Aussie Comics & Cartoons in 1970s a very brief history. Part Two

Aussie Comics & Cartoons in 1970s a very brief history.

Part Two

Part One

IS ANYBODY MAKING AUSSIE COMICS ANYMORE?

So, was there anyone who did a standard-type Australian original comic that was so popular in the era before the 1970s? It seemed everyone was vying to be an editorial cartoonist. Let’s face it. It was where all the money was being made. One exception was Skippy by Fauna Productions, it was based on the popular TV series and was drawn by Keith Chatto and A. Cubi. But it only ran for six issues between April 1970 and July 1971 because it was realised that having a comic of a show that was no longer in production didn’t help sales all that much. If Skippy had not been canceled just before the first edition it may have been more sustainable.

But there were still some creators out there with original characters and ideas, they just weren’t appearing in the standard comic format.

The Saga of Iron Outlaw was produced by Greg and Grae, (Written by Graeme Rutherford and drawn by Gregor MacAlpine) two young men just out of Swinburne Uni that was published by the flailing Melbourne Sunday Observer. Not to be confused with the Maxwell Newton owned enterprise which followed four years later. The colour strip was a satire on Australian life, language as well as Federal and State politics where a Ned Kelly type superhero fights the forces of evil. The comic would be in present times, considered highly inappropriate due to its language (racist) and storylines (also racist). The page continuous comic started in June 1970 and transferred to the Nation Review where it ran as a black and white full-page comic and retitled Iron Outlaw and Steel Shelia when the Sunday Observer folded in February 1971. Attempts have been made to make the 50-year-old strip into a collection but the copyright owners just want to bury the strip in the past because of repercussions due to its content.

Another Ned Kelly continuous story Ned Kelly by Monty Wedd ran uninterrupted in the Sydney Sunday Mirror for two years in the early 1970s. It was eventually collected as a collection / graphic novel by ComicOz in 2014.

Captain Goodvibes  (aka Pig of Steel or Vibes) was created by Tony Edwards and first appeared in  Tracks a popular surfing magazine in March 1973. Goodvibes was a pig who came into being after a porkchop was irradiated by a nuclear plant accident. He was crass, vulgar, smoke drank, did drugs and surfed. Of course, this made him an instant success with the youth of the era. Goodvibes may have been relatable to his readership but it was the evolution of Edward's artwork and splash pages that lifted Captain Goodvibes the strip to a whole new level. Edwards's pen and ink line work were intricate as it was vast, incorporating fantasy islands and cityscapes sometimes making Goodvibes a minor player in the story. With his popularity, Goodvibes became a radio star and released a record, a disco single  Mutants of Modern Disco (all Edwards of course), in 1978. Captain Goodvibes also had a cinematic cameo in the 1973 surfing documentary, Crystal Voyager, appearing in a brief but spectacular animated sequence during the film. But most importantly Captain Goodvibe's popularity led to the publication of several Goodvibes comic books, including the Whole Earth Pigalogue (1975) and Captain Goodvibes Strange Tales (1975).  In 1982 Tony Edwards killed off Captain Goodvibes forever.

Notable one-off comics not associated with any larger publications (independent) were The Atomic Horror Comic in 1977 drawn by Phil Pinder and Blinky Bill Comes To Town 1976 by Sarah Curtis.  

 

ONE MAN STANDS ALONE

 

Gerald Carr started the 1970s running and was alone in the Australian comic scene for most of the decade, as an original creator of the traditionally formatted product.

Carr's first self-publication was a comic fanzine, a one-shot title, Wart's Epic, which was issued in 1970, containing a mix of adult science fiction, violence, nudity and psychedelic artwork. Wart's Epic was distributed in Melbourne and by mail order to the USA. Carr had already had another adult-style creation Fabula appear in 1969 with the David Syme paper Broadside. The same people who published The Age. 

With nobody producing comics locally Carr contributed shorter stories like Aussie Fan to Rats Satirical Magazine but soon became interested in producing his own, which he undertook all the writing and illustrating himself. His first attempt at self-printing in 1974 was modest, with the comic only being distributed in Victoria. In 1975 Carr added more material and had his comic, Vampire!,

professionally printed for distribution around Australia. Vampire! which ran for six issues between 1975 and 1979, was a black-and-white horror comic that capitalized on the popularity of similar American adult horror comics and has repeatedly been compared to titles such as Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella. During the Vampire! run, Carr produced Brainmaster (1977) – which Alternate World co-owner Peter Hughes said “Blew his mind” and was “a hallmark moment” for him. and Vixen (1977) which became Australia's first comic book superheroine and was eventually released overseas in 1992

THE ENDING

In conclusion, the period from 1970 to 1979 was a watershed decade for Australian comics. Artists found their identity but not in the usual format. The rules changed, style and layout evolved but nobody was prepared for how different the 1980s would turn out and bring life back to the  Australian comic scene.

 Panel by Panel was published in 1979 and it’s almost as if those who read it sighed a collective “What the…?” because as soon as the decade ticked over to 1980 we saw in that year alone the creation of Inkspots Anthology by Phillip Bentley. Tony Edwards Captain Goodvibes Porkarama and the emergence of ex-cop and motor enthusiast Brendan (BJ) Akhurst whose cartoons and strips would appear in all manner of auto magazines from bikes to cars to trucks as well as his oversize collections. Gerald Carr would restart his Bridgett strip for the Sydney Sun-Herald and continue his self-produced one-shots.

The 1980s would be a quantum leap from the experimental 70s as Australian comic books and publishers came back with a vengeance.

 

SOME REFERENCES:

Magazine Data File www.philsp.com

The University of Wollongong archivesonline.uow.edu.au

Panel by Panel John Ryan (Cassel 1979)

DownUnderground Phil Pinder (Penguin 1983)

Captain Goodvibes My life as a pork chop Tony Edwards ( Flying Pineapple Media 2011)

Daniel Best ohdannyboy.blogspot.com

The University of Queensland www.textqueensland.com.au

Peter Hughes & Joe Italiano Alternate Worlds Comic book shop

ComicOz website www.comicoz.com

The Inked In Image  Vane Lindesay (Hutchinson 1979