Happy 100th Birthday to the world's oldest cartooning organisation, the Australian Cartoonists Association!
As present-Secretary Steve Panozzo reports: "On 17th July, 1924, twenty-six Sydney cartoonists got together and formed the Society of Australian Black and White Artists. the first organising committee was made up of (pictured from left): Stan Cross, Lance Driffield, George Finey, Cec Hartt (President) and Syd Miller." Tonight, the modern incarnation is gathering at the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney to celebrate that momentous occasion. I want to wish all present a wonderful evening. Unfortunately, I won't be attending: there's State of Origin 3 being held in Brisbane at the same time. (Poor excuse, right?!) Go Queensland!! Well, Natalie and Lexie, and Carlene and I are back from our Outback holiday. From Yuendumu, to Alice Springs, to Uluru, and back home via Mt Isa, Winton, Emerald, Theodore, Gympie. Along the way, we caught up with my book designer, Ryan McDonald-Smith (and his family). It's been a lot of fun, but now begins the serious work of selling some of our published comics again! First off: Comicstreet is on again ... this Saturday! As many of you know, it's my favourite comics festival, as it features nothing but comics, and nothing but local Australian comics!!
Rob Feldman will be appearing at the Comicoz stand, promoting his new comic, Fridge Boy from Space. I'll be there with my latest comic John Dixon's Air Hawk and the Flying Doctor (reprinting the first two daily newspaper adventures). I've invited Graeme Cliffe to come along, but I have not heard back from him just yet! I hope to see you there if you're in the Brisbane area! One of the downsides of living so far away from some creatives, is not knowing how they are going. Some are not on social media, compounding the problem of trying to keep in touch. And when some are on socials, and you don't hear from them, you tend to fear the worst. I have just recently learnt about a couple of cartoonists going through some rough times at the moment: Rik and Lindsay Foyle. My thoughts go out to them, and their loved ones. Sometimes, though, Facebook (and the like) can inform of sudden sad/shocking news, and that's what took place last week...I learnt of the passing on May 17th of fellow-publisher, comic creative and all-round nice guy, Cameron Davis. My engagement with Cameron over the years was always brief and maybe appeared superficial, but he left many indelible memories with me. He was always willing to chat, and never without good humour and friendliness. He shared my passion in publishing comics and sharing that joy with the comic readers of the world. We had a get-together with the local (Brisbane) members of the Australian Cartoonists Association some years back (can it really be as far back as 2019?!), and as the organiser I invited Cameron along. As I get "older", I'm becoming even more acutely aware of the frailties of life, and worry that I too won't complete all the creative pursuits I want to follow. But that's no reason to stop. There are comics to publish and share, projects to finish, life to live. I'm so sorry that Cameron won't be around to share more of his creation "Rose" with us, but I am grateful to have known him for at least part of his journey. My condolences to his wife Sabrina. His funeral will be held in Brisbane tomorrow.
A lot going on around Comicoz HQ these days. Mostly preparing for Comic Gong held by the Wollongong City Council next Saturday, 11th May. Come along if you're near the area and don't be shy to say "Hullo!" Appearing at Tables A53 and A54 will be creative Rob Feldman. We're planning on launching Rob's Fridge Boy From Space at the event, and Rob (and I) will be there willing to autograph the first issue in the series of Australian comic books called "Comicoz presents". The series has just been issued an ISSN number (2982-060X) by the National Library's Prepublication Service, and more titles in the series will be announced shortly. Here's the cover to Rob's book. Just wait until you see how Rob plans to 'dress up' for the occasion! I'm not going to say too much here, right now, as I need to madly get packing for the occasion! I'm driving down and looking forward to the event. Hope we can see you there...!!
I learnt sometime last month that there was trouble afoot at the National Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour. And from the numerous phone calls I have been receiving since then, it seems that there is substance to the talk: the Gallery has closed down. However, there seems to be a great deal of uncertainty about what the future holds. Depending on who you talk to, there seem to be a variety of options and opinions for moving forward. Will it re-open? Has it closed for good? If it does re-open, can it remain viable? Will a new Board make a difference? What circumstances led to its closure? There is a link to a Gofundme page (here). Presently (as I type this) it has raised $3,855 of the goal aim of a modest $25,000 total. The website says that it's the National Cartoon Gallery that is raising the funds, although that still leads to a lot of further questions from me: If the money is raised -- and there may be no certainty that it will -- will it re-open? I imagine that it will take a lot more than a one-off public fund-raiser to keep the momentum going. Here, perhaps for future posterity, is what the website says: "We need your help to save the National Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour. "Opened in 1996, it remains the only gallery dedicated to the art of cartoons in Australia and one of only very few in the world. It is a truly unique cultural institution and a fun tourist attraction. "The onslaught of Covid greatly impacted the Cartoon Gallery’s ability to operate and our financial outlook was grim. Seeing this coming, the Gallery’s staff worked very hard on plans to broaden the Gallery’s appeal and generate increased revenue. "We are now in a position to implement our strategy, however we desperately need more working capital to kick things off. We hope you can help. "The National Cartoon Gallery houses the largest collection of cartoon art in Australia, with more than 25,000 drawings, caricatures, comic strips and political cartoons, which tell an irreplaceable cultural and political history of our nation. "The Gallery’s closure would leave this invaluable cartoon collection without a home and we would lose - forever - a vital part of the cultural fabric of our nation. "We are asking the people of Coffs Harbour City and the wider Australian community to show your support and help us raise the money we need to keep the Gallery alive. "Here are some more reasons why the NCG is important to our city and our nation. · The Gallery incorporates a restored WWII Bunker – one of the few heritage buildings in our city. · The NCG Board has gifted Coffs Harbour a spectacular $3m gallery building, largely funded by the NSW State Government. A very valuable asset. · The NCG is a major tourist and cultural attraction and a dynamic asset for the tourism industry. · Over the years it has offered residents and tourists unique access to a variety of great exhibitions, many featuring many of Australia’s leading cartoonists. This is a one-of-a-kind experience that NO OTHER regional centre can offer. · The NCG is a unique venue for both community and business events on the Coffs Coast. · It provides education, entertainment, interactivity and practical drawing workshops for younger people. · It stands for the values of our Australian nation, including freedom of expression, creativity, speech, respect, community, fairness and equal opportunity. "National Cartoon Gallery is a precious resource. Help us in our fight to keep the doors open. Everyone who donates to this campaign will be sent a small token of appreciation. "Remember, donations are also tax deductable [sic]." Already I have had to have conversations with cartoonists and families of cartoonists who have supplied and donated works to the Gallery. Once before I encouraged the donation of artworks (as I did myself), but now I no longer know what to tell them to do. Michael Mercier, who earlier kindly donated almost two thousand of his father Emile Mercier's original newspaper cartoons (see one, above), rang me last week to inform me that he's now taken ownership of them again. As someone who has actively contributed to the Gallery in the past (as a financial supporter, a sometime visitor, a donator of published works, and as someone who encouraged others to donate cartoons to their collection), I have decided to put my money where my mouth is, and have donated to the Gofundme. However, I really don't have any answer to all of the questions about the Gallery's future. I'm simply left terribly saddened with the present state of play. Which is that it's presently closed.
Easter 2024. Time to reward the readers of this blog/website with the latest news from Comicoz! Last post I intimated about some of the new projects I am working on. Firstly, Iron Outlaw is still chugging along in the design stage. I'm not sure at this stage how I plan to get the book distributed around the bookstores in this country (most especially in Victoria, where it ought to be in every library in the state). But that's a concern for another day. Rob Feldman's comic, Fridge Boy from Space, is at the printer now, after we had to made some small design modifications. (The printer did not recommend saddle-stitching, due to the number of pages in the comic.) We made those changes and the comic should be ready to take on the road soon. Which leads me to the next topic: Which events will Comicoz and I be appearing at in 2024? Here's the scoop! I'll be attending Comic-Gong (for the first time!) on Saturday, May 11th. Run by the Wollongong City Council for many years, this is an event I have longed to attend: and now, without the constrains of my employment, I can be there! I am really excited about this! Rob Feldman should be there with me, so that's an opportunity to have your copy of Fridge Boy From Space personally autographed! Later in the year, I'll also be attending Bendi-Con (in Bendigo, Victoria). Although the date and details have not yet been finalised, I understand that Friday, August 23rd is the likely date. Dillon Naylor will be a guest of the event, so if you need your copies of Rock n Roll Fairies or Batrisha and the Creepy Caretaker signed, that's the place to head! I have not yet heard if Comicstreet is going ahead in Brisbane's Queen Street Mall in 2024, but if it does (and I seriously hope that that's the case), then you'll see me there too! I'll try to convince Graeme Cliffe to come along to sign copies of his book, From 'Sunbeams' to Sunset: the Rise and Fall of the Australian Comic (1924-1965). Incidently, if you want copies of this or any other book from Comicoz, jump on to the Store page of this website (do so by clicking here). Okay, so you want more news...?! I'm soon going to be working on the second issue of an Air Hawk comic! The first issue will be available at all the events (listed above). I also need to point out that this second issue is planned to be distributed internationally! And, something I didn't mention above, Fridge Boy From Space is going to have two editions! One will be available to Australian readers (and is being printed now), and one is planned for an international release in September. This international edition will not be available to Australian readers except at the shows Rob and I attend. But wait -- there's more news...!! Yes, besides the above-mentioned comics travelling the world, sharing Australian stories with the world, there's also ...a new book in the works! Drum-roll please...!! I'm super-excited to share (and publicly announce it here for the first time to loyal readers of this blog) that I have signed a publishing deal with Rebellion, under their Treasury of British Comics imprint, to reprint the complete adventures of a classic 1960s comic strip, The Cloak. Not familiar with the title? No problem! I'm going to tell you a little more a little later (above is just a short pictorial teaser), simply to say that creator Mike Higgs and I are hoping to have a "big name" writer (who is a fan of the character) pen the Introduction. (I won't drop any more announcements, as I think that is enough excitement for one day! I really do have your interests at heart, you know!) Happy Easter!
I've been struggling over the past few months with many competing interests and issues, leading - if you are a faithful reader of this site - to some neglect of Comicoz news. That's not to say nothing has been happening (just the opposite!), it's more about trying to find time to attend to all these things. There's time needed to work on personal relationships (always a fragile environment, especially when I'm not always as "100% present" as I ought to be). Sadly, I'm sure my children (and grandchildren) recognise this. There's the time that paid employment takes away from said relationships (and the time taken and needed to travel to said employment). For me, there's also the toll that the type of employment I work in brings, with shift work, the emotional strains of the work, and management's misguided (in my opinion) attempts to address even some of the ongoing issues of that decimated experienced workforce, post-COVID. There's also the time required to creatively work on projects, past and present (and into the future). And, of course, personal things that life throws at you. The loss of our two dogs within a six-month period last year was a tough time, most especially for Carlene, who was always home with them all the time. And then, there is the need for self-care to ensure one doesn't become a victim of all these competing issues and interests...
So, for those readers of this site, this is just a way to say "sorry" you have haven't heard much from me, and to explain why you have been so neglected! Although some of those issues are going to be resolved in the coming week: I am retiring from my place of paid employment! It's always been a balance. Do I work to fund some of my projects (something that has taken place over the past ten years) or do I allow the projects to begin to fund themselves? Honestly, I'm super-excited about the projects ahead. Allowing the projects to be more commercially viable is something that's going to have to happen now, or other future projects will fall! We'll see which way it goes in the coming months... With some dismay I learnt that the company that was distributing all my books (Novella Distribution) has gone under. I had wondered why no-one was answering my phone calls, why emails were not returned, why money promised had not arrived into accounts... It's a pity the financial troubles of the company had not been relayed to those whose products they rely on (the various publishers and creatives). But for Comicoz, it's nothing new. From the collapse of the Bookworld retail chain when we brought out our first book (John Dixon's Air Hawk and the Flying Doctor), to the change to the Australian Government's parallel distribution laws just before The Men Behind Superman was released, to Denis Jones and Associates' liquidation ... we've seen it all. It's really a matter of trying to keep ahead of the game, something I've not done particularly well if I am honest. I've mentioned here on this site before, that I'm concerned that there is a limited shelf life for comic creatives on crowd-funding sites like Kickstarter. Even though I have used the medium (even as late as last year), and that it is presently successful for a lot of Australian comic creatives, I personally don't want to rely on it into the future. There has to be a different business model. I'm not going to discuss that here at this moment, but these changing circumstances will bring a change to the future direction of Comicoz that I shall share with you in the months to come. In the meantime, I just thought I would explain why you've not heard from me lately, and to resolve to share a little more of what's going on into the future the next time we meet here....! I was asked at little notice – a couple of days prior – if I was interested in announcing the recipient of the Australian Cartoonists Association’s Stanley Award’s Comic Strip category. Of course, how could I say "no"?! However, I was bamboozled. What could I say? Inspiration arrived at 3 a.m. on the day of the ceremony!
Here’s what I said (for posterity): “I’d like to relate to you all tonight a true story. You may think it’s funny, but it is a true story. “There’s a cartoonist I knew who lived in Gympie. It was a time in my life where I was going through a little trouble in my relationship. He wanted to offer me some advice. “This cartoonist is now in his third marriage." (Knowing that would get their attention, this caused some murmurs in the audience.) “His name is Ken Dove. Look, he doesn’t get into the news in Inkspot often. And he doesn’t attend these annual dinners or award nights. But Ken is a member of the Australian Cartoonists Association. And he remains a member because he likes getting his copy of Inkspot. “Ken Dove drew the political cartoon for The Gympie Times for many, many years. And Ken recently got married. Married a lovely girl called Barbie.” (Some laughs from the audience.) “Yes, this is a true story. “Ken’s an example how sometimes little people can give big advice. Ken’s advice to me: ‘Laugh. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Go on a holiday’.” “I’d like to think that comic strips in our newspapers are on holiday. Because a newspaper without comic strips is a newspaper that doesn’t take itself too seriously." “And a country without comic strips is a country that takes itself too seriously." “Australians need to laugh more. You people (our cartoonists) try to make us do just that. You’re the little people doing a big job. Thank you.” [End of Speech.] The nominees for the Comic Strip category are: Gary Jones Tony Clark Ian Lopes And the recipient is … Gary Clark. |
Comicoz is Nat Karmichael's publishing imprint. Nat is committed to preserving a permanent collection of Australian comic and comic strips. He feels that there is a need to recognise comics' contribution to and depiction of Australian culture.
Nat Karmichael.
Since 2011, Nat has self-published over twelve comic-related books and was Publisher-Editor of Oi Oi Oi! -- the last series of nationally-distributed comic books of original stories to appear on Australian newsstands. He is a member of the Australian Cartoonists Association and edited the Association's journal Inkspot for 14 issues from late 2015. He remains the Lead Judge in the Ledger of Honour Awards for the Comic Arts Awards of Australia (formerly the Ledgers). Nat has now retired from his former occupation as a Clinical Nurse in the Psychiatric Emergency Centre in Queensland's largest public hospital, so that he can spend more time with his long-suffering wife and their six children and fourteen grandchildren. He still plans to publish more comics and comic-related books, the details of which you should see here in the coming months... Comicoz acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respects to elders, past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all First Nations peoples.
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May 2024
Quick LinksAustralian Publications since 1976:
1 x Poster 19 x comics (one a co-production with Cyclone Comics in 1988/9, one a co-production with Cowtown Comics in 2022) 2 x Paperback books 10 x Hardcover books All Australian! |