Well, after MONTHS of talking, it has finally happened! On May 22nd, Comicoz signed a Printing and Distribution Deal, which was accepted by the other party late yesterday (Friday) afternoon! I was working late at work, and didn't arrive home until close to midnight, so I have only just learnt now of the news myself!! And aren't you glad I shared this exciting news with you??!
What it means: this is an opportunity to see all future Comicoz' books being made available in the USA and Canada, and also in Europe and Great Britain ... and (hooray!) ...Australia! So, it is about time I got cracking and worked on some further titles, don't you think?!
On that matter, I am hoping in the next couple of months that I should be able to share with you about some all-new all-Aussie titles appearing to join our publishing roster...!! Stay tuned, the best is yet to come...(as they say in the classics)...!!
Sad to relate, but I need to report on the passing of an Australian Comic Book Icon, Monty Wedd, who passed away last Friday while we were on our way to Longreach. (Curse not taking my computer: I have only just now learnt of his passing.) I had known he had been unwell for some time, after Dorothy (and then son Justin) sent me news of his illness around Christmas last year... Monty was a kind, generous man, always willing to pass on information about Australian artists and cartoonists older than he was! One summer he kindly posted me his conversations ('interview') with Australian Artist/Cartoonist Syd Miller (I must dig it out sometime)...
Rather than go into details about his life*, let's remember that old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words.... *Anyone interested in learning more about Monty's life story, please click here ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Wedd
These images, I should point out are Copyright The Estate of Monty Wedd, and I am presently seeking permission to use them here and in a newspaper article I am working on... Comicoz has had a long association with Monty. In John Dixon's Air Hawk Magazine (Summer Edition of 1989) readers were invited to purchase copies of Monty's book "The Making of a Nation" (see above advertisement), and all copies in stock sold out... So much so, I didn't even end up with a copy myself!! Just before Monty's passing, Comicoz was in discussion with Monty's family about future possible projects. With all due respect for Monty's family, discussions will be suspended in order to allow the family to properly grieve ....
This is where Carlene and I have spent the past few days: Longreach in Outback Queensland. Just in case you may not have read my previous Blogs ... we were there donating an original piece of John Dixon's Air Hawk artwork for the opening of The Royal Flying Doctor Service's exhibition at The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame on Saturday May 5th (2012). If you have never been to Longreach, let me heartily endorse the town! No clouds in the sky, no traffic lights, no McDonald's Restaurants or Kentucky Fried Chicken (one Eagle Boys was the only fast food outlet we came across!) ... a marvelous trip into time, where the locals seem to know each other and are always up for a bit of a chat. Look, when you are next travelling to Longreach (and everyone must at least once in their lifetime), make sure you stay at the Abajaz Motor Inn (click here for a link). We were made to feel wonderfully welcome by our hosts Liane Michell and Rodd Halkett. Even even though everything in town seemed to be within less than an hour's walking distance (and we are slow walkers!), it was never too much trouble for Rodd to take time out from his washing chores to pick us up from the Airport on Friday afternoon (yes, we flew in) or drop us off into the middle of town (on more than one occasion). This is not a paid advertisement...!!
 This is how I spent a couple of hours at The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame on Saturday morning... I was sitting in the front foyer, near all the bull-whips, waiting for all the AIR HAWK Fans and signing copies of "John Dixon, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctor".  I think John Dixon would be most proud to see his AIR HAWK volume with some of the other specialist books for sale at the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame. I was particularly pleased to see many volumes of the late Ron Edwards in stock...  Besides the opening of the Royal Flying Doctor Service's Exhibition on Saturday afternoon, the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame also hosted the 22nd Annual Drover's Reunion over the whole weekend. For a 'city-slicker' I found this fascinating, as we had an opportunity to watch some of the Drovers engaged in many competitions with each other! While we were enjoying our lunch, there was a competition to see which Drover was first to light a fire and boil the billy! After lunch, we saw first-hand the fierce competition in making Damper. To the left is a picture of Carlene hoping to pick up some worthwhile tips in this unique Aussie tucker! Our pick for the winner? Drover Mick Gallagher (pictured below)! Although there was opportunity to talk to a lot of the 'Old Timers', we didn't take the chance to ask Mick any more about himself. Of other things like where he now lives, where he used to Drove, how often he manages to get to Longreach and how many times he has been to the annual Get-Togethers (and all manner of other questions that just didn't eventuate last Saturday afternoon)!! So, if you ever see Mick, please let him know we want to know these things!!
 Here is just part of the Royal Flying Doctor's Exhibition, which kicked off at 1630hrs (4.30 p.m.) on Saturday afternoon. If you look very closely, on the right hand corner of the picture, you can see the original AIR HAWK artwork within the glass cabinate ...  Here is what John Dixon's original AIR HAWK artwork looks like on closer inspection. I know I have shown this art in a previous posting, but this photograph illustrates a little more clearly some of the no-bleed opaque white John Dixon used on correcting and finishing his work. As the artwork was donated for posterity on the Friday (i.e. the DAY BEFORE the Exhibition opened!) there was no time for the Curator to label the item. Hopefully, that will take place sometime in the future ...  Of course, there is more to Longreach than just The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame! On Sunday, just before our flight home, Carlene and I spent some time looking over The QANTAS Founders Museum. ThisMuseum, based around the original heritage-listed 1922 Hanger and actual aircraft, is dedicated to the story of Qantas and the men of vision who saw the potential in air travel as a means of overcoming the problems of long distance travel in the Australian Outback. I found it a most inspiring exhibition - the dreamers who brought their visions to a reality! Just before we left Longreach and flew back home, so inspired was I, that I decided to donate a copy of John Dixon, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctor to the Qantas Founders Museum's Library ...
Last Monday week (April 16th) I had an interview at Coffs Harbour Hospital for a Mental Health position, and I think it went reasonably well for me to feel that I may have secured the position. However, on my return to Brisbane that evening, Carlene had been getting cold feet about the idea (of moving to Coffs) for reasons I need not elaborate here. The end result is that I have now withdrawn my Application, and my thoughts, dreams and plans of greater involvement with the Bunker Cartoon Gallery have disappeared. (Most reluctantly, I must add...)
Last weekend, the Gold Coast hosted its first Supanova pop culture expo. Late last year, I was invited to attend all of the six Supanova Events for 2012 and I had thought it a good opportunity to publicise Comicoz' book John Dixon, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctor. However, on reflection, I decided that I would attend Expos of this nature when I had numerous volumes on offer...
As you are aware, only one book has so far been published to date. It's a tough game. Australian cartoonist Pat Grant has placed an interesting Blog ('Ninth Post') about the financial realities of local comic/book publishing that makes sober reading. Yet, there are more and more comics related product being published in Australia lately. (Which I unfortunately have said little about and of which I intend to say more about in the weeks and months ahead.) Despite these publishing perils, I still have more plans to publish more books ... and not just volumes on AIR HAWK either!
I have been (and remain) somewhat disappointed about the Coffs Harbour outcome, and I am presently a little distracted with events in my personal life (Miss Lovely Little Lollie, now 3, is arriving after our Longreach trip and her Mum is marrying in November); but plans to publish further comic-related books still remain in my mind. I have taken some steps to securing some Rights to Other Material, but in order to keep confidence of those involved I shall say little here until the signatures are signed ...
One of the sticking points with Mrs Karmichael in my desire to publish more books has been the need to outlay large tracts of money with little guarantee of return. (John Dixon, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctor, for example, remains in the red.) So I have had to explore other options. I still have not signed the printing/distribution deal on offer that I mentioned earlier (although I may yet do so). On another front, I have for some time been aware of some interesting web-sites that offer allow the general public to fund projects. Kickstarter is the big one (although they do not allow non-USA citizens to raise funds), and another more universal one is indiegogo (with a Canberra comics collective being successful in raising funds for the publication of Beginnings: A Comics Anthology and which was financially supported by Comicoz). I am presently weighing my options about my seeking to raise funds through one of these sites/methods for the next Comicoz project ...
And I shall talk about it in due course, here ....
I'm happy to announce that Carlene and I are off to Longreach (that's in Western Queensland) at the beginning of next month! The Royal Flying Doctor Service is having a Gallery Opening at The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame on May 5th. Copies of our book John Dixon, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctor will be available for sale, with yours truly signing and talking about the volume to anyone who wil listen! We are also in the process of negotiating the inclusion of another of John Dixon's original Air Hawk artworks to be included in the Exhibition. Here's the one we have selected...
Also on the agenda that weekend is the 22nd Anniversary of the annual Drover's Reunion at The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, with "highlights of the weekend [including] Billy Tea and Damper". Other items on the agenda will be "yarn telling, bush poetry, singing" and an Outback Skills Sessions for kids "along with many more exciting activities for all". For more information on the Event, here's a link explaining a little more about the festivities. If you have the opportunity to be there, please make yourself known to us and say 'G'Day!' - we'll be only too happy to chat to you!
I am forever amazed at what is out there in this wonderful world pertaining to this medium we know as comics! We all know the Web is a good source of information. With eBay there are many items and bargains to be found...although I find that I have too little time to trawl through it as often as some do. Nevertheless, it has recently brought some pleasing results my way, when I picked up a bargained-priced supposedly early 1970s Spanish version of John Dixon's Air Hawk. As you can see, it is somewhat battered and frayed...  ...But look how wonderful the strip looks in colour (I have enclosed an edited version of one of the pages to the left)! The layout is edited a little differently than the usual daily newspaper version, in-so-far-as there are six panels (or two days of the strips) to a page. So it reads more like a comic. The comic itself is 24 pages in length with no advertising (20 pages of which are devoted to Air Hawk). Another anomoly is the page numbering: what one would consider to be Page 3 is actually numbered Page 21. The cover carries a number 2, so I am assuming this is Issue Two, and the page numbering carries over into the subsequent issue....
 A clue as to the reasoning for this is an advertisement on the back page of the comic (an edited version appears at right). It would seem that either there were hardback cover versions of Air Hawk made available to the Spanish public (and I have not yet had the time to investigate this via eBay) or binders were made available and each issues purshcased could be compiled into volume. It would help if I could read Spanish (so if anyone can help me, please get in touch)! The cover price of the comic was 30 ptas, which one can only assume was a bargain price to read such fabulous adventures set in the Australian Outback! I am sure to most Spanish readers it must have seemed quite exotic!
And on to another discovery that I found recently in a Northern Brisbane suburbs Op-Shop for another bargain price! This is not actually a graphic novel as the title suggests (see below), but rather an anthology of seven different comic stories by seven new comic talents. The indicia tells us that it was published in 2010 by 'the School of Design Communication and I.T.' at the University of Newcastle...  The book, entitled SCRIBBLE: Graphic Novel Collective, is just a little smaller than regular comic book size, with 96 black and white interior pages and a colour cover. The printing is of the highest quality, and the stories and artwork are all of sufficient high quality to maintain my interest throughout. To be honest, I have never heard of any of the comics talent published by the venture before, and I hope they don't limit their craft to this singular volume in the future. I have enclosed a couple of panels from the story 'Ravenskull' by Roger Quinn (see left), which to my mind was a particularly inventive and fun story. There is an Essay-come-Introduction by one of Australia's most prolific comics scribes, Kevin Patrick ('The Invisible Medium: Comics Studies in Australia') that was both well-written and informative. I am unsure how much the price of the original SCRIBBLE sold for, or indeed if more copies are still available; but if you can, I seriously suggest you add this volume to your Australian Comic Collection. Another question (which I hope I can answer another day) is whether there was a Second Volume published in 2011 - it would be good to know that at least one Australian Tertiary Institution was taking comics seriously enough to both nurture local talent and publish their output. This Volume, at least, had me pining for more to follow suit...
Those who know me professionally (and those who know me privately), know that I am a Clinical Nurse at the Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital in the Psychiatric Emergency Centre. I absolutely love my work, even though it is sometimes an hour's drive (depending on the traffic) from my work. Carlene and I have lived for many years now at our Margate home (on a main road), Over this period of time, perhaps due to the fact that Brisbane people have 'discovered' the area, our home has become increasingly noisy (something that bothers Carlene more than myself, given she was raised in the country). With an act that may change the course of our lives completely, I have - suddenly and impulsively?! - just tonight applied for a position at... the Coffs Harbour Acute Mental Health Unit... Whether I am successful in my Application or not, we shall have to see... It was not an easy decision to make, and there were/are still a lot of things to ponder about the merits (or otherwise) of this.
You, dear Reader, are one of the first to know, as I have not told anyone outside of Carlene...
I shall keep you posted as to the outcome...maybe after I tell my family, friends, workmates...
Fran Stephenson, from the Bunker Cartoon Gallery has kindly informed me that Carlene and I made Page Two of yesterday's 'The Coffs Coast Advocate' following our weekend visit... I have not seen the original newspaper clipping just yet, but I understand it runs along similar lines as the on-live version that appeared the day after our visit (as detailed below). There are more plans in the months ahead for us to promote John Dixon's Air Hawk, and I shall post them here when I have more details. There are also some exciting new developments in the wonderful world of Comicoz, and this will also be shared when plans are more concrete. Be still, my beating heart!
Rest assured, you will read about it here first!
Carlene and I want to say "Thank You" to everyone at the Bunker Cartoon Gallery for making us feel so welcome last Saturday (yesterday). We enjoyed our (very short) stay in Coffs Harbour so much, we have even begun talking about moving there more permanently...! To be continued....??!!
In the meantime, let me orientate you, dear Reader, of how to find the Gallery; and urge you - once again - to make sure you make it on your list of 'Things to Do in 2012'...
 Here for your visual pleasure, are the Original AIR HAWK dailies Comicoz is donating to the Bunker Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour this Saturday. It is a complete week of work by John Dixon, taken from his early 1970s Heyday... For the record, it is week eleven (of sixteen weeks) of his 33rd daily adventure, "A Bag Full of Wallabies".
The work features the main Air Hawk characters, pilot Jim Hawk, Sister Janet Grant, and Sgt Bob Fenton, and - of course - the marvelously detailed backdrop of the Australian Outback and John Dixon's wonderfully detailed aeroplanes...
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