Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (00:10):
My next recent reads is live. This is episode three. Um, thanks to illness I missed last fortnight, so we’ve sort of skipped over. But, um, I’ve affectionately started calling it CXRR. I don’t know if that’s gonna catch on, but there we go. Today we have, oh, we’ve got comments already. Why can’t I, oh, because I’m on a different screen. <laugh>. Um, today we’ve got Stu, Tom, Lauren, and of course Ed on The Buttons and myself, siz. And we’ll just quickly go around and ask everyone what they have read. I will start, um, I have read this one, A visit from Midnight, mummy. Uh, we’ll go around the circle there. So start with you Stu.

Stu Thornton (00:55):
I’ve got a good Aussie one Devil’s Toilet by Sped.

Lauren Marshall (01:01):
I’ve heard that,

Stu Thornton (01:02):
So I’m reluctant say it’s

Lauren Marshall (01:04):
Good. Legend

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:05):
<laugh>.

Tom Magee (01:08):
Uh, I’ve got, uh, invincible by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley, the third Trade paperback, which is called Perfect Strangers, I believe. I don’t have it in front of me right now ’cause it’s in a moving box there. It’s, oh, there, it’s, that’s the one.

E.D. Kearsley (01:23):
Uh, I’m gonna be doing Foes by Peter Wilson,

Lauren Marshall (01:29):
And I’ve got Lady Killer Joelle Jones and Jamie as Rich. Um, it’s Duck Horse title.

E.D. Kearsley (01:37):
That was cool. Back to you, sis

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:42):
Back to me, <laugh>.

Tom Magee (01:44):
Now

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:45):
I’m, I’m really stressed that I’m gonna pronounce this name wrong. Um, my book is like I already said, a Visit from Midnight mum, and it’s by Tatiana Davidson. I’ve just been told that was right in the, in the background there. Um, <laugh>, uh, this one was an interesting read. Um, I think I read it too quickly for one. Um, I think it’s one of those books that you need to kind of soak in each thing that you read. Um, ’cause I think

(02:18)
I kind of understood it, but I kind of didn’t at the same time. Um, but I didn’t understand it in that way where you kind of, in the back of your brain know if you had read this right, you’d understand it, Shane. So, um, but anyway, it starts with the kid. Uh, he goes to school, he gets bullied. Um, uh, Charlie, his name is, and I’ll show you some of the interior art and Oh yeah, Tatiana also did all the art and the story. Oh, sorry. So it’s pretty cool art. And there’s, um, Charlie in the corner there.

(03:00)
He’s, he’s, um, well this is the part I got really confused about. I got confused because there’s a, there’s a woman in the book and there’s also a girl in the book and I keep getting them confused because they’ve got the same hairstyles and it’s hard to tell how high they are. And, um, but they’re called, one’s called their sister at the, uh, but yeah, like I said, I need to read this maybe two or three times to get it properly. Uh, I did enjoy what I did understand. I really enjoyed the art. Um, but yeah, I need to go back and read it again and probably again and again ’cause I’m, there are little things I think that happened that I’m missing because I went through it too quickly. And, uh, ’cause the rest of it makes sense and there’s just towards the end is where it gets confusing for me. Um, the Midnight Mommy is some sort of creature that has birthed from a rabbit dog. Um, and that’s where I started getting confused. So yeah, <laugh>, that’s the one I read recently. Excellent. That’s Whack <laugh>. Oh, do I decide who’s next? Sorry. Okay. Um, go in the order that they’re on the screen, I thought Ed was just gonna throw someone up. Uh, we’ll go with Lauren.

Lauren Marshall (04:18):
Hey, how you going? Um, so as mentioned, I actually got the chance to finally read Lady Killer, which has been sitting in my bookcase for quite some time, um, after I finally, uh, cleaned up the studio. Uh, so this is a Dark Horse title. It’s Co-written by Joelle Jones and Jamie s Rich. Um, they, uh, if nobody knows Joelle Jones, huge, huge fan of her work. Um, she’s doing the, the Niche Turtle series that’s gonna be released at the end of July. Um, she, she’s doing the story about Raf so, which is quite fitting. Um, this is very smartly drawn. I’m coming at it from an artist’s perspective, um, and seeing how the storytelling and the stuff that I’m really looking out for in terms of improvement for my work. So take that as a grain of salt. Um, she’s done incredible. I find that a lot of the work is, um, simple, but not simple. Like, it’s not overdrawn and the colorist hasn’t gone, I think, I don’t whether she coloured it or not. I actually look at that. Um, no Colours by Laura, which is awesome. Um, so the colours are quite simple. They’re, they’re not rendered like over rendered or anything. They’re actually quite plain if you look at that. They’re, they’re more like flats than anything else. Um, okay.

(05:42)
The stuff is, it’s absolutely stunning in terms of the movement of the artwork, but I think the, the smartest thing that she’s done is what this story is quite, it’s obviously, is it, I’ll go back to the story. Sorry, I’ll start again. ’cause my brain goes fast for my mouth. Um, <laugh>, so the stories Lady Killer, obviously that lady, she’s an assassin. Um, and the stories about her, like setting up the story for obviously for future, uh, episodes issues. Um, and this, this, she’s incredible in terms of the movement and the pacing for the fight scenes. And the smartest thing that she’s done is all the blood is black. Um, it looks, it’s just ink splatter. It’s, um, smartly done on the pages. Like even in the corners, she hasn’t cleaned up the corners of what any of her panels. There’s like little splatters that are on the side and stuff like that.

(06:36)
And when it gets to like a peak moment, the blood turns red. And I think that’s probably the smartest choice in terms of, um, storytelling. And I think that’s obviously a collaboration in between the two, um, people putting towards this story. Um, it’s very smartly done, and I like the fact that it’s not relying too much on the artsy-fartsy, um, bells and whistles that a lot of people do and have been doing recently. And it’s really sticking to the story and the simplicity of drawing. And don’t get me wrong, Joelle amazing at drawing, like, incredible, the, the character, the emotions, the fluidity of her work in Sensational. So I think it kind of ticks a lot of boxes in terms of that The story’s easy to follow, really sets up for a lot of extra issues, stuff like that. So definitely worth read. Yeah. Awesome. So I’m gonna throw a Stu

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (07:31):
<laugh> <laugh>.

Stu Thornton (07:34):
Wow. Um, awesome. I was lucky enough to, I think it was on Drink and Draw with, um, sp and he, and he started talking about the Devil’s Toilet. Now I’m generally into superheroes and Marvel, and that’s sort of my jam. But, um, it intrigued me at Devil’s Toilet, you know, so I thought I’d buy it available at comics. Um, and, uh, <laugh>, I had a read through it and absolutely loved it. I even messaged him and said, I’ve gotta get issue number two. I’ve gotta see what happens next in this crazy story about a toilet in hell that gets, um, basically its own sentient beam and then escaping from hell. This is probably the best. This is actually one of the captions in there. Um, it’s, um, it’s just like that our story becomes John Carpenter’s estate from New York, except New York is hell. And Kurt Russell is a toilet.

(08:39)
And I think that sums up the whole thing pretty much. Um, but I love the artwork in it. It is, and it’s really fun and simple and it flows well. There’s nothing about it that is, um, not enjoyable. Um, there’s, it’s, it’s, it’s a good amount of action. It’s just a fun story. So if you’re after something that’s really fun to read, um, I know SP’s gonna get a really big head out of this, but I, I re recommend this. It is, um, I’ve got a, I’ve gotta, I’ve gotta actually put my order in for number two and I think number three, is that correct? There’s a third one. Yeah,

Tom Magee (09:22):
There’s a

Stu Thornton (09:22):
Third one. Yeah. I’ll have to go for both of them. There you go. Look at that. See, Ed’s even got it on hand. It’s that good. So yeah, I, I recommend this to anybody. It’s a lot of fun. Kurt Russell’s a toilet. Geez, come on, <laugh>.

Tom Magee (09:38):
That would hook me,

Stu Thornton (09:41):
Uh, over to you, uh, Tom.

Tom Magee (09:44):
Yeah, sure.

(09:46)
Um, yeah, so I’ve been reading the, uh, invincible Comics, um, and I started rereading, well, started reading them for the first time because I just finished watching the show. That had been, that’s been put out by Amazon. Um, is it Amazon or is it whatever? It’s on a streaming service. It’s such a great show. And I’d seen like things here and there about like, the story, people making YouTube videos about explaining the narrative. And like this massively explosive universe that’s just full of like, metaphor and depth that’s pulled from comics. Like, uh, there, there are tropes that are played upon and like, given such great depth. Um, and I think getting that experience in the show made me go, okay, I’ve gotta, I’ve gotta start reading this book. So, so far I’m up to the third trade paperback, uh, which is, uh, yeah, perfect Strangers.

(10:43)
And I think narratively, if anybody’s watched a show, um, and they’re coming to it from the direction I have, they’ve seen the show and now they’re reading the comics. This part is about the part where the new guardians of the globe are becoming, uh, selected. So they’ve just done that trial where robot selects them like a dodgeball team. It’s such a good comic, like it’s way, way better than the show, and I was expecting to like it. Um, but, uh, there’s so much about it that makes me really excited about making comics because it keeps, it, it’s one of those comics, and I love comics like this, one of those comics that you feel like you’re reading and you know, the author’s present with you and they’re like enjoying it as well. They’re enjoying making it. And you keep seeing these jokes and these sort of quips and these smart narrative decisions between characters and especially dialogue.

(11:36)
The dialogue’s really fresh, even now, I guess like, it’s like 20 years old almost. I I can’t remember when this came out actually. Yeah. But, um, it’s, it’s such a good comic and, um, it makes you think like, yeah, they had so much fun making this isn’t making comics so much fun. And I, yeah, it’s gotten me super hyped about making comics. So, um, that’s, that’s why I’m loving reading it so far. And it’s been about a month since I read this book, so like, I’ve been moving house. I haven’t been able to like, pick it up for a little bit. So, um, hopefully I can jump back in and yeah, it’ll get the creative juices going again for sure. It’s, it’s such a great book. Um, something I’m really interested about because there’s so many, like, different changes that they like that I’m noticing from having consumed a story in a different medium.

(12:26)
Something I’m really interested in seeing is how much of that, uh, expanded universe stuff comes into play. Like the di like the, uh, like the, the b plots with different characters, like I know they have, um, this whole storyline, um, coming up with, uh, with Robot, um, and how Rex sort of becomes, becomes robot in a way. I’m, I’m probably getting this part wrong, but, um, again, I haven’t really read up to that. I’ve only really heard about these things through like, YouTube videos and stuff. But, um, yeah, I, I don’t know. It’s, it’s a great story. It’s a really exciting story. It makes me hyped about comics, so

E.D. Kearsley (13:12):
That’s awesome.

Tom Magee (13:13):
Yeah.

E.D. Kearsley (13:17):
That’s good. Have you ever seen any Savage Dragon comics?

Tom Magee (13:21):
Yeah, I’ve seen a couple. I haven’t read any Savage, Savage Dragon comics, but I know of Savage Dragon. That’s actually something that, yeah, like, um, it’s interesting to see the differences in the show and the, and the book. Because I remember reading a scene that was in the show, in the show that had, uh, the Death of the Guardians of the Globe, right? And they’re at the funeral and Omni Mans putting on his crocodile tears and everybody’s sad and all that. And they’re, it’s one of those classic like superhero funeral scenes where people rock up in their costume, which is, is always hilarious to me. Like, you see these funerals where people are like dressed up in their costume <laugh>. Um, but, uh, Savage Dragon’s there in the comics. He’s at the funeral, but he’s not in the show. So it’s, it’s obviously like stuff to do with like, licencing and things like that. But, um, yeah, I, I’m, I’m keen to see that stuff is like really neat. Um, and I guess it’s plays, it plays into that whole extended universe thing. Um, but, uh, it’s, yeah, it’s, it’s, I don’t know. Yeah, it’s a really interesting comic,

E.D. Kearsley (14:32):
But the reason I brought up Savage Dragon is ’cause, um, is that Kirkman said that, uh, if you want to learn how to piece a superhero comic is you just copy Savage Dragon. And if you, if you read a, um, a Savage Dragon issue and then put it next to a, um, invincible comic, like the pacing, like how stuff happens is almost, it’s a beat for beat. It’s very similar. So we really did just, uh, use that a template for thing. Yeah,

Tom Magee (15:04):
Really cool. That’s great. That’s cool to know.

E.D. Kearsley (15:06):
Yeah. And Savage Dragon

Tom Magee (15:07):
Wanna check some, yeah, definitely check out some, uh, Savage Dragon. It looks cool. I just like the design of that character, right? It looks got a mohawk like, and it’s like made out of some kind of like lizard frill or something. It’s sick <laugh>.

E.D. Kearsley (15:21):
It’s good stuff.

Tom Magee (15:23):
Sick. Uh, so you’re next Ed?

E.D. Kearsley (15:25):
Yeah. Hey, it’s me. So I’m gonna do Pose by Peter Wilson. And this is a story of the, of a devil and an alien who are fighting over a donut that they get, um, they both get summoned to earth

(15:50)
By, uh, the respective teams of a, where’s my guy there? There’s like, there’s the cult one, and then there’s the high tech guys who are sending a beam up into space. And there’s a lot of great stuff in the, the first couple of pages where say everything’s mirroring each other. It’s really well, um, played out and thought out. And then this bit’s especially good where the, um, all the dialogue bubbles match and they make sentences, even though they’re from different scenes, the two different scenes going together. And then these, oh, where’s the camera? These two, uh, panels are excellent with the, the little demon appearing on the altar, and then the, the alien beaming down to the, to the science people. And then it’s just, um, pretty much madness from then on. They go through the city and then they, they both come to the, the donut shop and both go to pick it up at the same time.

(17:02)
And then it’s just, uh, basically it’s about 20 pages of, um, them just fighting through the city. And it’s really well done. The, um, the way Pete sets up all the, the, the new bits of the fight, they could, the new, they go to a different area and then he’ll use that, um, like the surroundings to, to set up stuff. And they all, um, and the way that they use their powers and, and, um, like how the powers are introduced is they’re fighting each other. And it’s 45 pages. It’s a huge book, and it’s really detailed artwork. And I like this bit too, where the, the demon deus gets toxic ooze on him and turns into massive, and then the alien’s like, oh, the old toxic ooze mutation. I should have seen that coming. And there’s tonnes of snappy dialogue. Yeah.

(18:11)
And then, yeah, so they basically just, uh, fight for the whole way through. So it’s really good ’cause it’s, um, I don’t think there’s any swearing. There’s no real violence. It’s just like cartoony violence. So it’d be good, um, good book to show kids, I think. And in the end, they don’t end up getting the donut. None of them gets the donut. They just slink off to their respective little bases with the dean is just in a alley in the garbage. And the, the alien goes up to his Luke Skywalker Star Wars tank to Heal <laugh>. And they’re just, just planning out for their next fight, uh, what they’re gonna do when they next see each other.

Tom Magee (18:59):
Nice.

E.D. Kearsley (19:00):
And it’s excellent. It’s, um, it’s really good. And it’s a great as talking of the, how Kirkman did the pacing for the thing. If you wanna study a, a, a thing for action comics and how to do pacing and how to set stuff up and pay it off. And it’s stuff like this. This is a, um, a really good book to look at, stuff like that. So that is froze by Peter Wilson. And there’s two additions. I’ve got two of them. Ooh, nice. I like it so much. I bought it twice. <laugh>.

Tom Magee (19:41):
That’s probably one of my, two of my favourite themes when they come together is, um, space and hell. Um, but, uh, I’m never thinking about it in a comedic way. I’m thinking about it in like a event horizon kind of way. ’cause that film, like that’s probably one of my favourite films of all time. Hell, like, hell is in space or a portal to hell is in space, but that’d be cool. Um, it’s, it’s, it’s just two cool concepts to put together, I guess. Like, um, so many different things deal with it in very serious ways. But, um, I liked, I liked, I liked the idea of this comic being sort of like this, um, Tom and Jerry ask violent, but like egregiously violent. I had, I’ve, I’ve gotta read this. It seems cool. It

E.D. Kearsley (20:27):
Seems cool. It’s really good. It just made me think of Doom as well. That’s like they find the order to hell on Mars. Like that’s the, the plot to that. I didn’t know that.

Tom Magee (20:37):
Yeah, it’s a great gamble.

E.D. Kearsley (20:41):
So we’ll go back to me again. One of my favourite parts of that book, like real early on,

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (20:47):
Is they’re fighting over the one donut that’s left and they get out of the building, they’re fighting outside, and the lady with an entire pile of donuts, refills, <laugh>,

Tom Magee (20:59):
I just love

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (20:59):
That they’re fighting over this one donut they thought was the only one. And she just pulls another bunch of, uh, donuts all into the box.

E.D. Kearsley (21:07):
She’s got the thing that she says, I hate the night shift so

Tom Magee (21:10):
Much. Yeah, <laugh> nice

E.D. Kearsley (21:14):
Because they also dunno what donuts are ’cause then

Tom Magee (21:18):
Not from her.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (21:19):
Yeah, true. Um, so this is a part where we all get to plug ourselves. Um, everyone knows who I am, so I’m not gonna plug myself. I’m going to plug this chin up. Um, it is a men’s mental health initiative. Um, Kerry bought me this shirt as a way of supporting them. So yeah, that’s what I thought I would, um, plug Look ’em up, chin up. Good. It’s a Men’s health, uh, initiative, so Yeah. That’s pretty cool. Mental health initiative. Cute.

Tom Magee (21:54):
Very cool.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (21:55):
So I have to pick someone now, don’t I? <laugh> Tom, plug yourself buddy.

Tom Magee (22:01):
Yeah. Cool. Um, plugs to do. Uh, oh. Yeah. So, um, I’ve got a comic that I am rushing to get finished and printed. I’ve got a market that I’m gonna be at this month called Queer Slice, which is a, oh wait, is it this month or next month? No, it’s next month. It’s next month.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (22:22):
<laugh>, you’ve got time

Tom Magee (22:23):
<laugh>. I meant to look up the date before the show so I could tell you what the date is, but it is, it is definitely in July at some point. Um, I should know this, uh, information ’cause I’m trying to get a comic done for it. Um, my comic is called Skyline Perimeter. It’s a science fiction or my first proper stab at just, just doing a science fiction story. Like I had been making this comic called Brain Drain for I don’t know how long, like, since 2017. And I definitely didn’t do the right thing where it was like, oh yeah, you shouldn’t, you shouldn’t try to make a 600 page book as your first ever comic. Like Mm-Hmm <affirmative> just start small and do smaller stories. But I was like, no, screw that. I’m gonna do this massive epic comic. It’s like, um, and uh, so I’ve, I I’ve, I’ve found that, that I’ve hit a bit of a wall with that.

(23:17)
So I thought, okay, let’s put brain drain down for a bit and let’s just make some shorter, simpler stories, um, and see how deep I can go with that. Um, so I’m trying to mess with some genres with this, with the story, with Skyline Perimeter, it’s got your classic like, uh, BSG vibes, um, like, uh, uh, set in the future human expansionist project gone wrong. Um, and I’m trying to throw in a cup a little bit of like fantasy into there as well. Like there’s some paranormal things going on. Uh, these humans discover these, uh, pillars on a planet and they, they call them, they call them Skyline Towers and they form a perimeter. And within the perimeter there’s some strange things occur. Uh, but it’s gonna be a very self-contained very short story. So it, the idea is to open that, open the mind up to something else, but then, uh, not necessarily have to rely on telling a massive story outta something.

(24:17)
So that’s something I’m trying to work on, um, and get that done by the, by queer slice, which will be my next thing that I’m gonna be at. Um, also, I put out a skateboarding magazine called Inward Skateboarding Mac, uh, it’s like an art and skateboarding magazine. Um, it’s got contributors from, uh, all over the world. Like we’ve got people from Russia, from the uk, from Canada, from America, and of course some Australians, some locals, people from Brizi, some friends of mine. And I just dropped that over in West End in Brisbane. You can get it in shops. I’m not gonna release it online yet ’cause I kind of want people to go to skate shops to get it. Um, ’cause those are like the backbone of this, of this industry. I think these core shops that really hold it down for their community, not just for, um, for the product or for the, for the profit. Certainly not for the profit half the time <laugh>. Um, but, uh, yeah, you can check that out. That’s, um, on inward skate.com and, uh, my comics and stuff is at to McGee or to McGee. Do, uh, yeah, to, yeah. Tom mcgee.com. I know, I know my own <laugh> website. <laugh>, yeah. Tom McGee do com. Um, yeah, hopefully I can put the links to that somewhere

Lauren Marshall (25:31):
To tie it back to comics. Have you seen the C or Die Cross Godzilla colour They’re doing, it’s a comic coming out.

Tom Magee (25:39):
No, I haven’t that that’s, that sounds insane. The la the last cool like skateboarding comic thing that I saw was, uh, Mike Vallely did a co, uh, collaboration with somebody to do a story about Mike Valli’s, a pro skateboarder. Um, and he did a collaboration with some artists from California to like sort of turn his story into this kind of comic book epic graphic novel. And I just thought that was sick and I’ve really gotta cop that. But, uh, no, that, that sounds crazy. Skater died, the

Lauren Marshall (26:11):
Artwork Sick

Tom Magee (26:13):
Gaza. Yeah, it sounds rad.

Lauren Marshall (26:14):
It’s a killer. Sounds rad. A lot of energy. I think you’ll like it.

Tom Magee (26:18):
Yeah. Cool. I’ll have to check it out. Uh, yeah. Um, Stu, you’re good. Next

Stu Thornton (26:27):
<laugh>. I, I don’t know what to talk about was

Lauren Marshall (26:32):
The nervous laugh at the beginning. <laugh>,

Stu Thornton (26:36):
I’m currently working on something that isn’t, hasn’t come out yet publicly. Um, it’s a 200 page kids comic written by kids, four kids, and it’s, um, it’ll be all coming out later. We’ve got funding for it. Uh, the lady who’s bringing out, the lady who’s the kids used to be on, um, uh, radio in Brisbane on breakfast radio, and she’s also was on house rules on television, and her kids have written comic books. They were looking for an artist. It’s me. I’m up to about page 130. Um, so that’s another thing I’m doing other than that, at the printers as we speak right now, in fact, there’s probably sending ’em to me. The proofs have come in, is this guy the Outlaw, or this guy outlaw my Outlaw comics issues one and two. Um, we’ll be out within the next two weeks. Um, he’s, he’s, it’s, uh, inspired by Ned Kelly sort of thing, although it’s got nothing to do with Ned Kelly, it’s just that I was always into Iron Man and that sort of farmer stuff and Australian comics.

(27:40)
So I, I’ve combined it together. He’s wanted by the underworld, uh, wanted by the authorities, hunted by the underworld. Uh, we’re bringing out issues one and two. Um, I’ve made a whole lot of stuff. If you buy issues one and two, you, we’ve got magnets that go with it. Stickers. I’ve even got Australia post stamps that’ll go in the set, um, mine when you buy the, the whole shebang. Um, so yeah, so that’s coming out in the next couple of weeks. So I first came up with this idea, and this will make, this will really age me back in 1986. Um, since then, I’ve been a cartoonist for comic strips for the, uh, for the newspapers as a cartoonist for the papers for 11 years. Um, I’ve always wanted to do comic books. I’ve just never done it. I’ve done courtroom sketch, artists, caricatures, political cartoons, but I’ve never done comic books.

(28:32)
And finally, at the age of 54, I’m now bringing out my comic books. Um, yeah. And I’ll be out in two weeks. So I’m pretty excited about the whole thing. That’s awesome. And as you can say, I’m going all out. I’m like, seriously? Yeah. It’s, it’s probably really crap, but I’m, I’m, my mom will buy one, so I’m <laugh> so I’ve got that. I’ve got the proofs all ready to go, and yeah, I’ll be bringing it out. Um, I was always a black and white artist. I did a lot of work obviously with, um, the papers and that in colour. And I’m a graphic designer, so I do a lot with colour, uh, every day in my, in my real job or my full-time job. Um, but so the whole thing I’m doing in black and white, so this is sort of some of the artwork in it.

Lauren Marshall (29:23):
Nice.

Tom Magee (29:25):
Is that a scene taking place at, uh, Luna Park there?

Stu Thornton (29:28):
Yeah, well, it’s a different reality, so I haven’t named Luna Park. Oh, cool. Inspired by Luna Park. Yeah, <laugh>. Love that. Um, yeah, so, and like I’m from Sydney originally, so the story starts in Sydney. It’s gonna move into Darwin where I lived for 20 years. And now, uh, you old devil, look at Nick, he’s the same age as me. Seriously. Old man, <laugh>, um, uh, and now I’m in Perth, so the story will follow me around wherever I am also. So, but yeah, that one starts in, well it’s called the Big City. I, I’m a bit like DC in that sense. I haven’t named New York, New York, you know, um, I’ve, you know, Gotham and Metropolis and whatever else I’ve just been, I’m not that smart. So it’s a big city and Darwin’s North City. How’s that? Yeah, <laugh>, I’m, I’m not that original, but anyway, um, yeah, that’s two weeks guys. Over to you.

Lauren Marshall (30:35):
Oh, it’s me. Uh, I’ve been busy. Um, so appearance wise, I’ll be in Sydney, um, for Supernova in what, two and a half weeks or three weeks, whatever it is. And then following weekend we’ll be Perth Supernova. Uh, next month I’ll be at PC af, um, which is Perth Comic Art Festival. That is, um, 27th, I think 20 or 28th is the, um, market Day. Um, and then there’s a new, well it’s a newish, it’s, it’s re redone, um, evolve Perth Comic, what’s just a convention. Um, and that one’s in September, so I’ll be there as well, which I think is the seventh. Um, but that’s me for the year. Uh, in terms of work, just wrapped up Bolt, um, the Electrified Bolt, which hopefully will, um, be out soon. I think they’ve got a crab fund, that one. Um, I’ve just recently signed up to take on Morris in the metal.

(31:34)
Nice sequentials of that one. Um, so I’ll be doing issue four, which is already underway, doing the, um, roughs at the moment. Um, and then hopefully get onto pencils, uh, in the next two weeks. Um, wanna get that obviously as soon as possible. Um, but Aaron approached me and he is very pumped to get out as many issues as possible, so we’ll get cracking on those, which is a killer story. Another one that everyone should check out. Um, other than that, I’ve got, uh, my first inch turtle cover woohoo, coming out, um, in July. Um, so that is for the number one, um, 2024 issue. And to relate back in Joelle Jones who did the Art on Lady Killer is doing that issue as well, which is really nice. Um, and then, um, I think that’s it there. I do a couple things for, um, the Phantom, um, fund fundraiser. I did that piece for the fundraiser, which, um, they had that event on the Saturday of Sydney Supernova. And hopefully they’ll raise up lots of money for the kids’ hospital, uh, which is really nice. Westmead, which is cool. Yeah, very, very cool about it. Yeah. Um, other than that, yeah, just, um, trying to keep up with the schedule <laugh>,

(32:52)
Go for it.

E.D. Kearsley (32:56):
So I’ve got my, um, comic book radical. There’s three issues of that available at, um, comic shop. And I also do a comic book called Sim Mandrels from Earth, which is also available at the comic shop. Yeah. And you can find more of my stuff at Ed Kiley Art on Instagram. And I’ve got a Patreon where I’ve also got, um, my, uh, I got a Australian crime story comic called Cover, and there’s, um, some other stuff on there. And um, so that’s just, I’m working on all that stuff at the moment. Um, so I think that’s about it. So, um,

Lauren Marshall (33:46):
Very cool.

E.D. Kearsley (33:48):
Why don’t we show this? Wait. Sure. Add for the comic shop. Everyone watch this.

Voice Over (33:56):
Are you feeling a little down, tired of reading the same old books again and

Voice Over (34:02):
Again

Voice Over (34:05):
Looking for something different?

Voice Over (34:09):
Why not? Head over to the comic shop now and pick yourself up some freshly inked inspiration.

E.D. Kearsley (34:27):
I’m feeling pretty inspired.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (34:33):
Awesome, ed. Okay, uh, we’re gonna start this off with me admitting to, uh, introducing everyone incorrectly. Forgetting to ask all the questions I meant to ask. And I know that’s why Ed had that little look on his face. I know it, I know it. Um, anyway, this is the part where we all recommend, uh, a book that, a comic that we’ve read anytime in our lives. Um, not, not necessarily recently. Uh, I will start off, I would have to recommend, and it, uh, this sort of, well, the last book I, uh, the book that I actually talked about before, uh, is an Australian indie, I should not note that. Uh, this one’s kind of Australian. It’s uncanny X-Men 245. This is where the male, uh, part of the X-Men after an issue where it was the girls night out, uh, all go to a pub and the world is attacked by aliens just as this happens. So fairly drunk versions of the X-Men, except Wolverine, of course, who can’t get drunk. I have to stop the Aliens. And it’s a very and, um, great comic. And the strain in me loved the Outback Pub and fighting aliens, and it was just a lot of fun. So that would be the one I recommend. Cool. And I’ll go with you, ed <laugh>.

E.D. Kearsley (35:55):
I get to recommend everyone read Platinum Grid, which is a nineties Australian independent, um, comic book, um, by Trudy Cooper and Doug Bain, uh, Danny Murphy and Roger Beams. They’ve got all, um, I see funny names for their, what they do, but I think Trudy Cooper draws it. And, and Doug Bain does the scripting, but this is a classic, they’re probably hard to get now, but if you ever see any anywhere, yeah. This is, um, one of the great Aussie nineties comic books that used to be able to get at the news agents. It’s the platinum grit bug and stump and, um, greener pastures were like the big three for, or the nineties kids who were collecting comics and looking for something else that was, these were on shelves that the news agents back then. And it’s really funny cover that. It covers great. There’s, um,

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (36:57):
Yeah,

E.D. Kearsley (36:59):
All the artwork’s really nice is, um, and let’s say you said the Judy Cooper’s using the, the zipper tune dots, making the grey scales, which oh, they never, um, could ever find them when I was a kid. And still to this day, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any real ones in real life, but that’s, um, yeah, it’s a classic. Uh, everyone should read it. If you can find them. They really should do a, um, like a big trade paperback of the platinum gr and bug and stomp. They should crowdfund them. If you anyone knows True to your dog, get on ’em and, um, tell ’em to get that done. Yeah. That’s my recommendation, but agree.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (37:48):
Great choice.

E.D. Kearsley (37:49):
Classic. So go to Stu. Have you done one yet?

Stu Thornton (37:54):
No. Um, where am I the, the greatest comic ever? Outlaw? No, that’s, no, I’m joking. <laugh>. Um,

E.D. Kearsley (38:05):
Uh,

Stu Thornton (38:06):
Gold Mine’s actually not really a comic. Um, it was something that inspired me when I was a kid. I was a teenager and my mother bought me it, and it’s now a video and it’s now in hard how to draw comics the Marble Way. This thing was my Bible as a kid. It was, um, the, the, the, um, the video with John Sima. John Sima, is that how you correctly pronounce? And Stan Lee, um, uh, it, Stan Lee’s over the top in the video. John’s miserable. It’s brilliant. And, and it’s, it’s, it taught me so much about, about layout, about inking, about the whole, the whole comic creating. Um, I traced it over and over and over again. I copied it, I copied it. Um, and it, it just taught me more than anything else that I’ve ever, more than what going to university in Sydney, um, taught me this taught me more. So yeah, this is my recommendation. But then again, university, um, this is my recommendation, um, a comic and it’s not a comic, although of course it is, got comic stuff all the way through it.

Tom Magee (39:27):
Nice.

Stu Thornton (39:30):
How to draw the human figure, you know, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Seriously, if you haven’t seen this guys, it is really worth having a look at. It’s brilliant. Or the video, you can get it on YouTube. You can just watch the whole thing, you know, don’t have to actually read anything. Yeah. Over to you, Tom. Nice

Tom Magee (39:47):
<laugh>. Yeah, sure. Uh, I was gonna say about your book, um, I mentioned it before we started the show, but it really reminded me of a book that had a similar impact on me by Scott McLeod, the Making Comics that he made a sequel to, uh, his first book, understanding Comics. ’cause he wanted people to understand comics. There it is. And what’s so sick about those books by McLeod is that they’re actually made in comic book form. Like the pages read as a comic that instruct you how to understand and read. And then in the second one, how to make comics. And yeah, I used to be so stoked about that book. I would bring it with me everywhere. I’d bring it to school just just ’cause I thought it was so cool to have and talk about. Um, but, uh, yeah, that’s, that’s a sick book. Um, I haven’t, I haven’t read the, um, the Making comics the Marvel Way though, unfortunately, but I know it’s a must have. Um, there it is. Everybody’s got their understanding comics. I haven’t got an understanding. I’ve just got the, yeah, I’ve just got making comics. Um, I’ve gotta, I’ve gotta bust that out of the, um, and I’ve read none of

Stu Thornton (40:50):
Them.

Tom Magee (40:51):
I’ve, I’ve not even read that Reinventing, I didn’t even know that was, I didn’t even know about that. So yeah, that’s something I’ll have to check out. Uh, I’ve

E.D. Kearsley (40:59):
Skimm them. They look all right.

Tom Magee (41:01):
Nice. I love that. I love that art. That’s sick. Yeah.

Stu Thornton (41:07):
Cool. I’m have to buy some old comics.

Tom Magee (41:10):
<laugh>. Yeah.

Stu Thornton (41:11):
I’m have to buy them now. More

Tom Magee (41:12):
Comics. Yeah.

E.D. Kearsley (41:13):
I’ve got top, um, Scott McLeod’s face tattooed on my foot too.

Tom Magee (41:18):
This is tough. For real.

E.D. Kearsley (41:19):
Yeah, my friend got a tattoo machine and he wanted to practise and looking for something simple to design. And that was the understanding comics. He was sitting around. So I was like, this

Tom Magee (41:29):
Dude, he, there’s like a real Pace does about like coming up with his, that’s, uh, his character version of himself in making comics. I think he has like a page about like, drawing characters from different distances and like how you sort of like render something if it’s really small and you figure out like a sort of shorthand of a way to identify a character. I guess it’s all like silhouettes and things like that, that you learn in like, art classes or university. But, um, yeah, stuff like that, uh, is really cool. I love, like, I love the, uh, idiosyncrasies that you pick up once you know how the sausage is made. It’s like seeing a, like seeing how movies are made and then you can never unsee those things in movies, you know. Um, but, uh, yeah, my comic recommendation, I reckon is, uh, I had to think about it while we were doing this ’cause I, I forgot to think about it beforehand.

(42:22)
But, um, talking about how Stoked Invincible made me to, uh, want to jump in and make comics, um, I was reminded of a comic that really did that when I, when it came out and I was reading it, uh, by Derek Kirk Kim was a strip called Tune and he put out three volumes of it, I think, um, through First Second Books. I’m not sure if that’s still a publisher anymore. They probably are. I, I’m, I haven’t really kept up, but it’s such a sick story. And it follows this guy who’s kidnapped by aliens and they dump him into their zoo. ’cause they’re collecting humans for their zoo. They’re collecting species from around the, from around the galaxy. Um, and it’s such a wacky, fun little comic, and again, just makes you like you, you read the book and you know, how much fun the person had making it.

(43:14)
Um, and Derrick Kirk, Kim’s such a great artist. Um, uh, such a good capture of like slice of Life, but in this absurd, wacky, um, premise. Um, but that’s, that’s probably my, my book recommendation is everybody go check out if they can, if they can find it somewhere, tune, uh, TUNE by Derek Kirk Kim, who’s just put out a new book through, um, image I think called, uh, the Last Mermaid. And that’s got some amazing artwork in it. Um, cool. So yeah, honestly, anything by Derrick Kirk, Kim. ’cause he is just really popping off right now. Really cool stuff. Yeah, it’s gonna learns

Lauren Marshall (44:01):
Me. Um, you guys stole my idea in terms of doing something that’s not comic related. So I’m gonna do two <laugh>. So I’ve still gotta plug the one that I thought was probably gonna be the most beneficial for everyone. Um, as mentioned, I, I, uh, artist at heart, so, um, anything by these guys, um, oh, cool. Etherington Brothers. Um, super, super simple. Um, they talk about like for shortening, setting up scene, um, just drawing things really simply, um, and just make it a lot more easier to understand. Um, yeah, they go into like a lot of panel work, stuff like that. Um, it’s just a lot of their stuff’s free online, but the book’s, obviously, I, I love a good tangible book and it’s really well printed. Um, everything’s really, really easy to, uh, navigate and apply to your work. So I would recommend looking up any of those.

(44:59)
That’s like volume five. Uh, it’s the only one I’ve got. Um, but a lot of this stuff is, is available online. So just if you just Google. Yeah. Etherington Brothers incredible. Yeah, super simple, easy to apply. Um, if you are looking at elevating any aspect of your work, all you have to do is write Etherington Brothers for shortening eing to brothers, um, layout whatever, composition. And it’ll come up with very simple tutorials for you to practise or, um, yeah, put into your work. Uh, in terms of, um, a recommendation of what to read, uh, we’re coming from an artist perspective, again, I think I’ve plugged this so many times, but I’m just gonna do it ’cause this podcast is quite specific in terms of that. Um, but black Sad is, oh yes, probably absolutely one of my all time favourites. Um, very well written, very well paced, and the artwork is insane.

(45:51)
All hand done. Um, hand coloured as well. Um, there is one particular pa uh, set of panels, which i, I did flag before. Um, that is just insanely well done and insanely well paced. And it’s just, it’s sort of like where I go to all the time in terms of where I wanna go. But my sort of stuff is, you know, let me see if I can turn it right. Um, just like easy, simple, like the, the panels are not overly done. They’re using the negative space in terms of the, the text as well. Um, just not making it in your face, but really telling a story and making sure that that animatic movement is still included within that static imagery. So very smartly drawn. Um, and the stories are quite relevant in terms of what we deal with day-to-Day lives in terms of like K, K, K, um, you know, uh, uh, um, political stuff. And, you know, um, I think you get a lot out of it in terms of that. So, and it’s another dark horse title, so I think I’ve got a trend going on there. Yeah, that’s me.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (47:03):
That’s me. And this is the part where, I dunno, ed, what’s I, what do I do now? I just say goodbye. Um, they’re supposed to. Okay, cool. <laugh>, I’ve, I’ve gotta write down everything so I’m getting all the shows mixed up and what I’m meant to do on each show. Um, so thank you Lauren, ed, Stu and Tom and me even. We’ll, we’ll thank Siz as well while I read it. Thanks Siz. Thank you for being on the show. Thanks. S thank you for telling us about a book you’ve read recently. Thank you for telling us a little bit about what you’re up to and thank you for your recommendations. ’cause I have written them down. Uh, they all sound awesome. Um, oh, nice. And the, the viewers in the chat as well and the view. Yeah, I was, I was getting into that. Ed.

(47:51)
Um, thank you for those who watch live. Thank you for those who watch after we were live. Um, mostly thank you to the people who watch us live. They, they’re great. Gotta love those people. Um, remember to like the video, share the video and subscribe to the channel if you’re not already. Um, that would be awesome. It helps us, uh, build up an audience so that we can transmit this to more people and so forth. Um, so on that, thank that. On that, thanks. On that note, thank you all and um, goodnight. Goodnight everyone. Bye bye bye. Like.