I'm desperately typing this before my 6*th birthday (okay, okay, it's my 68th birthday) tomorrow! And I'm left wondering why I find it so hard to keep this blog up to date. No, not really wondering: there's so much happening in Comicoz HQ, that it's just plain difficult to keep up to speed. I do try to keep all the up-to-date news here first. And so, let's do that...!
Over the past twelve months I have been trying to secure the rights to a comic strip that first appeared in the 1940s. And, earlier this month, I was informed that the Durack family are not interested in reprinting Nungaree & Jungarree. The 53 Instalments appeared in Sydney's Sunday Telegraph from March 1942 and ran until February 1943. Given the family's background, I feel that a reprinting of the feature could have helped raise the profile of comics as a serious artform in this country (as happens in Japan, Europe), rather than the sad perception in Australia that it's a juvenile and disposable commodity. Still, I shall respect the family's wishes. (Anyone interested in learning more about Elizabeth and Mary Durack, here's a recent radio broadcast talking about them. Please click here.) 

​Of course, it's not the first time I have had my hopes dashed! There are so many comics that are deserving of publishing...and only limited time to do it! Others that I have attempted to publish in the past included biographies on the Ginger Meggs' cartoonists by former Bulletin editor Lindsay Foyle, Stanley and Reg Pitt's Silver Starr and other works, Coogan by Peter Player, and the two that I most regret: Syd Miller's Us Girls and Verity Aloha by Michal Dutkiewicz. Of course, there were various and individual reasons why these didn't go ahead (which I need not get into here). Sometimes there hasn't been an official "no" and more "not at this time" which has me ever hopeful...that...one day....! (Jackaroo and Flash Damingo by Gary Chaloner comes to mind!)

Still, ever forward is the way to go! There are still books to publish and discoveries to find! I'm ever grateful for the opportunity to have published some works that I didn't expect to publish. Pop Culture & 2 Minute Noodles is one: Dillon Naylor's co-creation (with James Paisley) of five characters within a share house in the inner Melbourne 'suburb' of FitzKilda! The book has only just been released and collects - for the very first time - all the stories from the 1990s Drivel comic before it branched into its own comic of the same name (Pop Culture & 2 Minute Noodles). What I like about the book is that not only does it collect all the obscure comics the characters appeared in during its run, but that there are new stories that may have been written in the era (but never published) and illustrated by a wide array of cartoonists. The book is a reflection of those times. I'll be placing it on my Store site as soon as I have enough copies to sell. (And, for a limited time, I'll be offering - free! - a 32-page "Supplemental Issue" to go with it!  (*See below.) In the meantime, I'm desperately trying to get copies out to meet the needs of all the people that supported the project in my recent Kickstarter.

Speaking of Kickstarters, Iron Outlaw is now in the hands of everyone who supported its Kickstarter run. I was a little concerned that the feature (that only ran for a year in 1970-1) would be too obscure and that I would not reach the target. How foolish am I! There were two videos made during the campaign: one by Rob Feldman and one by Ryan McDonald-Smith. Well, between them both, the goal was reached, the books have been sent out to all the supporters, and I couldn't be happier! I'm extremely proud of this book...

And, speaking of Rob, he came with his family up to Brisbane a little while ago, and I returned the favour by coming down to Sydney (for the comic festival SCAMP) and caught up with quite a few people. (And not everyone could be caught up with: Tony Lopes, Andrew Dixon...)

Of course, not everything is fun and games. Rob Feldman kindly accommodated and chauffeured me around Sydney. We caught up with Air Hawk designer Don Ticchio soon after he had his heart surgery. And since my Sydney visit, I ended up with some heart issues of my own (none that required surgery, thankfully). As a result of Don's surgery, the Air Hawk book has been delayed (although now back on track): Health before Comics. Always. I really am fortunate to have lived a relatively healthy life...

On return from Sydney, things have not really slowed down any (hence, my delay in posting on this blog)! Graeme Cliffe and I were invited by Drew Roller to speak on comics/Ned Kelly/Monty Wedd/Iron Outlaw on a documentary he's producing (and planning to have completed in 2025). And did you think Graeme and I would not take up the opportunity?! We were invited to speak at Lawrence Daniels' Comic Book Cafe for the recording session that took place earlier this month (on 5th December). The theme of the documentary is - as I understand it - to talk of Ned Kelly's impact on Australia's culture, in film, comics, music, books...

And the day after...it was time to welcome Dillon Naylor to Brisbane for his Pop Culture 2 Minute Noodles book launch. A (very) small crowd. Well, I was disappointed (and perhaps a little embarrassed): plugging it frequently - almost daily in fact - on Facebook and getting only ten people show up. At least his Melbourne show, a week later, was well-attended and Dillon sold out of all the books he brought along!

So, where does that leave us? Time for some scoops? (This will see who reads all the posts!) I've been invited to judge the Comic Arts Awards of Australia for the 2024 year. Much more daunting that I thought! I spent a good amount of time considering my verdicts (which I shall refrain from disclosing here). I'm not sure who the other good judges were/are, and nothing has been discussed collectively just yet. The event is going ahead (despite my earlier concern that it was going by the wayside), and I am fully supportive of it. So, keep January 31st free! Tickets are available ($25 each, to attend in person, or $25 to join the live stream (which is what I opted for). There's also an option to donate something extra (which is what I also opted for).

Want to join the event? Click here. It's being held at the New South Wales State Library from 6.30pm. There are a lot of things I don't know about it (so don't ask me!): Will there be a Platinum Award? Will there be a comic or magazine to record the event for posterity? Will it prove a success? I hope the answer to all these questions is a resounding YES!!!

Speaking of Awards: the Comicoz Award for Best Original Australian Comic for 2025 will, as before, be announced on this Blog on January 5th 2026. Between now and then, I have a birthday, and then Mrs K and I are again house-sitting for (just under) a week and, yes, it's going to be over Christmas. Time for me to gather my thoughts and consider which comic I decided this year to be the most worthy... Also between now and then, I am also preparing to get more work completed on another Air Hawk volume. And because you have read this far, it's only fitting that you are given another scoop! Here's the cover to the next Air Hawk volume Don and I will start working on in the New Year...

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?!