Canadian and American cartoonists meet in Niagara Falls

From The Daily Cartoonist.

From left to right: Tim Dolighan, Clay Jones, Scott Johnston, John Auchter, Pierre Skilling, Wes Tyrell, Jeff McIntyre, Guy Badeaux, Scott Burns, Inna Sokolova, Nancy Beiman, Graeme Mackay, Michael de Adder anf Frank Mariani. (Not pictured: Terry Mosher, Sue Dewar, Theo Moudakis and Christian Vachon)

The past weekend saw the Association of Canadian Cartoonists (ACC) gather on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls for their 2026 convention, described as a “popup mini congress.”

The dual Townsend Awards (The Townsies) – one for the best Francophone cartoon and one for the best Anglophone cartoon – were given out respectively to Guy Badeaux (Bado) and New Zealander Rod Emmerson.

Graeme Mackay wins Rex Babin Memorial Award

From The Graeme Gallery on Substack.

Over the weekend I found out that I took top prize for a prestigious award through the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. 

The Rex Babin Memorial Award for Excellence in Local Cartooning also recognizes work reflecting state and provincial themes. 

P.C. Vey 1955-2026

From Lambiek Comiclopedia.

Born in New York City on October 23, 1955, cartoonist Peter Christopher Vey died last Thursday

He sold his first cartoon to The New Yorker in 1993 and was a regular contributor since. 

His work has been published in Harvard Business Review, Barron's, National Lampoon, Playboy, Mad, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. 

He has had three collections of cat cartoons published by Penguin/Plume and has contributed to many books of cartoons on a variety of subjects.

He is survived by his wife Tina.

AAEC 2026 Convention

From the Daily Cartoonist.

Thirty odd members of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists met in Sacramento last weekend to discuss the state of the profession and the future of the association.

AAEC president Marc Murphy lead a discussion on whether the group should change its name to the Association of Political Artists as a way to attract younger members. 

Psychedelic pop artist Peter Max dies at 88

From the Associated Press.

Peter Max, whose colorful, psychedelic pop art expressed the optimism of the “flower power” movement of the 1960s and graced everything from postage stamps to a cruise ship, has died at 88, his son said in a written statement Wednesday.

Max died on Monday, the statement said. No cause was given, but he had been suffering from advanced dementia.

Andy Donato 1937-2026

With notes from The Toronto Sun.

Andy Donato inside his studio in 2015

It is with great sadness that I learned that long time Toronto Sun cartoonist Andy Donato has died at 89 while sustaining a head injury during a fall while playing a round at his beloved Hunt Club golf course

Donato was born on January 13, 1937, in Scarborough. 

His father, Luciano Donato, was an Italian immigrant who came to Toronto via New York in 1922, while his mother, Adelina Benedetti, was born in Canada.

Baltimore Sun passed off as an editorial cartoon an AI-generated image

From the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.

The AAEC Board of Directors has written an open letter to the leadership of The Baltimore Sun after it created and posted an AI-generated image it passed off as an editorial cartoon.