Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
WECA Comic Book Collection
General material designation
- Textual record
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Parallel titles and other title information: former name: Canadian Whites Comic Book Collection
Level of description
Collection
Repository
Reference code
F 2015.003
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1941-1946 (Creation)
- Creator
- Bell Features and Publishing Company Limited
Physical description area
Physical description
181 publications
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Administrative history
This Toronto based publishing company was founded in 1939 under the name Commercial Signs of Canada by Gene and Cy Bell. They began publishing Canadian comic books in 1941, when the War Measures act limited the importation of luxury goods (including comic books) into the country. These publications were black and white, with full colour on the cover only leading to the term "Canadian Whites" being used to describe Canadian war-era comics. Located on York Street, the company published bi-monthly variety comics with Canadian characters and stories written and illustrated by Canadian authors and artists. Titles included "Active Comics", "Commando Comics", "Dime Comics", "The Funny Comics", "Wow Comics", "Joke Comics", and "Triumph Comics". Commercial Signs changed its name to Bell Features and Publishing Company in 1942, when Adrian Dingle and his Hillborough Studios joined the company, brining with it the Triumph-Adventure comic and the first Canadian female superhero, Nelvana of the Northern Lights. When trade restrictions ended in 1945, and American comic books returned to the Canadian market, the company faced difficult competition and circulation dropped. The company eventually closed in 1953.
Custodial history
Donated to the University Library and Archives from a private donor in 2014.
Scope and content
Fonds consists of 181 comic books, produced in Canada, mainly during World War II, after the War Exchange Conservation Act (WECA), on December 2, 1940 classified American comics as "luxury goods" and limited their importation. These comics are also known as the "Canadian Whites" (due to the fact that the comics were black and white, except for the covers), the comics were published by Commercial Signs of Canada, which consisted of brothers Cyril (Cy) and Gene Bell, with investor John Ezrin. Publication began in the summer of 1941 and included titles Wow Comics, Active Comics, Dime Comics, and Joke Comics. '
In the winter of 1942, Commercial Signs absorbed another publishing house, Hillborough Studios, and renamed the company Bell Features. The acquisition brought the "Triumph Comics" title, and two more, Dizzy Don Detective (later retitled The Funny
Comics), and Commando Comics, soon followed.
When WECA was repealed in June of 1944 and American comic books were once again available to Canadians, Bell Features attempted to remain competitive by expanding their market into the US and the UK, and by publishing some titles in colour. Due to a lack of available newsprint, however, the company shifted its focus on Canadian content and began reprinting American titles.
Source: Scanlon, Meaghan. (10 July, 2015). Written, Drawn and Printed in Canada ---- by Canadians!”
Bell Features, CanCon, and the Perception of Comics in Postwar Canada. Presentation for SHARP Montreal.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Individual comic books in the collection are catalogued in the University Library catalogue. They can be found by doing a keyword search "Canadian Whites". http://catalogue.library.ryerson.ca/search/X?SEARCH=N%3A%28%22Canadian+Whites%22%29
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Open. Records are available for consultation without restriction.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Associated materials
Bell Features Collection, located in Library and Archives Canada, many issues are digitized. Online finding aid with links available here: http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/lac-bac/bell_features_collection-ef/BellFeaturesCollection-findingaid-2016-06-21.pdf
Walker, Alan. The Canadian whites : Historical perspective by Alan Walker. Toronto : Bell and Howell, 1972 https://www.library.yorku.ca/find/Record/479743
Hirsh, Michael and Loubert, Patrick. The great Canadian comic books : historical perspective by Alan Walker ; designed and illustrated by Clive Smith ; afterword by Harold Town. Toronto : P. Martin Associates, c1971. https://www.library.yorku.ca/find/Record/103501
Accruals
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
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Name access points
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Control area
Description record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules or conventions
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
2022-07-14: Collection title has been updated
Language of description
Script of description
Sources
Digital object metadata
Latitude
Longitude
Media type
Image
Mime-type
image/jpeg