Monday, June 23, 2008

Lefty by Tom Kay 1948



The Worker was a well-used title worldwide as an organ for the Communist movement. This Toronto based Worker was an Anti-commie publication. The front-page cartoonist on the Worker was a man named Tom Kay, a single-panel guy. His character is a sharp-nosed, brilliantine haired, five day shadow type of guy named - you guessed it - Lefty. Lefty resembles a Stalinesque juvenile delinquent.

In this case the right co-opted the generally left “Worker” title, it took me a while to catch on that I was not reading a socialist publication, but there was something not quite right about Lefty... Some headlines - Moscow Radio Likes to see the C. C. F. Get Support -- If War Came Could the Commies Sabotage Industry? -- Criminal is Cop- Red Runs Police -- Reds in 11 Defense Industries Lead 100,000 Canadian Workers -- Commie Lawyer Barred In B. C. -- Goon Squad Beats Up Union Chief.

I found this snippet on Google Book Search, from Apostles of Discord: A Study of Organized Bigotry and Disruption on the Fringes of Protestantism, a 1953 book published in Boston > “Venomous cartoons by Bill Paulson and Tom Kay are included for good measure.”







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