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Merry Christmas and have a fantastic 2023

It's been a great year here at DVN61 headquartes.

So to celebrate I'm giving links to all my digital works for free.

Just click on the links below.

ART by OTHERS stories by me. Volume 1 

ART by OTHERS stories by me. Volume 2

Game of Kings Picture Book

Holidays the Huner S Thompson way. 

Pious & Mole's Misadventure in Rattown.

Hey, I was in that one.

 Hey, I was in that one.

Links to stuff I had comics in.

You can buy them too, just click through the links and you'll find a way.

DECAY

Considered by some to be the best edition ever, and I have two stories in it. Pat Mills of 2000AD raved about it.

Retro SCI-FI

More work with the super talented Carlos Angeli

Futurequake SADLY FUTUREQUAKE NO LONGER EXISTS DUE TO THE UNFORTANATE PASSING OF ONE OF ITS FOUNS|DERS DAVE EVANS R.I.P

Len Lawson The Real Life Comic Book Bad Guy Part One

Len Lawson The Real Life Comic Book Bad Guy Part One

This article is a compilation of several articles previously written on Leonard Lawson all focusing on different aspects of his life, whether it be his time as a popular comic book artist, the censorship in the comic book industry of the era  or the resulting criminal cases arising from Lawson terrible deeds. I have arranged and edited them to give a more encompassing story of the man who could’ve been Australia’s greatest comic artist to a man who died in prison of old age.

The articles are listed here for reference.

The brutal true story of Australia’s sadistic ‘comic book killer’

Michael Adams  news.com.au 27-01-2019

The Sordid Tale of The Lone Avenger’s Rise to Infamy

By Joe Sergi    www.cbldg.org    August 2, 2012

Killer Lawson dies after 50 years in jail WWW.smh.com.au

November 30, 2003 —

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE
PART FOUR

Len Lawson

In  both M. Night Shyamalan movies Unbreakable (2000) and Glass (2019) Samuel L Jackson plays Elijah Price or Mr. Glass , a superhumanly intelligent mass murderer and comic book theorist with a degenerative disease that makes his bones brittle and makes normal mobility and interaction in society almost impossible. Glass is a supervillain who uses comic book stories to construct intricate scenarios that he plans to the nth degree in complexity. Where this could technically call him a comic book villain Australia lays claim to a real-life comic book killer, once an extremely popular artist and writer Len Lawson.

Leonard Keith Lawson went from highly paid successful comic creator and supposedly happily married family man to national disgrace in one crazy act of madness that landed him the death penalty and then released after seven years to commit more acts of an appalling nature that his convictions went on to make him the longest serving inmate in Australian history and eventually dying whilst incarcerated.

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Leonard Keith Lawson was born in 1927 in Wagga Wagga. His parents, Keith and Eileen, were both just 18 when they married and had him. Keith was a local celebrity because he was a talented boxer known as the Wagga Walloper.

Young Leonard — known to all as Len — was a gifted student, topping his classes. But his real talent was art. Len was a natural artist combined with a passion for drawing that his precocious talent showed very early.

In the early 1940s, the Lawson family moved to Manly. There, at age 15, Len scored his first commercial success as a comic book artist when he won a national competition run by artist and publisher Syd Miller, himself famous for co-creating the iconic Chesty Bonds character.

Len’s comic told a war story set in the Pacific and was included in an anthology published by Miller. On the back of that success, Len started studying art in Sydney.

By February 1945, he had published a full-length adventure comic called Peter Jury, which was included in Syd Miller’s Monster Comic publication, whose subtitle was “For Australian Boys”.

“Len is only 17 years of age and has promise of becoming one of Australia’s leading comic artists,” reported Wagga Wagga’s Daily Advertiser.

Len was precocious personally as well as professionally. Just like his own parents, Len was 18 when he married Betty Jamieson, also 18, in September 1946.

The following month, Len got his biggest career break when he wrote and illustrated all the stories in the very first issue of Action Comics, published by H.J. Edwards Pty. Ltd.

Readers were thrilled by the science fiction tale of Spencer Steele, who was exploring the universe in the far-off future of 1956. Then there were the thrills of speed racer Johnnie Star and the adventures of detective Michael Justus.

As a bit of background, the Australian comic market consisted of mostly American imports prior to the 1940s. After the start of World War II, the Australian government banned the import of American comics and Australia was able to develop its own local comic industry. At the conclusion of the war, Australia found itself with a large national debt and a determination to support local businesses. As a result, the Australian government kept the import restrictions in place. This gave Australian comic publishers no competition and a captive audience of comic book readers.

With popular characters like Flash Gordon, the Lone Ranger and Tarzan and their respective comics unavailable there were huge opportunities to be taken of in the local market.

Action Comics where the Lone Avenger was top billing.

So, by the second issue of Action Comics, a character debuted who’d become Len’s most famous. The Lone Avenger told the story of a masked cowboy named Paul Nicholls, who dressed in a white hat, red mask, green shirt, leather gauntlets, belt, and boots. The Lone Avenger fought crime: first on the range as a wandering hero

 and then in the town of Redrock, where he eventually would settle down and become Marshal of Redrock. Bull Malone, his sidekick, would become his deputy. An obvious rip-off of Fran Striker’s Lone Ranger

Action Comics had been an anthology but The Lone Avenger soon took over the entire book and would continue his crime-fighting run for 13 years. Kids all over Australia, New Zealand and Fiji joined the fan club and bought Lone Avenger toys and outfits.

Len produced other popular characters for Action Comics, including another cowboy dude, this one called The Hooded Rider, and a wild jungle babe in Diana: Queen of the Apes. But The Lone Avenger had the biggest following, selling 70,000 copies per issue.

LEN THE VILLAIN

By the early 1950s, Len was doing brilliantly. He had a successful career, a happy marriage that had produced three children and he was earning £70 a week, which is the equivalent of $2400 a week now. He seemed to have it all. Except something dark and twisted lurked inside Leonard Lawson.

On May 7, 1954, Lawson hired five Sydney models. Two were aged 15, the others were 18, 21 and 23. Lawson wanted them, he said, for a calendar, he proposed to publish. He picked them up from the studio at 9:30am and they stopped in St Leonards to buy some sandwiches, for the day’s supposed picnic ambiance.

Lawson drove them to Terrey Hills and they walked from the car through thick bush. “Of all the beautiful places in Sydney, I don’t know why you had to pick this place to take photographs,” one girl said.

“I am paying for this day’s work,” Lawson responded, “and you will do what you are told.”

This sunny day soon took a dark turn. “When this calendar comes out, I won’t be here,” Lawson told his young friends gravely. “I have cancer.”

The models were horrified and saddened. Lawson told them he was planning to commit suicide rather than endure an agonising death. “I am thinking about putting a bullet in my brain,” he said.

He took a sawn-off rifle from his backpack (in actual fact a pea-rifle, nothing more than a single shot “slug gun”), loaded it and declared he was going to kill himself there and then. Scared and crying, the girls pleaded with him not to. Lawson abruptly turned the rifle on them, telling them to all lay on their stomachs. He was going to tie them up, he said so they couldn’t stop him from shooting himself. He tied their hands and wrists and used sticking plaster to cover their mouths.

Then his true purpose became clear.

Lawson began removing or cutting off their clothes. Telling them they’d each get a bullet through the head if they resisted, he raped two girls, tried to rape a third and indecently assaulted and intimidated the other two.

“I don’t know why I picked on you decent girls instead of street women,” he said remorsefully when he was done.

Lawson untied his victims, paid them each their £6 fee and drove them to Gordon because one girl wanted to go to a chemist.

It was as if he thought what had happened was no big deal. Once inside the pharmacy, the girl called her parents and the police, who descended and arrested Lawson while he was still sitting in his car outside.

The craziness of Lawson’s actions here is the fact that if any of the women had been more astute, they could have noticed the gun for what it was and could have called Lawson’s bluff and walked away or held him to task for his proposed actions. This is not to suggest the girls were responsible for what happened to them, but their submissive behaviour gave Lawson the confidence to escalate his actions. The regret of his actions so soon after the deeds may indicate that he never intended to go the extremes he did. It however still revealed his hidden psychological problems.

COURTROOM DRAMA

In the days to come, Lawson gave seven confessions. But when the case against him on rape charges was heard from 24th May, he pleaded not guilty.

The girls testified against him at length, providing chilling detail of how he’d manipulated them before unleashing his full savagery.

Not true, Lawson’s lawyer said. The girls had all been willing participants in a “burlesque on the theme of rape”. Testifying, Lawson said he’d had sex with some of his accusers but it had been consensual. He did feel guilty — but only because he’d betrayed his wedding vows.

The jury didn’t need to deliberate for long. The Sun’s front page headline simply screamed “Guilty!” over a portrait of Lawson.

Found guilty on two charges or rape and on a further charge of sexual assault, Justice Clancy passed the death sentence, adding he saw no reason why it should not be carried out, although Lawson would be the first man executed for rape in NSW for 57 years.

Only 17 men had hanged for rape, described as a criminal assault, since 1788. The last man executed for the offence was Charles Hines, on May 21, 1898. Lawson was spared, sentenced instead to 14 years jail when NSW Labor premier Joe Cahill abolished the death penalty in October 1954.

PART TWO

ALL THE KING'S MEN

All The King’s Men is a 700 page science fiction anthology edited by Shane W Smith, the author of The Lesser Evil, Peaceful Tomorrows, The Game, James Flamestar, and Undad. All The King’s Men takes a look at the lives of those on the periphery, ordinary people struggling to make sense of their lives and dreams in a galaxy torn apart by civil war. Each of them is fleeing something different, but they've all come to the same place. When their ship is marooned in deep space, they pass the time by sharing stories. Things that have happened to them, events they've witnessed, rumours they've heard...

Shane W Smith has done a wonderful job creating a coherent story around over two dozen contributions originally with only the barest links if any.
After a successful Kickstarter campaign to help promote the book as of today 5th December 2016 the book and download of ALL THE KINGS MEN are now officially launched.

Of course, this all blatant self-interest to myself as I have a 12 page story PARADISO V as part of the anthology and here is a sample:

Buy your physical copy or download here. 

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2015

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

 If you’re ever reading an article about comics that starts with: “If you thought comics were the domain of young children you may have a surprise coming”. Turn the page, the only surprise you’ll get is the author didn’t research his topic very well. Comics’ audience stopped being the sole property of children and teenagers decades ago; the popularity of comic books only has to be gauged by the amount of high grossing and very expensive movies that are based on comic characters. Three of them are in the Top Ten highest moneymakers in movie history. Comics are a serious business. They are a lynch pin in the multimillion dollar geek/popular culture scene that incorporates movies, television shows, cosplay (dressing up as your favourite character) model making, video and Role Playing games and collectables among many other activities and hobbies. Australia alone has nine conventions a year in most states to cater for the popular demand that followers of pop culture slavishly seek out. 

 It’s not to say that comics aren’t for children anymore, not by a long shot, It’s just that those kids in the 1970s 80s and 90s didn’t give up reading them and created a whole new audience. During the 1980s comics went through somewhat of a renaissance when many British writers moved to the United States and re-imagined old and tired characters. This British Invasion led to change in the industry that moved artists and writers working at page rates and actually owning characters they created. The whole comic industry is littered with tragic tales and some are only being reconciled some 50 years later – but that’s a whole different story. During this renaissance new terms entered the language. The graphic novel and sequential art to describe what was considered throw away cheap ephemeral comics. Many went on to become classics with Alan Moore’s Watchmen comic actually appearing in TIMES top 100 novels of the 20th Century. In 2001 a Californian Comic retailer Joe Field was writing columns for an industry magazine, and saw how successful feature films based on comic book franchises were providing the comic book industry with a positive cultural and financial turnaround. This idea was Free Comic Boy Day and was so effective that in its first six years; more than 2000 retailers in more than 30 countries gave away more than 12 million Free Comic Book Day special edition comic books. It is now an anticipated yearly event especially here in Australia.

 I myself have been an avid comic book reader since I was in Primary School and I have my father to thank for that who in his 40s still enjoyed Phantom and Batman comics. I was also lucky to live near Gordon and Gotch Magazine distributors in Burwood who would throw out any comics damaged or sent back from Newsagents. These free black and white reprints of US titles could be picked up in bulk from the on-site store. From there I never really stopped, I am still an avid collector today as well as a contributor to the local scene. Thanks to the Internet and computer based graphic programs there are now many Australian’s at the forefront of worldwide comic creating fame. Artists such as Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott who work on popular superhero titles for DC and Marvel comics and Tristian Jones who has worked on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ghost Busters have huge followings. These artists can often be seen at the larger city stores on Free Comic Book Day doing free sketches and signings for fans in the spirit of the day. 
Free Comic Book Day has three main purposes:
 1) To introduce everyone to the joys of reading comics. 
 2) To call back former comic book readers.
 3) To thank current comic book buyers for their continued support. 
Publishers produce special edition comics geared to attracting new non-comic readers. There is a wide diversity of comics available, from traditional comics fare like Archie and Disney, super-heroes from Marvel and DC (Referred to as the Big Two and responsible for the most famous of characters and the majority of Superheroes like Superman, Batman, Spiderman etc.) and Manga as well as work from independent publishers.

The unimposing Alternate Worlds entrance

The days haul of freebies

The crowd

 While the larger city stores have the big name artists in store to promote the day I like to pop into my local comic book store or LCB as they are known. Tucked away in the Industrial estate not far from Scorsby road in Bayswater is Alternate Worlds, though they don’t have a stable of local artists sitting around trestle tables and queues around the block that still embrace Free Comic Book Day with an enthusiasm that has the shop packed with people checking out what’s on offer. Peter Hughes the shops co-owner says he looks forward to and enjoys the day and judging by the crowds it is one of the major days on the calendar. Operating in one shape or another since 1977 and being based in its current location since 2011. Alternate Worlds releases and sells comic books the same day as those released in the United States, which is usually every 

Peter Hughes

Thursday so the amount of titles is constantly changing. One of things I like about Alternate Worlds is it position. The entrance is in the corner where two buildings meet. At first it seems it is a doorway to a passageway because the businesses either side seem to occupy all the other space. It’s only when you walk through the door that you realise it opens up – almost TARDIS like - to a larger space. An Aladdin’s cave of shelves filled full of books, toys and collectables. On the day it was crowded but I could still catch up with some likeminded people for a chat and to top it off I came out with a lot of free quality comics to read and put off doing the lawns for a few more hours. Free Comic Boy Day is a yearly event that falls on the first Saturday in May. 

You can find out more about Alternate Worlds on www.alternateworlds.com.au. 


References: Wilkipedia, Bleeding Cool
This article originally appeared in the June 2015 issue of the BBCN 

DECAY Issue 18 Review

Dark Oz DECAY is Australia’s longest running independent horror comic.
Those unfamiliar with DECAY, it is the brain child of South Australian resident Darren Koziol (The DK in DECAY) who, as well as writing and creating themes, tirelessly edits, publishes and travels around the country to various conventions promoting the comic and its contributing artists. This means he can put out at least two editions a year where others falter. This hard work has come to fruition when one of the DECAY stories was picked up by SciFI/Fantasy icon Heavy Metal.

DECAY caters to the gore hounds, slasher fans and horror buffs but in a distinctly Aussie way. DECAY is full on mature reading fun that revels in its unrestricted format. Koziol has created recurring characters such as The Sisters, three ageless sexy vampires who have a long history of mayhem and carnage and the Oz Zombie themed stories telling stories of the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse in an Australian environment and other artist are free to explore and build on these stories.

The latest edition of DECAY, (Issue 18) was released to coincide with the Sydney- Brisbane Comicon double header. It is an A4 sized comic in both colour and black and white and printing is high quality. At $8 a copy it is great value when compared against the monthly mainstream imports. Its front cover prepares the reader for what's in store and the first story Sister: Class of 2014 leaves them in no doubt the cover was in any way a false advertisement, all in vivid colour. With 27 writers and artists (check the screen grab below for more details) making up the contributors list and there is plenty of variety in story and styles. Colour is used to great effect in the stories Sisters: Harvest and the Oz Zombie based Papa gone a huntin’ just as the modern gothic of The Lazarus Box and the patient revenge of The Forgotten Patrol are as effective in black and white. A favourite would have to be Adoption. Katrina Young’s artwork with the gentle colour wash is a brilliant accompany to Brendan Crates story. The animal characters expressions reminded me of Frank Quietly’s art in We3.
The Selkie and The Cure are other stories that stand out for a short sharp shock.
 DECAY deserves your support because it offers something other Aussie comics can’t. Consistency, in quality and delivery.
A great read for a good price and worth it just for the great Chris Wahl artwork on the back cover.
Danny Nolan

SAMPLE OF ARTWORK FROM DECAY #18

Gorgeous artwork from ADOPTION

CAST AND CREW