Australian Comics! Comicoz: SHARING our Comics with the World.

Adelaide's Papercuts Comic Festival

13/9/2019

Now I have recovered from the 'Man-Flu' and have had a few days back at work, I thought I should share my next appearance date with you. If you've caught up with my Facebook post, you will already know: I am off to Adelaide tomorrow morning (very early) in preparation for the Sunday Market Day at the Papercuts Comic Festival. I am really looking forward to it! Here's a visual look at the programme.
The Market Day will be held from 11 a.m. (to 5.30 p.m.) at the North Adelaide Community Centre at 176 Tynte Street in North Adelaide. Come early and come and say "Hullo!" Anyway, I won't say any more, as I have to get all my things packed....

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Reflections. Where to go from here?

4/9/2019

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Since Fathers' Day, I've been hit with the dreaded "Man-Flu" - thanks to son Will! - and today, as is the case in such things, it's the day before I am due back at work that the illness appears to be lifting.... which will be a good thing. (I don't like being sick. I don't mind my work.)

I've spent a bit of time recently reflecting on the past and contemplating where to go from here. For each quarter, over the past five years, I have edited a magazine of some sort. Let me show you.....

Cover Art and Oi Oi Oi! logo: Anton Emdin. Editorial written: March 2014

Cover Art: Lesley Vamos. Editorial written: June 2014

Cover Art: David Follett. Editorial written: Late September 2014

Cover Art: Tony Thorne. Editorial Written: Australia Day 2015

Cover Art: Chiara Arena. Editorial written by Jeremy Staples, Magazine edited by Nat Karmichael.

Cover Art: Eevien Tan. Editorial written: August 2015.

Cover Art: Alisha Jade. Editorial written: Melbourne Cup Day 2015..

Cover Art: Glenn Lumsden. Editorial written: December 20th 2015.

Cover Art: Frantz Kantor. No Editorial written: Edited sometime in early 2016.

INKSPOT Issue #72 (despite the cover saying #73); Edited about Winter or Spring 2015. Note: While still working on OI OI OI! Designed by Chris Barr, Dave Emerson and Steve Panozzo.

INKSPOT Issue #73 (despite the contents page saying #74); Edited Summer 2016, just before deciding to let Oi Oi Oi! go. Designed by Chris Barr.

INKSPOT Issue #74 (despite the internal pages saying #75); Edited Autumn 2016, soon after deciding to let Oi Oi Oi! go (although hoping sales would dictate otherwise). Designed by Chris Barr.

INKSPOT Issue #75 (despite the cover AND internal pages saying #76). Edited in Winter-Spring 2016. Designed by Chris Barr. It was here we discovered our numbering sequence was wrong!

INKSPOT Issue #76. (Having realised our mistake, we craftily called it "Summer 2016/7") Edited in Summer 2016/7. Designed by Chris Barr.

INKSPOT Issue #77. (Again, we decided not to number this issue, calling it "Autumn2017".) Edited in Autumn 2017 the week after Bill Leak died; first Library Edition. Designed for the last time by Chris Barr.

INKSPOT Issue #78. (The numbering sequence returned on the cover, and no-one - except the Legal Deposit people of the NSW Library, who sought an explanation - was any wiser!) Edited in Winter 2017. Designed by Cam Winks.

INKSPOT Issue #79. Edited in Spring 2017. Cam was now working full-time, so design assistance was required. Judy Nadin (and Peter Broelman and Tane Richardson) pitched in to help.

INKSPOT Issue #80. Edited in Summer 2018. Designed by Cam Winks. A little difficulty in getting motivated for this one after the loss of my Mother.

INKSPOT Issue #81. My tenth issue, edited in Autumn 2018. Steve Panozzo, who assisted in the design of many earlier editions of the magazine came on board to help out. I should point out that this was also the tenth issue that Phil Judd (who compiles the "Your View" section of the magazine) worked with me on the magazine.

INKSPOT Issue #82. The last issue distributed to libraries, and the first issue with a new printer. Edited in Winter 2018 with assistance from Layout Artist Steve Panozzo.

INKPSOT Issue #83. The ACA Committee had now put in place a page limit, and a cheaper paper stock was sourced. Edited in Spring 2018, with assistance from Layout Artist Steve Panozzo.

INKSPOT Issue #84. Edited in Summer 2018/9, with assistance from Layout Artist Steve Panozzo and Phil Judd.

INKSPOT Issue #85. Edited in Autumn 2019, with assistance from Layout Artist Steve Panozzo and Phil Judd's 'Your View' segment.

On June 23rd, having edited all the files for Issue #86, I penned the following Editorial to announce my 'retirement' (then sent a copy to the ACA Board/Committee). There was not one thing that precipitated the decision. Sure, my sister Flo's passing made me want to spend less time in front of a computer. But Steve Panozzo lost his brother around the same time too. In some ways that drew us closer together as mates, but that wasn't the reason I decided to give it away. I was working on Graeme's book too, and that was taking a lot of my time. It wasn't the realisation that I'm now in my 60s. It was just time, I suppose. I needed the freedom to be able to not have to think about a magazine in three month's time.

"Back in Issue #73 – which, as Lindsay Foyle correctly pointed out, was really issue #72 – [ACA President] Jules [Faber] wrote in his Parlay that a couple of Queenslanders planned to “build Inkspot back to its former glory”. Here we are now, a further fourteen issues since that date. The best and most satisfying part of working on Inkspot during that time has been the fact that we have brought it back from a once-a-year sort-of, maybe-magazine to a quarterly publication that I know many members are proud of.

"Sadly, this will be my last as Editor for the time being. It's just that since I first put out my nationally released comic magazine Oi Oi Oi! #1 in about March 2014, I have edited a magazine each quarter for the past five years. I'm in need of a break and (maybe) a sleep.

"That’s not to say I won’t contribute articles for whomever wants to take it on. And that not to say I won't want to do it again. I might even be ready again after the Stanley Awards!*
*In 2021!

"I’d like to thank those Layout Artists/Designers who have worked with me and shared my vision over that period: Phil Judd, Chris Barr, Dave Emerson, Judy Nadin, Cam Winks and Steve Panozzo. And my thanks mostly to Carlene, who has allowed me this indulgence for this long."
I thought I would post this for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, because some cartooning people have been asking me "What's happened to INKSPOT?" And while I had some editorial input into the next issue (which was to be and will be my last ...for quite a while), I don't want to be held responsible for the delay. I'm hopeful the magazine can return to the quarterly schedule that I put in place during my tenure, although I understand those who work on it (for no fee) do have busy lives, and (unlike me) need to have some sleep....

I'm also posting this, because - looking at both magazines from some distance now (even if it's a matter of only a few months!) - the time and effort expended into the magazines have produced an end result that I can honestly say I am extremely proud of.

Since finishing my Editorial duties, I've worked on a couple of non-comic-related projects (see above) for the good women of Zonta Ipswich, and Zonta International who have wanted to share their history with their members. Their Centennial Conference is on this weekend, the same weekend of the Rotary Cartoon Awards in Coffs Harbour. Have a guess: Which one will I be attending?

Answer: Neither! Due to a mix-up at work, I put in a request for the wrong days off. I am bitterly disappointed, but willing to cop it on the chin.

Working on Graeme's book about the History of Australian Comics has left me in a state of wondering … Where do I go from here? How can I top this? Surely, this is the pinnacle of my Australian comic publishing? Certainly, I have to help market the book; something that I plan to do in the not-too-distant future. But creatively, and in a publishing sense, where can I go to top this? It's a question that has had me perplexed for some time … and I have come up with an answer that I will share with you in the times ahead … after I get over this 'Man-Flu'!

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It's a Tough Life: But SOMEONE has to Judge Cartoons!

16/8/2019

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One of the great pleasures and absolute honours of being involved in the cartoon medium took place just a week ago, when Michael McFarlane, from the National Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour invited me to part-take in the judging of the 2019 Rotary Cartoon Awards. On a beautiful sunny morning -- after night duty! -- I arrived at the ABC Studios in South Brisbane. Joining me in the 'task': ABC Radio Announcer Steve Austin and Associate Professor of Modern European History at the University of New England, Richard Scully. What a great morning!

Left to Right Michael McFarlane, Nat Karmichael, Steve Austin, Richard Scully … after the job was completed!

Small snippets of our conversations were broadcast on the radio later that afternoon (and are enclosed on this posting). Sadly, I was far too tired by that stage and totally missed the final transmission. (I still had a further three nights to go at that time!) As for whom we selected as our Winners? ... Well, you'll really have to head off to Coffs Harbour to find out! Why not attend the Award Ceremony being held at the Gallery on 7th September? Here's a link to buy tickets to see the Exhibition (which is running from the 7th September to 28th October 2019). (Sadly, I stupidly messsed up my roster requests at work, and will now be working on the Award Ceremony's night....)

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Beating my own drum, Dept.

15/8/2019

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Some lovely words by Troy Lennon in the (Sydney) Daily Telegraph on 25th July 2019. (Page 49, if you're searching....) Thanks, Troy!

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From Today's Brisbane "Courier-Mail" (Q Weekend magazine)

20/7/2019

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Many thanks to Frances Whiting for writing the article and Tara Croser who took our photographs!
I'll see if a more reader-friendly post can appear in the days to come!

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How Novella Distribution are promoting Comicoz....

12/7/2019

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Just before tomorrow's article appears in the Brisbane Courier-Mail, I thought I would just show you, dear reader, how Novella Distribution, is promoting my Comicoz books (see below). Great work, Rowena, Georgina and Team! Of course, readers of this blog know how to obtain copies: simply hit the "Store! Order Here!" tab above to be transported to all the titles, including Graeme Cliffe's latest From 'Sunbeams' to Sunset: The Rise and Fall of the Australian Comic (1924 to 1965).

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Who would YOU have chosen?

6/7/2019

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Yesterday, I completed an interview with Frances Whiting, a journalist from Brisbane's Courier-Mail. As part of the exercise, I was asked to name my five favourite Australian comic or comic-strip artists/cartoonists. An impossible task! I told Frances it was like naming my favourite child...and then, after we finished our conversation, I told her I would probably want to change my mind and add someone to the list (and then have to take someone off the list). Still, not being one to shirk my responsibilities, here are the five I shared....
1. John Dixon
2. Syd Miller
3. Gary Clark
4. Monty Wedd
5. Eric Jolliffee

There's no guarantee that the list would appear in the article, she told me, but we'll see when her story appears in the newspaper...next Saturday!

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RIP Paul Harris

3/7/2019

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I can't say I really knew Australian cartoonist Paul Harris. I mean, I don't know if he had children or was married, or liked Aussie Rules football, because, well, I never met the guy. But, you know through his comics and cartoons, he was a descent bloke. From his stories, you knew he was a deep thinker and had a sense of humour.

I have learnt today that he recently passed away. Fellow cartoonist Ian C Thomas posted the news on Facebook. A great shame. In 1985, He sent me a comic story* for the next issue of Oi Oi Oi! Whenever that was going to be. He illustrated a story written by Ian for my Australia! book. I thought today I would share how he thought of himself back in the day. Rest easy, Paul. I'm going to think of you fondly today, even if I didn't know you as well as I would have liked to have....

*I'm not sure if I should share that comic story here, even if Paul did send it to me to publish. Perhaps just one page?

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Tomorrow! See you there (if you can make it)!

28/6/2019

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Sharing our Comics with the World....

20/6/2019

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Comics are an American medium, no question. Do you know how good it feels to be selling an Australian book about Australian comics to the Americans? Here's ten percent of our print run, ready and packaged to be sent overseas! From my garage to the world.....!

Now to work on sending copies to the people who are really looking forward to reading the book: those who pre-ordered and those who supported the Kickstarter campaign....

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Adelaide's Papercuts Comic Festival

Reflections. Where to go from here?

It's a Tough Life: But SOMEONE has to Judge Cartoons!

Beating my own drum, Dept.

From Today's Brisbane "Courier-Mail" (Q Weekend magazine)

How Novella Distribution are promoting Comicoz....

Who would YOU have chosen?

RIP Paul Harris

Tomorrow! See you there (if you can make it)!

Sharing our Comics with the World....

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