Portfoolio 10: The Year's Best Canadian Editorial Cartoons

Geoffrey Hayes is an assistant professor of history at the University of
Waterloo.

Books of political cartoons usually spark a few laughs but are quickly
tossed aside. This one is worth keeping, for it reminds Canadians of how
badly we thought of our politicians in the years 1993 and 1994. Comic
Mary Walsh’s foreword sets the general tone: “Ottawa is a veritable
Xanadu of buffoonery, a three-ring circus brought off with little style
and almost no shame by an unending array of bilge-faced bozoes.”

The 48 English- and French-Canadian cartoonists whose works are
featured in Portfoolio 10 do not let us forget. Their cartoons target
such world events as the UN’s failure in Bosnia, the Somalia affair,
and the end of apartheid in South Africa, and such Canadian events as
the Legion’s troubles with headwear and the Girl Guides’ problems
with the Queen. In the best Canadian tradition, they poke fun at
Americans—even the late Richard Nixon. But Canadian leaders fare no
better: in the hands of Winnipeg’s Dale Cummings, Preston Manning is a
deranged Puritan; Phil Mallette portrays Lucien Bouchard as Napoleon.

The collection shows off a new crop of cartoonists taking their place
among the likes of Aislin (Terry Mosher), Ting (Merle Tingley), and Ben
Wicks. Some of the best new ones include Ottawa’s Fred Sebastian,
whose style resembles that of Ralph Steadman; Mou (Theo Moudakis), whose
work appears in Montreal and Halifax papers, and Toronto’s Jack
Lefcourt.

Portfoolio 10 is a testament to our cynical, irreverent times. It is
also a lot of fun.