Jim Dexter - Picture News 1940

Picture News was first published on Nov 4th 1939. Les Such, William Heaslip, M. Roberts, R M Younger and Alex Gurney all featured in the pages of Picture News. Gurney's signature wartime cartoon Bluey and Curly debuted in Picture News in 1939. Bluey and Curley outlasted Gurney's death in 1955 with Howard Norman Rice succeeding Gurney on art chores until his untimely death in a car accident on new years Eve 1956. Les Dixon took over Bluey and Curley in 1957, drawing the strip until 1975.

 Alan Marshall and John Elliot

The September 1st 1940 Issue of Picture News previewed a new 'All Australian Comic Strip Jim Dexter', which would be debuting the following week. Below is the first installment of Jim Dexter and a profile of creators, writer Alan Marshall and artist John Elliot.

Click for large view

Places To put Your Money

Dylan Horrocks has commenced producing daily water colours working with a weekly theme, this week being portraits of cartoonists. Dylan will be offering them for sale through his site. Get in quick folks, pages of Hicksville offered last week were snapped up in minutes.

The second volume of  Australian anthology Blood and Thunder produced by Leigh Rigozzi and Kernow Craig features a fine line up of Australian and New Zealand cartoonists including Michael Fikaris, Tim Danko, Kieran Mangan, Gregory Mackay, Mandy Ord, Jo Waite, Neale Blanden, Trevor Dickinson, James Flaxman, Andrew Fulton, Michael Hawkins, Sam Wallman, and others.

A Pozible campaign functioning as a pre-order is available here.

Sign up for the Blood and Thunder newsletter here.
 
Blood & Thunder on Facebook.

Roger Langridge has a Big Cartel store here. Original art from recent projects and sketches from Langridge's daily blog are available at BARGAIN prices. Buy up while you can!

English Comics Daily Diversion: Tip Top Feb 11th 1949

Places to Put Your Money

In it's last few days, the Space Pyrates Pozible campaign offers a variety of levels and rewards to raise funds for a collected edition of the Space Pyrates webcomic produced by Matthew Hoddy and Caitlin Major.

Support Space Pyrates here.

Read Space Pyrates here.

 
Longtime friend and publisher of Steve Ditko's work, Robin Snyder has a Kickstarter campaign here to produce a reprinted edition of The Ditko Public Service Package. Whilst many books have being produced in recent years from a variety of publishers featuring Ditko's work, this book presents Ditko's most personal work and money raised from it's publication directly benefits the artist himself.

Bob H's Ditko Weblog is the best source of Ditko news here.

Paper Trail

DIE POPULAR!

Former New Zealand Comic Gazette reviewer Stephen Jewell profiles Rufus Dayglo.

Neale Blanden's blog.

Pipedream Comics interview Jason Paulos.

I missed it, but here's some Chaykin heavy coverage of last years Brisbane Supanova from Tim McEwen.

Howard Chaykin and David Yardin (Photo by Tim McEwen)

Maude Farrugia and Jen Breach are amongst the twelve winners of the Australian Society of Authors 2012-2013 Annual Mentorship Program.

Simon Hanselmann's bookshelf at Its Nice That.

Roger Langridge cartoon blogged his recent trip to New Zealand.

  
Forthcoming Scar Studios Exhibition.

 

 
Michael Hill writes about small press Australian comics in the 1990's.

 

Tom Taylor and James Brouwer launch the second volume of The Deep in Melbourne at All Star Comics.

Dellaram Vreeland profiles Dillon Naylor.

Scarlette Baccini's Bathwater Books.

Australian comics community on Reddit.

 
Greg Broadmore mural on the ceiling of the Roxy. (from Meredith Yayanos.)

English Comics Daily Diversion: Rainbow May 12th 1951

For the next while I'll be sharing front page comics from Amalgamated Press titles from the late 1940's through to the 1950's. Rainbow, Playbox, Jingles, Tiny Tots, Tip Top, and Chick's Own were all juvenile titles published in England as tabloid size papers consisting of eight pages. The front and back cover sheet featured vibrant primary colours whilst interiors where black and white with one leaf utilising spot colour. Racial and class stereotypes feature in abundance and depict what was typical children's entertainment from the post war years of over sixty years ago.

Click for detail

Happy 43rd Birthday, Brent Willis

BA3 Comic Launch Melbourne

 

Now a firm institution in the Melbourne comic calendar, the third Big Arse combined comic launch took place last weekend with fifteen new comics released from primarily Australian and New Zealand artists and writers. Compared to last year's, overcast day of showers, Melbourne provided a warm sunny day for comic folk to gather at the Fitzroy Beer Garden. From my involvement in the three launches to date, I've witnessed the event grow in scale and ambition with a companion launch organised by Bruce Mutard during the Melbourne Writer's Festival last year looking to also become a yearly fixture. A further spin-off has been discussed to accommodate the growth in the local comics community and audience which bodes well for the future.

Nalini Haynes of Dark Matter Fanzine captured video and audio on the day here.

MC Bernard Caleo

 Passionate Bruce Mutard

 

Dillon Naylor and Bobby N

 James Andre

 Frank Candiloro and Steve Sparke

 Colin Wilson and Ian McColl

 Tim Molloy

 Fred Atkins

Darren Close

David Blumenstein and Andrew Fulton

  Jesca Marisa

 Peter Foster

 Brendan Halyday

 Marijka Gooding

BMB

Frank Candiloro and Scarlette Baccini

 Alisha Jade

Troy Varker, Jason Franks and James Andre

Alleyway beside the Fitzroy Beer Garden