First Official Critique of Oi Oi Oi! 's First Issue...

27/7/2014

G'day Nat,

Just read the first issue of Oi Oi Oi and was left a little confused as to what the comic was supposed to be about apart from it being an outlet for Australian talent.

The cover by Anton was excellent. It grabs the eye and makes a person want to read what's inside. Judging a book by its cover, I was expecting some fun Australian themed comics and some light humorous reading.

Unfortunately, I was left slightly confused. Perhaps it's due to my age. I know comic books have changed immensely since I was a teenager in the late 70s. So I hope you don't mind if I offer a little constructive criticism in the hope that it may help you to improve the format and make people actually want to purchase the next issue.

How can this be improved on in order to make people actually want to purchase the next issue? For me, it needed more Australian themed content, not just Australian artists, but Australian artists drawing about Australian things. The cover bore no resemblance to the content apart from it depicting an Australian drawing a comic.

Some of the stories had no purpose and didn't have an ending because their was nothing to have an ending about. Let your writers and artists know that each comic must have a beginning, a middle and an ending before you will consider publishing them. Your job is to compile the best from what is available in order to make the reader want to continue purchasing the comic book. The artists need to give you content worthy of the publication. Make them change things if it's necessary. And sort out what age your audience will be. Swearing and nudity and graphic content of half eaten people is not suitable for some age groups. When I was at the peak of my comic reading years in the late 70s I was a preteen and Anton's cover art would have been enough to make me purchase the first issue. The content however would have seen me avoid all future issues completely. I will be purchasing issue 2. Whether I purchase issue 3 or not will depend on the content. If its anything like issue 1 then I probably won't be looking at issue 3.

As much as I want to support the Australian comic industry, I can't purchase a comic book that is not interesting enough to actually read. Please raise the bar and insist your contributors supply good art that also has a good story attached. And get some fuzzy Australian animals in there in a humorous comic as a regular spot. As long as you have at least one Aussie animal themed comic every issue it might work. Maybe the Aussie animals, anthropomorphised, could be reading each issue and introducing each comic and or featured artist for the reader. Just a thought.

Cheers Mate,

Vince.

14 Comments

Vince

27/7/2014 10:43:39

Having said all of the above, I really really want for this comic to work and to be an outlet for great Australian themed content by Australian writers and artists.

A bit of polishing, and some introductions for each comic to give the reader a bit of knowledge as to what they are about to read and you will have more potential to succeed. As it stands at the moment, it is very hard to follow.

Nat Karmichael

27/7/2014 11:20:53

Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Vince.

Willing to hear constructive criticism at ANY time; because it is feedback like yours, coupled with a bit of publicity, that - I hope - will make this fledgling magazine a success...

I must tell our Readers that I have edited some of your letter (at your request and with my agreement). I am not going to say I agree with all that you say, Vince (for example, I'm not sure comics are simply for the young), but I want you to be able to feel free to say it.

I welcome any other comments from all other readers of the First Issue of Oi Oi Oi!

Nat Karmichael

Dave

28/7/2014 11:26:04

Vince has raised some good points. Regarding the swearing, nudity, and extreme violence (SN&XV), I feel he is on the money. To appeal to a broad audience these things are not required. I guess a decision needs to be made as to the audience type you are aiming at. Is it possible to appeal to every age group ie child to mature age? No, I don't think so. But it can be made readable to something like teen to mature adult just by removing the previously mentioned items. Adults and teens require good stories to entertain them, and this can be achieved without the SN&XV. I think those items should be kept for mature audience and Underground Comix, and by doing so would widen your audience band. I seem to remember someone else mentioning on Facebook that they thought the swearing wasn't required and they wouldn't like their kids exposed to that sort of thing in a comic. Adults can still be entertained by good "clean fun". Think of "The Simpson's" and on TV "Red Dwarf".
It's great that you have got this going Nat, and we all hope it succeeds with a long future.

Vince

28/7/2014 14:43:25

Nat,
Comics are not just for the young, I agree, but as Dave points out, you are limiting your audience by including mature aged content. You need to determine who your paying customers will be and what age bracket they are. I also agree with Dave that the mature age content isn't a necessity even if you have mature age readers. The parts of my original private message to you that I asked you not to include here were the individual critiques of each individual work that was included in issue 1, some we're positive, some were negative. The main reason I gave you my thoughts on these was not to give the individual artists a hard time, but to let you know that some of it works and some of it doesn't work and my thoughts on why each story did or did not work for me. The artists themselves need to have a set of specific standards written in plain English on what can be accepted for print and what you will reject or send back for repolishing to bring them up to your comic book's standards before you will consider including them. I am a cartoonist, I know all about self ego with my work, but I also know that if I want something published I need to make my work conform to the guidelines. If an editor came to me and said, "look, we can't use this until you've made these following changes", then My ego has to step aside and I have to change what I've created or just not be in print. A standards sheet would help the artist to conform to your comic book's policies and would clearly state, if you don't conform to these rules then some other artist will take your place for the next issue and you will miss out.

Now, back to the subject of mature age content. Do you want your comic book to be limited to a mature age audience, or would you like primary school kids to be allowed to spend their pocket money on it too. I have school age children who love comics, and when I purchased issue 1 of Oi Oi Oi, I was thinking I could let them have a read and see what Australia was capable of. Most of it was OK, but just that little bit of mature age content was enough for me to say, " Sorry kids, not for you." Look at the success of MAD magazine over the years. It appeals to school kids and adults alike and doesn't contain the f-word or demons with clearly naked body parts on show. They actually censor the mature age content, if it's there, to make it suitable for a wider audience, which in turn generates more sales, which in turn keeps the magazine in the newsagents, which in turn allows DC comics to pay the staff, artists and writers to come up with the next issue. The wider the audience the more chance of success, simple as that. Oi Oi Oi is not a graphic novel and shouldn't be treated as one by your contributors. You are providing the outlet for them. You are responsible for ensuring the public is happy to pay their money to purchase the comic. You have to make the rules and regulations for what is acceptable content that the public will want to keep purchasing. Without the public, there will be no comic. Issue 1 had potential, but it needs a good spit and polish to make it something that the reader will be happy to pay their money for when the next issue hits the newsstands.

MAD magazine is an anthology comic. It gets away with the different formats and styles by giving an introduction to just about every section. This helps to gel everything together. Oi Oi Oi is also an anthology comic but there are no explanations to take you from one story to the next. It is very confusing in places because the reader doesn't know why or what they are reading for some of the contributions until they get to the back of the book and find the Credit Where Credit Is Due Department. The comic needs a narrative to bind it all together which is why I shall be penciling up some roughs to show you how a regular cast of characters could be used to introduce not only each work and the artists, but also the theme for each issue with a teaser for the next issue to make the buyer want to purchase Oi Oi Oi the next time it hits the newsagent.

Oi Oi Oi has the potential to be a great Australian anthology comic and I'd really love for it to be successful. To be successful, you will need sales at the newsagent. Not only from mature age readers, but from preteens as well. 10 to 15 year olds have pocket money to spend. Don't exclude them. Their purchases are just as important when it comes to sales. The More people that purchase, the more the newsagents will be happy to keep Oi Oi Oi on the shelves, and the whole purpose of the comic will be meaningless to all the artists and writers who make contributions if the newsagents decide not to stock it any more.

Paul Power link

28/7/2014 21:35:31

I look forward to getting OY! OY! OY! So as to the content of your comic book Nat. I say. It's your pizza. You get what you want on YOUR pizza. Publish ANY Oz content that you wish. It's your money and should find it's local fans in Ayustralia and here in the good old USA as well. By the way . I do have a 3 page KOALA story for you. if you want it. I'm all for adult content. Good onya Nat.
www.paulpower.com

Nat Karmichael

30/7/2014 13:34:54

Just to add to this continuing debate, I just thought I would add (some of) the Contributor Guidelines that I supply to all artists and cartoonists who seek to submit work to Oi Oi Oi!

I would also like to point out that NOWHERE do I ask the contributors to aim for a specific demographic, and nor do I ask them to ensure the work is commercial. I want artists and cartoonists to have a vehicle for their work...because at the moment there is NOWHERE ELSE in Australia that publishes local artists and cartoonists work and distributes it nationally...

" I am seeking eight page black and white stories, preferably - although not essentially - with some sort of Australian theme. Apart from that, there is no overarching theme and the topics can be as wide and varied as you like; cartoon, humour, adventure-based, anything that you think the modern reader will be interested in. My preference is NOT superhero stories. (They have been done to death, unless you can come up with a unique angle that will appeal to the local Aussie reader....) Self-contained stories will work best, but I am open to any on-going series idea. (If you do so, I would rather you had an end point in sight, as nothing is more frustrating to a comics reader than reading a storyline that remain incomplete or is abandoned.) "

Keep your thoughts coming...

Hagen Cartoons link

1/8/2014 00:44:06

Nat,
As you know, I support Oi Oi Oi!, however, I would like to put the seed of an idea in your head.
Oi Oi Oi! is not aimed, as far as I can see, really at "cartoons" or "comic strips", more for B&W sequential art.
The artists doing single-gag cartoons or traditional comic-strips, also have very limited avenues for their artwork in Australia and it is difficult for the public to "find" them...
Any chance of considering another publication that would allow "single gag" and "comic-strip" Australian cartoonists to have an outlet for their cartoons?
Feel free to put it in the "too-hard" basket... Just a suggestion...

Vince

1/8/2014 03:25:42

I think the single gag and comic strips could work blended in just as much as it works in MAD magazine. Again, intros at the top of each section or between sections would help bind it all together. I know this isn't MAD but it doesn't hurt to borrow ideas from already successful publications.

Nat Karmichael

7/8/2014 16:50:49

Vince and Christophe ("Hagen"): I am going to relent!

I will consider one-pagers for future editions of Oi Oi Oi! You have both made a compelling argument as to WHY I should include them...so I shall.

Steve Carter and Antoinette Rydyr link

7/8/2014 17:08:26

Firstly, we’d like to congratulate Nat Karmichael for producing a professional magazine that respects and showcases Australian talent. As artists and writers we are honoured to have been included in the premiere issue of Oi Oi Oi! and would like to thank Nat for giving us the opportunity to reach a wider audience.

Having read the critiques of the first issue it appears that some readers are not happy with the content. The simple response is that you can’t please all of the people all of the time. But we’ll try to tackle some of the points as we see them.

Aussie content

Oi Oi Oi! is a compilation of Aussie comic creators. You cannot get more “Aussie” than that! This series presents a wide spectrum of material for a diverse readership. You don’t have to like every single strip. The point here is to show where Aussie comics are at. They have evolved, progressed, and branched out into all kinds of genres and themes, which reflect the differing backgrounds, styles, attitudes, influences and aspirations of a wide variety of Australian creators.

Aussie themes?

We can’t see any reason why Aussie creators should forever be obliged to produce only the most overtly parochial material. Surely we can write about anything we choose to. Imagination is the limit. Also, we don’t just want Australian readers - we want all kinds of readers, and a healthy degree of universal appeal. This is why so many international comics have become so successful. Gender, age and cultural background are not barriers. We are all potential readers and creators. Our job is to inspire yet more readers and creators to get into comics.

Comics are just for Kiddies!

This tired old line has been a millstone around every comic book creator and reader’s neck for endless ages. Sure, it may well have begun that way but like all other cultural art forms and mediums, comics rapidly diversified. Despite the abysmal setback of the introduction of the Comics Code Authority in the mid 1950s, comics have continued to evolve. Comics have matured now; they have grown up. There is a diversity of comics and comic creators out there. Comics are no longer just for kids!

Many of the stories are flawed.

This is basically semantics - if you don’t like it, it’s badly written. If you do, it’s a brilliant work of art! It’s all up to the eye of the beholder in the end. Possibly some of the work is flawed, or perhaps it’s totally visionary, or obtuse and arty, maybe direct and powerful. There is no right or wrong, it all comes down to personal taste.

The matter of offensive violence and nudity

We respect that gory violence is not everyone’s cup of tea but this comic has very little similarity to titles such as Spore Whores, War Goddess, Grind House or The Crossed, all of which are marketed at adults and fans of extreme horror, SF and fantasy.

In our view, Oi Oi Oi! contains no such extreme material. Nor is it a product that is marketed exclusively to very young children. Today, many mainstream comics aimed at younger readers contain themes and images that were forbidden by the antiquated Comics Code Authority. The occasional splash of fanciful action gore and biffo does not equate to hyper-splatter and grotesque mutilation (not that we see anything wrong with such intense imagery in the context of a horror comic aimed at adults).

Censoring fantasy, images of fictionalised violence or nudity does nothing to curb the countless instances of the very real and often devastating violence which occurs in the real world; nor does it change the attitudes or actions of those who perpetrate it. There is a difference between fantasy and reality and applying a prohibitive agenda in order to control the content of pop culture and comic books, as if you are waving a magic wand, will not result in a better world.

Gruesome images, offensive language and sexual themes in comics will not warp children’s minds and put them onto the path of delinquency and crime. But forcing all comics to be “baby safe” fosters censorship and stagnates the culture.

The Cover

Perhaps the cover gives the impression that the contents of Oi Oi Oi! is for a young audience. With such a diversity of comics inside the cover is a good generic illustration to represent Australian content. When buying a book we always like to flip through the pages because you can't always judge a book by its cover.

Steve Carter and Antoinette Rydyr

Click Beacon

8/8/2014 03:27:24

I've seen the cover and really admired it. It's exquisitely drawn and shows mind boggling talent. I haven't read the inside yet and look forward to it. However as an old reader of the 'undergrounds' I am well used to being disappointed by a brilliant cover folded around some indifferent material. If I see a cover by an artist I admire I assume that the same artist is featured in a goodly proportion of the internal content. It's pretty much the same thing as seeing a dvd with Robert de Niro on the cover and then discovering he's only doing a brief cameo. I feel ripped off. I've no problem whatsoever with adult content or single 'gag's or whatever as long as they are funny and well drawn. But just one incoherent, lame or unfunny feature/page will spoil a comic imho and put readers off from reading the next one. Well done at putting it out though. I know how tough the process is.

Nat Karmichael

10/8/2014 15:14:14

Thanks for your comments, Click!

These days there are many comics that have cover artists that do not illustrate any of the interior pages. That is the case in the First and Second Issues of Oi Oi Oi!

Although in Issue Three, I am hoping the cover artist will have a story appear in the same edition. Let's wait and see!

Owen

12/8/2014 12:55:02

I have been following the debate you refer to on your website. For what it’s worth, I see the feedback as relating to two separate issues:

1. Quality of stories. This is always going to be purely subjective. I already indicated to you which stories in issue 1 I enjoyed most, but my favourites might rank lower with other readers – and those other readers may have enjoyed the stories that left me cold. That’s the nature of an anthology! If I liked every story, chances are that another reader would find nothing to their tastes. As editor and publisher, your tastes are the ones that decide which stories go into the book.

2. Mature-age content. Although many, if not most, of my own comics are suitable for all ages, I have done comics aimed solely at adults and I see no problem with that. I think the medium of comics can be used to tell almost any type of story. Obviously, including adult stories will limit your potential audience, but that’s a business decision that is yours alone.

However, while I’m not a wowser, and I don’t promote forced censorship, I do think it’s good to let the audience know what to expect. Anton’s cover was fantastic, but looked like a kid-friendly book. As a result, while none of the strong language shocked me, it did surprise me. If future cover images don’t reflect the content within, perhaps including a small cover statement about the intended audience age wouldn’t hurt.

This is purely a pragmatic suggestion (not an ideological one): I want Oi Oi Oi to succeed, and I understand that complaints about the content of a TISM comic in the 1990s led to the newsagent distributor refusing to continue working with Australian publisher Aaargh Comics. This resulted in the demise of their other title, the excellent Bug and Stump, one of my favourite comics. I would hate for the same fate to befall Oi Oi Oi!

But that’s just my two cents, and I respect that all such decisions are ultimately up to you. Looking forward to issue 2!

Nat Karmichael

12/8/2014 13:50:25

I do appreciate your thoughts and input in the on-going discussion, Owen.

I have informed my Distributor that Oi Oi Oi! is NOT intended for Children, and they have added this information about the magazine on their website. So, I'm hoping there are no misunderstandings between us and that there are no repetition of events that took place between other publishers and distributors in the 1990s, Owen.

I am sure along the way, especially in these early days, I may be a little off the track in what some readers may expect to see in a comic. But I want to be able to challenge Australians, too, about these perceptions. The outcome I am seeking, longer term, is a comic series that contains entertaining Australian stories that stand the test of time.

I'm also hopeful that over time Australians are going to work out what sort of magazine Oi Oi Oi! is, and my wish is that they support it for what it is, rather than what they may presently perceive a comic should be. Ultimately, the contributions of the artists and cartoonists (and the material I accept) are going to dictate the future direction of the magazine.

Obviously, I don't want to place readers offside, to the point I am losing readers, Owen. But I am hoping we can meet somewhere in the middle: where readers are entertained with well-written stories, and I can continue to push the boundaries of what a high-quality comic magazine can be. (And that doesn't necessarily mean including or excluding 'mature-age content'.)

Thanks for your two cents, Owen! I look forward to your thoughts when Issue Two comes out in early October!

Nat Karmichael.

First Official Critique of Oi Oi Oi! 's First Issue...

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