ALIA Graphic Podcast

We started ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics in February 2020. The first episode of our podcast was published in March 2020 as the world prepared to go into lockdown and it's been a whirlwind ever since. We've been publishing monthly roundups of news, resources, webinars and new titles published since March 2020. We created our podcast feed and published our first creator chats in May 2020. All this takes an enormous amount of time to compile but we feel it's important to share everything we have gathered, not just among the ALIA Graphic Committee but with everyone and anyone interested.We have also made a special effort to interview as many Australian comics creators as possible. Our creator chats focus on Australian creators discussing what they love about comics, how they fell in love with the medium and, of course, their comics and graphic novels. A lot of them are on our YouTube channel and all of them are on our podcast feed (because some of them are camera shy and that's totally fair). We never could've imagined it but we are this is the 100th episode of our podcast.To celebrate this we have received some messages. We want to thank the ALIA National team for their support and we're glad to receive a message from ALIA Deputy CEO Trish Hepworth.Then, we hear from four awesome Australian creators who have been kind enough to put their pencils down and send us a message. We hear from:Sarah Winifred Searle, who tells us about what she loves about libraries and how libraries have helped her as a library creatorReimena Yee tells us about what she loves about comics as a story telling medium and how things are changing in the Australian comics sceneMat Groom talks about what he loves about the Australian comics community and his love of librariesJames Foley answered lots of questions and he has a lot to say about making, the Australian comics community and more.A huge thank you to all four of them for putting their pencils down for a few minutes and sending us a message. A special thanks to Chris Gooch who sent us the art for this episode.And a heartfelt thank you from everyone in the ALIA Graphic Committee to all creators and guests in the first 100 episodes. We love your work and we thank you for every email with feedback, the creator chats and your support.For more from us, check out our website and socials. Visit our website for more: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

In this creator chat Laura J. Carroll discusses her first graphic novel: Making the Shrine. Laura is a writer and visual artist living in Naarm (Melbourne). She's also a proud unionist and the extended covid lockdowns brought her back to drawing. Three years later she has published a graphic novel that explores the making of the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne and stories around it. It's a tender and funny graphic novel exploring the soul of a Melbourne's most treasured monument. Laura received an Arts Grant from the City of Melbourne that helped in the development of the graphic novel. She joins committee member Luke Darlington in conversation. For more on Laura J. Carroll and Making the Shrine visit: https://www.laurajcarroll.au/For more from ALIA Graphic check out our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

In this month's roundup James and Marissa discuss their recent reads, the plans to open a national manga and animation archive in Japan, Batman Day, including some Batman must reads and banned book week.They also discuss their favourite picks from this month's new titles::Morgana and Oz by Miyuli (Webtoon Unscrolled) [9781998854837]The Hidden Life of Trees: A Graphic Adaptation by Peter Wohlleben, Fred Bernard & Benjamin Flao (Greystone Books) [9781778401657]A Quick and Easy Guide to Coming Out by Kristin Russo (Oni Press) [9781637155066]Squishbook: Make Comics With Squishface Studio and Friends by Various authors (Nakedfella Productions) [9780987391261] [Australian creators]For all the news, new titles and resources please visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

Mike Barry is the creator of Action Tank, a junior graphic novel series that he self published and was fully embraced not just by the ALIA Graphic committee on our notables, but also by the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge and was also shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards. It was then published in the U.S. by Scout Comics and included in the ALA Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable’s Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List.And, of course, it’s also been recognised by the Comics Arts Awards of Australia!Now Mike has published Action Tank Book 3, the epic conclusion to this cosmic adventure of a young boy’s journey home for dinner and his mum’s pasta carbonara.Mike also shares his love of libraries as a patron and a comic book creator. And we discuss self publishing comics, what makes comics special, and collaborating with other creators. For more info on Mike and Action Tank visit: https://actiontankcomic.com/For more from ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics visit: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

In this month's podcast roundup Gabby and Iurgi share their favourite recent reads, they discuss an article on how to start a comics festival at the library, and a San Diego Comic Con panel where librarians reflected on the impact that comics, graphic novels and manga have had on library readership and propose the next steps to broaden its appeal. It's also the awards season, so they spotlight some of the key awards and discuss their favourite picks of new titles, including two new awesome Australian titles: The Dreaming Vol 3 by Queenie Chan (IFWG Publishing Australia)Follow Your Gut by Ailsa Wild, Lisa Stinson, Briony Barr, Gregory Crocetti, Ben Hutchings (Scribe Publications)For all the news, resources and new titles and more information visit out website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

In this creator chat Iurgi sits down to catch up with Christian Carnouche (who was in our very first creator chat back in 2020 as the writer of The Resurrected) and Meriam Carnouche who recently published Tunis to Sydney, with art by Sam Rapley, through FairSquare Graphics.Tunis to Sydney is an intimate, personal and poignant graphic novel that delves into the labyrinth of grief, resilience in the face of loss, and the complexities of human relationships.For more from Carnouche Productions:Website: https://carnoucheproductions.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carnouche_productionsTwitter: https://twitter.com/carnouchecFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Carnouche-Productions-Comics-588415654692779For more info and news from ALIA Graphic check out our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

In this special ALIA Graphic Webinar we had three very special guests talking about their experiences in creating comics, the freedom of the creative process in comics, why it’s important to defend different stories and art and their experiences with censorship, book challenges and bans.We were absolutely honoured to have: Briar Rolfe, a Melbourne based cartoonist who loves to make comics about the sorts of fun and messy people you might meet on the street and has a soft spot for dad jokes and queer characters who are works in progress. Briar’s debut graphic novel Get Your Story Straight will be out September 2025 through Hachette Australia.Eleri Harris, is an Eisner award-winning cartoonist, journalist and editor working on Ngunnawal Country in Australia’s national capital. Her non-fiction history, science and reportage comics have been exhibited and published all over the world. For a decade she was Features Editor at US-based comics website and magazine, The Nib, and is now using all she learned to write a book about comics journalism. The Power of Graphic Journalism, co-authored by Sarah Shay Mirk, will be released by Abrams ComicArts in 2025.Ryan Estrada, is an author and an adventurer. In the multiple award winning Banned Book Club he teamed up with his wife Kim Hyun Sook to tell the true story of her experiences being hunted down by the police for participating in an underground illegal reading club in 1980's Korea. Ryan has spent 22 years travelling the world. He has lived and visited over a dozen countries and his work is heavily inspired by his experiences and the cultures and people that he has met in his travels. Ryan will join us to discuss Banned Book Club, book challenges and bans in North America and Korea and the upcoming No Rules Tonight where he teams up with his wife Hyun Sook to tell a new story of fighting for freedom!Please visit our website for more: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

In this creator chat James talks to Kyle Wiseman and Rod Riley about VOX Books, hardcover books with an easy to use and durable full audio recording of the book. VOX Books is a product of Library Ideas and they have just partnered with James Bennett in Australia. Kyle and Rod talk about VOX Books, making comics and graphic novels available in this format and working with comics at a supplier level.James Bennett and Library Ideas are hosting a VOX Books information session Tuesday July 30 at 12pm AEST. For more info go here: https://www.addevent.com/event/sW22272978If you’re a creator and/or publisher of comics and want to add your titles to James Bennett’s catalogue go here: https://bennett.com.au/publisher-servicesTo stay up to date with ALIA Graphic, follow our podcast and check out our website for all the latest news, resources, and webinars: https://graphic.alia.org.au