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.

"Save the Earth(lings)" by Dawn Mockler

From Amazon.

Cartoonist Dawn Mockler has recently published a collection of cartoons from the past decade bringing attention to the Earth's climate dilemma.

Cartoonists’ & free speech orgs in support of LeMan magazine

From Cartoonists Rights International.

The undersigned are appalled by the victimization of staff at LeMan humor magazine, Istanbul in recent days, following the publication June 26th of a cartoon strip by Doğan Pehlevan, the content, meaning, and intent of which has been distorted by government officials in Turkey, leading to inaccurate media coverage and misguided public outrage and, ultimately, four jailed on multiple charges, two more colleagues wanted by police, and the entire entity under investigation for accepting foreign influence.

• Association of Canadian Cartoonists / L’Association de caricaturistes Canadien
• Daryl Cagle – Cagle Cartoons, Inc. (Newspaper Syndicate)
• Cartoon Movement
• Cartooning for Peace
• Cartoonists Rights
• Columbia Global Freedom of Expression
• European Cartoon Award
• Forum for Humour and the Law (ForHum)
• Freedom Cartoonists Foundation
• Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC Strategy
• Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation (PCO)
• ToonsMag

Michael de Adder wins National Newspaper Award 2024

Michael de Adder (Halifax Chronicle Herald / The Globe and Mail) is the winner in the Editorial Cartooning category at the 76th edition of the National Newspaper Awards.

Patrick LaMontagne (Calgary Herald / Calgary Sun) and Gabrielle Drolet (The Globe and Mail) were the finalists.

National Newspaper Awards 2024 Nominations

The Canadian Daily Newspaper Association announced the finalists of the 76th National Newspaper Awards.

Toronto: A Sketchy History

From The Globe and Mail. 

Brian Gable, seven-time winner of the National Newspaper Award for political cartoons, takes readers on a witty, visual journey through Toronto’s transformation from a modest military garrison to a bustling metropolis.

With over seventy original sketches, Gable captures the city’s most pivotal moments, weaving together humour and history in a brisk, engaging narrative. 

Political Cartoonists on facing Donald Trump

Zach Rabiroff in The Comics Journal.

Trump's ABC by Ann Telnaes

Zach Rabiroff for The Comics Journal investigates the state of political cartooning as the practitioners face a revitalized and seemingly very powerful Donald Trump who is entering his second term as President of the United States with few limits in his way. 

The end of Artizans

 

Edmonton Sun editorial cartoonist Malcolm Mayes informed his clients yesterday that he was pulling the plug on Artizans, the cartoon syndicate he created decades ago.

Artizans carried the works of mostly Canadian cartoonists but also counted on its' roster the late American cartoonist Ed Hall as well as Cuba's Alfredo Martirena.

Dale Cummings, Sue Dewar, Paul Fell, Jake Fuller, Graham Harrop, Marian Kamensky, Chuck Legge, Graeme Mackay, Bruce MacKinnon, Theo Moudakis, Dan Murphy, Adrian Raeside, Vance Rodewalt. Harley Schwadron and Wes Tyrell will now have to distribute their own work.

A few had already lost full-time positions in the past and relied on the syndicate for a modest income.

The CBC Inteviews Michael de Adder

From The Daily Cartoonist.

Editorial cartoons are being seen by more people than ever, but the income that supports them is drying up. 

Fresh after being let go from his 30-year newspaper job, renowned editorial cartoonist Michael de Adder talks to The National’s Ian Hanomansing about the perils of his profession in the age of social media.

Melki Melgarejo makes his debut at "L’Eau vive"

  

Paraguayan-born cartoonist Melki Melgarejo is making his debut this week as a contributor to L’Eau vive in Regina.

L’Eau vive, a bi-monthly francophone newspaper in Saskatchewan founded in 1971, is the only francophone newspaper in the province.

It is a member of Réseau Presse, a network of newspapers serving the francophone minority population since 1976.

Michael de Adder fired from the Halifax Chronicle Herald

From Reddit.

We have just learned that cartoonist Michael de Adder has been let go from the Halifax Chronicle Herald after working there for almost 30 years.

There will only be two editorial cartoons per week in the Chronicle Herald from now on.

In related news, SaltWire had just been sold to Postmedia, Canada’s largest newspaper publisher majority owned by the U.S. hedge fund Chatham Asset Management. 

Chatham is also the majority owner of US-based McClatchy newspapers which last year fired their three staff editorial cartoonists and has given up on political cartoons on their papers’ opinion pages.

Also:

Michael de Adder Let Go by Postmedia – Update in The Daily Cartoonist,

2024 Editorial Cartoonist Convention in Montreal

 

Canadian and American editorial cartoonists, as well as a few European guests, are meeting this weekend in Montreal for a conference on the digital future of the profession organized by the McCord Museum.

More details here.

Michael de Adder, 2023 NCS Editorial Cartoon Award Winner

From NCS.

At the 78th Annual NCS Reuben Awards ceremony, held in San Diego last night, Michael de Adder won the 2023 NCS Editorial Cartoon Award for his work at the Washington Post.

He was nominated along with Michael Ramirez and Reuben Bolling.

Canada's heat wave

From Vetustideces.

Canada's heat wave has sparked a humorous wave of softened architecture. 

The warped CN Tower in Toronto stands out in the urban panorama of David Parkins in The Globe and Mail, Bado turned those of the tower of the Federal Parliament of Canada located in Ottawa into soft Dalinian clocks. 

Two Quebec journalists receive the Michener-Baxter Award

From the Michener Awards. 

The Michener Awards Foundation (MAF) announced it is awarding Chantal Hébert and Terry Mosher its prestigious Michener-Baxter Award for exceptional service to Canadian public service journalism.

The Michener-Baxter Award was established in 1983 and is presented at the discretion of the foundation’s board of directors. 

The award is named for Clive Baxter, who received the first Michener Award in 1971 from then-Governor General Roland Michener.

Ed Hall 1962-2024

Talented artist, editorial cartoonist, designer and teacher Ed Hall lost his battle to cancer last Sunday. 

He bravely battled the disease over the last 8 years, never letting it slow his creativity. 

Bruce MacKinnon wins National Newspaper Award 2023

From the NNA Twitter account.

Bruce MacKinnon of the Halifax Chronicle Herald is the winner in the Editorial Cartooning category at the 75th edition of the National Newspaper Awards for a record ninth time.

Brian Gable of The Globe and Mail  and Michael de Adder (Halifax Chronicle Herald / Hill Times) were the finalists.

Graeme Mackay meets pushback for an editorial cartoon

From Graeme Mackay's website. 

I was met with push back after my March 20 editorial cartoon depicting Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin engaged in military offensives against innocent civilians juxtaposed with Justin Trudeau announcing Canada’s decision to halting arms sales to Israel.

My mission as an editorial cartoonist includes observing Canada’s place in global affairs, and the vote by Parliament to suspend arms shipments to the Netanyahu government was significant and warranted reaction. 

While the cartoon may appear provocative to some, its intention is clear: to comment on current events and political decisions in a satirical manner.

Don Wright 1934-2024

From Wikipedia.

Long time Miami News and Palm Beach Post editorial cartoonist Don Wright passed away at 90 in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday, March 24.

Don Conway Wright was born on January 23, 1934 in Los Angeles, California and was the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, having received one in 1966 and a second in 1980.

2024 Kesterton Lecture with Michael de Adder

From YouTube.

UDATE

Comics DC transcribes the part of Michael de Adder‘s lecture that involves his parting from The Washington Post: