Home

Canadian cast of characters

« previous entry | next entry »
Nov. 7th, 2009 | 05:40 pm


Well, I used a lot of the suggestions that came my way from that post the other day! I was pretty pleased with the turnout of readers for that question, I must admit. I guess it's because you hear a lot that people don't give a darn about history in this country, if depressing yearly polls from the Dominion Institute mean anything, but it's clearly not the case among my livejournal followers. You guys are great!

I had to do a general sweep that involved a good range of places, professions, backgrounds and time periods, so you know, not everyone's favorite author is going to be in there but I sure did like the range in suggestions. Looking at it now I wish I had someone from the NWT (not one! for shame) and New Brunswick. Stompin Tom is from New Brunswick but he's also sort of from everywhere.  I could have put the Irvings in there, I think they control history in NB as well as anything else.

I was all crazed out with strep throat while I did this, but listening to Radiolab shows and a burning passion for Canada I guess(?) kept me going.  You can find the image in today's National Post, along with an article about the Historica/Dominion merger! Interesting stuff.



 


Here is the legend, the rows are sort of wonky but you'll figure it out:

Row One (bottom):
James Wolfe, Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, David Suzuki, Louis-Joseph Papineau, John A. Macdonald, Terry Fox
Row Two
Emily Carr, Joseph Howe, Joey Smallwood, Robert Bartlett, Louis Riel, Joy Kogawa
Row Three
Marshall McLuhan, Samuel de Champlain, Marilyn Bell, Wayne Gretzky, Emily Murphy
Row Four
Rene Levesque, Sam Steele, Farley Mowat, L.M. Montgomery, Susanna Moodie and Catherine Parr Trail, John McCrae
Row Five
Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker), Oscar Peterson, Rush, Pierre Berton
Row Six
Les Filles du Roi, Mary Pickford, Skookum Jim Mason
Row Seven
Charles Best, Frederick Banting, Pauline Johnson, Mordecai Richler, Tecumseh, Stompin’ Tom Connors
Row Eight

William Hall, Tommy Douglas, Marc Garneau, Roberta Bondar, Rosemary Brown, John Diefenbaker
Row Nine
Shanawdithit, Louis de Buade de Frontenac, David Thompson, William Shatner

Link | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Comments {127}

Page 1 of 4
<<[1] [2] [3] [4] >>

MrFunnyNuts

(no subject)

from: [info]mrfunnynuts
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:01 pm (UTC)
Link

Great job!!

Reply | Thread

La Déesse

(no subject)

from: [info]air_and_angels
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:05 pm (UTC)
Link

Awesome work! I think the high-fiving astronauts are my favourites. I wish we had someone like you in New Zealand to do a similar picture. It gives me kind of a 'Kate Beaton's Busy, Busy Canada' vibe. Like Canada is just full of people bustling around doing interesting things. I always enjoy your work but am seldom quick off the mark enough to be in the first comments to an entry, so here I am before saturation creeps in to say thanks for drawing such funny, clever pictures!
Also I hope your throat feels better now.

Edited at 2009-11-07 10:07 pm (UTC)

Reply | Thread

Hark!  A Vagrant

(no subject)

from: [info]beatonna
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:10 pm (UTC)
Link

I sound like a blender but the strep is gone, thanks!

I always felt a soft spot for New Zealand because it is shaped like my home province if that makes any sense

Reply | Parent | Thread | Expand

Cate with some rollerskates

(no subject)

from: [info]silenceincities
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:06 pm (UTC)
Link

Aw, Terry Fox <3

I have a friend who is maniacally obsessed with Canadian History, so she really enjoys all the Canadian-centric drawings you do. I love that you got Mordecai Richler in there. And Tecumseh. Awesome. [:

Reply | Thread

Richler!

from: [info]roll_to_discern
date: Nov. 8th, 2009 05:02 pm (UTC)
Link

I'm still dreaming of a Beaton-penned graphic novel of "Solomon Gursky was Here," but the excellent Richler pic goes a long ways...

Reply | Parent | Thread

Michael Ian Crikey, Philanthropist Extraordinaire

(no subject)

from: [info]st_fred
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:07 pm (UTC)
Link

i only heard of tecumseh for the first time today and read his wikipage. He seems hardcore, good to see him here :)

Reply | Thread

Allison Marcellus

(no subject)

from: [info]lady_bedivere
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:07 pm (UTC)
Link

Oh my god, this is amazing! And I totally recognized Rush (my suggestion)! This is so incredible!

Reply | Thread | Expand

Stephen Herron

(no subject)

from: [info]nearside
date: Nov. 8th, 2009 03:08 am (UTC)
Link

I was also pleased to see Rush in there :) I'm glad a few of us suggested them!

Reply | Parent | Thread

aesop's bat

(no subject)

from: [info]autophanous
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:10 pm (UTC)
Link

yayyyyyy mary pickford

Reply | Thread

Kismine

(no subject)

from: [info]heliotroped
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:11 pm (UTC)
Link

Absolutely awesome!!! I especially love the range you chose, because everybody's perspective on history is different but they'll all find one person they know in here... and by default kinda have to look at and wonder about a few of the others to spot that one!

Good stuff!

Reply | Thread

Heather

(no subject)

from: [info]heddychaa
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:11 pm (UTC)
Link

Can you get Topatco to make a poster of this? Because I would buy at least two copies (one for my office and one for my classroom)

Reply | Thread | Expand

Elanya

(no subject)

from: [info]elanya
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:46 pm (UTC)
Link

This this this!

I love Canada - I only know who half these people are but now I wanna learn about the rest :D

Reply | Parent | Thread

Who shot AR?

(no subject)

from: [info]myxginxblossoms
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:12 pm (UTC)
Link

Mary Pickford! A++, this is darling. Now I wish I could see the individual people by themselves, too--I'd love to make a Mary Pickford icon, lol.

Reply | Thread

SM Kauthen

(no subject)

from: [info]ubiquitouspitt
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:13 pm (UTC)
Link

Emigrating to Canada and gonna be great! I want to be on any list that features William Shatner.

Reply | Thread

Rooster

(no subject)

from: [info]halfassured
date: Nov. 8th, 2009 12:36 am (UTC)
Link

Yes you could do a whole picture like this just of people who were born in Canada and then moved to America to work in the entertainment industry.

Reply | Parent | Thread

inappropriately bibliophilic

astronauts high-fivin' action!

from: [info]raucousraven
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:13 pm (UTC)
Link

AMAZING.

Of note: Frontenac's smirk, Diefenbaker's jowls, Mordecai Richler's crazy crazy hair, Tecumseh getting eyed by one of the Filles du Roy, Carr's tiny totem poles, Papineau and John A. giving each other dirty looks, and of course, Wolfe and Montcalm duking it out for Canada in the corner.

Of love: oh, all of it. All of it!

Reply | Thread

inappropriately bibliophilic

Re: astronauts high-fivin' action!

from: [info]raucousraven
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:33 pm (UTC)
Link

Oh, and Farley Mowat's owl.

Reply | Parent | Thread

A BRAIN LEECH RUN FOR IT

(no subject)

from: [info]eibborn
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:13 pm (UTC)
Link

Kate Beaton this is amazing.

Reply | Thread

doctor conquest

(no subject)

from: [info]catnamedeaster
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:17 pm (UTC)
Link

absolutely fantastic! I am going to be staring at this for quite some time in order to take in all of the delicious Canadian awesome.

Reply | Thread

Tim

(no subject)

from: [info]canrocker
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:18 pm (UTC)
Link

This is amazing! So good!
I second the call to turn this into a poster.

Reply | Thread

Scrambles the Death Dealer

(no subject)

from: [info]yappatan
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:18 pm (UTC)
Link

Awesome! I will definitely be picking up the national post and hanging this on my wall.

Also, there are a few peeps on there that have spent some time in my neck of the woods (Champlain, Moodie and Mowat). Extra points!

Edited at 2009-11-07 10:20 pm (UTC)

Reply | Thread

toasty_fresh

(no subject)

from: [info]toasty_fresh
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:28 pm (UTC)
Link

Fabulous!

Reply | Thread

westprocrasti

(no subject)

from: [info]westprocrasti
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:30 pm (UTC)
Link

So, I'm a historian in Canada, and I have to say: this is AMAZING! I can't believe how many of them I recognised before I checked your legend. Well done, Kate Beaton.

Also: I never noticed before this how much René Lévesque resembles Trudeau. It's like you take Trudeau, add some wrinkles, a frown, and a cigarette! Magnificent. (Also also: as a Saskatchewan kid, I cheered when I recognised both Tommy Douglas and Diefenbaker. So good! I'm still geeking out!)

Reply | Thread

breltard95

(no subject)

from: [info]breltard95
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:30 pm (UTC)
Link

Banting AND Best! Nice to see the dynamic duo together! (At first glance I thought they were high-fiving.)

Reply | Thread

hyphensaregreat

(no subject)

from: [info]hyphensaregreat
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:30 pm (UTC)
Link

I don't know who like 90% of these people are, but it looks really awesome!

Reply | Thread

samahazai

(no subject)

from: [info]samahazai
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:35 pm (UTC)
Link

is catharine parr traill the one holding the flower?

Reply | Thread

Pamela

(no subject)

from: [info]pamlivesinabox
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:35 pm (UTC)
Link

I'm at work at a cafe and the second I saw Shatner I laughed very loudly. I looked like a crazy person and it's all your fault! :D

Reply | Thread

miss chanandler bong

(no subject)

from: [info]andbetty
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:39 pm (UTC)
Link

this is really, really great. if this were a print, i would definitely pay canadian dollars for it.

Reply | Thread

Dave

(no subject)

from: [info]saganaki
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:40 pm (UTC)
Link

Well, Champlain is New Brunswick-y enough to have a mall named after him in Moncton

Reply | Thread | Expand

Dave

(no subject)

from: [info]saganaki
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:42 pm (UTC)
Link

Though I suppose he is more Quebec (or in a larger sense - New France)

Reply | Parent | Thread | Expand

estebankielbasa

(no subject)

from: [info]estebankielbasa
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:41 pm (UTC)
Link

I really love this. :)

Reply | Thread

New Brunswick

from: [info]36richmond
date: Nov. 7th, 2009 10:41 pm (UTC)
Link

Darn. Wish I'd heard the call. Madame La Tour would have been perfect. Courageous, tragic. This student project site includes her portrait on concrete : http://lornems.nbed.nb.ca/LaTour/Characters/characters_1.htm Also, Louis J Robichaud, who revolutionized NB in the 1960s. And - especially relevant in a time of pandemic - Dr William F Roberts : http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/847171

Reply | Thread