Paper Trail

Tomorrow: Zine and comic event Copier Jam. FB Event page.

Copier Jam is an exhibition showcasing current zine and independent comic creators, collectives and distributors from across Australia. Join us at Childers Arts Space (CHARTS) during the Childers Festival for the Copier Jam! opening event, "The Staples Sessions: Zine and Indie Comics" with curator Jeremy Staples

Laura Renfrew reviews Jen Breach and Doug Holgate's Maralinga.

Georgia Kartas interviews Cazz, Naja and Soph, founders of the All Star Women's Comic Book Club.

Caravan of comics are giving you free comics weekly, just take them.

Darren Close revisits making comics in Australia during the early 2000's.

Catching Up: Cartoonists at the Auckland Writers Festival in review by Eddie Monotone.

Clockwise: Rae Joyce, Damon Keen, Ant Sang, Sam Orchard.

Sharon Lam interviews Wellington artist Claire Harris, one of the founders of the New Zealand Comics Creators Collective, now a multi-disciplinary artist.

Catching Up: James Zee investigates works created in Australia during a brief period of residence by Italian artist Guido Scala.

New Melbourne comics publisher Twelve Panels Press launch their first title at The Salty River by Jan Bauer at Readings in Carlton, Melbourne, 27th August. FB Event

Coming up this week if I can get my act together: A lengthy investigation into the career of one of New Zealand's unsung pioneering cartoonists Phyllis Fitzgerald by Darian Zam.

This column is sneakily bought to you by the Barry Linton Kickstarter. Finely crafted comics and prints by Barry delivered through the mail system into your sweet sweet hands.

Barry reviews a copy of 20th Century BC.

Paper Trail masthead courtesy of Toby Morris.

Homecooked Comics Festival 2015

In keeping with my tradition of untimely comics reportage here's a few notes from the Melbourne Homecooked Comics festival on the weekend of 24th-26th April this year.

I greatly enjoyed the expanded Homecooked Comics Festival this year with special guests (Dylan Horrocks, Paul Peart-Smith, Madeline Rosca, and Thomas Campi) and additional talks, exhibitions and presentations beyond the one day fair aspect. I think it was a rainy day? But there was a solid attendance of public eager to engage with the local comics scene. Some personal highlights in lazy bullet point form,

• Talking to Dylan Horrocks about a grand plan for a New Zealand Comics Archive.
•  Comic of the show for me was Art is a Lie by Susan Butcher and Carol Wood, first title from Bruce Mutard's Fabliaux. Collecting comics originally featured in American magazine Artillery, there is no art or cartooning style these women cannot ape and recontextualise.
• Hanging out with my little bro who was sharing table duties with me, nice to see a bunch of his first mini-comics fly off the table -  look at his art here, Endpaper Anxiety.
• Bernard Caleo
• Chatting Love and Rockets with Matt Kyme
• Meeting Paul Peart-Smith and chatting about my particular favourite comics of his.

A big thank you to organisers Sarah and Clea for offering me a spot to do a presentation on the career and life of New Zealand/Australian cartoonist Noel Cook.

Below a few pictures of comics people at Homecooked 2015, there were many more that I did not get to take snaps of because I'm a terrible stupid pretend comics paparazzo with barely adequate point and snap skills.

Bobby N took a whole bunch of better photos on his blog.

Claire Wilson and Michael Fikaris

Andrew Fulton

Scott Reid

Paul Peart-Smith , Thomas Campi and Dylan Horrocks

Steve Sparke

Scarlette Baccini

Frank Candiloro and Matthew Nicholls

Christian Roux, Neville Howard, and Alana Bruyn

Ben Hutchings

Darren Close

Matt Kyme

Brendan Halyday

Bernard Caleo and Sarah Howell

Bruce Mutard and Carol Wood

Dean Rankine

Marigold Bartlett

Tim Molloy

David C Mahler

Dale Maccanti

Jase Harper

Dylan Horrocks and Colin Wilson

Clint Cure

Jim Bridges of the Australian Cartoon Museum

Paper Trail

Hamilton Zinefest 2015 are now taking stall registrations. (Poster by Gary Venn.)

Cartoons about #nzsnowden and GCSB. (Above cartoon by Sharon Murdoch.)

Go have a look at what Louie Joyce is doing.

Caravan of Comics are offering free minicomic downloads every week for a limited time, get in quick and download Meg O'Shea's The Wolves of King Street and Dean Rankine's EEW!

How a dorky Australian cartoonist got commissioned by Katie Couric to draw Larry David's caricature for Sardi's Restraurant.

Richard Fairgray writes about the launch of Sam Orchard's Family Portraits in Auckland.

Darren Close writes about making his first comic in 1993.

Catching Up File: Dylan Horrocks reports from France in wake of Charlie Hebdo attacks.

Catching Up File: I'm rapidly accumulating backed up days of podcasts to listen to, one on the to get to list, Richard Fairgray and Tara Black's Living the Dream featuring Robyn Kenealy.

Radio As Paper new anthology 8 x 3 featuring Australian and New Zealand contributors.

Adrian Raschella writes about the Pulp Confidential Exhibition featuring material form the estate of publisher Frank Johnson at the NSW State Library.