Christmas List December 1999

Dear Santa -

When I was little I found it difficult to believe in you. I had this sneaking suspicion that you didn't exist, the adults always acted like they had something to hide. I chalked it up to mature cynicism I guess. After all the whole adult world wouldn't conspire against me. That's just silly.

There's a few things I'd like to ask for my Antipodean comics pals. I won't be around next year, gonna be traveling, so it's up to you to deliver 'em.

1. Get them computers and email. Much of the Newcastle Young Writers' Festival was set up on email, and I won't be able to help with that this time. Just like every other profession and pursuit, email is pretty useful.
Maybe they can eventually set up an email group to exchange info much like
the zines group. http://www.egroups.com/group/zines
(Come to think of that, the Kiwis have done that, maybe the Aussies can too eventually. http://www.egroups.com/brd)
And they need more web pages too. Anton Emedin's site is a good example of what everyone could be doing - he's got lots of cool whizbang art and a little digital portfolio. http://homepages.tig.com.au/~anton/Q-Ray's is pretty good too. http://www.fatkid.com.au/

2. Get them into the Small Press Expo book. They've thrown the doors open wide to all comers this year, and last year Bruce Mutard and Stefan Neville got in. Submission requirements and format are at http://www.spxpo.com/comicbook/index.htm

3. Get them some nice portfolio cases. Most of them have gone to art school but never bothered to assemble a proper CV or portfolio to show around to possible employers. After all, that's how most alternative cartoonists make the rent, by graphic design.

4. Get them some envelopes and stamps so they can send their material in for review to places like _Thrown To the Wolves_ http://www.tcj.com/3_online/wolves.htmlas well as every other likely venue. There's all kinds of promotion to be done, from zines to more upscale mags, book publishers, radio, tv etc.
They'll also be doing more distro-ing, coordinating with people in other states and countries. And they'll also need mail gear to keep in touch with each other. I think a lot of the energy and individuality of the Oz scene comes mainly from the fact that they're just slightly more unified than other national comics cultures.

5. Get them some nice statuettes for a national minicomics awards ceremony. They need to have a yearly awards thing for the small press. Best Mini comic, Best Art, Best Anthology, Best One-Shot - just like the Ignatz awards. There'd be no money involved, but it'd be another line for artistic CVs and a shortlist that interested folks could use to track down stuff.

6. Get them bus fare for conventions. Newie is coming up again,
http://www.renewal.org.au/writersfestival/so is OzCon, and Che of Plastic Planet (plasticplanet@earthlink.net),
(http://www.qdcomic.com/distro/plasticplanet.htm)is doing APE
http://www.comic-con.org/Pages3/apef.html(maybe even SPX!)in the States.
Not many comics are sold, but they seem to percolate around to the right people somehow.

7. Get them a typewriter for grant application forms. There's scads of free arts money floating around - largely because things haven't gravitated to the Stateside model just yet. So I imagine there'll be some more checking around with arts organizations for projects and opportunities and $.

That oughtta do. You know, now that I'm an adult, it's almost the opposite to what I mentioned earlier…I run into people _all the time_ who say that you don't exist. It's almost like a party line. God, what if they told their kids there's no Santa? Man, we'd be some kinda sick society to lie to our kids.

Well, I'd better go, time to eat. Lunch always takes a long time here, I eat with a spoon 'cause they don't give us knives.

- J

http://www.qdcomic.com