September 1 – November 26
About the Exhibition
This exhibition brings together a selection of original covers from Canada’s Golden Age of Comics (1940–1946) showcasing some of the iconic heroes created by a generation of young artists as they stepped up to build a national comics voice under wartime constraints. With American imports restricted, these creators filled the stands with bold, black-and-white imagery that was as inventive as it was immediate.
Presented here, these covers capture the raw energy and ambition of that moment: striking compositions, fearless storytelling, and a sense of possibility that continues to echo through Canadian comics today.
About the Era
The Canadian “WECA” era (War Exchange Conservation Act, 1940–1946) marked a unique boom in homegrown comics during World War II. With American imports restricted, Canadian publishers stepped in to fill the shelves, producing black-and-white “Canadian Whites” featuring original heroes like Nelvana of the Northern Lights and Johnny Canuck. This period fostered a distinctly Canadian voice in comics — scrappy, inventive, and proudly local — laying the groundwork for the country’s comic culture long after the war ended.
EVENT
Join us for an dialogue between Canadian comic creator Ho Che Anderson and WECA Historian Ivan Kocmarek in November – Details coming soon.
