Creator of Jasper comic which ran for years in Maclean's, inducted into hall of cartoonist fame

Cartoonist Seth gave a tribute at the recent Doug Wright Awards to James Simpkins, who was posthumously inducted into the Wright Awards’ Giants of the North hall of fame. 

Simpkins, who died at the age of 93 in 2004, is best known for his comic Jasper, featuring a playful, innocent trouble-making bear, which ran in as a regular panel in Maclean’s and on newspaper comic pages for more than two decades combined. The comic was often a gentle hymn to parks, nature and conservation, but most generally based its humour on the interaction of Jasper with humans. 

[I have a lapel pin of Jasper that is almost inevitably mistaken by people for Yogi Bear, a creation of Hanna-Barbera. I think I'll wear Jasper to the National Magazine Awards.]