In this month's episode we chillout and have a long chat with Nicola Scott, the Wonder Woman of Australian comic creators.
We talk about how she got into comics, her experience breaking into the comics industry and San Diego Comic Con, working for DC Comics and Black Magick the creator owned series written by Greg Rucka with amazing art by Nicola, published by Image Comics.
You can visit our YouTube right now, set a reminder and watch the countdown if you're as excited as we are.
Here at ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics we have had a pretty productive year despite the fact that this particular year has been 2020. We are quite proud of our achievements and it has been a bumper of a year for creativity so there have been plenty of great comics and upcoming comic news for us to discuss, so obviously we would like to share some of our valiant accomplishments and collaborations.
We have uploaded 16 Youtube videos to our channel including creator chats, collaborations and webinars with artists, librarians and more from all over Australia.
We have also recorded 22 awesome podcasts sharing our creator chats and monthly roundups of the latest in graphic novel news.
Collaborated with the wonderful Queenie Chan on the website Ozcomicsdb.com where Aussie creators can submit their works so that more libraries are able to access the works of Australian graphic novel authors and artists.
We have produced a truckload of blog posts, not the least of which is our monthly roundup sharing with libraries all of the latest news, professional development and upcoming graphic releases - a great resource to subscribe to for keeping your graphic novel collection up to date.
In addition to all this, we have also been involved in a webinar with ALA’s GNCRT (American Library Association’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table), had an article published in the SCIS Connections Magazine and also in ED! Newspaper supplement.
Believe it or not we also still managed to find the time to enjoy reading a few fabulous comics. Check out some of the comments below or listen to the latest podcast to enjoy the exuberance of some true graphic novel superfans.
Our Favourite Graphic Novels and Comics of 2020
Gabby - The Runaway Princess - Johan Troianowski (Random House Graphic) France
“I found picking my book of the year quite challenging, which I think we all did. My favourite graphic novel of the year was ‘The Runaway Princess’. It’s such a fun graphic novel, bright and colourful, really accessible. There are three short stories in it and they follow Princess Robin who doesn’t really like to stay in her castle, or do what her parents ask of her. It’s also interactive and there are a few pages where you have to help her on her quest.”
Iurgi - Paying the Land - Joe Sacco (Metropolitan Books) US
“Joe Sacco travels to North-West Canada to talk to the Dene people, the indigenous people of North-West Canada and Sacco, he listens and tells their stories and we learn a lot about the way they live, their traditions and their culture, but also how that culture and those traditions and their way of living has been affected by Canada, colonialism and mining and fossil fuels. We also learn about how the communities are organising themselves and trying to find back and preserve their culture.”
“I would love for someone to do a graphic novel like this in Australia as well, because I think there are a lot of similarities.”
Jade - Heartstopper Volume 3 - Alice Oseman (Hodder Children's Books) UK
“Alice Oseman can capture some pretty fantastic facial expressions, feelings and emotions, which I really love. The Heartstopper series follows characters Nick and Charlie, who first appeared in Oseman’s debut novel Solitaire. In the novel they were depicted as a committed couple, and this series is their journey of getting there. The series discusses some significant concepts for Young Adult audiences such as homophobia, mental health and diversity, and everything is dealt with a really considered and gentle touch.”
James - Once & Future Volume 1 - Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain (BOOM! Studios) UK
“Volume 1 is titled ‘The King is Undead’ and it sees Duncan get caught up with his grandmother who is a gun-toting, chain-smoking badass. She pulls him into a world of monster-hunting, caught up in Arthurian legends. I came across this because I am a massive fan of Kieron Gillen’s recently completed series ‘The Wicked + The Divine’. I wanted to see what he was doing with Arthurian legends, and what he’s doing is turning it on its head.”
Melody - DCeased - Tom Taylor (DC COMICS) Australia
“DCeased by Tom Taylor was my favourite of the year primarily because it was so different from the things I usually read. It was basically a massive zombie apocalypse story except for the fact that it really affects everyone - DC heroes included - and nobody was safe! Quite timely really. It was super sad to watch your favourite supers go down, but it continued to do what DC has always done for me, left me with a sense of hope, despite the hopelessness.”
Sarah - Landing With Wings - Trace Balla (Allen & Unwin) Australia
“Landing With Wings’ is the graphic novel I have been talking about all year. It’s the third Trace Balla has put out, and it came out in April this year which was at a really significant time for us. This story is about a little girl, Mary-Blossom, and her mother, who have moved to a country town in the goldfields of Victoria. It was a book that gave me and my little girl some comfort because it is very Australian in the best way possible.”
“As soon as you open up the book, Trace Balla is so respectful of Indigenous culture. The end pages have little illustrations of flora and fauna, but they all have indigenous names accompanying this and I think that’s really important.”
Tara - Gideon Falls Volumes 4 and 5 - Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, Dave Stewart (Image Comics) US
“Gideon Falls is an American horror story involving the appearance and disappearance of a Black Barn, which was somewhat inspired by the Black Lodge in Twin Peaks. And the frightening inhabitant called the Laughing Man, who has a horrific smile from ear to ear. We have Norton Sinclair, one of two protagonists, who has an obsession with a conspiracy involving the city’s trash. And then we have a washed-up Catholic priest, who is assigned to a rural parish that is experiencing a number of mysterious murders. The story moves between rural and urban landscapes, and goes into alternate realities. And the artwork and colouring gave so much depth to the story, there are lots of little details in the imagery; in the corners, on the backs of the walls. The imagery of the Laughing Man is something of childhood nightmares; something deep in the psyche.”
Final creator chat of 2020!
We end the year with a very special creator chat with Holly Jayne. Bunnygirl is her first graphic novel which she initially published as a zine and was then picked up by a publisher.
Holly talks about toys, books for kids, craft, and so much more!
This is a great chat and an inspiring story to end the year.
If you like what we're doing, please hit the subscribe button to stay up to date with our chats. You can also follow us on Twitter: @ALIAGraphic and check our blog, aliagraphic.blogspot.com, for updates, monthly roundups of news and new release titles.
In this creator chat we talk to Cameron Davis. He has been publishing comics for more than ten years and Cameron works with a cartoonish all ages style with a very broad appeal.
We discuss how he got into comics, why he decided to transition from game developed to comics and what that transition was like. We also discuss some of his influences and the origin of his most popular comic book series: Rose.
Finally, we discuss his newest release "Rose and Dahlia" and, since so much of Rose revolves around food, we also discuss some yummy curries.
Thanks for listening to ALIA Graphic Podcast. Hit the subscribe button on our YouTube page and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts. You can also follow us on Twitter: @ALIAGraphic, email us at aliagraphicinfo@gmail.com and check our blog, aliagraphic.blogspot.com, for updates, monthly roundups of news and new release titles.
For our latest and last ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics Creator Chat during the isolation and lock down period we talk with Darren Close, the soft spoken creator of the powerful Killeroo. Darren has been publishing comics for more than 20 years and Killeroo is his biggest creation a comic book series that he's overseen as main writer and that he's developed together with a wide range of talented artists.
Killeroo is a gritty and violent action comics. You can feel the dirt and dust but you can also feel the heart.Apart from Killeroo, we also discuss Australia Burns, an anthology of comics that brought lots of Australian creators together to tell stories about the bushfires that ravaged Australia at the end of 2019 and the start of 2020. The proceeds of Australia Burns all go to charity. The book can be purchased at: https://www.australiaburns.online/ and through ALS Library Services: https://www.alslib.com.au/
Finally, we also discuss #Aussies4Comics, where Australian artists have put their art for auction and all proceeds go to Australian local comic stores. For the latest auctions check #Aussies4Comics on Twitter.
ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics presents a Creator Chat with Ariel Slamet Ries, the creator of celebrated YA webcomic Witchy.
The first volume of Witchy was published by Lion Forge in 2019 and tells the story of Nyneve in the Kingdom of Hyalin where power of you magic is linked to the length of your hair. The Witch Guard forces those strong with magic to join them but those who are too strong, those whose hair is too long and powerful are considered enemies of the kingdom.
This week's Creator Chat is with Ben Hutchings, the founder of Squishface Studio in Melbourne, where a whole gang of creators share the work space as a collective and organise lots of different events and workshops for the public.
Ben is also a comic book creator who's been around for a couple of decades now. He contributed with his art to The Invisible War, a graphic novel about WWI and dysentery that has been used at Secondary Schools and last year he published Mini Mel and Timid Tom, an excellent junior graphic novel adventure.
ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics presents the fifth of our Creator Chat series where we have conversations with different creators about all things comics and libraries.
This week we have Iurgi Urrutia in conversation with Gavin Aung Than, the creator of Zen Pencils, where he adapted inspiring quotes from famous people to short comics.
In the last year he's published three graphic novels of a new series: Super Sidekicks. This is a brilliant series where the young side kicks have had enough and decide to form a super group of their own. You can find out more about Gaving Aung Than and his books on: https://aungthan.com/
ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics presents the third of our Creator Chat series where we have conversations with different creators about all things comics and libraries.
This week we have Gabrielle Cundy in conversation with Mike Barry, the creator of Action Tank, a fast-moving adventure for readers of all ages.
This is a junior graphic novel series with two books published, where a boy suddenly finds himself on the other side of the Solar System and must rely on his brains, his courage and the advice of a mysterious talking unicorn if he wants to get home in time for his Mum's spaghetti carbonara.
We're very proud to present our third creator chat. This week we're in conversation with Stephen Kok.
Stephen has published a few comics already. His first book was Tabby, a Romeo and Juliet story with cats. His latest is Terralympus Volume 2, which is currently being funded on Kickstarter. In this conversation, we talk about getting comics to libraries, how to get some money from libraries adding your book to the catalogue, Kickstarter, etc.
Watch, enjoy and comment. Let us know how we're doing.
Our next conversation will be Leonee Ariel Derr, where we talk youth services, how to engage young adults at the library and, of course, comics and graphic novels.
We're very proud to present our second video in our Creator Chat series.
Ryan K. Lindsay is a teacher by day and a comic book writer by night. We recently had a great conversation with him during the school holidays. He took a break to talk to us about remote learning, parents and kids knowing about his comics, what it's like to review comics, his own comics and Kickstarter adventures, among many other things.
Ryan also shares with us three books he's recently read and really enjoyed. Watch, enjoy, let us know what you think and support Ryan's work if you can.
