Doris Slater Titus ( – ) was a Canadian cartoonist, painter, and art teacher. She was the first female cartoonist in the Canadian comic book industry.

Life and career

Doris Slater was born on on a farm near Chatham, Ontario. Her family moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1929, where she attended Oakwood Collegiate High School and the

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD U, is a public art university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its main campus is located within Toronto's Grange Park and Entertainment District neighbourhoods ...

, graduating from the latter in 1939. Through her older sister's marriage, Slater became sister-in-law to

Ted McCall Edwin Reid McCall (born 1901 in Chatham, Ontario, died 1975) was a Canadian journalist, and a comic strip and comic book writer. He was best known for creating the first comic strip based on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, '' Men of the Mounte ...

of the Anglo-American Publications Company. In 1941, Slater and McCall - using the shared pseudonym MacDuff - collaborated on a character called "Pat the Air Cadet", a female pilot who fought Nazis, for ''

Grand Slam Comics Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), se ...

''. The next year she wrote and drew her own feature, "Martin Blake, Animal King", for '' 3 Aces Comics.'' In 1944, she created a comic book version of Patricia Joudry's

CFRB CFRB (1010 AM) is a commercial radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. One of the oldes ...

radio show '' Penny's Diary,'' about the stereotypical misfortunes of a teenage girl, for '' Active Comics'' from

Bell Features Bell Features, also known as Commercial Signs of Canada, was a Canadian comic book publisher during the World War II era. They were the most successful of the publishers of " Canadian Whites", and published comics such as Adrian Dingle's Nelvan ...

. She also illustrated two ''Baby Bee’s'' children's books by Byng Whitteker. Slater's work in the Canadian comic book industry ended with its post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

slump. In 1944, Slater married Russ Titus, a Canadian singer and actor who later worked under the name Larry Cross. They had two children, a son and a daughter. Their marriage ended and he moved his career to London in 1950. She and her children moved to

Brantford, Ontario Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County but is politically separate wi ...

, in 1952, where she became an art teacher at the Brantford Collegiate Institute & Vocational School. In 1960, she moved to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

to teach at the High School of Commerce. During these years her she painted abstract works often inspired by

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

and began experimenting with unusual materials in her work such as birdseed and her own bathwater.

Death and legacy

Doris Slater was killed on June 26, 1964, in a head-on collision while driving in a hailstorm near

Stittsville, Ontario Stittsville is a suburban community, part of the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario. It is within the former Goulbourn Township. A part of the National Capital Region, Stittsville is immediately to the southwest of Kanata, adjacent to Ri ...

. Slater was inducted into the

Joe Shuster Awards The Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards (or Joe Shuster Awards) are given out annually for outstanding achievements in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and comics retailers and publishers by Canadians. The awards, ...

Canadian Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2015.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, Doris Created via preloaddraft 1917 births 1964 deaths Canadian comics artists Canadian female comics artists 20th-century Canadian painters Cubist artists 20th-century Canadian women painters Canadian art educators Canadian women educators Canadian children's book illustrators 20th-century Canadian illustrators Canadian women illustrators