Jim Unger

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Jim Unger (born 21 January 1937 in London, England) began his career as a cartoonist at the Mississauga Times newspaper in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. In 1974, Unger moved to Ottawa, Ontario, where his now-famous Herman comic strip became popular. Unger retired as a cartoonist in 1992. He received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for his work on the strip for 1982 and 1987.

Jim moved to the Bahamas in 1984.

Jim Unger's friends encouraged him to give up retirement. He said he would not have suggested it himself, but he liked the idea. On June 2, 1997, Herman made a comeback, under the United Media umbrella. "It gives me the opportunity to bring them (strips) up to date and to introduce Herman to a new generation," he said in the May 31, 1997 edition of the Detroit News. He does not expect to return to full-time cartooning, but will be adding some new material. Jim signed a long-term contract to bring ten years of classic Herman back to the funny pages.

Jim Unger is a co-founder of INTRACA along with David Waisglass, creator of Farcus. INTRACA is an intranet feature that uses the humour of popular cartoons and motivational quotes to inform and boost employees with "positive daily business messages" on their computers. Herman characters are also found on workplace posters promoting safety and improved production.

In 1990, Jim achieved a rewarding place in cartoon history when Herman became the first newspaper cartoon syndicated in Communist East Germany. Shortly afterward, Jim produced a new book, entitled Herman: Over the Wall. He joked that, "Six months later the (Berlin) Wall came down; I think that's what did it."