Adrian Raeside, Editorial Cartoonist and Creator of The Other Coast

Not only a cartoonist or an author, not just an illustrator or an animator, all of these abilities and more are found under the guise of a single man. Terse editorial cartoons, the humourous The Other Coast comic strip, independent illustration work, Dennis the Dragon books for kids and a number of books for adults are the inspired products of cartoonist Adrian Raeside.

The Victoria Times Colonist in Victoria, BC, Canada is the home newspaper for Raeside's editorial work. The looming threat of war, U.S. President George Bush and the Canadian government in general have given the cartoonist a wealth of comical ammunition from a north-of-the-border perspective. Raeside began his editorial cartoons well over 20 years ago and is one of Canada's premier cartoonists. His syndicated work appears in 150 newspapers world-wide, including the Japanese Asahi News, Pravda in Russia along with Newsweek and the LA Times.

Raeside created his comic strip, "The Other Coast," in 1990. It appeared as a Sunday colour comic until emerging into a daily in 1999. Signed with the Creators Syndicate, the strip has struck a funny bone among Canadians through the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen and numerous other newspapers.

"The Other Coast" is drawn in a variety of formats, from a wide single panel to several panels of variable size. Raeside uses as little conversation as possible, making his hilarious comment in only a few words. Using his keen eye for fun and his exceptional technique of drawing chagrined expressions that seem to gaze right at the reader, Raeside creates a connection that is rare in cartoons.

Earlier, animation caught Raeside's attention. He opened and operated his own animation company in 1988, animating editorial cartoons for the CBC television network. Turner Broadcasting and Children's Television Workshop also made use of his unending skills to create and produce television shows. He also had opportunity to adapt two Sesame Street Muppets for animation. As well, he participated in the creation of original cartoon series including "Reboot" and "Eek the Cat." *(1)

Turning his imagination to other projects for the children's market, Raeside illustrated the first "Dennis the Dragon" book. Based on verse written by his mother Joan Raeside, the cartoonist created a cast of colourful, adorable characters who were determined to save their environment. Raeside wrote two more "Dennis the Dragon" books himself, "Dennis and the Big Clean-up" and "Dennis and the Fantastic Forest." (Published by Doubleday Canada, Ltd., 1995 and 1997 respectively.)

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