[Editor's note: The following remembrance of Debra Boyask was written by Darren Schroeder.]
Debra Jane Boyask aka Teacake aka Pelms, aka Bad Astronaut
11 April 1966 – 23 April 2013
Born
in Chelmsford England, Debra and her family moved to New Zealand in
1974 where they settled in Auckland. Brought up with the occasional UK
kids comic It was while training to be a hairdresser in the mid 8o's she
developed an interest in comics when she began reading the subversive
British kids comic Oink.
She
moved between Christchurch and Auckland in the late 1980s, and at one
time was on the fringes of the Flying Nun music scene, where her musical
skills came in handy tuning guitars for various male musos who needed
her help with that sort of practical detail but wouldn't let a girl play
in their bands.
When
a group of us at the University of Canterbury got involved in setting
up a small press comic fanzine/anthology Debra helped out by picking the
title: "Funtime Comics". She designed the masthead,
submitting comics for the anthology under the pen name Pelms as well,
including her ongoing tales of Spunky, Punky, and Monkey. Her humorous
approach to storytelling and the medium itself was questioning of the
"grim and gritty" comic clichés that we, a bunch of geeky male comic
fans, held dear in the late 1990s.
Debra
completed a BEd at the University of Canterbury in 1991, then BEd Hons
1992. After university she got work at the Education Training &
Support Agency as an educational evaluator. As her interest in self
published comics grew and she started publishing her own small press
comics titles she travelled with me to the 1999 Small Press Expo in USA,
and we took a side trip to take part in a comics jam held in the Cameron building, Toronto.
Inspired by the work of creators such as Ariel Schrag, James Kochalka,
and Joe Matt she began to produce comics with more autobiographical
themes and narratives.
Wanting
to get more time to draw comics she helped establish the tradition of
Midwinter comic retreats in 2001: a weekend away where a group of comic
artists drew comics without too many other distractions apart from food
and walks in the country.
After
several years working with as an educational developer at Otago Medical
School in Christchurch she began looking for jobs in England, finding
work at the University of the West of England as an educational
developer. She had particular interests in equality and diversity issues
in education, and became involved in support groups and message boards
for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual communities in Bristol
and the wider UK.
She
continued to send Funtime the occasional submission while being
involved in a variety Bristol's creative communities, taking part in
Stitch and Bitch workshops,
ladyfest, the Here Shop/Galley, rambling, and
much more besides. She also made wider contacts within The Caption small press comics festival in Oxford, submitting material to the Girly Comics anthology, and introducing UK
comic creators to the delights of midwinter comic retreats.
Debra
took funny comics very seriously; taking great pleasure in reading
them, making them, hanging with folks who did the same, and hanging out
with people as they made and read comics while they ate the food she
made for them. She was also very supportive of other folks giving comic
creating a go.
In
her final days her huge store of inner strength was much in evidence as
she dealt calmly with the cancer that claimed her life, but never took
her dignity. I have no doubt that she'll be the subject of a number of
autobiographical comics documenting the impact she had on so many
peoples' lives, and would have heartily approved of any bum jokes that
folks decide to include.
Debra Boyask on the NZ Comics wiki.
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