 11: 13-21. 12: 14-21.	13: 17. 14: 11-15. 15: Car., unidentified: 11-15. 16: Car., unidentified: 35-40.	17: 24-29. 18: 17-22. 19: No Captain Red Thortan

Commando Comics … no date: “Clift Steele …” Car., Al Cooper: …, Bell Features & Publishing Co. Black & white.
4: 1-10.	5: 1-10.

Commando Comics … no date: “Young Commandos” Car., Al Cooper: … Bell Features & Publishing Co. Black & white.
4: 51-56.	5: 51-56.

Dime Comics, …: “Kenneth Scotty MacDonald.” Car., Al Cooper: …. Commercial Signs of Canada. Black & white.
1-1, Feb. 1942: 44.	1-3, no date: 48-64.

Dime Comics, 1-6, no date: “ Kenneth Scotty MacDonald”: Car. Al Cooper : 52-63. Bell Features & Publishing Co. Black & white.

Dime Comics … no date: “Scotty McDonald”. Car., Al Cooper: … Bell Features & Publishing Co. Black & white.
9: 53-64.	10: 53-63.	13: 47-55	17: 18-23.	18: 18-23.	19: 42-47.	20: 19-23.	Finished.

Cover front:

Active Comics,12, no date: “

SOURCE:

Article book:

Heroes Of The Home Front. Writ., Ivan Kocmarek. North End Books, 2018: “Al Cooper”: 75-91.

Article periodical:

Active Comics, 13: 17. See below.

Joke Comics. 23, no date: “Welcome Home Gang”: 27.

Newspaper:

Globe and Mail, 23 Oct.1982: “Whatever Happened to …?” Writ., Peter Harris: Fanfare 7.

Toronto Star, 9 January 1986: “Albert (Al) Cooper, 60 drew Canadian comics.” Obituary.

GALLERY:

Active Comics, 6, no date: “Tanks”: 63.

Active Comics, 12: 22.

Bell kept its readers informed about the artists.

Active Comics, 13: 17. Illus., Al Cooper.

COOKE Stephanie

This Toronto based writer, editor and podcaster for Talking Comics and The Misfits has contributed to Toronto Comics: Yonge At Heat. She was lead editor on Toronto Comics: Osgood As Good As Gold both published by TO Comix Press. She also edits periodicals such as We Are The Danger [Black Mask Studios].

WORK:

WRITER:

BOOK GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Content story:

Life Finds A Way, A Comics Anthology Of Hopeful Post-Apocalyptic Stories. Cloudscape Comics, December 2019: “Green Thumb”. Illus., Dominique Evans: 5-12.

BOOK TEXT & GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Content story:

The Secret Loves Of Geek Girls. Bedside Press, 2015: “Lungerella.” Illus., Deena Paliarello: 32-38.

SOURCE:

Article book:

The Secret Loves Of Geek Girls. 2015: “Biographies”: 275.

Life Finds A Way. December 2019: 5.

COOKE Darwyn

                                  The Hunter, July 2009: Dust jacket back.

Born 16 November 1962 and raised in Etobicoke Greater Toronto Area.

At about age 13 years while visiting an aunt and uncle in Sudbury, he picked up a copy of The Spectacular Spiderman, read it then studied and copied it for weeks. He took art classes at his high school. He went to George Brown College but was expelled when his social life took priority over his studies. He took odd jobs to pay the bills.

While waiting on tables at the Madison Avenue Pub in downtown Toronto he heard the publisher and editor of Music Express magazine discussing their need for a new art director. He bought a copy of the magazine, redesigned it and presented it to them. For the next four years (1984 to 1988) he was art director for that magazine and its sister, Metallion. During that time, in 1985, he took some of his cartoon work to DC Comics in New York. A five-page story was published in DC Comics New Talent Showcase 19 but that was not enough to support him and so he returned to Toronto and his design work. He moved from Music Express to working as associate art director for Flare a fashion magazine published by Maclean-Hunter. He moved on to working for such ad agencies as Doner Schur Peppler and Brotherhood. He won awards for his designs for packaging and TV commercials.

In the 1990’s he again attempted to return to the comic book field but found little interest from the publishers. Finally, after answering a trade ad by Director Bruce Timm to which he submitted a fourteen page story which would eventually become Batman Ego, he began working for Warner Brothers animated division as a storyboard artist on Batman: The Animated Series, 1992-1995), freelancing from Toronto.

He met Steve Manale. Steve was in art school and working at the Silver Snail, when he began working as an animation assistant and he and Darwyn came to share a studio for some years. Wednesdays, they would walk over to the Dragon Lady a comic shop on Queen Street West then managed by Dave Darrigo. The shop also sold tear sheets from Life and Time magazines which Darwyn collected for use as period references. The origin of Darwyn’s “Catwoman” came from a Look magazine November 1954 cover showing Gina Lollobrigida. They would then go for lunch. Soon other cartoonists including Michael Cho, and J. Bone joined them. The waitress called them “The Superman Club” and the nickname stuck.

Darwyn and his partner Marsha Stagg moved from Toronto to the east coast of Nova Scotia. DC Comics was headquartered in New York. It was probably when DC moved to Burbank that they moved to Los Angeles. He worked on four episodes of The New Batman Adventures, (1997-1999) a continuation of Batman: The Animated Series) and on Superman The Animated Series.

In 1999, he designed and animated the opening sequence for Batman Beyond, in which he adapted the visuals to the music. He did most of the animation on his personal MacIntosh computer. After his involvement with Batman Beyond he worked as a director on Sony’s Men In Black: The Animated Series (1997 -2001). In 2000, DC Comics rediscovered the story Darwyn had submitted in the early 1990’s and published it as Batman Ego. This led to freelance work for Marvel. He also worked for a year on Sony Animation’s Men In Black.

In 2001, Darwyn and Ed Brubaker redesigned the “Catwoman” character in a series of four backup stories in Detective Comics August to November 2001 which led into the Catwoman series late in 2001. Darwyn drew the initial four issues. In 2002 he cartooned Selina’s Big Score which was a prequel to the new Catwoman series.

Another major project was DC: The New Frontier (2004) which set the origins of the Justice League in the U.S. of the early 1950’s. This six-issue series won both the Eisner, and Harvey Awards (2005) for “Best Limited Series” and a Shuster Award for “Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist”. He followed this with DC’s Solo 5 for which he won an Eisner Award for “Best Single Issue”. The former was adapted into the animated feature film Justice League: The New Frontier (February 2008)

In 2006 Darwyn and writer Jeph Loeb produced Batman/Spirit (November 2006 then Darwyn cartooned the Spirit series. In June 2007 he and his old friend J. Bone won a Shuster Award for “Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Artists” for Batman/Spirit and Darwyn won a Shuster for “Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist” for the Spirit series.

Darwyn’s adaptions of Richard Stark’s “Parker” novels garnered Eisner Awards for The Hunter (2010), The Score (2013), Slayground (2014), and Harvey Awards for The Hunter (2010), and The Outfit (2011). He was also inducted (posthumously) into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame.

He died of lung cancer at his home near Tampa Florida U.S. 14 May 2016.

WORK:

ADAPTER & ILLUSTRATOR:

BOOK GRAPHIC:

Content novel & Cover dust jacket:

The Hunter. Writ., Richard Stark.: IDW Publishing. July 2009.

SOURCE:

Obituary newspaper:

Globe & Mail, 21 May 2016: “Comic book virtuoso revived the medium”. Writ., N. Atkinson: S11.

Internet:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwyn-Cooke. Accessed 29 May 2024.

goodreads.com/en/book/show/1121045. Accessed 29 May 2024.

GALLERY:

The Hunter. July 2009: Front cover.

Globe & Mail, 21 May 2016: S11.                                                                                        Image of Parker for a Limited Edition Book Plate 2014 drawn by Darwyn at Toronto City Hall

Globe & Mail, 21 May 2016: S11. Courtesy Darwyn Cook/DC Entertainment via AP.

COOK Susan

WORK:

ILLUSTRATOR:

BOOK TEXT & GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:                                                                        Published by Potlatch Publications. Ed., Robert F. Neilson. Art Dir., Mary Tach.

Content:

Information text:

Canadian Children’s Annual, 1979.1978:                                                                                     “Chinese Cooking Can Be Fun.” Writ., Theresa Mok: 95.

Canadian Children’s Annual, 1980.1979:                                                                                     “Yoga Is For You.” Writ., Belva Kalbfleisch: 68-71.                                                             “Forwards and Backwards.” Writ., Margaret L. Kribs: 126-127.

Portrait:

Canadian Children’s Annual, 1981.1980: Front piece: 3.

Story text:

Canadian Children’s Annual, 1979. 1978:                                                                                   “The Thief, the Wolf and the Leak.” Writ., Dorothy C. Smith: 33.                                       “Let the Cobbler Stick to his Last.” Writ., Alan Bradley: 48-50.                                           “The Little Mermaid.” Writ., E.A. Carruthers: 61-63.                                                           “RipVanWinkle of Old Japan.” Writ., Dorothy C. Smith: 91.

Canadian Children’s Annual, 1980.1979:                                                                                     “The Fisherman & the Hunter.” Writ., Dorothy C. Smith: 28-30.                                         “The Mummy Of Mamoth Cave.” Writ., Robert F. Neilson: 175-176.

Canadian Children’s Annual, 1981.1980:                                                                                     “Chrissy.” Writ., Bernice T. Hunter: 9-13.                                                                             “The Evil Eye.” Writ., John V. Hooks: 33-37.

Canadian Children’s Annual, 1982. 1981:                                                                                   “Capt. Hook And The Juvenile Delinquent.” Writ., W. J. Smart: 25-31.

Canadian Children’s Annual 1983, 1982:                                                                                     “I’ll Be Seeing You.” Writ., Margaret J. Borle: 83-83-84.

CONUNDRUM PRESS                                                                                                    Location: Greenwich Nova Scotia.                                                                                    Owner/Publisher/Editor: Andy Brown.

Contributors:                                                                                                                      Temple Bates, Jimmy Beaulieu, David Collier, Philippe Girard, Rebecca Kraatz, David Lapp, , Julian Lawrence, Joe Ollman, Michel Rabagliati, Zach Worton.

It was founded in 1996 by Andy Brown in Montréal as a literary publisher. Over time Brown shifted it publishing activities to graphics and by 2011 it was publishing graphic material only. In the same year he moved to Wolfville in Nova Scotia. Brown also expanded his line under the imprint BDANG to include English translations of the works of Québec creators.

During its early days Conundrum and Brown benefitted from a close association with Drawn and Quarterly and Chris Oliveros.

Dave Collier found Andy Brown “unique in comics” in that unlike the publishers of Fantagraphics and Drawn and Quarterly Brown took an active role in editing the books he published.

PRODUCT:

BOOK GRAPHIC:

Content & Cover:

Car., Jimmy Beaulieu.

• My neighbour’s bikini. Trans., Kerry Ann Cochrane. 2014.
• Suddenly Something Happened. Trans., Kerry Ann Cochrane. 2010.

Car., Temple Bates,

• Hermodities. 2011.

Car., David Collier.

• Collier’s Popular Press: David Collier’s 30 Years on the Newsstand. 2011.
• Collier’s Canadian Forces Artists Program Story Chimo. 2011.
• Morton: A Cross-Country Rail Journey. 2017.

Car., Philippe Girard.

• Killing Velazquez. Trans. Kerryann Cochrane. 2011
• Ruts & Gullies: Nine Days in Saint Petersburg. Trans. Kerryann Cochrane. 2010.

Car., Rebecca Kraatz.

• Snaps. 2011.

Car., David Lapp.

• Children of the Atom. 2010.
• Drop-in.. 2008.

Car., Julian Lawrence.

• The Adventures of Drippy The Newsboy: Drippy’s Mama.. 2015.
• The Adventures of Drippy The Newsboy: The Red Drip Of Courage. 2015.

Car., Joe Ollman

• Happy Stories About Well-Adjusted People. 2014.
• Science Fiction. 2013.

 

Car., Michel Rabagliati.

• Paul Joins the Scouts.. Trans., Helge Dascher. 2013.

Car., Zach Worton.

• Charley Butters: The Disappearance of….. 2015.
• Charley Butters: The Search for…. Conundrum Press, 2016.
• Charley Butters: The Curse Of…. Conundrum Press, 2018.

BOOK TEXT & GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

BDQ: Essays & Interviews On Quebec Comics. Ed., Andy Brown. BDang/Conundrum, 2017.

SOURCE:

Article periodical:

Quill & Quire, May 2016: “Andy Brown celebrates 20 years of Conundrum Press.” Writ., Conan Tobias.

Internet:

Comics Journal, 23 February 2018: “’Hopefully You Reach A Few People Here and There’: A David Collier Interview.” Interviewer, Alex Dueben.

CONTROLLED CHAOS

See WALEY James

LES CONTES DU PÈRE RHEAULT

On 26 June 1906, “Le Contes du père Rheault appeared in La Patrie, alternating with “ Les aventures de Timothée. By 1909 it had been replaced by cheaper American imports in translation as had the other native created strips.

The series involved two youngsters Fanfan and P’tit Pit who played tricks on their parents and their aunt Frizine who in turn gave as good as they got.

SOURCE:

Article periodical:

Inks: Cartoon & Comic Arts Studies, 4-2, May 1997: “An Introduction to the Canadian Newspaper Comic.” Writ., Kenneth Barker: 18-25.

Internet:

Archived Newspaper Strips of the 20^th Century – Québecois.” Library & Archives Canada/Bibliothèque  et Archives Canada. www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/comics. Accessed 3 October 2017.

CONSTABLE Mike

“Cartoonists work by the sweat of their hand and the work of their brow.”              The Hecklers: 234.

Born 1943 in Woodstock Ontario.

He studied sculpture at the Ontario College of Art and later sociology at Carleton University in Ottawa. He co-founded and was editor of Guerilla, a Toronto underground newspaper that ran from 1969 through 1974. As the same time, he freelanced for, Canadian Tribune, The Financial Post, Maclean’s, Saturday Night, This Magazine, Toronto Life, The Toronto Star and other magazines in Canada and the U.S. He was editor of Piranha a humour magazine.

In 1977, he was one of the founders of Union Art Services, a co-operative mailing service of graphics and cartoons which went out to about forty-five labour publications. From 1980, he has curated art at Partisan Gallery and since 1990 worked in animation.

Outside of graphic arts he has been involved as a designer, director and performer in street theatre.

WORK:

CARTOONIST:

BOOK GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Content editorial cartoon:

Best Canadian Political Cartoons, 1983. Ed., N.M. Stahl. For., David Rosen. McClelland & Stewart

Ltd. Sept. 1983.

Best Canadian Political Cartoons, 1984. Ed., N.M. Stahl. For., Robert LaPalme. McClelland & Stewart

Ltd. Sept. 1984.

Portfoolio, The Year 85 In Canadian Caricature. Ed., Guy Badeaux & Alan King. Writ., Charles

Gordon. Ludcom Inc. 1985.

Portfoolio, The Year 86 In Canadian Caricature. Ed., Guy Badeaux. Writ., Charles Gordon. Ludcom

Inc. 1986.

Portfoolio, The Year 87 In Canadian Caricature. Ed., Guy Badeaux. Ludcom Inc. 1987.

1988 Portfoolio, The Year In Canadian Caricature. Ed., Guy Badeaux. Writ., Charles Gordon.

Eden Press. 1988.

Portfoolio: 1989 in Canadian Caricature. Ed., Guy Badeaux. Writ., Charles Gordon. Macmillan of

Canada, 1989.

Portfoolio …: The Year in Canadian Caricature. Ed., Guy Badeaux. Writ., Charles Gordon. Macmillan of Canada, ….
6: 1990.	7: 1991.	8: 1992.	9: 1993.

Portfoolio…: The Year’s Best Canadian Editorial Cartoons. Ed., Guy Badeaux . Writ., Ken MacQueen Macmillan of Canada, ….
10: 1994.	11: 1995.	12: 1996.

Portfoolio …. The Year’s Best Canadian Editorial Cartoons. Ed., Guy Badeaux . Writ., Jay Stone Macmillan of Canada, …
13, 1997.	14, 1998.

PERIODICAL TEXT:

Content editorial cartoon:

The City, Toronto Star Sunday Magazine, Sept. 23, 1979: 30.

Saturday Night, 111-2, March 1996: “What you need to cruise the infobahn”: 72.

Saturday Night, 111-4, May 1996: “Dating and Mad Cow Disease”: 26.

This Magazine, May/June 1979: 28.

Toronto Life, 23-12, August 1989: “Underground cinema”: 18-19.

Toronto Life, 33-16, November 1999: “Why Basement Apartments Are So Great”: 63.

SOURCE:

Article book:

The Hecklers. Writ. & Ed.., Peter Desbarates & Terry Mosher. McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1979: 233-

234.

Portfoolio, The Year 85 In Canadian Caricature.1985: “Mike Constable”: 199.

Portfoolio 14: The Year’s Best Canadian Editorial Cartoons.1998: “ Mike Constable”: 144..

GALLERY:

            Saturday Night, April 1996, 100.

Toronto Life, 33-16, November 1999: 63.

CONNERY Marc

Toronto cartoonist, artist and writer. He has published and self-published since 1991. In 2016, he contributed an experimental cartoon work based on the four panel format for the Four Panel Project.

WORK:

CARTOONIST:

BOOK GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Content experiment:

4 Panel 1. 4 Panel Project, 2016: “Tricky Business”: 40-54.

WRITER:

PERIODICAL TEXT ANTHOLOGY

Content essay:

Descant, 164, Spring 2014: “Offbeat Coupla Thoughts on Canadian Comix”: 194-197.

SOURCE:

Article periodical:

Descant, 164, Spring 2014: “Marc Connery”: 250.