Your Personal Invitation to the Rotary Cartoon Awards...

This is going to be my last Blog in a little while. Tomorrow Elouise Quinlivan and I are holding a comic-related workshop at The Edge, Southbank, as a prelude to the Zine and Independent Comic Symposium (ZICS) that I have talked about before. In case you have not being paying attention, the Symposium is being Launched on Friday the 29th of August and runs all through the weekend until Sunday August 31st...

The Launch Party on Friday evening will feature "a variety of creative activities, music and an opportunity to mingle and share a drink with some of Australia’s best creative talents from the zine and indie comic world."

A zine and comic fair will be held on the Saturday and Sunday, and local and interstate artists like Jase Harper and Michael Fikaris will not only be attending, but also launching new books! Other artists and writers will showcase their creations for sale and trade, and a range of workshops and panels -- from beginners to advanced master classes -- will be conducted.

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Why am I not going to ZICS? Well following this workshop, Carlene and I will be travelling to Bendigo on Tuesday to fulfil a commitment we made over twelve months ago to attend the 6th birthday party of our grand-daughter, Charlotte (or "Lollie" as we know her).

I will not be staying long, as I have to return to work! And not just in the economic sense of the word, either: no sooner do I return back to Queensland the following Tuesday, than I will be moving all of our belongings into our new home! Carlene will be living it up in the cold Victorian weather for a further two weeks while I complete this job...

Then, before I know it, I shall have to toughen out a stint of night duty, before beginning work on preparing the Third Issue of Oi Oi Oi!   Ryan McDonald-Smith (the Designer of this wonderful Australian comic) and I are planning on starting a month earlier than originally scheduled, mainly to allow Ryan the time to get married in October! I am sure you will join me in wishing the Ryan and his wife-to-be all the very best for their future happiness.... 

(Above) Miss Lollie, age five years old...

Now if you have not done so already, I would urge that you get your cartooning hats on, because August 22nd is the closing date for the entries to the 2014 Rotary Cartoon Awards. I have already detailed the categories and given information on how to enter the Awards, so won't repeat myself here. (Sorry, you will have to check my past postings yourself if you DO wish to enter!) 

The Award Ceremony, which IS what I want to talk about here, is being held at the Bunker Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour on September 20th....and YOU are invited! Yes, I am personally inviting you!


The festivities begin at 6 p.m., with some fabulous world-class live entertainment by none other than Eddie Spagetti. This will be worth the entry price of only $25 alone! Following this entertainment, there will be an opportunity to honour one of Australia's greatest comic storytellers, illustrators and historians, the late Monty Wedd. Both Monty's son, Justin Wedd, and myself will speak of the great man, as we Officially Launch the Comicoz book Ned Kelly, Narrated and Illustrated by Monty Wedd. Copies of the book will be available for sale on the night, and Justin and I will only be too happy to sign and personalise your copy. Of course, all this takes place before the main event of the night: the naming of the official winners of the 2014 Rotary Cartoon Awards.

I know you want to rub shoulders with Australia's top Cartoonists and Artists, so to obtain your tickets to the event, please click here.  The $25 price tag includes drinks, finger food and all the live entertainment, with the night expecting to end at about 10 p.m. I hope to see you there! Please don't be shy - come up and say "Hullo!" to me and tell me you decided to come along based on this Blog's Personal Invitation! I hope, too, that you can now understand why this Blog entry today is going to be my last for a little while: I have got to start working on my speech!