I'm hurriedly writing this before I head off to Brisbane's Supanova today. Only as a punter, though. Friend Sorab Del Rio (Silver Fox Comics) has suggested that I consider getting a stand in 2026. And if I have my John Dixon's Collected Air Hawk Dailies book ready, I probably need to find a means of exposing the potential buyers somehow about its existence! So, a sensible suggestion I suspect... but something to consider another day!

Meantime, I'm all booked to head to the Sydney Comic Arts Market Place next week. Mark it in your diary and then come and see Rob Feldman and I at Leichhardt Town Hall (corner Marion and Norton Streets) between 10am and 4pm on November 15th.

And I have spent this week sharing Dillon Naylor's proof copy of Pop Culture and 2 Minute Noodles with people. Especially the Brisbane comic shop, Comics Plus (in Annerley), who have agreed to be the first outlet to launch the book. It's all happening on the 6th December at 1.30pm (at Shop 13, Annerley Arcade, 478 Ipswich Road)...and it's a FREE event, so no excuse for not coming if you live in Brisbane. There's also a launch happening a little later in Melbourne at Squishface Studios. (I'll let you know dates/times soon.)

In the meantime, there's a little time to tell you about the next book I am going to start working on...but why not let the picture do the talking...??!

My last post was looking backwards to the time spent in Bendigo (and Melbourne), but there's never enough time in life to look back for too long. So tonight, while Mrs K watches a dubbed movie on SBS, I thought I would spent a little time talking specifically about what has taken place in the past two months (or so).

Mostly, it's been trying to keep my three Kickstarter campaigns going, or winding them up. Somewhat foolishly, I think now, I had three going in reasonably quick succession. I started Iron Outlaw on ANZAC Day, finishing it on 8th June. Dillon Naylor's Pop Culture and 2 Minute Noodles commenced on 25th July (or was it a little before, when I lost track of the date?) and it concluded a month later on the 24th of August. It felt like the Air Hawk campaign began a week later, although it was actually the 3rd October that it was launched and concluding just yesterday (2nd November). It sounds like there was plenty of time between the events, but when one has to take other factors into consideration...there really wasn't! Moral: Don't Crowd Your Crowd-funding campaigns!! To be honest, though, most of Dillon's campaign was carried out by Dillon and designer Jeremy Macpherson.

Firstly, while down south (as those who have followed this Blog will know) there was limited access to the internet available to us ... and our internet usage was limited to the local library or using my granddaughter Charlotte's computer. And, of course, I wasn't really in Bendigo for the campaigns, was I?! Rosie (the dog) demanded our love, care and attention (in that order)! I've always tried to keep for posterity the video campaign of the various Kickstarters I've run, and why should today be any different? Let's start with Iron Outlaw, right?!

This was the first one that ran, designed by Rob Feldman. However, designer Ryan McDonald-Smith felt that a more hard-hitting approach was needed. So, he reworded my original text and also supplied a brand new video...

I didn't have any input into the Pop Culture and 2 Minute Noodles video. Overseen and approved by Dillon Naylor, here it is right now. It ran for the complete campaign. Thanks to Dave Watts for the original theme (composed in 1997), artwork by Dillon (and Glenno Smith), clip assembly by Josh.

Finally, there were two clips that featured in the Air Hawk campaign. Initially I used a video that I designed (and one that I can't seem to locate any more). However, it wasn't long before Frantz Kantor came to my aid and asked if I would mind if he designed one! Of course I didn't! I'm usually reluctant to include my talking head on a video, but Frantz convinced me otherwise. Here are the two clips: the first the long version, the second used as a reminder towards the end of the campaign...!

So, there we have it; all for posterity!

Now the task ahead is to work on completing these campaigns, by getting these books out to the public! Iron Outlaw's book has arrived, and already all books have been sent out (I completed those last weekend). If you missed the Kickstarter, you can still obtain a copy here on this website. I'm also hoping to have a book launch (in Melbourne preferably) in early 2026. Already the feedback has been positive. (I am quite proud of the book.)

Dillon Naylor's new book Pop Culture and 2 Minute Noodles is soon to arrive, and a Brisbane book launch is planned for that one (more news on this with my next post). And, my beloved Air Hawk? Sadly, designer of that project, Don Ticchio, has had some major surgery. I'm planning to come down to Sydney to the Sydney Comic Arts Market Place (SCAMP) in less than a couple of weeks, and will see how well Don is doing then. (if you're in the vicinity, come along and say "G'Day!" -- I'll be there on Table 23 with Rob Feldman. It's my first comic festival in Sydney for many years!) But, perhaps, more news about that, and other future projects, ought to be held over until my next post: I have, after all, many address labels to prepare now that these Kickstarter campaigns are over...! Until then...

For about two months, I've been without my personal computer, and so information about what's been going on in my Comicoz World has been limited to Facebook postings (which I manage on my mobile phone). So, here I am, back again, sharing stories of where I have been and what I've been doing....

It's been simple really: we've been looking after Rosie. Not our youngest daughter Rosie (or Rosanna), but Rosie: a lovely little dog -- Jack Russell x West Highland terrier, at a guess -- while Rick and Eva (the owners) went overseas. And, surely, I'd be somewhat amiss if I didn't share a picture of her, wouldn't I??!

Rosie lives in Strathfieldsaye, which is just outside (almost a part) of Bendigo in Victoria. Which, coincidentally, is where four of our grandchildren live. So, it's been a pleasant experience (despite the cold!) taking young ones to and from school, watching the grandsons play in their respective football Grand Finals - which they both lost! - and doing the sorts of things grandparents do. However, our prime purpose was to take Rosie on an hour-long walk each morning at 6 in the morning, and look after her home. It also allowed Carlene and I to also catch up with some family friends from long ago.

And, of course, being so close to Melbourne, it allowed me to catch up with many from the local comic field. You'd think that two months would be long enough to catch up with everyone, right? Well, no. There were so many people I would have liked to have caught up with, but sadly time just did not allow. Here are some lovelies I did find time to share some moments with...

​So what's been happening in the world of Comicoz since our return? I must share a little later on, so stay tuned!

Hullo Australian comic lovers!
Well, I'm still house and dog-sitting with Mrs K. We're going to be here a further few weeks, returning to our Comicoz HQ by mid-October. If you need to chat to me, please try via Messenger or Facebook as Nat Karmichael (Comicoz) or email via [email protected]
I'll update what I have been up to soon after my return.
Kind Regards,
​Nat. 

Hullo Comicoz Enquirer!

Carlene and I are presently house/dog sitting in Strathfieldsaye (near Bendigo), in a home with internet but no computer access. (I'm typing this one finger and letter at a time on my tablet!) NOT ideal if I want to share all my Comicoz news with you! To catch up, it might be best to follow me on Facebook as "Nat Karmichael (Comicoz)" until I can get back to my home computer. Which, sadly, won't be until October!!

Still, maybe some time for some quick news: IRON OUTLAW is at the printer. POP CULTURE & 2 MINUTE NOODLES is being reviewed (the proof copy has arrived). Sadly, no work has been done on THE CLOAK. However, JOHN DIXON'S COMPLETE AIR HAWK DAILIES (the first of sixteen volumes) is being laid out. Other projects are in the wings....

More news soon....once, as they say in the Classics, "normal service will soon be resumed"....!

Edward Kenneth “Ken” Dove; 3 November 1935 – 14 May 2025.

This is the article I wrote for Inkspot, the Journal of the Australian Cartoonists Association.

​Ken Dove was born in Brisbane. He married Judy in 1957 and had two children, Kerry and Stephen. He worked in various full-time jobs: clerking, office and warehouse managing (and even a stint as a security patrol officer) before he decided – in 1976, at age 41 – that his “first love” was cartooning! He made a commitment to himself that he would give himself five years to get a full-time job in the business.
Initially, the work came from creating many single-panel gags, freelancing in magazines like Australasian Post, People, Racing Car News and Motor Manual. Three sample series were developed, with Dizzy Daisies (about gardening) running in Ken’s local suburban newspaper (and, later, the Townsville Bulletin) until he “ran out of ideas”.
Ken placed an advertisement in the Australian Journalists magazine seeking a gag writer. John Duthie was one writer who responded, and together they created a series called Punters Glossary (about horse and dog racing). In late 1978, Ken became employed as a full-time artist for Nationwide Souvenirs, drawing Australian Pubs which were then screen printed onto T-shirts. He also secured the commission of caricaturing John Ryan for the seminal work on Australian comics, Panel by Panel.
Unfortunately, the market for T-shirts faded quickly. Ken was still able to carry on cartooning though. He began drawing a cartoon called Slattery Creek when his writing collaborator, Bob Morrow, decided to move his family from Adelaide to Queensland. About that time (December 1980), Ken’s first marriage ended. He moved closer to Bob’s family in Bauple (between Maryborough and Gympie). “[It allowed us] to continue our joint effort without relying on the postal service to relay ideas and progress drawings”.
While waiting for the strip to be marketed by Sol Shifrin, Ken and Bob developed a series of black and white greeting cards. Their work came to the attention of Murray Views in 1981, leading to Ken being employed as an artist designing images for this nationally distributed tea towels and postcard souvenirs company. He worked for them for eight years.
Ken’s workmate Joy was a member of the Gympie Arts Society and encouraged him to join. In winter 1982, Ken fell ill to a severe case of the Flu. He gave up cigarettes, was nursed back to health by Joy, and began his life-long spiritual journey by becoming a committed Christian.
The following year, the Arts Society had an “Art in the Park” promotion, and Ken undertook doing life drawings of people for the very first time. When conducting a cartooning course for the Society, Ian Pedley (the editor of The Gympie Times) noticed his talent and offered him the opportunity to draw a weekly political cartoon. The emphasis was on the goings-on of the local Gympie district and surrounds. It was an association that lasted ten years.
In December 1985, another association took place – Ken and Joy married. In 1989, Murray Views offered Ken an opportunity to train in computer graphics. However, Ken declined and instead chose to set up his own business as a live caricature artist. At the time, construction had begun in building Australia’s second Ettamogah Pub (based on the Australasian Post’s cartoons by Ken Maynard). Proprietor Lindsay Cooper was agreeable and thus began Ken Dove’s seventeen year (or approximately 64,000 drawing) run as a caricaturist! “Where better to set up for a ready supply of Aussie and international visitors looking for some Aussie humour?” reasoned Ken.
From 1998 to 2000, Ken and his wife Joy travelled from Brisbane to Cairns, where they followed three tours of Queensland’s Agricultural Shows. However, the touring exacted a toll: Joy suffered from bronchiectasis. After continuing to work locally, Ken chose to retire in 2007 (aged 72) and became Joy’s full-time carer for the next six years.
Ken returned to work in 2014-5, travelling with Queensland Shows from Maryborough to Cairns. “[I was not] so keen on the physical discipline of early rising …setups and dismantling the gear” and retired again at age 80 in 2016. By then, Ken was living in a gated community on the Sunshine Coast. He decided to join a music ensemble, and it was here that he met Barbara. They married in 2016.
For most of Ken’s life, he held dear his Seventh Day Adventist faith. He was a very active member of his local community. He passed away suddenly of a heart attack and didn’t quite make it to his 90th birthday (something he was looking forward to)! I’ve known Ken since 1983 – when we worked together on a comic book, still unpublished – and I always found him to be a gentle, kind man with a wonderful sense of humour. He’ll be sadly missed.  

I've spent the past week or two making headway in my "music-come-comic room" (essentially, our home's double garage). For years, yes years, I have worked around my disarray within this space, and I have finally done something about it! It's now positively organised!

​I'm not sure where I am going to fit all the stock of the new books in, though...! Iron Outlaw is still getting proof-read/corrected. I was going to work on the new John Dixon/Air Hawk volume, but I'm still searching for a specific article I need to include in the first volume. (I'm sure it's in my filing cabinet!) In the meantime, Dillon Naylor has asked me to publish another of his books. How can I say "No"?! And, because I like to keep you, dear Reader, up to speed before everyone else, here's the scoop....

Yep! There it is! The next book to be published by Comicoz! Pop Culture & 2 Minute Noodles. It's going to be a 270+ page hardcover volume, featuring all the comics from the early 1990s as well as about 30 pages of all-new material. Dillon Naylor and designer Jeremy Macpherson have been working hard on this for months and are now finishing off the layouts. The Kickstarter will be announced later this month, 

I'm also slated to appear at my one-and-only show for 2025. Coming up in early August is my favourite event: Comicstreet in the Queen Steet Mall on August 2nd! Following my radio conversation with Steve Austin of ABC Radio Brisbane a few weeks ago, there was talk of a live broadcast happening at the event. I'm not sure if that's still the case, although it would be a wonderful exposure for the local comic creators if it does take place. Still, something I am looking forward to...!   

Send me an email (to [email protected]) with your postal address or a snail mail (to PO Box 187 Margate Beach, 4019, Queensland, Australia) and again give me your postal address. I shall only then share the news. Didn't you wonder why Glenn Lumsden wasn't drawing those Giant-Size Phantom covers?!

As I am typing this, The Complete Iron Outlaw has mere hours to complete its campaign on Kickstarter. I'm both pleased and humbled by the incredible support of people to allow it to reach -- and surpass -- it's financial goal. The proof copies have arrived, and in the hands of co-editor Philip Bentley and designer Ryan McDonald-Smith. All three of us are presently checking everything related to the book to ensure there will be no mistakes when we prepare the final files for the printer. One has already been found! See if you can spot it!

Artist Gregor McAlpine was first to spot it! (Don't feel bad if you didn't notice it. Neither did co-editor Philip Bentley, designer Ryan McDonald-Smith or myself!) I've generally made mistakes in my publishing before, most -- but not all -- have been because I didn't get a proof copy made. (The most glaring of which I shared more recently!) Some errors have also been made inside the Iron Outlaw book, so we'll all take a long hard look at the internal contents and work on this before we head off to the printer. Otherwise, the book looks great: I like the paper stock, the dustjacket, the boards to the cover. The interior design (endpapers especially) are wonderful. (Thanks, Ryan!) I am really proud of the way the book presents. 

Having said that, I did want to share Greg's cartoon reaction to the incorrect spelling of his name! This cartoon (left) won't be in the book, although I have shared it with all the people who have pledged on the crowd-funding site as a little "extra". There's also an extra "Reward" or three for all who have pledged to support the physical copy of the book on Kickstarter (which I won't share here, to ensure those people get an 'exclusive' for that support).

I'm presently preparing for other projects to round out 2025. Ryan will (if he's not too busy) begin working on The Cloak volume soon. This may be the last book we work on together, although not the last time we work together. (That sounds really quite cryptic, doesn't it? It's just that I can't let the cat out of the bag completely about everything I am working on; not even here on my own Comicoz blog-website!!) I can say, however, that I'm preparing the first of sixteen Air Hawk volumes that I talked about recently, and that Dillon Naylor will soon allow me to announce another collaboration between us in the next few weeks....

I'll do my best to ensure that you, dear Reader, learn first about these thing here -- on this blog -- before I publish it anywhere else first. To be sure, though, check out my Nat Karmichael (Comicoz) Facebook page. Although sometimes that carries boring non-comic things like sunrises or my musing about rubbish bins, and the like...!

One thing that always embarrasses me, is finding a mistake in a book or comic I have published. Worse: someone else finding it, and being honest enough to let me know (which is nice, in a way). Despite four attempts at proofreading John Dixon's Air Hawk (Issue Four), I failed to see that the middle two strips on page 5 were repeated from earlier in the comic. Here, below for the record, are the right strips that should have been printed. As the book has already been printed (and, alas! I have not found the time to place it on the Comicoz Store page yet), I am going to have to let everyone who gets a copy know about the error. Embarrassing!

Better news: The proof copies of Iron Outlaw arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon. Here's a picture of me looking chuffed and holding up one of the three copies. There are a few things that we have to correct, but I'm allowing fellow editor Philip Bentley and designer Ryan McDonald-Smith an opportunity to look at their proof copies first to see if they have further suggestions. There is just over a week to go before the Kickstarter campaign comes to a close. (Click here to check it out ... and pledge if you have not done so already!) I'm also planning on showing the proof copy off publicly for the first time this Sunday at the Brisbane Comic Market, being held at 480 Annerley Road, Annerley from 10 am (to 1 pm).

Sad news: Caricaturist, Cartoonist, and a kind friend I have known since 1983, Ken Dove, suddenly passed away last week. I had planned on speaking at his Memorial Service (held yesterday in Caloundra), but I have been struck down for almost a week with the dreaded 'Man Flu (Queensland variant)' after a recent period of house-cat sitting in Nambour. Ken was the caricaturist of the late John Ryan (on the inside back flap of Panel by Panel). He and I also I worked on a ten-page comic book story back in the day. (A comic planned to be called "The Australian Comics Group #2" [sic] but never - yet? - published.) See below for the first of ten pages we completed. And, to the right, one of the last photographs of Ken, taken with me in his unit less than a month before he passed away. (Photo taken by his wife Barbara Dove.)

Good news: Some publishing news in the wings as I type this. Ryan and I will soon be working on The Collected Cloak once we put Iron Outlaw to bed. And Dillon Naylor and Jeremy Macpherson are working behind the scenes with a new book (Pop Culture and 2 Minute Noodles) that will be soon be published by Comicoz. And there are other projects in the works that I can't talk of just yet, that are just as exciting! In the meantime, what of Air Hawk?

Scoop news: Okay, here's the drum! You read it here first! The next issue of Air Hawk will be a hard-cover book, featuring five complete adventures and limited to only 300 copies. The book is planned to be the first in a total series of sixteen volumes, covering the complete Air Hawk dailies. This is the biggest and most ambitious publishing project I have ever decided to undertake, and most likely to be my final publishing swan-song. The idea will be to publish at least one volume every six months for the next eight years, with the result that the complete dailies of this famous Australian comic strip will have been reprinted in full....and, for the main, reprinted - like the current comic series - from the original artwork. Already, some steps have been undertaken: an Introduction has been written by a well-know Australian writer, the cover has been drawn, the adventures selected. The format will be with much larger strip size, and the volumes very much like the landscape format of the "Library of American Comics" books (Terry and the Pirates, Pogo, Little Orphan Annie, etc). Three strips to a page, one weeks' worth over two open pages of the book; with the only difference being that the original art -- with all the mistakes and white outs, and the like -- being visible for the dedicated comic connoisseur. And, yes, available to the overseas fans too! 

Because you have been patient, here's the proposed logo, just for you, dear reader. What??! You want to see the cover??! Who's drawing it??! Why Volume Six??! Ahh! I want to keep some things a little secret for a while yet! Just to be frank, the remaining framework for the series is presently being carefully planned and will be announced more publicly later in 2025.

In the meantime, Ken Dove has been on my mind for most of the week. I thought I would end up this post sharing (once again, for some people) his caricature he did of me, way back in 1993. It is, without doubt, my favourite caricature (with no offence intended to others I know who work in the field). Sure, I look a little different these day, but I felt he captured the essence of me on the day. He's going to be missed by many people, not least of whom will be his wife, Barbara, and his extended family, and friends, to whom I send my most heart-felt condolences, thoughts and prayers...    ​