[2] He was fascinated by comic books and showed an early aptitude for drawing fantastical flying machines, blimps, bulbous-nosed muscle cars and futuristic dioramas.
In his memoir, Thin Ice (1997), McCall recounted that he was never good at physical activity as a boy,[3] but could count on his mother to encourage his creativity.
Without any serious technical training, McCall began his illustration career drawing cars for Ford Motor Company in Toronto in the late 1950s before moving into advertising.
At the ad agency Campbell-Ewald, McCall met and worked with David E. Davis Jr., who later rise to prominence as the Editor in Chief of Car and Driver and founder of the Automobile magazine.
[4] During his time in New York City, McCall was hired by National Lampoon, where he made a name for himself as an artist with intelligent and whimsical humor.