Drawn in deeply Scribe turned cartoonist encapsulates politics for young eyes The Creators
By: AV Kitching Posted: 8:09 PM CDT Friday, Apr. 4, 2025

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This article was published 04/04/2025 (400 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Current affairs are Kaj Hassel- riis’s forte. The journalist-cum-cartoonist is an avid news reader, equally as engrossed in sports and popular culture as he is with politics and global affairs.

Hasselriis puts his drawing skills and journalistic nous to good use in his quarterly publication, Read All About It, a subscription-based comic covering topics led by the news cycle.

He’s also published three political books in the same vein under the Politikids banner.

The first, Canada’s Leaders Tell Their True Childhood Stories, was created before the 2019 federal election. The following year he released Kamala in Canada about the former U.S. vice-president Kamala Harris’s time as a teenager in Montreal. His latest book is a dive into the life of current Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Hasselriis’s own origin story has parallels to recent political movements.

“When I was 10, prime minister Pierre Trudeau resigned, and the Liberals picked another PM. It was quite a big deal for me, and I thought about it this winter when another Trudeau resigned, and another leader was picked. I know for myself, having been a 10-year-old who was curious and interested in the news, that there must be other 10-year-olds now who are feeling the same way,” he says.

When Hasselriis first started drawing, his comics were aimed at older readers. Much to his surprise, people were buying the books for the children in their lives.

“I honestly thought I was making a book for adults,” he says, laughing. “Ahead of the 2019 elections, I thought it would be useful for grown-up voters to learn about who our politicians were, and I did that in the form of children’s books because my drawing style is cute and colourful.”

His first foray into comic-book making was the short-lived Boomerang Beavers, a series loosely based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which the then-seventh grader drew and sold to school friends.

When adult life came calling, Hasselriis put his pencils down to concentrate on building a career. He picked them up again when he decided to take a break from his journalism job.

“Journalism, politics, drawing and cartooning are all things I am good at. When I was looking for my next thing to do, I thought about some of the skills that I used to have and I picked up my pen and started drawing again,” he says.

The subject of his next book is still to be determined. It will very much depend on the outcome of the April 28 federal election.

“We will see who will win. I have done Jagmeet Singh, and I have now done Carney. I am open to covering all the prime ministers and if Carney is not the next PM, I will see who is and do the next book on him,” he says.

His process is strictly analogue — comics are drawn on thick white paper, inked with Sharpies and coloured in using Tombow markers. The only screen involved is when he scans his art digitally at his local library before printing the comics.

It’s an old-school way of doing things and one he’s planning to stick with. He admits he’s had to field questions from friends who ask why he draws by hand and prints physical copies to mail or hand-deliver, instead of just sharing them online.

“I think parents and teachers want to keep kids off screens for as long as they can — there is so much content online. I want my comics to be drawn on paper, I want them to be delivered in the mailbox like the newspaper or a magazine, I want them to be enjoyed in your hands,” he explains.

However, he hasn’t completely eschewed technology or social media — he post excerpts and teasers on his Instagram, @kajhasselriis.

Drawing for children has reinforced his belief in their ability to absorb and understand complex issues.

“Kids are capable. They see what’s going on, they know grown-ups get to vote, and they have questions. Let’s help them learn who our leaders are, what types of role models there are out there. Answering in simple ways about what’s going on is a very helpful thing,” he says.

av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca