Inkspot42

President's Parlay Joanne Brooker

SINCE 1924

Inkspot

Number 42 : Spring 2004 www.abwac.org.au ( (02) 9601 7688

ACA Board President James Kemsley (02) 4871 2551 president@abwac.org.au Secretary Steve Panozzo (02) 8920 9996 secretary@abwac.org.au Treasurer Mick Horne (08) 9527 3000 treasurer@abwac.org.au Vice Presidents Roger Fletcher (NSW) (02) 9604 9216 nsw@abwac.org.au Vane Lindsay (Vic/Tas) (03) 9523 8635 vic@abwac.org.au Gary Clark (Qld) (07) 3353 0422 qld@abwac.org.au John Martin (SA/NT) (08) 8297 8516 sa@abwac.org.au Greg Smith (WA) (08) 9409 5026 wa@abwac.org.au ABN 19 140 290 841 Inkspot is produced four times a year by the Australian Cartoonists’ Association.

PO Box 318 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 ACA AFFILIATED ORGANISATIONS

National Cartoonists Society President Steve McGarry Secretary Rick Kirkman www.reuben.org

Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain President Graham Fowell Secretary Richard Tomes www.ccgb.org.uk

FECO

President General Roger Penwill Secretary General Peter Nieuwendijk www.fecoweb.org Printed by Worldwide Online Printing, Wangara, WA (9309 3738 Australia Post Registration PP 533798/0015 Inkspot Editor: Gary Clark etc.

Inskpot Profraeder: Steve Panozzo Inkspot contributors:

Clive Collins, Eugina Spiropoulos, Greg Smith, Ian Thomas, James Kemsley, Jason Chatfield, Kerry Sunderland, Leigh Summers, Lindsay Foyle, Neil Matterson, Peter Broelman, Roger Fletcher, Rolf Heimann, Ross Sharp, Sean Leahy and Steve McGarry.

Cover illustration by Sean Leahy

Rarely has there been as much to get through in this column as there is for this issue!

Stanleys 2004 is only a month away!

A referendum to plug! A heap of hardworking people to thank and a big-time congratulations! So with the risk of sounding like an advertorial, let me begin.

Not only is he a long-time stalwart of the ACA, but whenever Australian cartooning is discussed Vane Lindesay is regarded as, at the very least, an Aussie icon - if not a living legend. I’ve been doing Meggs for just over twenty years now and still vividly recall the day I got the gig and the phone call that followed to Ripponlea.

It was to ask advice from the man my kids call “Uncle Vanes” as to how I should tackle the task. Vane was, as he is now, generous with his time, experience and talent. Especially to someone, as he would probably say, he “didn’t know from a bar of soap” in those days. It’s an honour to have remained such close friends.

Another highly respected ACA historian, Lindsay Foyle, has penned a few words elsewhere in Inkspot, which only leaves me the pleasure to congratulate him on accepting the honoured position of ACA Patron.

Vane becomes only the second in ACA history and follows in the inky footsteps of another Aussie cartooning icon, the late Jim Russell.

Yes, hearty congrats Uncle Vanes!

At last year’s AGM a resolution was passed that our Constitution be revised and brought into line with the way the Association is now being administered. It has taken since October to do the rewrite with input from a number of people. The Board believes it has delivered a document that the membership will support. The changes are primarily cosmetic, that is replacing words such as “black and white artists” with “cartoonists”, “committee” with “Board” etc. and including a few paragraphs that have already been agreed to at Special or General Meetings but were still be be added to a reprint of the document.

Additions include creating the position of Deputy President, who if 22 2

necessary can assume the Presidency during the term of the Board, and locking the Stanleys into the first weekend in November. You should have received a copy of the amended Constitution with this Inkspot with a voting form. Please take time to read it and either mail your vote to the ACA Secretary or bring it to the AGM. If you did not receive the form please contact your State Chapter VP. I urge everyone to support the Board and carry the adoption of the amendments.

By now everyone will have been sent a Stanleys 2004 brochure. The Board has opted to continue with a full-weekend package along the lines of the successful Ettalong model last year. The decision follows universal kudos for the format from the record number of members who attended Stanley 2003. For now, the floorplan for the 7:00 for 7:30 gong function has been set & stored in the cupboard.

The Southern Highlands will be more expensive than the Central Coast, however much more has been packed into the three days. Although the venue is more up-market we have retained the casual and relaxed atmosphere that was so well received in 2003. At $195, the three-day package is still the cheapest industry-oriented occasion on the calendar. Similar conferences and award nights have ticket prices twice, and in some case three times, that of the Stanleys. Bookings are very healthy and indications are we will have a full house. Get your booking forms in NOW to make sure of a spot.

Another milestone with Inkspot #42. After a bit of a hiatus with the magazine, we have now had six issues since June 2003. Important itself but especially so in that each has been produced and edited by a different State Chapter. This historic first-ever Queensland edition completes the Australiawide circle. Bouquets to Gary Clark and his team which included Craig Mann and Sean Leahy. Agreeing to produce the magazine was a case of knowing they were going to bite off more than they could chew, but all were prepared to chew what was necessary. Many thanks to everyone involved in the Sunshine State.

See you in Bowral... bring yer whites!

Sunday Chill Out

By Peter Broelman

Ironically the page space they were given was at the expense successful and proven Australian creations, all of which have found markets overseas. In the case of Queenslander Gary Clark’s Swamp, its own Scandinavian comic book.

Gardner acknowledged that comics were an important feature of the paper and would have preferred to have four pages of comics, however production costs and priorities limited “Chill” to its new format. “There are only so many ways you can cut up the pie”, he explained.

On 13th June this year the Sunday Mail in Adelaide revamped its Sunday comic section with a drastic overhaul that resulted in many long-standing comics being replaced with new strips targeted primarily at younger readers in a supplement under the banner-head of “Chill”.

Sunday Mail editor, Phil Gardner, previously with Melbourne’s Sunday Herald Sun, initiated the change to appeal to a younger demographic as part of a larger overhaul amid rumours of a new Sunday newspaper being launched in the tight Adelaide market.

Swamp creator Clark, while disappointed at being dropped from the funny pages, was interested in the format of the focus group. “It’s always important to know and understand what editors think especially when it comes to comic strips”, he said. “This is why it’s important that the ACA is a member of the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishing Association (PANPA) to maintain a professional link between cartoonists and editors in a positive manner”.

Regular American strips such as Hägar the Horrible, For Better or For Worse, Herman, The Phantom, Peanuts, and The Wizard of Id were dumped. Australian strips Snake Tales, Ginger Meggs and Swamp shared a similar fate. They were replaced with mostly American strips predominantly based on television programs or movies. These included The Simpsons, Scooby Doo, Rug Rats, The Amazing Spider-man and Spy Kids.

Two Australian cartoonists were new additions to the line-up, John Cook with his popular web comic Sev Trek and Dave Allen’s Brain Teasers, a junior puzzle page.

Dave Allen, creator of Brain Teasers, a puzzle feature for kids, was happy to be picked up by his local paper. “Editors have realised that older readers are dropping off and they have to attract younger readers to get into the habit of The response from South Australian readers, reading newspapers”, Allen added. “However unprepared for the change, was both immediate I’m saddened by the fact that they dropped and intense. The Sunday Mail switchboard was Australian strips in favour of American strips”. flooded with complaints from dawn to dusk; The trend of limited demographic spreads the deletion of Ginger Meggs, Hägar and The in newspapers is of concern to the ACA. Phantom the main bone of contention and cause Association president James Kemsley for concern. The phone calls, emails and letters explained, “Not all readers read ALL comic went into a second week when “Chill” was strips, however most have their favourite published the following Sunday, still with strip or two. It’s essential that newspapers the new line-up. appeal to as many demographics as possible.

James Kemsley The derision moved to the airways with It’s in their interest to do so. The broader the talkback radio fielding phone calls from concerned spread, the more readers are drawn to the pages listeners. Meggs’ cartoonist James Kemsley and Adelaide and obviously the paper. The bigger bang editors get Comics And Books’ manager, Daniel Best, a vocal advocate for their buck.” Kemsley continued, “Many papers in the US for the retention of the Aussie content, spoke at length on use comics in this way. It’s not unusual for a daily to carry air prompting the editor of Adelaide’s daily paper, The 30 or 40 strips. The Houston Chronicle at one stage fielded Advertiser, Melvin Mansell to declare on 5AN that his paper seventy-five! Sunday comics supplements are 10 to 12 pages had no intention of altering its 15 daily comic strip lineup. or more of just strips”.

Prime concern with many callers was that the Sunday Mail change was yet another instance of Australian culture and language disappearing from the landscape and being replaced by an American lifestyle, for the most part, foreign to the Australian way of life.

While the Sunday Mail was prepared for wholesale changes in favour of pro-television comic spin-offs, its readers didn’t share the same enthusiasm. Gardner took partial note of the backlash. Two weeks after the unprecedented changes Ginger Meggs and The Phantom were reinstated to “Chill”; Spy Kids and The Amazing Spider-man were dropped.

Sunday Mail editor Phil Gardner was adamant that the new strips selected were “not based purely on children’s viewing habits but rather a focus group of 40”. Unexplained however was the fact none of the new overseas features chosen have been successful as comic strips in their own right, with possibly one exception, of Sherman’s Lagoon, enjoying limited success.

Peter Broelman is Membership Secretary of the ACA and the editorial cartoonist for Australian Provincial Newspapers. www.broelman.com.au

3

80

th

Anniversary

National Celebrations

Reports from Rolf Heimann (Vic), Roger Fletcher (NSW), Gary Clark (Qld), John Martin (SA) and Greg Smith (WA)

VIC

Melbourne cartoonists celebrated the anniversary at Dimattina’s Restaurant in Carlton. Jim Bridges had burned the midnight oil again assembling a comprehensive display of cartoons selected from his vast and unique collection. Members of the public had been invited and expressed their delight at being given an insight into the long history of our association. Three fifteen minute videos were shown on the restaurant’s brand-new plasma screen, about the working methods and ideologies of three very diverse artists: Peter Foster, John Rogers and Vane Lindesay.

More films have already been started by Rolf Heimann and it is planned to copy them on a DVD and make them available to one and all.

Following the film about Vane Lindesay, this long-time vice president of the Victorian chapter was presented with a smock and proceeded to cut the birthday cake. With speeches and all, there was hardly time for the planned launch of two new children’s books by two members: “The Mighty Bunyips”

SA

Previous Smock-recipients: (L-R) Gerald Carr, Rolf Heimann, WEG, John Rogers with Anniversary Smockee Vane Lindesay

by Paul Harvey, a magnificent, colourful hardback published by MacMillan, and Rolf Heimann’s illustrated paperback “Life’s like a Crocodile”, a collection of humorous stories published by Little Hare.

Arrangements with the restaurant made it necessary to charge eight dollars per person, for which they provided ‘fingerfood’.

Previous winners of the ‘smock’ brought in their prize for a photo opportunity (see picture), with Robert Mason and Bruce Cavalier absent, the latter sadly no longer able to join our festivities. A fifteen minute video about the late ‘Cav’ is almost finished and should be ready for display at the upcoming Stanleys.

ng.

ndle lighti

g the ca overseein Atchison

cake. pieces of birthday Don Hatcher after 2

Michael Atchi son letting John Martin know he's ha d enoughto dr ink.

QLD

Peter B

roelman

getting

What have you been smocking? Queensland smock recipient, Scott Bowden (right). Scott is a Queensland College of Art animation graduate who has been a regular enthusiastic member of the Queensland chapter since high school. a damn

good sm ocking.

4 22

Scott Bowde

n: All smocke

d up.

NSW

On the 17th July, ACA members ’s Angelo a D t a w from the Sydney area gathered at W Cre The NS a popular Pizzeria, Da Angelo’s in Haberfield to celebrate the ACA’s 80th birthday. About thirty-five people showed up and the pasta and pizza kept coming until we had to tell the owner to stop. Among those marking the occasion were Lindsay Foyle, Jack Ardill, Steve Panozzo, Stuart Hipwell, Christophe Granet, Jenny Hughes Jon Kudelka, Lee Sheppard and Tanya Creer.

I had a spot at the top (or bottom, depending on how you look at it) of the table.

We brought some friends with us who have vowed to attend every cartoonists’ gathering they can from now on. They couldn’t get over the enthusiasm, laughter and sheer volume of the party. Mind you, we had Warren Brown at our end, and he can be a party all by himself!

Everyone signed the smock.

The freshly decorated smoc The owner of the restaurant saw what k. we were doing and cajoled most of the scribblers into decorating one of his large, bright white tablecloths director, treasurer and mother hen for most in similar fashion. I’m assured that of the past twenty years. She was thrilled it will be hung in the restaurant by to pieces to receive the honour, as anyone Christmas. who has seen the photos can attest. It was The smock was presented her birthday the next day, and no other gift to Marie Fletcher, by ACA could match that. president James Kemsley. for It was a great night; a good party and her contributions to the ACA an enthusiastic precursor to what I’m sure “The season’s latest fashio n” over many years. Marie has will be the best Stanleys ever at Bowral.See modelled by Marie Fletcher been a committee member, social you there!

Back row , left to right, Ingrid Ipp, Graham Lepag e, Greg Smith, Dave Gray, Gerry Hein, Glennys Marsdon. Middle row, Bob Hay, Jason Chatfield, James Foley, Steve Price, Lynette Kay-Wood, Julie Hein. Front row, Miche lle Baginski, Mick Horne, Mike Collins.

WA

orne up! Mick H . im h k c o k Sm new smoc is h g in n don

A good night was had by all at the W.A celebrations of the ACA’s 80th birthday. A group of us gathered at the Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle to sample many a fine brew and to cut the cake.

ACA legend and workaholic Mick Horne was the very worthy recipient of the ACA smock, made even more memorable with Michelle Baginski and James Foley’s performance of the “Ode to Mick”.

5

In

Los Angeles with

The Simpsons

by Sean Leahy

T

he Fox Studio lot in West Pico Boulevard, Hollywood is the home of the creative centre of the hit TV series The Simpsons. It’s an unassuming bungalow situated under a large tree in the middle of a Fox parking lot. Inside is a series of rooms like any suburban LA house.

There is no external evidence that this is the nerve centre of the most profitable television show in history.

The only tiny indication is the fully stocked kitchen with a fridge of soft drinks and snacks to suit any taste.

It’s a well needed haven for the writers after hours of mental gymnastics scripting the multiple Emmy Award winning series. Other rooms sport broken venetian blinds on the windows, second hand sofas and frayed carpets in what the writers themselves liken to “a college dorm or frat house”. In light of this, to find that the Executive Producer, Al Jean was a former Editor of National Lampoon magazine is no surprise. At one end of the bungalow is the writers’ room, furnished with a large boardroom table in the centre and its here that the draft episodes are written, rewritten and rewritten again until Matt Groening and Al Jean are happy with the final product.

Matt does not often sit in with the writers all the way through the process. He will occasionally join in at the beginning and later when various drafts are complete to steer changes after the main reading. He can also drop in at any moment in his role as creator and consultant. Al Jean is known as the “show runner” and is the lynch-pin who keeps every hilarious, wacky diversion steered back on track during the allday writing sessions. The writers I interviewed on film included John Frink, Carolyn Omine, Stewart Burns, Don Payne, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Bill Odenkirk, Marc Wilmore, Dana Gould, Michael Price and Tim Long.

These were the writers working on

“The Simpsons” writers’ bungalow the script of that day. They dressed casually and ranged in background from Harvard graduates in physics and mathematics to stand up comedians.

Many had written for other shows such as David Letterman, The Daily Show etc and all were happy to be a part of an international social phenomenon.

A

fter about a week the third official draft is complete and the full writing staff and the voice actors gather in another room for the one and only pre-recorded script read.

Matt Groening sits in on this session at the centre of another boardroom table. Around the table along the walls are more seats for other writers, producers, show administration staff and their guests. A seat at one of these script reads is a highly coveted thing in LA and everybody is careful not to intrude on the performance.

The actors go through the entire script in a one hour script read, each in full character voice. The episode I sat in was entitled the “The Seven-Beer 22 6

Snitch”. Under strict confidentiality requirements of Fox Studios I can’t reveal the contents of that script nor even the writers responsible until it is screened. However I can say that it was fascinating. For an admirer of the show as I am, it was the opportunity of a lifetime to sit in on such a session.

The script truly comes alive with the voices and seeing the people behind the characters switch voices so deftly, spontaneously and with such enthusiasm is mind boggling. The actors are not simply responsible for one character alone. Some such as Hank Azaria, are responsible for as many as 70 voices over a series of episodes.

Some of the characters played by the actors include: Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Mayor Quimby, Barney Gumble, Groundskeeper Willie, Sideshow Mel, Crusty The Clown, Grampa Abraham Simpson), Julie Kavner (Marge, Patty & Selma Bouvier), Nancy Cartwright (Bart, Todd Flanders, Ralph Wiggum), Yeardley

Sean with the sponsor of his study tour, Sir Winston Churchill Smith (Lisa, Lisa Jnr.), Hank Azaria (Moe, Carl, Apu), Harry Shearer (Ned Flanders, Lenny, Mr. Burns, Smithers, Principal Skinner, Otto the Bus Driver), Charles Napier (Officer Krackney), Pamela Hayden (Milhouse, Jimbo Jones).

I then went across to the sound studio to witness a “voice record” with US Olympic Ice Skater Michelle Kwan and Pamela Hayden who plays Milhouse.

Jean Shulz, Charles’ widow, gave me a personal guided tour of the great man’s legacy. I also visited experimental animator Tim Miller in San Francisco as well as The Cartoon Gallery where the original artwork of Dr Seuss was on display along with political cartoons from the WASP magazine of the last Century.

Then it was on to meet Oscar winning animator Bill Plympton in New York….

Sean Leahy is the editorial cartoonist with The Courier-Mail in Brisbane and Stanley recipient for Best Comic Strip Cartoonist. Leahy will be a guest speaker at the Stanleys 2004 Conference on Saturday November 6th. A highlight of his session will be short exerpts from documentary footage filmed before and during his Churchill Fellowship research project on animation.

Numerous takes and different variations are requested. After a series of different intonations the sound mixer finally captures the nonprofessional’s voice to the director’s satisfaction. Then Pamela steps up to the microphone as Milhouse’s voice.

The hairs stand up on the back of your neck with the power of the delivery and the emotion of that vocal performance.

Pamela Hayden’s piece is wrapped in two takes.

T

he next day I interviewed Simpsons’ Animation Director David Silverman at the independent animation studios of Film Roman on the other side of the Hollywood Hills. This alone would take up another article as would my visit to the Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa.

The Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa 7

Clive Collins

A missive from Clive Collins Postcards from the CCGB

I

started my Fleet Street career in 1969 sharing an office at The Sun with Paul Rigby - winner of numerous Walkley Awards, among others, and the teller of a very long, complicated story involving a naked cartoonist (who’ll be nameless) and a huge salver of salad. I could be wrong - my memory nowadays has a habit of going big walkabout when I least expect it - but there’s a small nugget of truth there somewhere. He lasted a lot longer on The Sun with Murdoch than I did and, in what we call the ‘Red Tops’ he changed the face of editorial cartooning in GB in the 70s.

- Garland, Riddell, Matt, Schrank, Brown, Trog, Rowson, Bell, Brookes et al. These cartoonists are among the best in our business and well up there in the tradition of Giles, Cummings, Vicky, Emmwood, Strube, and the rest of the giants of yesteryear.

To replace some of the great magazines, like Punch, whose presses have rusted, and the ink long congealed, we now have a plethora of new ones, some of them even appealing to a post-pubescent readership, but the cartoonists’ skills are still much in demand, though as the following short tale will indicate they, literally, know not what they do:

Along with numerous other innovative Australians, he formed, if not exactly the backbone, then a ridge of hard tissue of the profession.

I received a call via my website from the Art Director of a new magazine that was being planned, who seriously wanted to use my work.

Anyhow, I’ve been asked by the CCGB to contribute an occasional scream from the dark that is cartooning in the UK today. You have already heard from our Chairman, Graham Fowell, and our Projects Office Terry Christien, and now one more tattered survivor from the front is reporting in.

He was extremely flattering unto the point that I almost blush when I recall it, and said ‘no problem’ when I mentioned the fee (I guess that’s when I should have smelled a rat - the lack of quibbling). We agreed on the subject matter, and the deadline and I worked up five finishes – ‘no need for roughs’ he’d said. “I know your work” (no, don’t laugh - I was rolling on my back on the floor with my legs in the air by now) and I mailed them to him - he’d told me he wanted ‘original hold-it-in-your-hand artwork’ and not e-mailed stuff.

The move from what had been the traditional home of all our newspapers and magazines, the aforementioned Fleet Street: The Street of Shame (the name still resonates like a long, slow belch after a night on the juice) to the ‘biggest piece of derelict real estate since the Great Fire’ in the Docklands area, east London, brought forth unexpected changes in the way the industry saw itself, and it was around this time that all the Red Tops suddenly became, not so much mediums for disseminating information, as simply branches of showbiz: global headlines there were, but a vast number of front page shriekers were more concerned with the fate of ‘Big Brother’ and ‘I’m A Celebrity, For Christ’s Sake Get Me Some Publicity!’

I waited some weeks for a reply and then, as if I’d removed my hand from the proverbial bucket of water, the hole filled in and my life went on.

Eight weeks later, I found his number when I was going through my waste-bin in order to re-file some important documents, and decided to phone him for some sort of progress report.

There was a long, embarrassed silence, then his voice came back on the line, slightly pained.” My editor says post-modern magazines don’t have cartoons.” he said.

Ironically the broadsheets, who’d always maintained a slightly sniffy approach to cartoons and cartoonists - as befits a branch of the industry that did not perceive their punters’ lips to be moving as they read - are now the major promoters of their craftsmen

It seems that the Editor, a young man, who’s mother was probably still crushing his rusks in warm milk, had somehow progressed through the hierarchy of publishing, whilst still a virgin, with it instilled in him that cartooning represented the works of some anti-Christ.

There was no answer I could give him. All I could hear was the sound of my heart sinking, and the pounding in my ears. A few very deep breaths later, and the artwork was promised on its way back to me and the handset - my end - was slammed down.

Although I knew I’d never be paid - everything had been verbal and verbals are as solid as steam, and I knew I’d sell the cartoons elsewhere, and I did - I had to rationalize it that not using cartoons - not using anybody’s cartoons, was his loss.

The magazine was never published anyway. It’s great to hear success stories but, just occasionally, I think it’s great to hear of some failures.

Fraternal greetings and I’ll raise the next glass to you.

Clive Collins.

Clive Collins is an international award-winning cartoonist. He has been a contributor to Playboy (US) since 1972, currently working for CMP Information Group; The Diplomat Information Group; Reader’s Digest (UK); drew for Punch (1964-92 when it was still funny), then 1996 until closure; ex-Chairman, and now Life vice-President of The Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain; Member of the NCS; Cartoonists’ & Writers’ Syndicate; FECOUK; He is on the advisory board for International Journal of Comic Art and Secretary of the British Cartoonists’ Association

Clive Collins

22 8

Steve McGarry

IT'S LIFE, JIM...BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT! NCS capers at Comic-Con International

A

s many of you may know, each summer the beautiful California city of San Diego plays host to the largest comics convention in the ...er... galaxy.

Robinson,the artist who introduced The Joker into Batman comics.

So three years ago, it occurred to me that the NCS should be an official part of this. I contacted the organizers and they were delighted to offer the NCS free booth space (we are both nonprofit organizations who share similar mission statements about promoting the artform and the profession). I roped in my friend and fellow NCS director Greg Evans and we set about establishing our presence. We organised the NCS booth up so that members could set up shop and meet-and-greet the public, signing autographs and selling their wares. We organized special appearances and seminars. We even raised a little money for the Milt Gross Fund, the charitable arm of the NCS. The likes of Jerry Scott and Jeff Keane have driven in to lend their time and support and the likes of Patrick McDonnell and Dan Piraro have flown in three thousand miles from the east coast.

For four of your Earth days, the city is home to legions of artists, writers, publishers, gamers, vendors, fans, geeks and freaks. Comic book publishers reveal their latest superhero incarnations, major studios fly in movie stars to promote the upcoming blockbusters, gaming giants unveil their latest simulations and card companies stage forums that allow the cognoscenti to, one would assume, dungeon their dragons and gather their magic in games that look suspiciously like “old maid for goths” to these jaundiced eyes. You can buy anything from a mint editions of rare comics to second-hand illustration books, from old tinplate toys to limited edition action figures, from an autographed photo of Lou Ferrigno to a signed Sparky Schulz original. This year, you could walk the floors of the main hall and rub shoulders with movie stars Keanu Reeves, Jude Law and Sarah Michelle Gellar, a plethora of portfolio-toting artists-in-waiting, armies of grown men in Klingon uniforms, hundreds of beautiful girls in skimpy outfits, little kids in superhero suits and legions of portly youths doing their best impressions of that comic store guy from “The Simpsons.” And my particular favourite, the weathered old slapper in the Vampirella costume.

This year, Sparky Schulz’s widow Jeannie, Bill Amend, Patrick McDonnell, Paige Braddock, Michael Jantze, Greg Evans and Kevin Fagan kindly participated in the NCS panel,”Why We Love Peanuts,” which was moderated by former newsman, Jack White, and attracted a crowd that spilled out of the hall into the corridor. Patrick McDonnell signed “Mutts” posters for what seemed like an endless line of devotees at the NCS booth and the likes of David Silverman, executive producer of “The Simpsons,” and veteran “Lone Ranger” artist Tom Gill were on hand, as was “Bone” creator Jeff Smith.

The weekend culminated in a NCS Sunday party at a local restaurant, where the time-honoured NCS traditions of scoffing and quaffing were enthusiastically observed.

Next year’s NCS presence will be even greater, with plans for a permanent exhibition stand and a major shindig for the Saturday evening. If you have a chance to travel to Southern California next summer, try and time your visit to coincide with Comic-Con - it’s an experience I promise you’ll never forget!

The San Diego Comic-Con is mayhem and magic and tremendous good fun and the McGarrys have been attending for a dozen years.

When my sons, Joe and Luke, were little, it was a chance for them to see which Ninja Turtle figures would be in the stores that Christmas and check out the latest Star Wars toys. Later, it gave them an opportunity to collect scores of superhero posters for their bedroom walls and gather up button badges by the dozen.

May the fraternal force be with you,

Dark Sith Lord Steve McGarry, NCS President and ACA member

This year, they tagged along with their old man so they could hang out with teenage friends who are selling self-published comic books or toting portfolios round publishers. One kid even creates intricate figurines and is looking to break into modelmaking for movies. I go to mooch through the rare books at the Bud Plant booth, see old friends such as Comic-Con perennials Scott Shaw! and Sergio Aragones, Stan Sakai and Bill Morrison, and hang out with sundry peers and NCS ne-er-do-wells. Those of you who might have assumed that the spotlight is purely focused on all things superhero-comicbooky would be wrong.

Inductees into Comic-Con’s Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Hall of Fame include NCS members and “Mad Magazine” luminaries Jack Davis and Sergio Aragones, “Brenda Starr” creator Dale Messick, and legendary strip creators Walt Kelly and Milton Caniff. This year’s nominees included former NCS president Jerry

Scoffing and quaffing enthusiastically (L-R) Terry Willis, Steve, Luke and Tom “The Lone Ranger” Gill.

9

Advertorial

A

By Eugina Siropoulos

education on a platter

In this world of infinite choice choosing the right path can be mystical for most of us. For those that end up choosing correctly, it can mean a prediction come true.

Tony Lopes, who foresaw a successful future by undertaking the ACJ Freelance Cartooning & Illustrating Course in the 90s is now studying his third Course with the College and defines his experience: “I found it a practical, inspiring and entertaining journey through the process of creating cartoons. I got to develop my own skills through a series of hands on tutorials with assistance from my experienced tutor. It’s a course I would recommend.”

Tony Lopes

ACJ is just one of the choices available in the marketplace but it is one that offers a 5-star education that for many will mean a successful future and a career they could once only dream of. It’s a path where men and women, young and old, sign up to be coached in the art of cartooning and illustrating, and since they are tutored by some of the country’s most outstanding cartoonists and illustrators (including former ACA presidents John Thorby and Max Foley along with ACAer Brendan Ackhurst), it only stands to reason that quite a few making that choice will emerge from their 5-star education with personal 5-star status to boot.

Dishing up his piece-de-resistance Mustacchio character for one of his College assignment submissions, Adam Stratiotis proves himself worthy of 5-star status. His cartoons and illustrations burst with life and exude originality, creative flair and an undeniable passion for his craft.

Adam excelled himself in his graduating class of 2003. Working as a graphic designer he now feels the door has been opened for him to pursue illustration professionally.

“This course taught me the different aspects of illustration and gave me the edge and knowledge to bring my dreams to reality, which are now limitless,” states Adam. “The Australian College of Journalism offers the highest quality of relevant information, care and an abundance of knowledge for hungry minds and has given me the opportunity to further my skills and wisdom in my future artistry.”

The Australian College of Journalism’s Freelance Cartooning & Illustrating Course, conducted via correspondence, has tutored novices who have barely touched a pencil to budding artists, grasping for direction and guidance. Many of the College’s students have evolved their skills ten-fold since commencing the Course, so that by the time they graduate they are already selling their work to newspapers, magazines, merchandising agents and publishing houses.

Some of the most successful graduates of the College have included Tony Lopes, multi-Stanley Award winner, who now has his own successful studio; Adam Stratiotis, now an aspiring professional illustrator; Kim Dunstan, whose numerous clients include Strathfield Scene Newspaper, Strathfield Aquarium and Arcade Hairdo; Belinda Eldridge, who is now working as a professional cartoonist and illustrator (with a range of work appearing in magazines such as Horsewyse); and many others.

Adam Stratiotis

Developed by Brendan Ackhurst and polished by a team of creators and editors, the ACJ Freelance Cartooning & Illustrating Course has stood the test of time as a leading cartooning and illustrating correspondence course—if not the leading one, as lauded by many cartoonists and illustrators. With its recent revitalisation, that has seen the inclusion of introductory animation, digital drawing, Manga Art, characterisation and merchandising, and a plethora of new articles and interactive instruction by successful illustrators, the Course has unfolded itself as a ‘must-do’ experience for anyone out there with a penchant for drawing.

“The Course can make cartoonists and illustrators out of scribblers,” says ACJ Principal, Julia Buxton. “We combine industry-focused studies with practical interactive instruction, and progressive tutor guidance and support. It’s a strong learning combination … and an excellent foundation for future.”

Eugina Siropoulos is the ACJ Direct Marketing Coordinator.

The ACJ is a longtime sponsor and supporter of the ACA 10 22

John (Jack) Gibson John (Jack) Gibson A Tribute to

Born Burwood, NSW Australia, 1904 - Died Sydney, NSW Australia, 1980

ibson, or Gibby as has he was known to his friends, was one of the bohemian artists who lived around Kings Cross in Sydney from the 1920s.

In the 1950s he kept his dirty yellow Goggomobile parked in Tusculum Street outside the building he lived in and kept a pet eagle in a cage in his bathroom. Like most of the cartoonist of that era he was a member of the Journalists’ Club and his mother played piano there.

Gibson grew up in Burwood and completed primary school there. He started work as a sign writer and then moved on to illustrating and finally found some work as a self-taught draughtsman. But what he really wanted to be was a writer and he had a number of humorous articles, which he illustrated, published in newspapers between 1927 and 1933. One of the papers was a local rag called The Great Northern.

He also flirted with being an actor and during 1929-1930 appeared with the Neutral Bay Players’ Club at Mosman Town Hall in The Mummy with Mumps. He also spent some time as a model builder and designer for one of Sydney’s amusement parks in the 1930s.

Gibson started contributing cartoons to the Sydney publishing group K.G. Murray in 1937. At that time, some of his cartoons took on a cubist style but he soon reverted to a more traditional approach.

K.G. Murray produced the first edition of Man magazine in 1936. It was modelled on the American magazine Esquire, but with a distinctive Australian character. One of the local innovations was Gibson’s Hades doublepage cartoons which he produced monthly from 1938 ‘til the 1970s.

During the Second World War, Gibson drew a series of double page illustrations for Man, called Out Town. It was a bird’s-eye view of a town inhabited by boozers and irate housewives; “The hell you get before you get to hell”. He also wrote a few radio scripts around this time.

Gibson also contributed cartoons to a number of other K.G. Murray publications, including Cavalcade, Man Junior and Adam. Most of the artwork used in the these magazines was kept by K.G. Murray and every month all the drawings would be bundled up in one big package and sent for storage at the

printers. In June 1972, the K.G. Murray group was taken over by Sir Frank Packer’s Australian Consolidated Press. For a number of years, the group remained a separate identity from ACP, but was eventually absorbed into Packer’s Park Street headquarters where The Bulletin and Australian Woman’s Weekly were produced. The printing plant was then sold and all the artwork that had been stored there over the years was burnt.

Gibson stopped cartooning in 1973. He said the fun had gone out of it. By then his Hell series had been running for over 35 years.

The following year Man magazine folded.

For a short time, Gibson illustrated some advertisements for a furniture shop in Sydney among other things, before retiring.

He then moved from Kings Cross into a boarding house in Glebe. While there, he was beaten up several times by people after his pension money.

He died in 1980.

Lindsay Foyle is a cartoonist with The Australian. He is a former president of the ACA and a former Deputy Editor of The Bulletin. A noted cartoon historian, his writing on the history of Australian cartooning has been published extensively.

Jack Gibson

G

by Lindsay Foyle

11

Rotary Cartoon Awards

Launched

in 1989, the Rotary Club of Coffs Harbour City cartoon awards are showing no sign of slowing down. This year the awards attracted 385 cartoons from Australian cartoonists and 182 cartoons from 83 cartoonists in 27 other countries.

This year’s winners were announced on 28 August 2004 at the Bunker Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour. The big winner is always cartooning but the winner of the cartoon of the year was David Rowe. He said when collecting his cheque that he has been coming up to Coffs Harbour for the awards for almost 10 years and every year the quality of the cartoons just gets better all the time.

If anyone should know, it’s David. He has won cartoon of the year in 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004.

Tom Hamilton-Foster, the President of the Bunker Cartoon Gallery, says the international competition has been given a 4-star rating by the Federation of Cartoonists’ Organisations. It’s something he is very pleased with. He too has also noticed an improvement with the entries over the years, but says the 2004 field was strong but different.

Tom went on to point out that cartoon staples of politics

A tagline of cartoonists!

L-R Judy Nadin, David Rowe : James Kemsley, Neil Matterson, , Vince O'Farrell and Ton y Lopes

Photos courtesy of the Coffs Harbour Advocate

Cracker of a toon. 2004’s Cartoon of the Year by David Rowe 12

and sport had not had the same punch as the open theme. He thought the Shane Warne telephone incident of a few years ago had been a high point for cartoonists.

But as the past 12 months had been relatively quiet, the cartoonists hadn’t had much to work with.

Cartoonists who had travelled to Coffs Harbour for the awards included Neil Matterson, James Kemsley, Vince O’Farrell, Tony Lopes, Lindsay Foyle and newcomer to cartoon events, Judy Nadin.

The winner of the Rotary International Cartoon Award went to regular Russian entrant, Gennady Chegodayev, who also took out the same award in 1997. Unfortunately he didn’t make it to the awards presentation.

- Lindsay Foyle

Behind every successful man... etc. etc. Tony Lopes (above) is obviously no exception to that rule with wife Lori by his side. Caricaturist Judy Nadin (below) very happy to be on the winner’s podium. Showing that cartoonists can brushup a treat, Neil Matterson (far left) and Vince O’Farrell sample Coffs Harbour’s renowned hospitality. Long on humility but not short on admiration, David Rowe (above left) accepts yet another award from the Bunker’s Leigh Summers.

13

News from the Bunker Excitement is already building at the Bunker Cartoon Gallery with the preliminary cataloguing of hundreds cartoons from all over the world that have been entered into this year’s Rotary Cartoon Competition.

Meanwhile current exhibitions at the Bunker including ‘Spotlight Fashionista’ and ‘The Fine Art of Caricature’ (drawn from the Bunker’s extensive archives) are soon to close. ‘Spotlight Fashionista’ was opened by the everglamorous fashion plate and news reader Lee-Lin Chin who won new audiences for SBS with her unqualified charm.

Lee-Lin adored the Bunker, laughed uproariously at the cartoons on display, and mingled with the crowds who came to the opening night event. She was especially taken by a selection of works from the archives dubbed ‘The fine art of caricature’. An image of Lee-Lin by Richard Newcombe elicited a loud squeal of good-humoured recognition, but it was David Rowe’s unforgettable depiction of John Howard accepting the award as ‘Best Supporting Actor’ artfully positioned as George Bush’s jockstrap, that had Lee-Lin weak with laughter.

‘The fine art of caricature’ has been widely admired by visitors to the Bunker, and it has been a pleasure to install these works, many by Australia’s most distinguished cartoonists.

As a brief but important aside regarding this exhibition, I must add that caricatures have great appeal for children as well as adults. Tykes have been encouraged to create their own caricatures while at the Bunker and the results have been surprisingly sophisticated and amusing. The works included here are a small sample of many more created by ankle biters.

The quality of these works indicates that cartooning is a meaningful, accessible art form, appealing to all age groups and nationalities. Long may it live! Hope to see you, and the children, at the Bunker Cartoon gallery soon!

The dedicated team of Rotarians, headed by Bunker Cartoon Gallery’s President of the Board, Tom Hamilton Foster, spent several hours sorting through the works and almost as long doubled over in peals of laughter. The very best works, which will be judged by a panel of experts in Sydney, are destined for exhibition at the Bunker in late August. The biggest names in Australian cartooning are represented in categories covering politics, sport, fashion, tattoos, legends and caricatures, and open sections. Many of the works are particularly topical and the standards are, according to Tom, ‘extremely high’ with exceptional cartoons from all over the world competing for top prize monies. By the time this article goes to press the glittering cocktail party at the Bunker will have unfolded with the announcement of winners. (See pages 6 & 7)

“Keep your stuff on your side.”

The gallery also has several other exhibitions in train.

Joanne Brooker’s scintillating caricatures will also open on the night of the Cartoon Awards. Readers of Inkspot will no doubt be aware of the nature and high calibre of Jo’s work and her exhibition is bound to be another great success. Staff and volunteers are eagerly looking forward to installing these works which will hang with the Rotarys in the main gallery. Soon after their installation the works will be accompanied by an exhibition of ceramics, titled ‘Breaking the Mould’ created by TAFE students.

These whimsical, colourful, irreverent 3D works reference cartoons and will complement the 2D works beautifully.

The foyer gallery will also be rehung to accommodate a new exhibition. Lindsay Foyle’s much admired ‘Foyled Again ’ will be replaced by ‘Saris, Sighs, Songs and Sweat’, a photographic exhibition created by the local Indian Sikh community which also includes textiles, documents and not least of all, cartoons by famous Indian cartoonist Prahn.

Dr Leigh Summers Administrator/ Curator, Bunker Cartoon Gallery 14 22

Joanne Brooker

BUNKER CARTOON GALLERY, COFFS HARBOUR

15

Reviews

Mutts: The comic art of Patrick McDonnell

Bloom

24pg, A5, B&W, $5 Review by Ian Thomas

ISBN 0-8109-4616-5 Published by Harry N Abrams Inc NewYork.

Review by Neil Matterson

See: www.stikmancomics.cjb.net

Stikman (AKA Matt Huynh) has had a prolific year, with contributions to anthologies such as The Ink #2 and Eat Comics, a 24 Hour Comic, and a bunch of short one-shots, including Sally and Domino Joe. Topping it all off is his crowning achievement: the marvellous Bloom.

The Mutts comic strip, created by Patrick McDonnell in 1994 is now in over 500 newspapers.

In one way that says it all. In another way it says nothing about Mutts.

Mutts is one of those great masterpieces of comic art that breathes life into a piece of paper like the Impressionists made us look at sky or water like no other artists had done before.

And it is probably no coincidence that Patrick McDonnell borrows from the great artistic masterpieces of our world when designing his title page of the Mutts Sunday strip. It is the Impressionists that come readily to mind when describing the art (or scribbles)that is the Mutts comic strip. Simplicity at it’s best. A mere impression that says, I’m Mooch the curious cat or Earl the ever-trusting dog. The lines say, believe in me!

This surreal comic is difficult to describe, as it eschews conventional approaches in terms of character design and genre. Stikman has visualised a weird but internally consistent world, populated by the strangest of creatures (along with multitudes of sheep).

The beginning of the tale finds the Big Horn, a goatheaded evangelist, warning the burgeoning flock of an oncoming Apocalypse. Unexpectedly, he is challenged

by Bomp, a spring-legged rabbit. Forced to enter the inner sanctum of “The Father,” Big Horn encounters the incredibly odd Voodoo Bloom, who he enlists to curb the darkness.

This hardback book of 216 pages contains 330 illustrations with 180 in colour. It provides a wonderful “behind the creative brain” look at this feature.

Only a handful of artists have managed to redesign the comic strip. Among them is Bill Watterson with Calvin and Hobbes and now Patrick McDonnell with Mutts. This book is worth a look for a lesson in creative thinking. Life from the left field.

Bloom and his companions, Bomp and Bulby, set off.

Their adventures lurch tangentially off in various directions, though Bloom himself seems to have an existential knowledge of their location (down to the comic’s page limit) and a gift of leadership.

"A good comic strip has it’s own personality….In Mutts I aim for a quiet joy." So often though some of the Mutts ideas sing from the roof tops.

The artwork shows Stikman to be a skilled artist and draftsman, both with his fluent linework and use of computer techniques to enhance it (adding greys, borders and lettering).

Patrick McDonnell

McDonnell says

For all its weirdness, this is a very likeable book. It’s also pleasingly Australian in an inexplicable way. The characters are oddly conceived, but still manage to be cute and engaging. Their dialogue complements the visual look perfectly, bringing them to life as an entertaining group of somewhat ill-suited companions who play well off one another.

Neil Matterson is the editorial cartoonist on Brisbane’s Sunday Mail and the creator of a number of comic strips including his highly successful “High Tide”

It is a pity that Bloom is a one-shot as these characters and their world have enormous potential. However, the artist’s intention appears to have been to tell a single, contained story, with all the elements working to this effect. A fun work from a fertile imagination!

Patrick McDonnell

Ian C. Thomas currently draws serials for 'The Ink' and manga comic, 'Xuan Xuan'. His earlier work includes 'Maelstrom', 'Reverie' and the 'Busker Jim' strip for Melbourne paper 'City Extra' 16 22

Reviews

Killeroo Book 2

48 pg, Brown & White, Std comic size $7 Review by Ian Thomas See: www.killeroo.com

A Century of WA Cartoonists Constitution Centre, West Perth 15th - 24th October 2004

Killeroo is back, featured in six stories from a variety of writers and artists. Darren Close’s decision to let other comic creators portray his visually iconic anti-hero is consistently successful.

In the years 1900 to 2000, Western Australia was blessed with a passing parade of talented cartoonists and illustrators, whose work entertained and amused readers of the various publications of the day.

As a part of Western Australia’s 175th Birthday celebrations, many of these artists’ originals have been brought together for what is thought to be the first ever exhibition of this nature.

This unique display of original cartoons and illustrations in pencil, ink and paint, is a fine collection of published satire by some of WA’s best known talent. It takes you back in time to see how various events were seen through the eyes of the artist.

Artists such as Dean Alston, Paul Rigby, Cedric Baxter, Bill Mitchell, Ben Strange, Percy Cannot and many others provide a showcase of history, heritage and achievements. Their work reflects the changing artistic styles through a hundred years. Some of their originals will be for sale.

A rare selection of water colours, oils, portraits, and caricatures by several of these artists will also be on display which begs the question: Artist or Cartoonist?

The Australian Cartoonist’ Association welcomes the opportunity to be associated with this exhibition.

Killeroo himself remains essentially a loner, wandering across the Australian landscape on his motorbike, only too happy to enter into a brawl.

The opening story, Good for the Goose, by Jan Napiorski and Jason Badower, provides a perfect introduction to the character and the book. The addition of a female sidekick is a nice touch, proving the perfect balance to Killeroo’s abundant machismo. Badower takes full advantage of the opportunity to render Rufus in a variety of moods and expressions, helping to define the character’s strengths.

This first story continues the feel of Hard Day’s Night from Book 1, without directly continuing the narrative.

Free Kick by Andie Tong (inked by Close) and On the Road by Damien Shanahan independently confirm this definitive realisation of Killeroo, though both pieces are too short to do much with the character.

The Midnight Oil titled Species Deceases goes much further in its four pages, with the Roo going back to his environmentalist roots to combat the problem of foxes in Tasmania. The resolution of this is inventive and wellhandled, and Aaron Shanahan’s moody, sketchy style suits the subject matter perfectly.

List of exhibitors: Alex Gurney (dec.), Barry Richards, Ben Strange (dec.), Bill Mitchell (dec.), Bruce Wroth, Cedric Baxter, Clem Ambler (dec.), Clive Gordon (dec.), Dean Alston, Dick Salmon (dec.), Fred Harffey, Graham Le Page, Greg Smith, Kevin Schaffer, Len Cutten (dec.), Michael Collins, Mike Jones, Paul Rigby, Percy Cannot (dec.) and Sean Leahy.

Hairbutt the Hippo’s creator Jason Paulos contributes two pieces. While they’re hardly Killeroo “canon,” they are a lot of fun. Killeroo’s Big Night Off is a Hairbutt Vs. Killeroo crossover tale, while the two page Position Vacant is a tribute to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, contrasting modern sensibilities with those of the 60s/70s, with the Ettamogah Pub getting a lookin as well.

The dark brown printing gives the book a unique and oddly Australian feel. The greyscale reproduction doesn’t do full justice to any of the art, particularly Badower’s, but fortunately many of the pages will soon be viewable in full colour at the website.

Overall, this is a fine collection, functioning more as a Killeroo showcase anthology than as a continuing narrative.

The many top artists contributing pinups further confirm this impression, and include Marcelo Baez, Craig Phillips, Chris Wahl, Steve Preston and L. Frank Weber.

Bruce Wroth

An essential Australian comic!

17

NATIONAL SECURITY

Nancy Beiman

Thank you for your contributions for “National Security”.

The NEW topic for SUMMER’S Inkspot will be “Getting Old”.

Send your cartoons to broelman@broelman.com.au

Allan Sallisbury

Neil Matterson

Neil Matterson

Tony Murphy

Gerald Carr

Jack Ardill

Jason Chatfield

18 22

Igor Spajic David Stuart

Allan Sallisbury

Allan Sallisbury Matthew Martin

Craig Mann

Jason Chatfield 19

Leahy’s 20 Years of Queensland Political Cartoons on Display (article courtesy of The Courier-Mail)

O

ver 600 guests turned up for the opening of Sean Leahy’s exhibition of 20 years of his Queensland cartoons at Brisbane City Hall’s Museum of Brisbane on 9 September 2004. The exhibition title “Y’ Want Salt Rubbed in That?” is taken from one of his early cartoons of Pauline Hanson in her fish and chip shop.

In his speech Leahy, tongue planted firmly in cheek, expressed gratitude for being able to cartoon in the middle of a contest between “a base ball bat wielding hoon vs. a lying rodent”. He was particularly pleased at the recent media gymnastics of Queensland Premier Beattie, alias “Power Point Pete” during the recent power crisis, pointing out that the night’s proceedings were “only possible because of the emergency generator running outside.”

Featuring approximately 400

cartoons over a two hour period, the display runs for three months until 14th November. On arrival visitors are greeted by numerous four foot high cut-outs of political and sporting cartoon characters leading the way into the gallery.

Unusual for a newspaper cartoon exhibition, the presentation is hitech with only 8 framed originals on display along with pages from Sean’s sketch book. At one end of the gallery a plasma screen shows a documentary interview with the cartoonist by former Queensland Premiers Mike Ahern and Wayne Goss. The cartoons themselves are projected king-size on two walls for 10 seconds each, with short historical explanations of the news of the day.

At the end of the three month period, “Y’ Want Salt Rubbed in That?” is planned to tour other local and regional Queensland galleries.

Sean Leahy

Federation of Cartoonists Organisations

www.fecoweb.org

FECO

COMPETITIONS 3rd International Cartoon Festival, Tabriz, Iran

*****

FECO Rating: Themes: 1. Addiction and Family 2. Addiction and Youth 3. Addiction and Hands behind it Deadline: 1st November 2004 Prizes/Awards: 1st: US$1000 2nd: US$700 3rd: US$500 Maximum number of entries: 10 Format: min A4, max A3, if by email, then 100 dpi.

Address for submissions: Tabriz Cartoonists’ Association, Tabriz Art & Culture Center, 29 Bahman Blvd., Tabriz, Iran For more info, visit web: http://www.tabrizcartoons.com

NEW CARTOON MUSEUM OPENS IN SWITZERLAND This month sees the relaunch of the Karikaturand Cartoon Museum in Basel, Switerland. If you’re in Europe it’s worth a visit. The address is St.Alban-Vorstadt 28, CH-4052 Basel.

Directors, Simone Thalmann and Michael Mauch, opening the museum with a gala cartoonists’ party. on September 10th Contact details for the museum are: tel: +41 (0)61 226 33 60 or fax:+41 (0)61 226 33 61 email: info@cartoonmuseum.ch web: www.cartoonmuseum.ch Switzerland is currently not a member of FECO but the organization hopes that will change in the not too distant future.

Concurso Internacional de Humor Grafico, Barakaldo, Basque Territory, Spain

**

FECO Rating: Themes: New Technology Deadline: 3rd November 2004 Maximum number of entries: 3 Format: Any. Max 1Mb FIle size.

Submissions: (Email only) hermesbarakaldo@barakaldo.org Entry form available at http://www.barakaldo.org/hermes

TWENTY YEARS OF FECO!!

FCW Top 1000 Cartoonists competition (CD Magazine) Shanghai, China

2005 is the year FECO celebrates its first 20 years. FECO are planning to put together a special travelling exhibition which will open in April 2005 at the Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival in the UK. From there it will travel to other FECO countries in an order yet to be decided. Each member organization will provide five cartoons to represent their country. These cartoons must have either won or been highly placed in international competitions during the last five years.

The exhibition will be called “FECO’s World of Winning Cartoons” Details will be circulated to all FECO member organization shortly.

***

FECO Rating: Theme: FREE Deadline: 8th November 2004 Prizes/Awards: Yes, but monetary. (Free CD magazine + VIP Card) Maximum number of entries: Unlimited Format: Unlimted; any technique Address for submissions: Jiang Lidong, Oriental Morning Post, No. 839 Middle YanAn Road, Shanghai, China. web: http://www.fcn.com or http://www.fcwfcw.com 20 22

PANPA

Comics attract readers in US and Australia: Survey shows PACIFIC AREA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS' ASSOCIATION

By Sean Leahy

The United States newspaper industry is quietly benefiting from one of the best kept secrets in newspapers. Their huge comics sections attract and keep readers of all ages. Millions of Americans are comic strip fans and newspapers who recognize this are milking it for all its worth. Those papers which don’t simply write off comic sections as something “just for kids” aren’t letting their comics lift-outs happen by accident. Extensive market research, reader polling and test runs of hot new strips make this section of their newspapers a constantly evolving, moving feast of contemporary tastes in humour and subject matter.

The Kansas City Star runs 16 comics and panels on its daily broadsheet pages. Its Sunday comics section lift-out runs 26 full colour multi-panel Sunday comics. The lift-out called Kids Star runs to six broadsheet full colour pages and features an extra fold out page for advertisers. This type of display is more common than not in every city in the US. It seems they know something we don’t.

Surveys in the US show that between 47% to 55% of readers read the comic section and 33% of adults read them. In a highly competitive market, where readers can access the best of comic art and animation by searching the internet or watching television, there is still no substitute for the habit of reading good writing and drawing from the best of international and local syndicates, all conveniently located on the one page and delivered to your door.

The Australian papers which act on this truth and stay current in reviewing their choice of comics will grow both their circulation and profits in a lasting way.

All demographics are cleverly targeted with comics from your old standards like Garfield and Dagwood to the adult Doonesbury, Dilbert and Boondocks, with every permutation in between.

Here in Australia the market is ripe for a similar revolution in intelligent, well thought out targeting of an under-catered-for readership. In Brisbane alone, where 73% of Brisbane residents aged 14 years and over read general news and 51% read the sports section every day, a very healthy 43% read the comics section.

Sean Leahy is the editorial cartoonist for The Courier Mail in Brisbane, and creator of the comic strip ‘Beyond The Black Stump’. His report was prepared on behalf of the ACA for an upcoming edition of the PANPA Bulletin.

The best thing about that 43% is they are habitual readers with favourite features they will avidly return to every day. They are not subject to fluctuating news values as much as other readers. They know what they want to read regardless of a slow news day or coverage of an earth shattering event. They are devotees of one of the few remaining small pleasures in our throwaway society. They are one of the few demographic clusters on which newspapers can rely every day and build loyalty with over the long term.

The ACA is an Associate member of the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association. Enquiries regarding the organization or content for the Panpa Bulletin can be directed to Gary Clark, the ACA’s Panpa Liaison Officer, at gary@swamp.com.au.

Domestically, Brisbane’s Courier-Mail has one of Australia’s best daily comic pages in a metropolitan broadsheet, featuring 10 comics each day. Other strong examples are The West Australian in Perth and The Advertiser in Adelaide. Yet compared to the United States, the rest of the field is a long way behind.

NOTICE OF OFMEETING ANNUAL NOTICE GENERAL ANNUAL GENERAL Notice is hereby givenMEETING that the

Notice is hereby Meeting given thatofthe Annual General the Annual General Meeting of the Australian Cartoonists’ Association Incorporated Australian Cartoonists’ Association will be held at the Incorporated will be held at theHeritage Park Mercure Grand Hotel, Bowral Mercure Grand Hotel, Bowral Heritage 9 Kangaloon Road, Bowral, NSW Park 9 Kangaloon Road, Bowral, on Saturday November 6th, 2004NSW at 9:00 am on Saturday November 6th, 2004 at 9:00 am Notices of Motion should be delivered to Notices of Motion should be delivered to The Secretary SecretaryAssociation Australian The Cartoonists’ Australian Cartoonists’ Association no later than October 29th 2004, no later than eitherOctober by mail 29th to 2004, either by mail PO Box 318,to PO Box Strawberry Hills,318, NSW 2012, Hills, NSW 2012, by faxStrawberry on (02) 8920 9997 or via email to by fax on (02) 8920 9997 or via secretary@abwac.org.auemail to Notices ofsecretary@abwac.org.au Motion received after the due date Notices of be Motion received the due date may not included in theafter AGM Agenda. may not be included in the AGM Agenda.

There are some notable exceptions of course, chief among them is the APN group, which is highly attuned to the power of comics.

Rural Press has also made some significant changes to its approach in recent years and appears to be gradually growing its stable of quality comics.

For the most part however, a good comics section relies on the imagination and knowledge of individual editors to tap this under utilized resource. The best editors are on to this already but they are not always supported by upper management who in many cases still think it’s “not something you take seriously”. If only they knew….

During a recent study tour of the United States I came across numerous examples of the value US media corporations place on comics. I cite here just two. The Los Angeles Times and the Kansas City Star tell a very common story we could emulate.

The Los Angeles Times devotes two full broadsheet pages to a display of 37 comics and panels every day. This is four times the average Australian number featured.

Their Sunday section displays 28 full colour multi-panel Sunday comics. (Three times the average Australian Sunday comics section.) The LA Times comic section is in 2 parts called COMICS I and COMICS II totalling seven broadsheet pages in full colour.

This is unheard of in Australia.

Steve Panozzo Steve Panozzo Secretary Secretary Cartoonists’ Association Inc. Australian Australian Cartoonists’ Association Inc. 21

Vane Lindesay

Vane Lindesay - Patron

By Lindsay Foyle

A

fter almost 20 years as Victorian vice president of the Australian Cartoonists’ Association Vane Lindesay has accepted an invitation from the President and Board to become Patron of the Association. The position has remained vacant since Jim Russell died in 2001.

Rolf Heimann has agreed to take on the role of Victorian Vice-President.

He has been working closely with Vane over the past couple of years and hopes to keep up the activities of the ACA in Melbourne. While Rolf is keen to try a few new things, he intends to continue the close relationship with the former vice-president.

Vane Lindesay born in Sydney in 1920 and was always interested in drawing.

As a child he kept scrapbooks of jokes clipped from Smith’s Weekly and The Bulletin and other publications while growing up in Melbourne.

He left school at 15 and after graduating for South Melbourne Technical School, joined the Army at the start of World War Two to become a signalman with a machine-gun regiment. He was in Darwin when it was bombed and his health deteriorated, so he was quickly transferred south to the Pay Corps. A regular contributor of cartoons to Salt, an army educational

publication, he soon joined the staff. He stayed there for just over three years and was senior artist when eventually discharged from the army after the war ended.

He worked for The Herald for a short time and freelanced before heading to England where he stayed for three years working and studying European cartooning.

When he returned to Australia, Vane took a job on The Argus as head artist whilst drawing cartoons for the paper.

He also contributed to Australasian Post where he had a cartoon or illustration in every issue for over 40 years. When The Argus folded in 1957, he turned his attention to freelancing and book design.

Vane has written extensively on Australian cartooning with articles published in The Age, Overland, The Bulletin, The Australian, Australian Book Review, The Australian Dictionary of Biography, the Australian Encyclopaedia and contributed over 20 profiles to the World Encyclopaedia of Cartoons published in 1976.

His first book on the history of Australian cartooning, The Inked-in Image, was published in 1979. It was followed by It’s Moments Like These...

(1979), The Way We Were (1983), Noel Counihan Caricatures (1985), Aussie Osities

(1988), Drawing from Life (1994), Stop Laughing: This is Serious! (2001) and he has a book on Ruby Lindsay currently in production. Vane was presented with the Stanley Award for Contribution to Australian Black and White Art in 1988 and was given an Award of Honour in 1991 by the Australian Book Publishers Association in recognition for his contribution to Australian book design and production. And he got smocked this year.

Lindsay Foyle is a cartoonist with The Australian.

He is a former president of the ACA and a former Deputy Editor of The Bulletin. A noted cartoon historian, his writing on the history of Australian cartooning has been published extensively.

Goon but not Forgotten:

The Life and Legacy of Spike Milligan Kerry Sunderland is working with the Writer/Director/Producer Cathy Henkel and the Co-Producer Jeff Canin on the web site and DVD for her new documentary; Goon but not Forgotten: The Life and Legacy of Spike Milligan. Some of you may have met Cathy last year at Spikefest, which she was filming.

Murray Debus and Jon Kudelka have generously volunteered to do a couple of cartoons that illustrate some of Spike’s wonderful way of looking at the world and they are looking for other ACA members that would be interested in participating.

They’ve got no budget but do want to try and work out a way of rewarding those who get involved.

BLAST FROM THE PAST! Recognise anyone? The above is a photo of a 1986 ABWAC dinner. It was taken at our regular watering hole at the time; the Sydney Journalists’ Club.

The site will be promoted at the Spikefest event on 22nd October in Woy Woy and launched properly next February at the Adelaide Film Festival. A very simple page and blog (web diary) is already online at www.spikemilliganlegacy.com

L-R: James Kemsley, Roger Fletcher, Dan Russell, Earl Budden, George Graham, Bill Mitchell, John Thorby, Tony Rafty (Standing), Elizabeth Lambert, Jim Russell, John Moses, Henry Everingham and Monty Wedd

If you are interested in contributing, email Kerry at: kerry.sunderland@evolvemedia.com.au or Ph: (02) 6680 4075 22

update At time of writing, VISCOPY is busy finalising our six monthly distribution of royalties for August 2004. So far, approximately $123,000 in royalties is due to be paid to Australian visual artists, most of it generated from primary reproductions of the artists’ work – however, just over 10% of that royalty comes from “statutory royalties”, ie, educational copying under statutory licences … and much of that will be paid to ACA members by virtue of the agreement signed earlier this year between VISCOPY and the ACA. This type of association agreement brings both organisations closer to establishing the professional relationships that exist between artists associations and visual arts copyright societies internationally. For example, VISCOPY’s affiliate in the UK, DACS (Design & Artists Copyright Society) has established statutory licensing agreements with the Cartoonists Club of Great Britain and the Comic Creators Guild, thus ensuring all members of those associations are eligible for “statutory income”.

In fact, DACS have agreements with quite a broad variety of artist associations, including the Institute of Medical & Dental Illustrators, Guild of Railway Artists, Association of Illustrators and others …

While on the topic of things British, it’s worth noting that the statutory royalty system in the UK works on a vastly different basis than in Australia. Here, we rely on a sampled survey system to identify and determine who is being copied under educational licences. In the UK, if you have had work published in the prior year, you can make a claim for a statutory royalty based on the published work simply being “made available for photocopying”. It’s quite a good system they’ve put together, which returned over ₤500,000 to artists in 2003. You can read more about our UK affiliate and what they call their “Payback” scheme at www.dacs.org.uk Back on the local front … VISCOPY’s membership continues to grow, now standing at over 4,700 members, about 44% of whom are indigenous artists. And the success of our relationship with ACA prompted us to propose a similar agreement with the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers (AIPP) which has now been finalised and bought on board over 800 new artists as statutory members. In this same vein, we’re currently in discussion with Illustrators Partnership of America (IPA) to make this type of income stream available to their members for usage in territories outside the USA (There is no statutory royalty scheme existing in the States).

VISCOPY will be receiving the results of the most recent educational copying survey during September 2004 and we hope members of the ACA will continue to benefit. This information, once processed, will form part of our February 2005 distribution.

In the meantime, VISCOPY will once again be present at the 2004 ACA Annual Conference and Stanley Awards, and we’re most proud to be sponsoring a Stanley for the very first time this year! Look forward to seeing you all there…

Ross Sharp

Distribution & Membership Manager, VISCOPY distribution@viscopy.com

Nominations for the 49th Walkey Awards for Excellence in Journalism will be announced on 13th October simultaneously at Sydney’s Oscars’ Lounge Bar, Pyrmont and at the Loop Performance space in Melbourne. The ACA’s Jenny Coopes and James Kemsley were part of this year’s Best Cartoon and Best Illustration judging panel along with Paul Ashton Delprat, principal of Sydney’s highly respected Julian Ashton Art School.

Another ACA member, News Ltd’s John Moses, took part in choosing the finalists for 2004’s Best Editorial Graphics and Design section. Winners are decided upon by the Walkey’s Advisory Board and will be presented at a gala function in Melbourne’s Crown Casino on 2nd December.

APN editorial cartoonist Peter Broelman is finally being published in his hometown of Adelaide. The big bloke’s work is already seen daily in nearly two dozen papers from Mackay to Geraldton but as from this month he will also being making Croweaters laugh, and maybe think a bit, in the new Adelaide Sunday paper, The Independent Weekly.

Across the Tasman, former ACA President Rod Emmerson has been settling in well to life at the New Zealand Herald and has already bagged an award in the process. Despite all the fist-waving about predecessor Malcolm Evans’ dismissal and his Australian replacement, the dual Stanley recipient recently won The 2004 Qantas Media Award as Cartoonist of the Year - The Sir Gordon Minhinnick Award, named in honour of the legendary New Zealand Herald cartoonist who died in 1992.

While the award was based on only 4 months’ work, Emmerson said that “from day one, I applied the Don Bradman principle to my work and just let that speak for itself - and I have absolutely no regrets about the move (and fortunately, neither does the Herald).

“We’re having a ball here.” Peter Bromhead of The Dominion Post, Garrick Tremain from the Otago Daily Times & Sunday Star-Times and Mark ‘Chicane’ Winter, cartoonist on The Southland Times were the other finalists.

Another James Kemsley in the comics pages? In a manner of speaking! This time it’s James “Jed” Kemsley, son of the ACA President. The 17-year-old student recently scored the gig of colouring the Sunday version of one of the USA’s top strips, Rick Kirkman/Jerry Scott’s Baby Blues. Syndicated by King Features, the feature has almost reached the magical 1000-papers-mark.

Kemsley Jnr. has for a number of years worked on his father’s Ginger Meggs Sunday strip, but under Kirkman’s guiding e-hand finds himself adhering the American way of putting colour, (or is that color?), into the “funnies”. HSC studies limit the number of strips Kemsley is able do each month, but nevertheless he is “thrilled” to have been given the opportunity and the experience. He also figures that, with is newly-acquired “international skills”, it’s time his father gave him a raise.

Meanwhile, Kemsley-the-elder and Meggs continue their empire-building plod around the globe with Atlantic Syndication announcing Ginger Meggs’ debut in the popular Dutch children’s magazine Kidsweek in Amsterdam.

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artist’s complete set of original drawings for his iconic Australian Has television become the new preferred medium for carnovel. Both huge fans of Lindsay’s work, Brown and Kemsley toonists? Not withstanding the weekly cartooning spot on ABC were, to understate the fact, “stoked” at the rare opportunity...

TV’s Insiders programme (9am on Sundays), fellow scribblers From November 2003 until January 2004, Melbourne’s The are beginning to pop up on our TV screens with a frequency preSunday Age inserted a four-page colour supplement designed viously unseen. Of the more notable recent appearances, Andrew for kids titled DMAG Sunday Denton invited Patrick Cook, Bill Leak and Bruce Petty to guest Fun..

It contained on his Monday night chat show, Enough Rope. Denton, a longthe type of content time cartooning fan and one-time Stanleys compere (that’s right children folks, he owes his stellar career to us), grilled the three caballeros that young and early teens find on their careers, the nature of caricature and the state of the naappealing, together with tion as they saw it. The reportedly heavily-edited interview made some fun educational for compelling viewing. Noteworthy was living-legend Petty’s bits and pieces. affability and gentle cynicism, which only served to exemplify To their credit, his standing as a national treasure. Of particular and a variatheatrical note was Leak’s imtion from some pression of John recent comics Howard’s practice, DMAG bottom lip; Sunday Fun chose Cook’s take to run 100% on Gough Australian comWhitlam ics on their back may have page. These were: impressed Spacecapades by many, but it Zane, Monkeyboy and his Magical Underpants was his priceby Damien Woods, The Ned and Kelly Gang less rendition of

by Mitch and Fishy by longtime ACA member a supreme court Richard Jones. The artists were under no illusion; judge that will this was to be a five-week gig over the Christmas school holidays leave an indel- end of story! However the supplement continued on a monthly ible impression on the souls basis into June. It seems it was popular among its youthful readof generations to come...The The ubiquitous ers - indeed, a one-off publication of the supplement in New Warren Brown’s reputation as a keen amateur historian has Zealand saw a sales increase of landed him a regular on-camera 7,000! For months there was spot with ABC TV’s Rewind, talk of The Sunday Age wantwhich goes to air on Sunday ing a permanent supplement. evenings at 9:25pm. The Daily That finally eventuated in July Telegraph’s award-winning car2004… BUT… despite it’s toonist (and ACA auctioneer sushort but apparently-successful preme) is already a regular on a track record, DMAG was given number of television current afthe short shrift and replaced in fairs programmes, and puts his The Sunday Age by a similar own special bent on Australian supplement, Kzone, but with history as he looks at some well one marked difference: NO known, and not so well known, comics of any kind. Go figure!...

Aussie icons in the national Leigh Hobbs, whose book broadcaster’s 15-part series. In Old Tom’s Holiday was recently his easy-going, raconteur-style The Royal Institute for the Deaf and Blind will get more described in a review by Lonmanner, Brown explodes the than a bellyful of laughs from The Grin Bin, the title of Mark don’s Guardian as “brilliant, occasional myth, brings down Lynch’s latest collection of wit, wisdom, ink & pixels! The original & inspired”, will be a the odd hero to a more human multi-award winning cartoonist has put together a career’s guest speaker at the Californian level, and shines a new light on worth (“at least 450”) of his favourite gags for this latest digest Reading Association Confersome we see generally view as with all proceeds going to the much-deserving charity. To be ence in San José in November. villains. For a recent episode, published later this month, preview copies of the book have Hobbs’ picture book, Fiona The Brown invited James Kemsley already tickled the funny bones of such comedic luminaries as Pig, and his Old Tom (above) (pictured) to join him in the Paul Hogan, Andrew Denton, Rolf Harris and even that pillar series of books are about to be bowels of Sydney’s Mitchell of literature - who admittedly enjoys a laugh or two - Thomas published in the USA. En route, Library to discuss Norman Keneally, all of whom have contributed their views on Lynch’s Leigh has been invited to run Lindsay’s classic The Magic off-the-page humour. The Grin Bin will be in good book stores a cartooning workshop as part Pudding. During recording, the (and some bad ones) with a RRP of $19.95 from October 7th, of the prestigious Cheltenham pair were afforded the privior you can e-mail Mark direct on toons@bigpond.net.au.

Literary Festival in England. lege of viewing the exemplary 24