by Stuart Medley
Art by Soolagna Majumdar
The Australian Comics Symposium was a one-day conference held at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia, on Friday 29 June 2018, as part of the inaugural Perth Comic Arts Festival (29-30 June 2018).
This event was the first comics-focused festival in Western Australia. For many years Perth has been on the annual circuit of two major Australian pop culture events: Supanova and Oz Comic-Con. Both events have provided paid-for opportunities for local comics makers to show their portfolios and sell comics and comics-related art. However, both have a modus operandi similar to San Diego Comic-Con, in that they feature TV and film celebrity appearances and foreground the sale of pop culture merchandise. It was a stated aim of the PCAF organisers to have the focus on comics and to see what appetite there was in Perth for such an event. The inaugural PCAF was a big success with most of the visiting artists and scholars declaring it the best comics event they had been to in Australia. The market day attracted hundreds of visitors. Vendors all reported having done more business than at the big pop culture conventions. PCAF was covered by the national broadcaster (ABC) on its television news and reported in the state newspaper, The West Australian.
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Tags: 24 Hour Comics Day, Alyce Sarich, Andrei Buters, Angouleme, Australia, Australian comics, Australian Comics Symposium, Australian superhero comics, autobiography, Bruce Mutard, Campbell Whyte, comics festivals, Creative contracts, Edith Cowan University, Elizabeth Marruffo, Emilie Walsh, Ginger Meggs, José Luis Cuevas, Justin Randall, Library collections, Mary Leunig, Michael Fikaris, Michael Leunig, Oz Comic-Con, Pat Grant, Perth, Perth Comic Arts Festival, Robert Cook, San Diego Comic-Con, Sarah Winifred Searle, Shaun Tan, Soolagna Majumdar, Supanova, superheroes, Tommi Parrish, WASP, Western Australia
Jason Lutes’ stunning graphic novel, Berlin: City of Stones, captures a response to the woodcut novel that represents a common reaction by many readers who first open one of these books. In this case, the book Mein Stundenbuch (Passionate Journey) by Frans Masereel is targeted by the character Erich, who is having a heated discussion about objectivity and emotion with his friends. The panels display Erich as he pulls the book from his friend’s coat pocket. In a manner of disgust, Erich presents the book as an example of emotionalism. His attitude changes when he opens the pages and becomes engrossed in the pictures.
Fig. 1. Berlin: City of Stones. Book One. © Jason Lutes. Used by permission.
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Tags: Andrzej Klimowski, bande dessinée, Belgium, Berlin: City of Stones, Chris Lanier, Comix 2000, Danijel Žeželj, David Wisner, Die Idee, Ed Badajos, Erez Yakin, Eric Drooker, Frans Masereel, George Walker, Germany, Geschichte ohne Worte, Gods’ Man, Gon, Hans (Giovanni) Mardersteig, Hermann Hesse, James Reid, Jason Lutes, Jim Woodring, Jules Remedios Faye, Kurt Wolff, L'Association, Life of Christ in Woodcuts, Lynd Ward, Marc-Antoine Mathieu, Masashi Tanaka, Mattioli, Mea Culpa, Mein Stundenbuch, Michael Matthys, Otto Nückel, Passion eines Menschen, Peter Kalberkamp, Peter Kuper, Pilipino Food, Scott McCloud, Shaun Tan, Sonne, Squeak the Mouse, Storyteller Without Words: The Wood Engravings of Lynd Ward, The Arrival, The Silent City, Thomas Mann, Thomas Ott, Vincent Fortemps, Will Eisner, Winshluss, woodcut novels, wordless novels
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