book – mackaycartoons

You Might Be From Hamilton If…

August 2, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

The worst secret is officially out that I’m hawking an illustrated book dedicated to shining a spotlight on the people, places, and pastimes of the city of Hamilton. My first ever published book, You Might Be From Hamilton If… is the culmination of a project that has been in the making over the past year. It’s the only city to be represented in series of “You Might Be From” books that have covered most of Canada’s provinces. It began with some consultation with generous family, friends and colleagues, a long written list of topics and gags, and some nipping and tucking to cover a range of 120 pages of subject matter. A book of this sort can easily fall into a banal showcase of corny jokes and self-indulgence, which I tried to avoid. There are some obvious stereotypes which demanded inclusion, but an effort was made to lob some curve ball references which might not have been the first or even tenth thing a so called typical Hamiltonian might have come up with. If they elicit recollective nods and chuckles from readers then mission accomplished. Readers should prepare for some alternative takes on some old Hamilton standards.

Publisher MacIntyre Purcell has printed an outstanding book with sharp colours and crisp clean lines. I’m especially delighted with the results of an assortment of graphite illustrations included in the book. It’s a style which is somewhat different from the inked lined drawings which has normally appeared in my editorial cartoons for 20 years. You Might Be From Hamilton If… promises to be an entertaining book to anyone, whether now a Hamiltonian, once a Hamiltonian, or soon to be a Hamiltonian. One need not even be a Hamiltonian to enjoy this book.

The Hamilton Spectator will be hosting a book signing event in the auditorium on August 30, 7-9pm when I’ll do a presentation of some of my famous and somewhat notorious local editorial cartoons from the past 2 decades. It’s free but space is limited and attendees are required to register for this event.

Saturday August 19, 1-3pm book signing at The Hamilton Store, 165 James St. North, Hamilton

Saturday September 9, 10-2pm & 6-8pm book signing during the Supercrawl at The Hamilton Store, 165 James St. North, Hamilton

Saturday September 16, 10-2pm book signing at Indigo Ancaster, 737 Golf Links Road, Ancaster

Stay tuned for more book signings and presentations. You Might Be From Hamilton If… is available for purchase at The Spec Store, The Hamilton Store, Chapters/Indigo, or at Amazon.ca.

Oh, yes, there’s YMBFHI… swag:

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Thursday, November 7, 2013

November 7, 2013 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, November 7, 2013

A Great Game: Stephen Harper’s hockey history captures the pulse of a young Canada

Can a book this long awaited also be unexpected? Stephen Harper’s first book is. A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & The Rise of Professional Hockey is billed as a look at the early history of the sport. It’s being marketed as a tale for hockey obsessives. But what it is, really, is something better and more interesting and, from the perspective of book sellers, probably less saleable: a history of Canada in the early years of the last century, before the old world was washed away by The Great War.

The entry into that world comes through the tale of Toronto’s earliest professional hockey teams. Between 1908 and 1914, they challenged for the Stanley Cup. They did so while fighting a far more vicious battle off the ice: against Toronto’s conservative hockey establishment, which sought to destroy any club or player committing the original sin – playing the game for money.

Mr. Harper’s book reads a bit like a PhD thesis, which is to say that it is well researched, and sometimes heavy going. He seems to be aiming to write the definitive take on these events, so minor details aren’t left out. The pacing of the narrative sometimes suffers. But the Prime Minister does a good job of taking you back to the country, and the time, that gave birth to the national game.

The Canada of 100 years ago is in some ways easily recognizable to us: immigrants arrived in record numbers, the cities boomed and hockey was already incredibly popular, with the Stanley Cup already the ultimate prize. Players wanting to make their fortune headed south: After he and his teammates in Berlin (now Kitchener, Ont.) were suspended for accepting a gift of $10 gold coins from the city’s mayor, John “Doc” Gibson moved to northern Michigan and created what appears to have been North America’s first openly professional hockey team, in 1903.

There were debates over hockey violence, and counterclaims that new rules were robbing the game of its manly nature. In 1904, the Belleville Intelligencer accused the authorities of turning hockey into a wimpy “cross between croquet and ping-pong.” It sounds like a quote from Coach’s Corner.

But in other ways the Canada that is the setting for A Great Game is now a foreign country. Toronto before the First World War was run by people who saw themselves as defenders of the British heart of a British Canada. Mr. Harper describes them as so conservative that they remained stuck in the Victorian era long after it had ended, and he contrasts them with the “palpably more flexible” elites of Montreal. (Continued: Globe & Mail)

FEEDBACK

Letter to the Editor, Hamilton Spectator, November 8, 2013

Kudos to Graeme MacKay for the Great Game cartoon, showing the three Senators being tossed out. Due process was surely a fourth victim.

The long awaited book on hockey by our prime minister reportedly shows great admiration for goalies. They consistently keep over 90 per cent of all shots from scoring. It is an average that Stephen Harper can only dream about, judging from recent Question Periods in Parliament.

Richard Ring, Grimsby

April 23, 2007

April 23, 2007 by Graeme MacKay

A new book is out in the store shelf devoted to editorial cartoons killed by editors:

Amazon.com summarizes the book as an intriguing selection of one hundred cartoons, many never-before-published, that were censored or suppressed for being too controversial, featuring the work of Gary Trudeau, Doug Marlette, Paul Conrad, Mike Luckovich, Matt Davies, Ted Rall, Norman Rockwell, Anita Kunz, Edward Sorel, and other notable artists…

…like me.

…and here’s the cartoon he’s talking about:

At the time I wrote on my website: “This one won’t be printed in The Spectator. Editors felt the image was too lite to comment on the passing of the Pope. I didn’t put up a fight. Cartoonists know all too well that even the very act of caricaturing the Pontiff is verging on blasphemy in the eyes of some devout Roman Catholics. It has been sent out to other newspapers through my syndicate and it’ll be curious to see if anyone picks it up. I guess the other problem was that at the time of completion the old man hadn’t yet kicked the bucket. It’s bound to be an interesting few weeks to come leading up to the selection of a new Pope.“

* * * U P D A T E * * *

Here’s (sound file) an interview of the author David Wallis from April 20, 2007, where he talks on New Hampshire public radio about the book. He talks about my cartoon around the 6:15 mark. Transcript.

Here’s the story on the NPR website.

Pope Cartoons are one of those issues which always provoke letters. You can read other blog entries here and here.

January 29, 2007

January 29, 2007 by Graeme MacKay

Here’s a review I wrote in the Spectator about by a fellow cartoonist, Hamiltonian, and beer drinking partner, Roy Carless. I recommend his book. You can by it through Amazon.ca.

The Carless Cartoon Collection
By Roy Carless and Kerry J. Schooley
Seraphim Editions, $24.95

If there was ever a time in Canadian history when there existed a golden age of editorial cartooning, it was during the era that spanned the 45-year career of the great Duncan Macpherson.

Born out of this period between 1948 and 1993 was a whole generation of cartoonists who were so captivated by the style and philosophy of the late Toronto Star wise one that even today you’ll see his influence in 21st century editorial cartoons.

One particular Hamiltonian cartoonist who followed alongside Macpherson as both a student and friend is Roy Carless.

Carless shows an edginess that pushes the envelope with the naughtiness of a kid at the back of a classroom.

Having drawn for mostly labour and trade publications, Carless has enjoyed greater freedom to skewer politicians and express ideas than many of his mainstream contemporaries. So while many editorial cartoons from the ’60s and ’80s ranged from the whimsical to the cornball, Carless was sticking it to those who were sticking it to the everyman.

Macpherson often employed the everyman character in his cartoons, and so did Roy Carless. Yet Carless actually lived the life of an everyman.

He has spent a life on the assembly lines of Westinghouse and Camco and has been active in countless trade union organizations. He has faced family tragedies and suffered severe health problems.

Well into his 80s, Carless continues to passionately produce cartoons. And his stories and cartoons through four decades are wonderfully told and illustrated in The Carless Cartoon Collection.