Comics in Australia
Encyclopedia
Australian comics
have been published since 1921 and Australian comics creators have gone to produce influential work in the global comics industry (especially in American comics),
, such as Boy's Own
, Chum and The Gem
was published in September 1908. It featured illustrations, with the text printed below and lasted only one issue.
, which continued for 87 issues until June 1913. In 1916 a small format children's paper, The Golden Age commenced. It featured three pages of strips and cartoons, including Algy & Kitty by B. Ericsson. The publication ceased in 1917.
, You & Me
, drawn by Stan Cross
, appeared in Smith's Weekly
. In August 1925 the Sydney Sunday Times comic supplement was issued. It featured strips including The Two Rogues, by L. de Konigh; Fish & Chips by Norman McMurray and The Strange Adventures of Percy the Pom by Wynne Davies. The 13 November 1921 saw the first issue of Us Fellas, by Jimmy Bancks
, in the Sunbeams Page of the Sunday Sun, this comic strip
introduced the character of Ginger Meggs
, the longest running Australian comic strip. The first Sunbeams (Ginger Meggs) Annual appeared in 1924, and continued to appear each Christmas for the next 35 years.
A number of other children's papers, such as Pals, The Boy's Weekly and Cobbers, were released during this period. Allcontained a few strips but were mainly text and articles.
by Syd Nicholls
. The rest of the comic only featured Australian artists with other strips such as Basso the Bear and Pam and Pospsy Penguin by Hotpoint and Ossie by George Little. While there was text below each frame, the panels contained word balloons.
In the late 1930s the market began to be saturated by the release of reprints of US strips popularised by the women's magazines, The New Idea
(Buck Rogers, Boy's Adventure World, Felix the Cat
, Hurricane Hawk) and The Woman's Mirror (The Phantom
). At the same time another US reprint genre, the tabloid format reprints of Sunday pages and supplements, printed overseas at minimal cost, emerged onto the market. Publications included International Comics, Colour Comics and Wags featuring Buck Rogers, Tarzan, Dick Tracy
and early works by Will Eisner
.
By 1939 there were political protests about the dumping of overseas magazines and comics in Australia, on behalf of the local industry.
the Australian Government placed a ban on the importation of American comics and sundicated proffs. As a result the local comic book industry flourished. Following the war, Australia incurred a huge national debt: local publishers found they had a captive market
as import restrictions continued to be enforced, at the same time the modern American style comic book (mostly sans color) was adopted. In its Golden Age
Australian talent produced exciting creations such as Yarmak, Captain Atom, Tim Valour, Crismon Comet, The Panther, The Raven, The Lone Wolf, The Phantom Ranger and many others. September 1948 saw the debut of The Phantom
by Frew Publications
, the longest continuously published comic book.
of comics beginning in 1954, competition from television (1956) and the re-introduction of American comic imports (1959).
titles continued to strengthen, with readers beginning to focus on new American imports, particularly the burgeoning Marvel Comics
line.
, the work of Tony Edwards
) in 1974. Gerald Carr
revived the Australian adventure style comic book also in 1974 with the best selling Vampire!, co-inciding with the horror comic boom of the times, followed by Brainmaster and Vixen (1977) and Fire Fang (1982). Vixen became Australia's first comic book super heroine.
In the mid 1980s many anthology comics titles appeared, forming the basis for the modern Australian self-publishing community. Three notable ones were Fox Comics, which began in Melbourne in 1985 and lasted for 5 years and 26 issues. Phantastique from Sydney in 1986 lasted only 4 issues, as it was in the style of Underground comix
but with mainstream distribution - it generated national publicity from opponents Fred Nile
and John Laws
. Cyclone!
also from Sydney in 1985 was a more traditional superhero
comic with an Australian flavour, it ran for 8 issues as an anthology and then another 8 as Southern Squadron focusing on its most popular feature (plus other spin offs and a 1990s revival - over 30 related comics were published in the series).
For a more recent example, Dillon Naylor
's Da 'n Dill has been running in one form or another since 1993. Other long running popular Australian comic books include Hairbutt the Hippo (1989), Platinum Grit
(1993) and Dee Vee (1997), which are still being published by their creators today.
Since 2000, a significant market for Australian comic creators has been commercial Australian children's magazines. Dillon Naylor
led the way with "Da 'N' Dill" and the popular Batrisha the Vampire Girl in K Zone. Other artists with regular work in these markets include Patrick Alexander, Jase Harper, Rich Warwick, Dean Rankine
, Damien Woods and Ian C. Thomas
.
In 2007 Julie Ditrich
and Jozef Szekeres launched the Comics and Graphic Novel Portfolio for and with the Australian Society of Authors
, which focuses on interests and needs for the comic and graphic novelist, both writers and artists, covering topics such as standardized contracts approved by the ASA for both creator owned comics/GNs and work-for-hire.
Australian artists/writers also regularly produce work for overseas comics companies. These include Nicola Scott
, Ben Templesmith
, Tom Taylor
, Michal Dutkiewicz
, Jozef Szekeres, Julie Ditrich
(writer), and Doug Holgate.
, managed to become professional publishers of Australian comics and graphic novels.
Since 2002 international publishers have increasingly begun to publish graphic novel
s by Australian comic creators, beginning with The Five Mile Press (Dillon Naylor
) and Slave Labor Graphics
(J. Marc Schmidt, Jason Franks) and, more recently, Allen & Unwin
(Nicki Greenberg
, Mandy Ord
, Bruce Mutard), Scholastic (Shaun Tan
), TokyoPop
(Queenie Chan
, Madeleine Rosca
), Seven Seas Entertainment
(Sarah Ellerton), and Finlay Lloyd (Mandy Ord
).
State Library of New South Wales
State Library of Victoria
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
have been published since 1921 and Australian comics creators have gone to produce influential work in the global comics industry (especially in American comics),
1900s
Vumps, the first Australian comic equivalent to British boy's papersStory paper
*This article is about British Story papers. For the U.S. version, see Dime novel.A story paper is a periodical publication similar to a literary magazine, but featuring illustrations and text stories, and aimed towards children and teenagers...
, such as Boy's Own
Boy's Own Paper
The Boy's Own Paper was a British story paper aimed at young and teenage boys, published from 1879 to 1967.-Publishing history:The idea for the publication was first raised in 1878 by the Religious Tract Society as a means to encourage younger children to read and also instil Christian morals...
, Chum and The Gem
The Gem
The Gem was a story paper published in Great Britain by Amalgamated Press in the early 20th century, predominately featuring the activities of boys at the fictional school "St. Jim's". These stories were all written using the pen-name of Martin Clifford, the majority by Charles Hamilton who was...
was published in September 1908. It featured illustrations, with the text printed below and lasted only one issue.
1910s
On 7 October 1911 coloured comics appeared in The Comic Australian, a weekly publication containing jokes and poetryPoetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, which continued for 87 issues until June 1913. In 1916 a small format children's paper, The Golden Age commenced. It featured three pages of strips and cartoons, including Algy & Kitty by B. Ericsson. The publication ceased in 1917.
1920s
On 4 September 1920 the first continuing Australian comic stripComic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, You & Me
The Potts
The Potts is said to be the world's longest-running cartoon strip drawn by the same artist. The strip appeared in Australia's The Sun News-Pictorial. It was syndicated in the United States from 1957 to 1962, during which time it was renamed Uncle Dick...
, drawn by Stan Cross
Stan Cross
Stanley George Cross was born in the United States but was known as an Australian strip and political cartoonist who drew for Smith’s Weekly and The Herald and Weekly Times...
, appeared in Smith's Weekly
Smith's Weekly
Smith's Weekly was an Australian tabloid newspaper published from 1919 to 1950. An independent weekly published in Sydney, but read all over Australia, Smith’s Weekly was one of Australia’s most patriotic newspaper-style magazines....
. In August 1925 the Sydney Sunday Times comic supplement was issued. It featured strips including The Two Rogues, by L. de Konigh; Fish & Chips by Norman McMurray and The Strange Adventures of Percy the Pom by Wynne Davies. The 13 November 1921 saw the first issue of Us Fellas, by Jimmy Bancks
Jimmy Bancks
James Charles Bancks or Jimmy Bancks was an Australian cartoonist best known for his comic strip Ginger Meggs....
, in the Sunbeams Page of the Sunday Sun, this comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
introduced the character of Ginger Meggs
Ginger Meggs
Ginger Meggs, a popular long-run Australian comic strip, was created in the early 1920s by Jimmy Bancks. The strip follows the escapades of a red-haired prepubescent mischief-maker who lives in an inner suburban working-class household....
, the longest running Australian comic strip. The first Sunbeams (Ginger Meggs) Annual appeared in 1924, and continued to appear each Christmas for the next 35 years.
A number of other children's papers, such as Pals, The Boy's Weekly and Cobbers, were released during this period. Allcontained a few strips but were mainly text and articles.
1930s
Following the demise of Pals the Australian comic book market was dominated by British comic papers until late 1931 with the launch of the first Australian comic book, The Kookaburra. The Kookaburra featured characters such as Bloodthirsty Ben and Callous Claude; The Mulga Merrymakers, Perky Pete the Prospector; and Lucy Lubra the Artful Abo! On 20 May 1934 another Australian comic was published Fatty Finn's Weekly, featuring Fatty FinnFatty Finn
Fatty Finn is a 1980 Australian film, directed by Maurice Murphy and starring Ben Oxenbould with Rebecca Rigg. It is based on the 1930s cartoon-strip character, Fatty Finn, created by Syd Nicholls and is loosely based on the 1927 silent fim, The Kid Stakes.-Plot:Set in inner-city Woolloomooloo in...
by Syd Nicholls
Syd Nicholls
Sydney 'Syd' Wentworth Nicholls was an Australian cartoonist and commercial artist, best known for the long-running comic strip Fatty Finn.-Biography:...
. The rest of the comic only featured Australian artists with other strips such as Basso the Bear and Pam and Pospsy Penguin by Hotpoint and Ossie by George Little. While there was text below each frame, the panels contained word balloons.
In the late 1930s the market began to be saturated by the release of reprints of US strips popularised by the women's magazines, The New Idea
New Idea
New Idea is a long-running Australian weekly magazine published by Pacific Magazines and aimed at women.-History:The magazine was first published in 1902 by Fitchett Bros. Southdown Magazines purchased Fitchett Bros...
(Buck Rogers, Boy's Adventure World, Felix the Cat
Felix the Cat
Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in the silent film era. His black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations in which his cartoons place him, combine to make Felix one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history...
, Hurricane Hawk) and The Woman's Mirror (The Phantom
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
). At the same time another US reprint genre, the tabloid format reprints of Sunday pages and supplements, printed overseas at minimal cost, emerged onto the market. Publications included International Comics, Colour Comics and Wags featuring Buck Rogers, Tarzan, Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
and early works by Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
.
By 1939 there were political protests about the dumping of overseas magazines and comics in Australia, on behalf of the local industry.
1940s
With the onset of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the Australian Government placed a ban on the importation of American comics and sundicated proffs. As a result the local comic book industry flourished. Following the war, Australia incurred a huge national debt: local publishers found they had a captive market
Captive market
Captive markets are markets where the potential consumers face a severely limited amount of competitive suppliers; their only choices are to purchase what is available or to make no purchase at all. Captive markets result in higher prices and less diversity for consumers...
as import restrictions continued to be enforced, at the same time the modern American style comic book (mostly sans color) was adopted. In its Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
Australian talent produced exciting creations such as Yarmak, Captain Atom, Tim Valour, Crismon Comet, The Panther, The Raven, The Lone Wolf, The Phantom Ranger and many others. September 1948 saw the debut of The Phantom
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
by Frew Publications
Frew Publications
Frew Publications is an Australian comic book publisher, known for its long-running reprint series of Lee Falk's The Phantom. Frew formerly published other comics, including Falk's earlier creation Mandrake the Magician...
, the longest continuously published comic book.
1950s
This was a decade of recession for the Australian comic market, with production costs rising the prices of local comics rose. Comics faced increased public scrutiny, with censorshipCensorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
of comics beginning in 1954, competition from television (1956) and the re-introduction of American comic imports (1959).
1960s
The 1960s saw the demise of the few locally produced titles that had managed to survive the recession in comic book publishing in the previous decade. Sales of reprints such as The Phantom and the Walt DisneyWalt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
titles continued to strengthen, with readers beginning to focus on new American imports, particularly the burgeoning Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
line.
1970s
In the 1970s there was a resurgence in local comic activity, drawing inspiration from the explicit and politicised american underground comic scene, although mainly associated with radical journals such as Revolution, High Times and Nation Review. Few comic books were published with the exception of Cobber Comics in 1971 and Strange Tales (which featured Captain GoodvibesCaptain Goodvibes
Captain Goodvibes, aka the Pig of Steel, was the creation of Australian cartoonist Tony Edwards and became an icon of Australian surfing culture in the 1970s....
, the work of Tony Edwards
Tony Edwards
Tony Edwards is an Australian comic book artist and illustrator, best known for his creation, Captain Goodvibes.-Biography:Tony Edwards was born in Strathfield in 1944 and originally trained as an architect....
) in 1974. Gerald Carr
Gerald Carr (cartoonist)
Gerald Carr is an Australian comic book writer, artist and illustrator, best known for his creations, Vampire! and Vixen.-Biography:Gerald Carr was born in Bendigo, Victoria in 1944 and studied art at the . He later moved to Sydney, where he entered into the comic book industry, working for W.G...
revived the Australian adventure style comic book also in 1974 with the best selling Vampire!, co-inciding with the horror comic boom of the times, followed by Brainmaster and Vixen (1977) and Fire Fang (1982). Vixen became Australia's first comic book super heroine.
1980s
Since the 1980s there have been fewer local reprints and more direct importing of foreign comics.In the mid 1980s many anthology comics titles appeared, forming the basis for the modern Australian self-publishing community. Three notable ones were Fox Comics, which began in Melbourne in 1985 and lasted for 5 years and 26 issues. Phantastique from Sydney in 1986 lasted only 4 issues, as it was in the style of Underground comix
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
but with mainstream distribution - it generated national publicity from opponents Fred Nile
Fred Nile
Frederick John "Fred" Nile is an Australian politician and clergyman. Nile has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 1981, except for a period in 2004 when he resigned to contest the Australian Senate at the 2004 federal election...
and John Laws
John Laws
Richard John Sinclair "John" Laws, CBE , an Australian radio presenter, sometimes known as Lawsie, was from the 1970s until his retirement in 2007, the host of a hugely successful morning radio program, which mixed music with interviews, opinion, live advertising readings and listener talkback...
. Cyclone!
Cyclone!
Cyclone! was an Australian superhero anthology comic book originally published in 1985.The title featured four ongoing stories:* The Dark Nebula a cosmic superhero by Tad Pietrzykowski...
also from Sydney in 1985 was a more traditional superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
comic with an Australian flavour, it ran for 8 issues as an anthology and then another 8 as Southern Squadron focusing on its most popular feature (plus other spin offs and a 1990s revival - over 30 related comics were published in the series).
For a more recent example, Dillon Naylor
Dillon Naylor
Dillon Naylor is an Australian cartoonist, illustrator and toy designer. He is the creator of the comic strip Batrisha the Vampire Girl, which appeared for six years in the children's magazine K-Zone and was the basis for two children's books...
's Da 'n Dill has been running in one form or another since 1993. Other long running popular Australian comic books include Hairbutt the Hippo (1989), Platinum Grit
Platinum Grit
Platinum Grit is an Australian self-published comic book/online comic. The series is noted for sexy drawings of girls, surreal offbeat humor and tightly-written scripts. The series was created by writer/illustrator Trudy Cooper and co-writer Danny Murphy...
(1993) and Dee Vee (1997), which are still being published by their creators today.
Since 2000, a significant market for Australian comic creators has been commercial Australian children's magazines. Dillon Naylor
Dillon Naylor
Dillon Naylor is an Australian cartoonist, illustrator and toy designer. He is the creator of the comic strip Batrisha the Vampire Girl, which appeared for six years in the children's magazine K-Zone and was the basis for two children's books...
led the way with "Da 'N' Dill" and the popular Batrisha the Vampire Girl in K Zone. Other artists with regular work in these markets include Patrick Alexander, Jase Harper, Rich Warwick, Dean Rankine
Dean Rankine
Dean Rankine is a popular and well-known Australian comics artist and illustrator. Rankine's comics work has appeared in many children's magazines - KidZone, Explore, Venue, Mania, Krash and Wacky But True , Kids Alive , The War Cry , Priority , Sorthvit and TFL , as...
, Damien Woods and Ian C. Thomas
Ian C. Thomas
Ian C. Thomas , aka Ian T., is a long-term Australian comics artist and cartoonist. He created Australia's first minicomic , produced Maelstrom and contributed to the early Australian anthology Reverie, as well as a comic strip in Melbourne newspaper City Extra.Ian T's recent work has appeared...
.
In 2007 Julie Ditrich
Julie Ditrich
Julie Ditrich is an Australian freelance writer, editor and publishing consultant and a director of the Black Mermaid Productions creative team based in Australia.Ditrich has a background in therapy and publishing...
and Jozef Szekeres launched the Comics and Graphic Novel Portfolio for and with the Australian Society of Authors
Australian Society of Authors
The Australian Society of Authors is the peak body representing Australia's literary creators and is the major advocate for the rights and remuneration of authors in Australia...
, which focuses on interests and needs for the comic and graphic novelist, both writers and artists, covering topics such as standardized contracts approved by the ASA for both creator owned comics/GNs and work-for-hire.
Australian artists/writers also regularly produce work for overseas comics companies. These include Nicola Scott
Nicola Scott
Nicola Scott is a comic book artist from Sydney, Australia whose notable works include Birds of Prey and Secret Six.-Career:Prior to pencilling comics, Scott had acting ambitions with a notable role in the Southern Comfort commercials. Scott's first work was doing painted covers for a book called...
, Ben Templesmith
Ben Templesmith
Ben Templesmith is an Australian comic book artist best known for his work in the American comic book industry, most notably the Image Comics series Fell, with writer Warren Ellis, which is credited with pioneering a new format for commercial comics, and IDW's 30 Days of Night with writer Steve...
, Tom Taylor
Tom Taylor (writer)
Tom Taylor is a comic book writer and award-winning playwright who has also written for radio, musicals, film, magazines, satirical news and sketch comedy...
, Michal Dutkiewicz
Michal Dutkiewicz
Michael Dutkiewicz is a professional illustrator and comic book artist based in Adelaide, South Australia. The son of artist Wladyslaw Dutkiewicz, Dutkiewicz has worked on a variety of comic book titles, including Lost in Space , Wolverine:Doombringer, Batman Forever and Superman, as well as an...
, Jozef Szekeres, Julie Ditrich
Julie Ditrich
Julie Ditrich is an Australian freelance writer, editor and publishing consultant and a director of the Black Mermaid Productions creative team based in Australia.Ditrich has a background in therapy and publishing...
(writer), and Doug Holgate.
Reprint publishers
From the 1940s through the 1970s, many local reprints and translations of American — as well as British, European, and South American — comics were published in Australia. Since the 1980s there have been fewer local reprints and more direct importing of foreign comics.- Atlas Publications (1948 – c. 1958) — newspaper strip reprints as well as American comics from such publishers as American Comics GroupAmerican Comics GroupAmerican Comics Group was a New York City-based comic book publisher which operated during the Golden and Silver Age of comic books. ACG published one of the first horror comics titles, Adventures into the Unknown. Another of ACG's claims to fame was the character of Herbie Popnecker, who starred...
(ACG). Published original Australian comics such as Captain Atom (not to be confused with the Charlton/DCCaptain AtomCaptain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
character), a full-color comic by Australians Arthur Mather and Jack Bellew (as John Welles). - Ayers & James (1940s – 1970s) — known for Classics IllustratedClassics IllustratedClassics Illustrated is a comic book series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Iliad. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1941 and finished its first run in 1971, producing 169 issues. Following the series' demise, various companies...
reprints, although they published thousands of other comics, including DisneyDisney ComicsDisney Comics was a comic book publishing company operated by The Walt Disney Company which ran from 1990 to 1993. In the USA, Disney only licensed their comic books to other publishers prior to 1990...
and other funny animal comics, and WesternsWestern comicsWestern comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier and typically set during the late nineteenth century...
. - Federal Publishing Company a.k.a. Federal Comics and Australian Edition DC (1983 – 1986) — reprinted contemporary DCDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, MarvelMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
(taking over the license from Yaffa), CharltonCharlton ComicsCharlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
, and Hanna-BarberaHanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
comics, occasionally dipping into a backlist of stories acquired from K.G. Murray. - Frew PublicationsFrew PublicationsFrew Publications is an Australian comic book publisher, known for its long-running reprint series of Lee Falk's The Phantom. Frew formerly published other comics, including Falk's earlier creation Mandrake the Magician...
(1948 – present) — Lee FalkLee FalkLee Falk, born Leon Harrison Gross , was an American writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the popular comic strip superheroes The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician, who at the height of their popularity attracted over a hundred million readers every day...
's The PhantomThe PhantomThe Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
reprints - Gredown (c. 1975 – 1984) — published diverse range of magazine-size reprint comics, predominantly horrorHorror comicsHorror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. Horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the imposition of the self-censorship Comics Code Authority contributed to...
(from EerieEerieEerie was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. Each issue's stories were introduced by the host...
magazine) but also WesternWestern comicsWestern comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier and typically set during the late nineteenth century...
, science fiction, and other genres. - Horwitz Publications (c. 1950 – c. 1966) — predominantly published American warWar comicsWar comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.-American war comics:Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began including stories of wartime adventures in the multi-genre...
, WesternWestern comicsWestern comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier and typically set during the late nineteenth century...
, and crimeCrime comicsCrime comics is a genre of American comic books and format of crime fiction. The genre was originally popular in the 1940s and 1950s and is marked by a moralistic editorial tone and graphic depictions of violence and criminal activity. Crime comics began in 1942 with the publication of Crime Does...
reprints, mainly from TimelyTimely ComicsTimely Comics, an imprint of Timely Publications, was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics....
/AtlasAtlas Comics (1950s)Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
/MarvelMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. In the late 1950s, published some original Australian comics, notably adaptations of its Carter BrownCarter BrownCarter Brown, real name Alan Geoffrey Yates , was an Australian-British author of crime fiction. He was born in London but moved to Australia in 1948. He started writing full time in 1953 and wrote at least 317 novels between 1958 and 1985, mostly crime and dective stories, selling tens of millions...
novels, but also The Phantom Commando, created by John DixonJohn Dixon (cartoonist)John Dixon is an Australian comic book artist and writer, best known for his creation, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctors.-Biography:John Dangar Dixon was born in Newcastle on 20 February 1929, the son of a school principal. After completing his education at Cook Hill Intermediate High he became a...
, but mostly worked on by Maurice Bramley, who drew it until 1956. - K.G. Murray Publishing Company a.k.a. Murray Publishers Pty Ltd (1947 – 1983) — Australia's dominant comics publisher for forty years, reprinted DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
titles via imprints which included Colour Comics, Planet Comics, and Murray Comics. Stated out publishing original Australian material, including Moira Bertram's Flameman, Albert De Vine's High Compression, and Hart Amos' The Lost Patrol. - Larry Cleland a.k.a. Cleland (1946 – c. 1957) — owned by Vee Publishing Co. Mainly Fawcett ComicsFawcett ComicsFawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s...
reprints, then Charlton ComicsCharlton ComicsCharlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
, after Fawcett's 1953 demise. In 1954, published what was probably Australia's first adult comic, the controversial, short-lived Steven Carlisle, by Keith ChattoKeith ChattoRonald Keith Chatto was an Australian comic book artist and writer. Chatto was the first Australian artist to illustrate a full-length comic episode of The Phantom.-Biography:...
. - Newton Comics (1975–1976) — published Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
reprints, part of Maxwell NewtonMaxwell NewtonMaxwell Newton was an Australian media publisher. He was a founding editor of The Australian. He was the publisher of the Melbourne Observer from 1971 to 1977 and, during a similar time frame, the Canberra Post....
's eccentric short-lived publishing empire based around the tabloid the Melbourne Sunday Observer. - Otter PressOtter PressOtter Press is an Australian publishing group, which releases the American Simpsons Comics series in Australia. Otter began publishing in 1998 with Simpsons Comics #32, and have published hundreds of different Simpsons books since then, spanning over ten series...
(1998 – present) — contemporary publisher of Simpsons Comics reprints, as well as selected children's and humor titles - Yaffa Publishing Group (1960s – c. 1983) — reprint collections of American newspaper strips and comics (including those originally published by Archie ComicsArchie ComicsArchie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
, Charlton ComicsCharlton ComicsCharlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
, and SkywaldSkywald PublicationsSkywald Publications is a 1970s publisher of black-and-white comics magazines, primarily the horror anthologies Nightmare, Psycho, and Scream. It also published a small line of comic books and other magazines....
), as well as Australian comics originally created for other publishers (such as John DixonJohn Dixon (cartoonist)John Dixon is an Australian comic book artist and writer, best known for his creation, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctors.-Biography:John Dangar Dixon was born in Newcastle on 20 February 1929, the son of a school principal. After completing his education at Cook Hill Intermediate High he became a...
's Catman). Many 1960s Yaffa comics featured original covers and occasional interior art by Australian artist Keith ChattoKeith ChattoRonald Keith Chatto was an Australian comic book artist and writer. Chatto was the first Australian artist to illustrate a full-length comic episode of The Phantom.-Biography:...
. By the late 1960s, was republishing duplicate reprints of the defunct Horwitz Publications comics. Through its Page Publications imprint, published Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
reprints.
Publishers of original content
Since the late 1970s, the comic scene in Australia has been largely driven by self-publishers who created, printed and distributed their own books, with a few publishers who were willing to publish the work of others gradually emerging. Of these, some companies, such as Phosphorescent Comics and Gestalt PublishingGestalt Publishing
Gestalt Publishing is Australia's largest, independent graphic novel publishing house.The company was officially founded in Applecross, Western Australia, on the 1st July 2005 by Wolfgang Bylsma and Skye Ogden, although they had previously been involved in creating, editing and publishing...
, managed to become professional publishers of Australian comics and graphic novels.
- Black House Comics
- Blackglass Press
- Blood & Thunder Publishing Concern
- Cardigan Comics — imprint of cartoonist Bernard CaleoBernard CaleoBernard Caleo is a Melbourne-based Australian comic artist, comic book editor, performer, and presenter. He is the editor of Tango, a comics anthology series which has been published irregularly since 1997. He also runs Cardigan Comics, the publishing company which publishes Tango...
, publishes TangoTango (comics)Tango is a comics anthology published in |Melbourne, Australia by Cardigan Comics. As of December 2009, there have been nine issues of Tango, published intermittently since 1997, and an additional compilation The Tango Collection, published in 2009 by Allen & Unwin.-Overview:Tango is described as... - Dee Vee Press — publisher of anthology featuring creators such as Eddie CampbellEddie CampbellEddie Campbell is a Scottish comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Australia. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of From Hell , Campbell is also the creator of the semi-autobiographical Alec stories collected in Alec: The Years Have Pants, and Bacchus , a wry adventure...
, Gary ChalonerGary ChalonerGary Chaloner is an Australian comic book artist and writer. Born in Sydney in 1963, he began self publishing in 1985 with David de Vries, Glenn Lumsden and Tad Pietrzykowski under the Cyclone Comics imprint. He has collaborated with Ashley Wood, Ben Templesmith, Kurt Busiek, Stephen Jewell and Tim...
, Mandy OrdMandy OrdMandy Ord is a Melbourne-based comic artist. Her work has appeared in The Age, Meanjin, The Australian Rationalist magazine, Voiceworks, Tango, Going Down Swinging and Red Leaves / 紅葉. Since 2009 Ord has also had a regular comic strip published in Trouble ...
, and Daren White - Flying Tiger Comics
- Generation — published Generation annual manga anthology
- Gestalt PublishingGestalt PublishingGestalt Publishing is Australia's largest, independent graphic novel publishing house.The company was officially founded in Applecross, Western Australia, on the 1st July 2005 by Wolfgang Bylsma and Skye Ogden, although they had previously been involved in creating, editing and publishing...
— Australia's largest independent graphic novel publishing house - Kiseki — publisher of bimonthly manga anthology
- Milk Shadow Books — publisher of underground comics, art and writing
- Oztaku — manga artist collective, former publisher
- Phosphorescent Comics — Published The Watch, Dunwich, and other titles. Active in the mid-2000s.
- STaB ComicsStab comicsStaB Comics is an independently created and owned comic publishing company, primarily showcasing the works of Australian artist and creator Shannon Browning....
- Storm Publishing
Since 2002 international publishers have increasingly begun to publish graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
s by Australian comic creators, beginning with The Five Mile Press (Dillon Naylor
Dillon Naylor
Dillon Naylor is an Australian cartoonist, illustrator and toy designer. He is the creator of the comic strip Batrisha the Vampire Girl, which appeared for six years in the children's magazine K-Zone and was the basis for two children's books...
) and Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics is an independent American comic book publisher, well-known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics.-Company history:...
(J. Marc Schmidt, Jason Franks) and, more recently, Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin, formerly a major British publishing house, is now an independent book publisher and distributor based in Australia. The Australian directors have been the sole owners of the Allen & Unwin name since effecting a management buy out at the time the UK parent company, Unwin Hyman, was...
(Nicki Greenberg
Nicki Greenberg
Nicki Greenberg is a Melbourne-based Australian comic artist and illustrator.Her graphic novel adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was published in 2007 by Allen & Unwin in Australia and by Penguin in Canada...
, Mandy Ord
Mandy Ord
Mandy Ord is a Melbourne-based comic artist. Her work has appeared in The Age, Meanjin, The Australian Rationalist magazine, Voiceworks, Tango, Going Down Swinging and Red Leaves / 紅葉. Since 2009 Ord has also had a regular comic strip published in Trouble ...
, Bruce Mutard), Scholastic (Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan is the illustrator and author of award-winning children's books such as The Red Tree, The Lost Thing and The Arrival...
), TokyoPop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
(Queenie Chan
Queenie Chan
Queenie Chan is a Chinese-Australian Original English-Language comic artist who was born in 1980. She originally lived in Hong Kong, but in 1986, she and her family moved to Australia. Through her childhood, she has interest in reading manga and read Chinese-translated versions of Shonen Jump...
, Madeleine Rosca
Madeleine Rosca
-Biography:She grew up in country Victoria and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts from Monash University. She also received qualifications from Swinburne University and the University of Tasmania . She currently resides in Hobart, Tasmania...
), Seven Seas Entertainment
Seven Seas Entertainment
Seven Seas Entertainment is a publishing company located in Los Angeles, California. It was originally dedicated to the publication of original manga, but now publishes licensed manga and novels, as well as select webcomics...
(Sarah Ellerton), and Finlay Lloyd (Mandy Ord
Mandy Ord
Mandy Ord is a Melbourne-based comic artist. Her work has appeared in The Age, Meanjin, The Australian Rationalist magazine, Voiceworks, Tango, Going Down Swinging and Red Leaves / 紅葉. Since 2009 Ord has also had a regular comic strip published in Trouble ...
).
Awards
- From 1984 to present, The Stanley AwardStanley AwardNamed after Stan Cross, the Stanley Awards, also known as The Stanleys are issued annually by the Australian Cartoonists' Association and recognise the best of Australian cartoonists and cartooning....
s (run by the Australian Cartoonists' AssociationAustralian Cartoonist's AssociationThe Australian Cartoonists' Association is the Australian professional cartoonists' organisation and was established on 17 July 1924 as the Society of Australian Black and White Artists....
) had a separate category for Adventure /Illustrated Strip Artist (between 1984 and 1999). This award was subsequently merged with the Comic Strip Cartoonist Award until 2010, when the category was reinstated as Comic Book Artist Award..
- The OzCon Awards were also an important recognition of Australian comic creators from their inception in 1991, until the OzCons ceased.
- The Kanga Awards were a much sought after recognition of Home-grown Australia Self-Publishing in the mid to late nineties.
- The Ledger AwardsLedger AwardsThe Ledger Awards have been organised to 'acknowledge excellence in Australian comic art and publishing.' Named after pioneering Australian cartoonist Peter Ledger , the awards were first held in 2005 to help promote and focus attention on Australian creators and their projects, both in Australia...
, created in 2004 by Gary ChalonerGary ChalonerGary Chaloner is an Australian comic book artist and writer. Born in Sydney in 1963, he began self publishing in 1985 with David de Vries, Glenn Lumsden and Tad Pietrzykowski under the Cyclone Comics imprint. He has collaborated with Ashley Wood, Ben Templesmith, Kurt Busiek, Stephen Jewell and Tim...
in honour of famed Australian artist Peter LedgerPeter LedgerPeter Ledger was an Australian commercial airbrush artist and illustrator.-Biography:...
, to recognize excellence in Australian comic art and publishing, ran until 2007.
Conventions
- The first true Australian Comic Convention was Comicon I (1979) held at RMITRMIT UniversityRMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
in MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Comicon II (1980) followed at the Sheraton Hotel in Melbourne and Comicon III (1981) was held in Sydney.
- The Australian Comic-Book Convention was held on 16–18 January 1986 at the Sydney Opera HouseSydney Opera HouseThe Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
, featuring international guests for the first time including Will EisnerWill EisnerWilliam Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
and Jim SterankoJim SterankoJames F. Steranko is an American graphic artist, comic book writer-artist-historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator....
. It was the forerunner of the many later OzCon conventions held from 1992 to 1998 in Sydney, with an additional event in Melbourne in 1997, and the comicfest! events, again in Sydney from 2000 to 2002, before the concept was expanded into... - Supanova, Australia's largest con. Held in Sydney and Brisbane each year since 2002 and 2003 respectively. It has since grown to incorporate Perth and Melbourne since 2008. It features, in addition to Comic-Books, a mix of current TV pop cultures, from science fiction & fantasy to anime & manga. It features special guest comic-book writers and artists and actors from currently in vogue series, movies and anime, as well as special effects workers.
Collections
National Library of Australia- Australian Comics Collection, 1930s-1950s (51 boxes, ~550 issues), includes items formerly in the collections of Mick Stone and Graham McGee.
- John Ryan collection of Australian comic books, ca. 1940-1960 (9.25 m. / 66 boxes + 2 fol. Items)
- McGee collection of Australian comic books, ca. 1940-1960 (312 boxes + 5 fol. Items)
- Archie Comics, 1987-1993 (25 boxes)
- Michael Hill Collection of Australian Comics, 1990-2000 (435 items)
- Geoff Pryor collection of cartoons and drawings, 1978-, ca. 5052 drawings)
- George Molnar collection, 1955-1991 (ca. 2472 drawings)
- Alan Moir collection of cartoons and drawings, 1972-2005 (831 drawings)
- Stan Cross Archive of cartoons and drawings, 1912-1974 (4937 drawings + 71 photographs)
- Judy Horacek collection of cartoons, 1996-2006 (80 drawings)
- Matilda collection, 1981-1993 (ca. 270 cartoons, ca. 500 photographs, 2 sculptures, ca. 2 posters)
- Stewart McCrae cartoon collection, ca. 1963-1980 (648 drawings)
- Cartoons by WEG, 1970-1990 (104 drawings)
- John Spooner cartoon collection, 1989-2000 (40 drawings)
- Arthur Horner Collection of political cartoons, (211 drawings)
- Percy Deane Collection, ca. 1910-1930 (68 pen and ink drawings) caricatures of Australian politicians published in The BulletinThe BulletinThe Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
, by cartoonists such as Sir David Low, Livingston HopkinsLivingston HopkinsLivingston York Yourtee "Hop" Hopkins was an American cartoonist who became a major Australian cartoonist during the time of the Federation of Australia.- Early life in the USA :...
, Tom Glover and Dennis Connelly. - Comic artists and illustrators oral history project, 1995-, (8 digital audio tapes) interviewer, Ros Bowden
- Papers of Nan Fullarton, circa 1940-circa 1969 (4.7 m, 6 boxes), author, illustrator, comic strip artist and ballet costume designer.
- Papers of Stan Cross, 1880s-1980s (0.56 m, 4 boxes)
State Library of New South Wales
- The Andrew M. Potts Australian independent comic book and fanzine collection, 1989-2003 (3 boxes, 172 items)
- Collection of Australian reprints of American and English comics, 1940-1967 (58 boxes)
- Bulletin drawings, 1886-1960 (18,070 drawings), artists include Norman LindsayNorman LindsayNorman Alfred William Lindsay was an Australian artist, sculptor, writer, editorial cartoonist, scale modeler, and boxer. He was born in Creswick, Victoria....
, Sir David Low, George Lambert, Geoffrey Townshend, and Unk WhiteUnk WhiteCecil John White , known under the penname Unk White, was an Australian cartoonist born in Auckland, New Zealand.He came to Sydney in 1922 with the artists Joe and Guy Lynch and was soon immersed in the bohemian scene there....
. - Australian Black and White Artists' Club Collection of cartoons and caricature drawings, 1920s; 1943-1991 (approximately 4,000 drawings, watercolour sketches, duotone prints, bromide negatives and bromide prints)
- Cartoons and caricatures of current events and public figures by Livingston HopkinsLivingston HopkinsLivingston York Yourtee "Hop" Hopkins was an American cartoonist who became a major Australian cartoonist during the time of the Federation of Australia.- Early life in the USA :...
and Austin O. Spare, ca. 1893-1909 (117 drawings and 1 reproduction on 21 sheets) - Caricatures and cartoons by Bill LeakBill LeakBill Leak is a cartoonist and painter, primarily of portraits. He is the daily editorial cartoonist on The Australian newspaper. He has won the Walkley Awards nine times....
, ca. 1987-1991 (100 drawings)
State Library of Victoria
- Kevin Patrick Collection of Australian Comics, 1970-2005 (~170 titles)
General references
- Burrows, Toby and Stone, Grant (eds.). "Comics in Australia and New Zealand: the collections, the collectors, the creators". New York; Norwood [S. Aust.]: Haworth Press, c1994. ISBN 1-56024-664-2
- Crook, Edgar. 'Comic capers in the National Library', in "NLA News", January 2005, Volume XV Number 4. Canberra: National Library of Australia, 2005.
- Harker, Margot 'Cultural pariahs : The National Library of Australia's collection of Australian romance comics', in ‘’The National Library Magazine’’, March 2009
- Harker, Margot ‘Preaching purity’, in ‘’The National Library Magazine’’, June 2009
- Nugent, Ann, ‘From Fatty Finn to the Phantom’, ‘’NLA News’’, June 1996, Volume VI, Number 9
- Patrick, Kevin. Heroes & villains: Australian comics and their creators. Melbourne: State Library of Victoria, 2006. ISBN 0-9775064-4-4
- Ryan, John. Panel by Panel: a History of Australian Comics. Stanmore, N.S.W.: Cassell Australia, 1979. ISBN 0-7269-7376-9
- Shiell, Annette (ed.). Bonzer: Australian Comics 1900-1990s. Redhill South, Vic.: Elgua Media, 1998. ISBN 1-876677-00-7 / 1876677066
External links
- the ART of COMICS cartoon, comic & animation workshops
- AusReprints — Australian reprint publishers history and database
- Australian Cartoonists' Association
- Comics Australia -Commentary and critique on the Australian comics scene
- Comics Down Under Blog
- Hayase! Australian Comics Wiki
- Pulp Faction and the Pulp Faction forums
- OzTAKU - Australia comics community
- Phase Two Comics - online store for self and small publishing of Australian Comics
- Tabula Rasa - Information on Australian comics and creators