Dean of Canadian cartoonists laid off by Vancouver Sun

I just learned that the Vancouver Sun has discontinued use of the dean of Canadian editorial cartoonists, Roy Petersen, as a cost-cutting measure and to add insult to injury, killed his last cartoon.

This, according to a posting on the blog Cagle.com, which described him accurately as "one of the world's best". Peterson wasn't fired -- he was a contract freelancer -- but the distinction after so many years is not an important one. During his time with the Sun, he won seven National Newspaper Awards for his work, the most in the 50 year history of the awards in any category, and in 2004 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is internationally syndicated and appears in Punch, the Spectator, Time and the New York Times.

I was a fan since childhood of Peterson's work and used to clip and save his Peterson on the Prowl panels from the old, large format Maclean's (a publication for which he still does work).

Peterson's departure is yet another nail in the coffin of editorial cartooning in this country, one in which most self-respecting newspapers had their own in-house cartoonist, but now have dispensed with them.

[thanks to J-source]