Heiress To Tangurau Part Three

Read part one of Heiress To Tangurau from Princess here, read part two here.

 

English Comics Diversion: Tiny Tots and The Sunbeam September 29th 1951

Interview: Dean Rankine

 

One of the friendliest cartoonists I've met in Melbourne scene, I've been pleased to see Dean Rankine prosper in recent years. Five years ago we both tabled at a sparsely attended comics fair in Melbourne with more tumbleweeds than public in attendance. The last year has seen Dean a regular guest at Australian conventions where he keeps his head down and his pen constantly moving to keep up with commission requests. Dean's profile has expanded substantially with regular gigs on the Bongo Comics' Simpson's titles and prolific contributions for various local and international publishers. Next week Dean attends his first of two conventions outside Australia with appearances at Armageddon in Hamilton and Auckland, I asked him a few questions via email late April.

Read Dean's Armageddon profile here.

When did you start creating comics?

I've basically drawn my whole life. I remember making my own comics as a kid. I don't recall actually finishing many of the stories. But I started a lot!

In recent years you've worked for various international publishers, at what phase of your career did you commence professional work? Do you still hold a day job outside of comics?

After high school I did an Art and Design course at TAFE in 1989/90. And I've basically freelanced since then. I've done okay but never made enough that I'd feel comfortable about quitting my 'day job'. So, for a number of years to support my comic creating addiction I've been a Community Development Worker. I've worked with homeless people, been a Drug and Alcohol counselor and for the past 12 years I've worked on a Needle/Syringe Outreach Program. Which basically means I drive around at night and hand out clean injecting equipment to injecting drug users. It's a job I really enjoy and can imagine continuing doing for sometime to come.

 

What has been a favorite piece of work from recent years?

That's a hard question. I really love doing work for Simpsons comics. And the more pages I do I feel I'm getting a better handle on the characters. Also earlier in the year I completed issue #1 of 'Itty Bitty Bunnies in Rainbow Pixie Candy'. Which was an absolute blast to do. And BTW appears to now have a publisher. So I'll keep you posted about how that pans out. 

Are you involved in any forms of cartooning communities? is this important to you?

It's rare that I get to any of the local comic meet-ups. But I enjoy it when I do. So my main interaction with comic peeps is over the interweb. And I cannot begin to tell you how important that is to me. The friendships I've made and the support I've received online over the years has been amazing. And to be honest I don't know how I'd cope without it.

 

Do you have any highlights from recent conventions you'd like to share?

Going out for tea together at the last Melbourne con was pretty good! 

But the last couple of cons have been fantastic! Being a guest has been cool. Because you score a free lunch and get to go to the 'green room' and having awkward conversations with famous people.

But my absolute favourite part is sketching for the punters who come up to my table and getting to see other comic creators in the flesh.

Have you been to New Zealand before?

No. I haven't. And I am super-stoked that Armageddon is giving me the chance to come over. I think the shows are going to be an absolute hoot! And I'm looking forward to just having some time to check the place out.

Dean Rankine online.

Sunday Gem: Mandy Ord's City Tales

Mandy Ord's monthly comics at the Goethe -Institute City Tales blog.

Created by Mandy Ord ©Goethe -Institute

English Comics Diversion: Tiny Tots and The Sunbeam Oct 13th 1951

Kath King of Kismet Cove - Death -Down Deep

Kath King of Kismet Cove adventure comic by Phil Belbin and Sydney Ockenden from K. G. Murray magazine Cavalcade published September 1951.

Read Flash Cain -  House of Doom here.

Read Flash Cain - Killer at Hand here.

Read Kath KIng of Kismet Cove - Men of the Sickle Moon here.

Read Kath King - Memory for Faces here.

Read Kath King - Diamonds of Death here.

Read Belbin's adaption of RKO Movie Out of the Past here.

Samples of Belbin illustration work and cartoons here.

Read a biography of Belbin by Greg Ray here.

 

Images © 2013 Estate of Phil Belbin and Sydney Ockenden

Parade Magazine Cover Gallery

Selection of covers from Australian magazine Parade published during the 1950's. Cover artists are largely uncredited although I believe the first 5 years were illustrated by Frank Stackpool with John L Curtis his successor. View previous parade magazine cover galleries here, here, and here.

Jim Shepherd Remembrance

Jim Shepherd - Managing Director and Publisher Frew Publications Pty Limited 1987 - 2013.

[Editors note: The following remembrance of Jim Shepherd, written by his wife Judith Shepherd, ran as the editorial in The Phantom #1663 published by Frew Publications May 2013.]

William James (Jim) Shepherd

It is with great sadness, I tell you that Jim died suddenly in the early evening of Monday 15 April 2013. This is, without doubt, a very sad time for me, his family and indeed for you, our loyal Phantom readers of many years here in Australia and all around the world.

     Jim enjoyed a diverse and exciting career as a journalist, broadcaster and author, long before he met The Ghost Who Walks. Born 21 August 1933, Jim became a well-known and respected sports commentator, firstly in Sydney's newspaper circles, before branching out into radio, and later became the Sporting Director for Sydney's Channel 0 (later Channel 10) television station during 1964-1970.

     As a journalist Jim covered a wide variety of sports, including Rugby League, Boxing, Soccer, Athletics, Golf, Tennis and Cycling. His encyclopaedic knowledge of sports and sports stars would serve him well for his next career. In 1974 he completed and wrote The Australian Sporting Almanac (Hamlyn 1974), the first of many successful sporting reference titles, he would write on behalf of other publishers as well as for his own book imprint, Sportsbook Publishing Co. These included The Encyclopaedia of Australian Sport, (Rigby 1979), Rothmans Australian Rugby Yearbook (Sportsbook 1983), Great Moments in Australian Sport (Angus & Robertson, 1987) and Big Rev Kev (Landsdowne,1983), the autobiography of Australian racing driver, Kevin Bartlett, was co-authored with Jim.

     Motor racing remained a life-long passion for Jim who began racing stock cars on the local speedway dirt track circuit before progressing to Formula Two (2000 cc) road racing events.

     Such was Jim's enthusiasm for the sport he wrote two books on the subject, A History of Australian Motor Sport (Sportsbook, 1980) and A History of Australian Speedway (Frew Publications, 2003) - indeed, Jim later delightedly declared that his Speedway book was a near total sell out!

     Jim's involvement with The Phantom dates back to 1987 when Frew Publications surviving founders, Ron Forsyth and Lawford 'Jim' Richardson approached him for advice on how they could rejuvenate their Company's sole remaining comic book title. Jim came on board with The Phantom No 875 (1987) Old Baldy and steadily undertook incremental changes designed to improve the comic book. Such changes included reinstating the old Frew logo on the front cover along with the inclusion of the Phantom Forum letters page (No 917, 1988).

     But arguably his greatest achievement was to commence reprinting unedited, original classic Lee Falk Phantom adventures from the 1930s and 1940s. Thus the beginning of the Frew 'renaissance'.

     Similar to The Phantom The Ghost Who Walks—The Man Who Cannot Die, Jim, himself, was a legend to both the sporting community and Phantom World.
 
     His life was a wonderful journey and I was fortunate to share part of my life with him. The Legend Lives On.

Sincerely Judith Shepherd, Senior Editor

[Reproduced with the kind permission of Judith Shepherd.]