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UA-139927741-1
 There is a wonderful array of new Australian comics seeing print recently and most are deserving of mention in this space. Paul Power is an Aussie living the comic-artist life in Los Angeles: drawing story-boards for movies and drawing comics... He's even contributed to a future cover of an upcoming John Dixon's Air Hawk and the Flying Doctor book; which is especially touching as he is the only artist to have worked for John Dixon to be still drawing these days! (Geez, Paul, doesn't that make you sound 'old'!!). Paul is best known for his Professor Om work from the late 1970, and has even been doing some of his own publishing these days.... Let me point out the first comic volume that Paul has put to print just recently: Jon Fury in Japan. This features some wonderful vintage artwork from one of America's most-respected comic artists, Alex Toth. The comic-book is 68 pages in length, all in colour (or "All in color" as the Yanks say!), and features an interview Paul had with Alex, just before he passed away in 2006. Paul makes it quite clear that he is a Fan, but this doesn't diminish from the end product which is well worth picking up. Some may feel that the $11 cover-price is a little steep, but with the way our Aussie Dollar is looking, I say it is well-worth finding. The artwork here is Copyright, and reproduced with permission of Paul Power. Paul has his own web-site, and you can check out some more of his work here: http://www.paulpower.com/  I spent last weekend in Victoria, so I missed the most recent comic-related launch in Brisbane recently from the Queensland Comic Artist and Writer Collaborative. If you are interested in learning more, check out the web-address: http://ashcan.com.au I must be honest and tell you that I have yet to view ASHCAN the comic, so cannot tell you what the contents look like. (It's actually Issue 2, and I also have not had the chance to read #1 either! Not much help, am I??!) The thing that I find wonderful, as I said, is that there is an undercurrent of a lot of local comics work seeing print lately. Let me mention some more: Bad Teeth Comics appears in RAVE magazine and also at:
http://badteethcomics.bigcartel.com/category/books One of my favourite comic strips that also appears in RAVE Magazine (a free weekly Brisbane music street press) is Girlie Pains. Mel Stringer is the writer/artist, and I love her work. She has a Blog (which is what I list here), but I personally would be more interested in seeing a site filled with her cartoons. I just like the themes she expresses. Anyway, for what it is worth: http://www.melstringer.blogspot.com/ Personally, I prefer all of the cartoons that appear (on a semi-regular basis) in RAVE Magazine to Fred Negro's work in (Brisbane's) TIME OFF Magazine. Although Fred has been around for what seems like ages (his PUB strip in Melbourne's InPress - another free weekly street press! - is now up to its 1088th episode), and it can be a funny read; but some of the newer comics works interest me more (than Fred's) because of the gentler humour. (Mel Stringer's work particularly.) One recent development with Fred's work, however, is that it is now available on line: http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/frednegro Maybe one day his works will be collected in a Volume...? I think it deserves to be unleashed on the Australian public! Also appearing in Melbourne is a new comic, Friedcat Comix (http://friedcatcomix.weebly.com/). Again, I have not seen the finished product (launch date is April 16th at Geelong's Barwon Club Hotel), so I cannot comment further. Finally, a comic that I 'discovered' only through Cefn Ridout's review in the Weekend Australian dated March 19-20th - Uncle Silas: Genetis by Adelaide cartoonist David Follett. I liked enough of what I saw on David's Blog (http://unclesilas.blogspot.com/) to purchase his comic pack! All in all, a lot of things are happening in the Australian comics scene all of a sudden! If you know of any other comic activity that is Aussie based and happening, give me a good old nudge on either the Community or Contact tag at the top of this web-site so I can give them a free plug! |
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... 
Nat by Charlotte
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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Australian 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!
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