Jim Unger obit

Cartoonist Jim Unger, creator of Herman, dies at age 75 in Saanich

He was not on the list.

Jim Unger, the man behind the cartoon Herman, is being remembered as an artist, trailblazer and offbeat comic.

Unger, 75, had been feeling unwell for some time and died in his sleep at his Saanich home, his friend Adrian Raeside said Tuesday.

“Although we no longer have Jim Unger with us, we are lucky to have his body of work that spans decades, his cartoons still as fresh and as funny as they were the day he drew them,” Raeside said.

Raeside, who draws cartoons for the Times Colonist as well as a syndicated comic strip, said that Unger was probably the funniest man he had ever known. Unger, he said, could find humour in just about anything.

Besides his enormous talent as a cartoonist, Raeside said, Unger had “a wonderful soul and a big heart.” He was always willing to help those less fortunate, especially during the years he lived in the Bahamas.

Raeside first met Unger there in 1993, when Raeside had a boat moored in Nassau. They went to the casino a few times, and Unger boasted that he had a foolproof system — but in the end, his luck was no better than Raeside’s.

Born in London, England, Unger immigrated in 1968 to Canada, where his cartooning career began at the Mississauga Times.

Herman became a syndicated cartoon in 1974, eventually appearing in newspapers around the world. Unger twice won the National Cartoonist Society’s award for best syndicated panel.

Unger first retired to the Bahamas in 1992, but five years later, Herman was re-syndicated and Unger started releasing a mix of classic and new material.

Unger moved to Saanich about a decade ago, and lived with his brother, Robert, in a home close to their sister Deborah. Robert died in 2003.

Another longtime friend, fellow cartoonist David Waisglass, also paid tribute to Unger, saying that in a “small community of creators,” Unger stood out as an icon.

“We not only lost a comic genius, we lost a fine human being,” said Waisglass, creator of the cartoon Farcus.

“He had truly an offbeat single-panel comment that was in mainstream newspapers. Nobody had done that before,” Waisglass said, adding that it was Unger’s insight and perception that drove his success.

“To reach the pinnacle of success as a syndicated cartoonist, you have to be original and hilarious and be consistent.”

An “observer of the human condition” with a wry sense of humour, Unger was a generous soul outside of work, Waisglass said.

“It’s a huge loss for us who loved him,” he said, adding that Unger was especially close to his siblings.

Unger is survived by sisters Deborah in Saanich and Shirley in Ontario, as well as brother Steve in the United Kingdom.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been made. In lieu of flowers and cards, Unger’s family has asked for donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

“If, like me, you’re feeling down about Jim Unger’s passing,” Raeside said, “go pick up a Herman book. I guarantee you’ll start giggling at the first cartoon. I think that’s how Jim would want to be remembered.”