Word Balloons: Australian Comic Publishers Speak

The latest issue of Philip Bentley's excellent magazine on 'graphic story arts', Word Balloons, shines its editorial spotlight on Australian comic book/graphic novel publishers. Interviewed at length are Erica Wagner (Allen & Unwin, publisher of Nicki Greenberg's Hamlet, amongst others); Wolfgang Bylsma (Gestalt Publishing, publisher of Skye Ogden's Vowels, et. al.); and Baden Kirgan (Black House Comics, publisher of The Dark Detective: Sherlock Holmes, et. al.).

This collection of interviews offers a timely snapshot of a transitional phase in Australian comics/graphic novel publishing, as both mainstream book publishers (e.g.Allen & Unwin) and 'botique' comics publishers (e.g. Gestalt) alike seek to tap the creative and commercial potential of Australia's comic art community, by bring their work to a wider (non-comics) readership.

I found the interview with Baden Kirgan especially resonant, as his company faces many of the challenges that confronted me in my own efforts to publish The Panther comic book, by dealing with both the obstacles and opportunities posed by the newsagency/mass-market and specialist comics' shop market. Essential reading for prospective comic book magnates!

This issue is rounded out with the concluding episode of Bentley's autobiographical recollections, 'My Life in Comics', which has been an entertaining and informative account of the Australian comics' 'scene' throughout the 1970s-1990s. Word Balloons No.12 is available at all discerning comic shops, or click here for purchasing details.