My small part in Pop Culture

My small part in Pop Culture 

In October 2015 the last of the big three pop culture conventions rolled into town, the Australian Movie and Comic (AMC) Expo was being held over the weekend of the 17th-18th and I popped into the Melbourne Show Grounds to lend support to the publisher of a comic that was featuring two of my stories: Darren Koziol of Dark Oz publishing.

Darren Koziol’s mother Gillian says that anyone else with his initials would probably never utilize them or be scarred for life. She made this joke as we were going over the logos of Dark Oz’s DECAY comic the bi-annual horror anthology that has just reached its milestone 20th edition. Gillian was referring how Darren’s name and love of the horror genre has been used in a rather imaginative way in his publications branding. Decay of course comes from his initials why Dark Oz is made up from the first three letters of his name.

Darren began DECAY as a labour of love back in March 2010 writing stories, compiling other talent and editing in his own time. That he now has released twenty issues and become the longest running Australian horror anthology with over 150 creators contributing is a grand accomplishment considering he is still self-publishing. Along the way he has made friendships that has resulted in some of Australia’s top artists contributing as well as others as far flung as the UK, USA and Argentina.

Darren’s belief in his comic has taken him all over Australia attending the various pop culture conventions promoting and bringing his product to the market place. Based in South Australia Darren has since an early age been fascinated by horror, fantasy and science fiction, with a genuine affection for the earlier styles as opposed to the more modern high tech. effect laden movies of the last decades. This has been carried through with DECAY’s sister publication RETRO SCI-FI which comes out once a year, usually in tandem with one of the twice yearly DECAY comics.

While talking to Darren it is evident he is very proud of his achievements, more so with issue twenty because this comic he has designed and the lay out himself as well as contributed lettering (a new skill he taught himself) because of necessity due to the unavailability of others who he had relied on in the past. Another milestone was the republishing of the CUTHULU (stories based on the popular H.P Lovecraft monster) issue as an US comic standard size. The CUTHULU issue was one of the more popular comics with an original commanding a price tag of $150. Needless to say they were a popular item and good seller at the convention.

Darren’s enthusiasm is still high with each issue getting that little bit more notice and sleeker in quality, one of Darren’s stories was picked up by International SciFi/Fantasy magazine Heavy Metal last year, so the rewards can be measured.

 In these days of Kickstarter, short lived anthologies that run out of steam by the second issue and Aussie publishers that only release a four arc comic series one issue a year at a time it is great to have Darren and DECAY helping putting new creators and exciting stories out at a regular schedule and giving Aussie comics the shot in the arm it constantly needs.

For more information on the comic: www.darkoz.com.au

originally published in the BBCN issue 239 Nov 2015

Three quick stories for All Hallows Eve.

Three quick stories for All Hallows Eve.


Three Flash fiction stories that have been kicking around for years.
All released to enjoy Halloween.

 ALWAYS CHOOSE TREAT 

 Jason walked up the footpath with his usual swagger, his mates lagging a few steps behind.
He leaped up the stairs in one bound.
 "I'll show you how it's done" he boasted as he smacked loudly on door.
 "Go away" came a muffled voice behind the door.
 Jason kept banging until he heard footsteps pounding towards the door.
 It swung open revealing a skinny, tired looking old man
 "What?"
 "Trick or Treat?" asked Jason
The man stood- staring at Jason for a good twenty seconds.
Then said: "Trick"
"Tight arse" Jason mumbled and in one fast motion thrust out his hand which palmed an egg and slammed it into the man's forehead.
 "There" shouted Jason and turned to run.

 The man shot Jason in the back five times before he made it down the stairs.


 THE HALLOWEEN HOUSE 

 The four teenagers moved up the overgrown pathway leading up to the dilapidated house, flashes of light burst intermittently through the broken windows.
 Anticipation pumped through their veins.
“You know how the spirits effected Thelma last year” warned Fred
 “Yeah, made her do the Exorcist/Linda Blair pea soup thing – ughh disgusting ” answered Daphne. “Don’t worry we sure leaned our lesson” said Shaggy “Thelma’s designated driver this year and Scoobies only drinking beer”

 ALL SOULS DAY 

 Terry held his head in his hands as he sat on the steps leading up to the party.
Tears fell from his face onto his shoe less feet and instantly disappeared.
 It had been two years now and nobody seemed to remember him anymore.
 “I show them, they’ll miss me when I’m gone” he’d vainly cried.
The accident had proved that, his funeral was massive and all the girls cried.
 Some even kept photos, for a while.

 But now it was different story.
 Beside his still grieving parents he never heard his name mentioned amongst his old crowd.
 He was stuck, he hadn’t been offered Heaven , he hadn’t been offered Hell.
It was just him and his heavy head.
Terry stood up and put his head under his arm and walked back through the yard to Cemetery
He was wrong - popularity was fleeting.
 Death was eternal and lonely.


 All (c) 2015 Danny Nolan

DECAY ISSUE 20

Two of my scripts/stories have appeared in the latest edition of Dark Oz's DECAY . Australia's longest running horror anthology. I was under the belief that only one was to appear with another to be published next year as well as a  story being run in DECAY's sister publication RETRO SCI-FI. So we'll see how that pans out.

Cover art for DECAY 20

Jason Paulos and Dave Dye Australian comic book legends also make an appearance in this colourful gore-fest not for the squeamish. Of course I can't be objective since I'm in it so this isn't a review just a call to go out and buy the thing and promote Aussie comics.

The Night Before Christmas is about two young aliens on "schoolies" who cause all kinds of mischief and ultimately stack their Dad's car ruining Christmas for everyone. Literally
Artwork is supplied by the talented Argentinian Carlos Angeli. With Letters done by Dark Oz editor Darren Koziol.

The second is a story I wrote for the OZ ZOMBIE universe and tells the story of a lone survivor looking for lodgings in the abandoned upper crust residences of apocalyptic Melbourne.
This one was drawn by someone I know nothing of or have any contact for, a local by the name of Mick Anderson.














DARK OZ DECAY and RETRO SCI-FI as well as selected back Issues are available here.
This is a composite of the content titles in this issue.

YE OLD BLUES PROMOTIONAL POSTERS

These Paramount Records print ads span from 1927-1932 and were originally printed in the Chicago Defender. Paramount Records began around 1910  in a Wisconsin furniture company that began pressing records in hopes that’d help them sell record players The  company curated and released a  legendary catalogue of classic early jazz and Delta blues 78s by the likes of Charley Patton, Ma Rainey, and Blind Lemon Jefferson.
I just think they look spectacular.

originally ran in the Dangerous Minds blog
Go to this site for links and a more comprehensive history of these classic pieces of art

FERNDALE - In search of...

FERNDALE

A century ago the Dandenongs above the Basin were the homes of several large country estates. They were residences of successful businessmen who had profited from a booming Melbourne of the late 19th Century. Two in particular have reached almost legendary status for their Swiss chalet design and sheer size of the buildings. Today barely a trace survives of these majestic residences that were victims of fire, flood, taxes and time.
One of these was Doongala situated high in the hills in what is now national forest the only physical  remains now being the front steps, an old well which is still visible but safely enclosed by a fence. There is bluestone embedded into the batters of the road leading up to the old property and several hundred metres below that the site of the old stables. The gardens terraces are still visible to those with a touch of imagination. It’s a lovely place for a picnic but to sit in the quiet of the bush and release this house had several owners and was rebuilt several times - the first time because of a flood another by fire- is quite fantastic. I wrote about Doongala in the April 2014 issue of the BBCN- because I had to get a personal feel of where these mighty houses were built and how hard it must have been to move materials up the steep tracks and see if an thing remained of the awe inspiring gardens the families had created amongst the bush.
To see Doongala now and know that it was self-sufficient in most things and had large servant’s quarters for house staff, gardeners, smiths, stable hands and drivers. It is hard to imagine it existed within this steep heavily wooded area and basically completely gone by the mid-1930s. So much activity and lives lived at a time down the road Boronia had less than 650 full time residences and that was with a railway station. Because few pictures survive and plans of the property rarer, it is worth the trek up the track to visit the site and check out the information board as it has some illustrations of the house in its former glory.

Ferndale looking up towards Ferndale Rd

The second of these Swiss chalet inspired houses Ferndale belonged to James and Emily Griffiths, James being one half of the famous Griffith Brothers and the Griffiths Tea Company. In 1880 He and his wife Emily constructed Ferndale a three storey Swiss-style home (about two kilometres as the crow flies from the Basin Triangle Park) it had 17 main rooms including 11 bedrooms, these were complemented by three bathrooms, three studies, numerous laundries, workrooms and maid’s quarters.
Like Doongala it also had cottages for the labourers and farmhands who tended the animals, orchards and gardens. It was these many

James and Emily Griffith

orchards, large livestock holdings and gardens that made Ferndale self-sufficient. Ferndale also used the mountain slopes to incorporate a water reticulation system by damming the creek above a natural waterfall and running large pipes to the property. Ferndale’s gardens were believed to be quite a spectacle with many special features including heavily ornamented entrance gates, which opened into a bluestone courtyard complete with fish pond and fountain. Lawns complimented garden beds adorned with many varied flower species with a special area that showcased chrysanthemums. Sadly not a lot of photographs or memories are recorded of Ferndale’s glory days but local historian Rick Coxhill in his wonderful History of The Basin papers managed to interview Frank Grumont who worked at the property and leave us with his memories of Ferndale in its heyday. His descriptions of Ferndale painted in white, gold and brown conjures up a striking contrast to the lawns and gardens and the natural bush background. Ferndale’s demise came shockingly quick with the tragic death of James and Emily Griffith in 1925 when their carriage (Though it was the mid-1920s and the Griffiths’ could easily afford one James Griffith disliked automobiles and travelled in a horse drawn carriage) was hit by a train whilst crossing the line on Mountain Highway in Bayswater. Griffiths left a will that bequeathed his assets to his wife Emily. However, Emily did not die until four days after the train collision and consequently two sets of death duties were payable on the estate. The estate passed to Griffiths’ next of kin who could not afford to pay the death duties, Thus the land and house had to be sold to pay duty on the large house and business.
When eventually it was sold and a large area of land surrounding the house was portioned off and part of the rest of the property was subdivided into over 100 blocks of land. Ferndale on these smaller surrounds became a popular guesthouse up to the Second World War shortly after it was used as a migrant hostel before falling into disrepair in the 1950s. Ferndale was eventually burnt to the ground during the infamous January 1962 fires that were deliberately lit near what is now Wicks Reserve and nearly took Olinda and Sassafras and resulted in lives lost and large property loss. The house was situated on the western face of the Dandenongs with the mountain as a background and commanded an excellent view overlooking the Dandenong valley and the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
The 100 sites and the Ferndale Estate proved a disaster and eventually land above the premises was bought by the Government and returned to the National Park. With a bit of research it was easy to find the original location of Ferndale and I felt the need to visit the site myself and see if anything remained.

1947 Map showing original entrance

So one very cold and blustery Sunday in July I headed up the Basin-Olinda road turning off at Old Coach Road and there it was Ferndale Road, there was a little spot to park the car in front of a Yarra Valley Water tank that a lot of hikers and bush walkers use and I wandered up what the big sign nailed to the lamppost said Road Closed. A short walk up the road cut into the side of the hill you are instantly aware which side of the road is National Park (up -East) and which is private property (West –down). I was aware that the road was gated about 400 metres down for Parks Victoria access and hoped I didn’t have to do any unnecessary climbing when a saw what I first thought was a wooden panel shoring up the embankment. To my surprise it was a rather ratty looking notice board with laminated notes and photos. I may have said the board looked ratty but the information that it contained was priceless snippets of the Ferndale property and history. I spent so much time looking over the board that when I looked up I hadn’t realised that where I stood was the view that Ferndale was famous for. Looking out between the trees was a gap that looked over the Basin and the Eastern suburbs all the way to the city skyline. Even on an overcast day like that day I visited it was stunning. Thanks to the photos on the board, I got a clearer impression of the wonderful work that had been done to build the gardens and lawns. I also managed to answer a question that I couldn’t seem to find anywhere else. That Ferndale’s entrance was off Old Coach Road despite claims the property was always referred to being on Ferndale Road. I knew this must have been wrong as Ferndale Road sits so much higher in photos and would have made access very difficult, especially after such a steep incline to reach it. The entrance was also confirmed later from information gleaned from a 1947 tourist map I found just prior to writing article and also from an interview with Frank Grumont where he mentioned Ferndale Road was put in after the subdivision. On the roadside board there is a picture that featured on the cover of the original Ferndale Estate brochure. It was a view bracketed by two massive conifers overlooking the house roof and chimney out towards what then 1920s Melbourne. I felt I was standing in the same position that photographer did almost 90 years previously.

The picture that gave me a clue to the location of Ferndale,

I paid a visit to the wonderfully helpful people at the Knox Historical Society the next week to ask if they had any knowledge who may have set up the board but as a group they were unaware it existed and talked of driving up and seeing it for themselves. While I was there I got a peak of some of the group’s archived photographs of Ferndale and some more glimpses of the beautiful well-maintained property it once was. If anyone does have information regarding who may have set up the board on site could you please contact this paper or the society? I strongly suggest it be added to the Knox Heritage Trail. We have many hidden treasures with such wonderful history in our backyard and learning about Ferndale’s was a fun challenge for me and I know there is much more to discover, one of the many benefits of living in the foothills of the Dandenongs. If you want to learn more about Ferndale and the Griffiths family the Knox Historical Society has a neat little exhibit at the museum situated at Ambleside where all the photographs mentioned here and more can be viewed.

The board on Ferndale Road

The board with a glimpse of the amazing view behind.

 References and Further Reading. 
Fire on the Hill, Flowers on the Valley 1992- Rick Coxhill The History of the Basin.- Rick Coxhill 2001-Ongoing www.coxhill.com 
BBCN July-September 2004 issues 139-141 Articles:Frank Grumont and the Fendale connection. Ferndale Memories 
Story of the Dandenongs- Helen Coulson FW Clarke 1958 
Prolific in God’s Gifts – Michael Jones Allen & Urwin 1983 
Knox Historical Society- Ambleside FTG. http://home.vicnet.net.au/~khsinc
Originally published in BBCN issue #237    September 2015

Jack Spratt review

JACK SPRAT E-Magazine FIRST ISSUE REVIEW
Jack Sprat Press
Edited by Emily White

The Fanzine becomes E-zine
That’s about it really with the use of modern technology the fanzine has come a long way from mimeographed sheets stapled together. Boomed with the easy access to he photocopiers and then the desktop printer. Now we seem to have moved onto to the next phase.
Handmade and designed ‘zines for your Kindle.
Jack Sprat calls for the dark and whimsical through Flash Fiction and short four page comics. Speculative fiction and shorts  in the vain of 2000AD - Tharg’s Future Shocks.
The first issue is a mix bag with some hits and a few misses. The rather tentative theme of this issue is music with each story and artwork being inspired by a song title. Obviously I don’t listen to the dark corners where these songs are played because I didn’t recognise any of the titles. But that is neither here nor there as the first story Bring Me To Life is lovely little spin on the Pinocchio fairy story. While A Tea Party gives us an amusing look at zombie good taste in more ways than one and looks at the Walking Dead from their perspective, one we can never really understand. The Sky Is A Poisonous Garden a quick dark humour ditty that reveals some people have no luck whatsoever.
Where the stories hit the comics miss. Choosing story over art only one of the three stories worked for me. Silent Falling the telling of how an Astronaut chooses to go out in glory and is the closet to a Tharg based story, whereas Started From The Bottom is a punchline looking for a story, the non-dialogue The Burning Bride just lost me.
All up Jack Sprat is finding its identity and for a first attempt it’s admirable. The concept works. This is the perfect package for a bus stop or waiting room pause.

Danny Nolan

Comics and how some times language of the period doesn't translate that well.

Comics and how some times language / slang of the period doesn't translate that well.
As far as I know all these panels and covers are legitimate.
Sorry for lack of credits as these have been piling up from bits I've been saving as I found them from facebook posts from over the last few months.