In the year 1967, cartoonists Thomas, Shivaram, P.K.Manthri, and artist Raghavan Nair in Kochi organized a get-together along with cartoonist Kutty, who was visiting Kerala on vacation from Delhi. They formed a group named the All-Kerala Hasya Kala Parashat (All Kerala Humour Arts Council) and called that meeting the All-Kerala Hasya Kala Parashat Convention. They took a group photo at the famous Krishnan Nair Studio in Ernakulam, and the picture along with the news appeared in newspapers under that name. That group is regarded as the first cartoonist association in India, let alone Kerala. However, the organization remained inactive after that one-day event. Attempts to form another association did not take off. Thus, the All-Kerala Hasya Kala Parashat virtually became that ek din ka raja in the Malayali cartoon kingdom. 
The Birth of the Kerala Cartoon Academy In 1981, a meeting was held at the of Asaadhu monthly office (Editor: Cartoonist Yesudasan) located in Mass Hotel, Ernakulam North. This was necessitated by the demise of the doyen of Malayalam cartooning, K. S. Pillai at the age of 59. There was not even a cartoonists’ body in existence to issue a condolence statement. Around the same time, cartoonist B.M. Gafoor, who had been brought from Kozhikode to Kochi to edit the humour magazine, Cut Cut, was dismissed by the publication’s management citing conflict of interest. He shared his distress with Yesudasan at the Asaadhu office. These two incidents - the lack of a body to represent cartoonists and Gafoor’s bitter experience at the workplace - became the catalysts for forming an organization. Thus, was born the idea of the Kerala Cartoon Academy, which today stands tall in the Indian cartoonist fraternity. In 1981, a preliminary meeting of Kerala Cartoon Academy was held under the chairmanship of cartoonist Yesudasan, which was attended by cartoonists B. M. Gafoor, S. Mohan, Raju Nair and Y. A. Raheem. Interestingly, P. Abdul Hameed, humour writer and DYSP was also taken in to ensure quorum. On November 29, 1981, another meeting was held at the Ernakulam Press Club, presided over by cartoonist Shivaram, officially establishing the Kerala Cartoon Academy. Sixteen cartoonists attended the meeting. Yesudasan was elected as Chairman, B. M. Gafoor as Secretary, and Thoms as Vice Chairman. Other participants included cartoonists Thomas, Shivaram, Nathan, Siri, John Kakkanad, Shathru, K. S. Gopalan (Bhagavan), Venugopalan (Venu), Dr. P. Kamalasan, Balu, C. A. Solomon, Raju Nair, Shivan, Gopan, M. M. Monai, Joshi George, Peter Panathara, and M. N. Muraleedharan. The Academy was formally registered under the Societies Act only in 1983. The first general body meeting was held on March 9, 1983, at the Ernakulam Press Club Hall where a constitution was adopted. Yesudasan chaired the meeting and Shivaram served as Secretary. The logo of the Kerala Cartoon Academy was also designed by Yesudasan. The Academy was registered under Society Act No. RIN 81/83. Growth and Achievements From the beginning of the independent India, Kerala is being considered as the cartoonists’ hub of India. From the original 16 members, the Academy now has over 130 active cartoonists under its canopy. Presidents, Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers, artists, and writers of international and national repute have participated in the Academy’s programs on invitation, reflecting its wide acceptance. In January 1987, the Academy’s first journal, Cartoon News, was published. Later, it was renamed Cartoon Pathrika, which is now published in the name and style Cartoon Jaalakam. In the same year (1987), upon the Academy’s persistence, the Government of Kerala included cartoon drawing as a competition item in the State School Youth Festival. It also led to the inclusion of cartoon in the State Media Awards. The Press Council of India, too, introduced a national award for cartoons on Media Day — an initiative that originated through the intervention of the Kerala Cartoon Academy. The Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi (Kerala Fine Arts Academy), responding to the Academy’s request, recognized cartoon art as an independent visual art form and instituted an award for it — the first such recognition by any state Lalit Kala Academy in India. In 2008, during the tenure of M A Baby, the then State Cultural Minister and C N Karunakatran, Chairman, Kerala Lalit Kala Academy, cartooning was officially recognized as a form of fine art. The Academy also ensured that cartoonists were included in the state government’s welfare schemes for artists, another significant achievement. Modern Initiatives To open opportunities in the field of animation, the Academy organizes the Cartoon–Animation Fest “Aniyug” and the Cartoon & Caricature Festival “Caritoon”, with national-level participation. The stated objectives of the Kerala Cartoon Academy are to promote cartoon art, encourage young cartoonists, and foster camaraderie among the member cartoonists. These goals have been vigorously pursued to fruition by the Academy’s leaderships till date. Timeline of the Kerala Cartoon Academy Year Chairman Secretary 1981 Yesudasan B. M. Gafoor 1983 Yesudasan Shivaram 1984 Yesudasan Shivaram 1985 Yesudasan Shivaram 1986 Shivaram Sukumar 1987 Yesudasan B. M. Gafoor 1989 Yesudasan Sukumar (Acting) 1990 Yesudasan Sukumar 1991–1992 Sukumar Raju Nair 1992–1993 Sukumar Balu 1993–1995 Sukumar Mohanachandran 1995–1997 Seeri Mohanachandran 1997–1999 Sukumar Pachan Kottayam (Prakash) 1999–2001 B. M. Gafoor Nathan 2001–2003 B. M. Gafoor Joshi George 2003–2005 Balu G. Hari 2005–2007 Balu G. Hari 2007–2009 M. M. Monai Sudheer Nath 2009–2011 Prasannan Anikkad Sudheer Nath 2011–2013 Prasannan Anikkad Sajeev B 2013–2015 Aravindan Mohanachandran 2015–2017 Prasannan Anikkad Sudheer Nath 2017 – 2018 Sukumar Sudheer Nath 2018 – 2019 Ad Hoc Committee: Thomas Antony (Convenor), A Satheesh (Jt Convenor) 2019 – 2023 K Unnikrishnan Thomas Antony / Anoop R 2023 - Sudheer Nath A Satheesh
In the year 1967, cartoonists Thomas, Shivaram, P.K.Manthri, and artist Raghavan Nair in Kochi organized a get-together along with cartoonist Kutty, who was visiting Kerala on vacation from Delhi. They formed a group named the All-Kerala Hasya Kala Parashat (All Kerala Humour Arts Council) and called that meeting the All-Kerala Hasya Kala Parashat Convention. They took a group photo at the famous Krishnan Nair Studio in Ernakulam, and the picture along with the news appeared in newspapers under that name. That group is regarded as the first cartoonist association in India, let alone Kerala. However, the organization remained inactive after that one-day event. Attempts to form another association did not take off. Thus, the All-Kerala Hasya Kala Parashat virtually became that ek din ka raja in the Malayali cartoon kingdom. The Birth of the Kerala Cartoon Academy In 1981, a meeting was held at the of Asaadhu monthly office (Editor: Cartoonist Yesudasan) located in Mass Hotel, Ernakulam North. This was necessitated by the demise of the doyen of Malayalam cartooning, K. S. Pillai at the age of 59. There was not even a cartoonists’ body in existence to issue a condolence statement. Around the same time, cartoonist B.M. Gafoor, who had been brought from Kozhikode to Kochi to edit the humour magazine, Cut Cut, was dismissed by the publication’s management citing conflict of interest. He shared his distress with Yesudasan at the Asaadhu office. These two incidents - the lack of a body to represent cartoonists and Gafoor’s bitter experience at the workplace - became the catalysts for forming an organization. Thus, was born the idea of the Kerala Cartoon Academy, which today stands tall in the Indian cartoonist fraternity. In 1981, a preliminary meeting of Kerala Cartoon Academy was held under the chairmanship of cartoonist Yesudasan, which was attended by cartoonists B. M. Gafoor, S. Mohan, Raju Nair and Y. A. Raheem. Interestingly, P. Abdul Hameed, humour writer and DYSP was also taken in to ensure quorum. On November 29, 1981, another meeting was held at the Ernakulam Press Club, presided over by cartoonist Shivaram, officially establishing the Kerala Cartoon Academy. Sixteen cartoonists attended the meeting. Yesudasan was elected as Chairman, B. M. Gafoor as Secretary, and Thoms as Vice Chairman. Other participants included cartoonists Thomas, Shivaram, Nathan, Siri, John Kakkanad, Shathru, K. S. Gopalan (Bhagavan), Venugopalan (Venu), Dr. P. Kamalasan, Balu, C. A. Solomon, Raju Nair, Shivan, Gopan, M. M. Monai, Joshi George, Peter Panathara, and M. N. Muraleedharan. The Academy was formally registered under the Societies Act only in 1983. The first general body meeting was held on March 9, 1983, at the Ernakulam Press Club Hall where a constitution was adopted. Yesudasan chaired the meeting and Shivaram served as Secretary. The logo of the Kerala Cartoon Academy was also designed by Yesudasan. The Academy was registered under Society Act No. RIN 81/83. Growth and Achievements From the beginning of the independent India, Kerala is being considered as the cartoonists’ hub of India. From the original 16 members, the Academy now has over 130 active cartoonists under its canopy. Presidents, Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers, artists, and writers of international and national repute have participated in the Academy’s programs on invitation, reflecting its wide acceptance. In January 1987, the Academy’s first journal, Cartoon News, was published. Later, it was renamed Cartoon Pathrika, which is now published in the name and style Cartoon Jaalakam. In the same year (1987), upon the Academy’s persistence, the Government of Kerala included cartoon drawing as a competition item in the State School Youth Festival. It also led to the inclusion of cartoon in the State Media Awards. The Press Council of India, too, introduced a national award for cartoons on Media Day — an initiative that originated through the intervention of the Kerala Cartoon Academy. The Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi (Kerala Fine Arts Academy), responding to the Academy’s request, recognized cartoon art as an independent visual art form and instituted an award for it — the first such recognition by any state Lalit Kala Academy in India. In 2008, during the tenure of M A Baby, the then State Cultural Minister and C N Karunakatran, Chairman, Kerala Lalit Kala Academy, cartooning was officially recognized as a form of fine art. The Academy also ensured that cartoonists were included in the state government’s welfare schemes for artists, another significant achievement. Modern Initiatives To open opportunities in the field of animation, the Academy organizes the Cartoon–Animation Fest “Aniyug” and the Cartoon & Caricature Festival “Caritoon”, with national-level participation. The stated objectives of the Kerala Cartoon Academy are to promote cartoon art, encourage young cartoonists, and foster camaraderie among the member cartoonists. These goals have been vigorously pursued to fruition by the Academy’s leaderships till date. Timeline of the Kerala Cartoon Academy Year Chairman Secretary 1981 Yesudasan B. M. Gafoor 1983 Yesudasan Shivaram 1984 Yesudasan Shivaram 1985 Yesudasan Shivaram 1986 Shivaram Sukumar 1987 Yesudasan B. M. Gafoor 1989 Yesudasan Sukumar (Acting) 1990 Yesudasan Sukumar 1991–1992 Sukumar Raju Nair 1992–1993 Sukumar Balu 1993–1995 Sukumar Mohanachandran 1995–1997 Seeri Mohanachandran 1997–1999 Sukumar Pachan Kottayam (Prakash) 1999–2001 B. M. Gafoor Nathan 2001–2003 B. M. Gafoor Joshi George 2003–2005 Balu G. Hari 2005–2007 Balu G. Hari 2007–2009 M. M. Monai Sudheer Nath 2009–2011 Prasannan Anikkad Sudheer Nath 2011–2013 Prasannan Anikkad Sajeev B 2013–2015 Aravindan Mohanachandran 2015–2017 Prasannan Anikkad Sudheer Nath 2017 – 2018 Sukumar Sudheer Nath 2018 – 2019 Ad Hoc Committee: Thomas Antony (Convenor), A Satheesh (Jt Convenor) 2019 – 2023 K Unnikrishnan Thomas Antony / Anoop R 2023 - Sudheer Nath A Satheesh