Inkspot 36

Number 36 Australian Cartoonists’ Association June 2002

HOME SWEDE HOMEAUSSIES DRAWTHE LINE INSCANDINAVIA

Meanwhile Swedish Swamp magazine “Trasket’’ has just beenreleased in its third edition. The All-Australian magazine featuresthe work of Gary Clark, Gerald Piper, Mike Burke, CraigMann, Mark Lynch, Sean Leahy, John Cook and JamesKemsley . Sales have been good and readers reactions havebeen very positive. One fan described the mag as the funniestthey have ever seen. The mag is released every two months inSweden and if sales continue as they are it will be translatedand released in Norway next year. Anyone wanting to submita strip or panel feature for to the email Gary [email protected]

Stupid puns aside it seems the Aussiesense of humour is hitting the mark on theother side of the planet. Several Australiancomic strips are becoming increasinglypopular with Swedish readers. Specialcomic books have been published, such as“Serie Paraden!” (right) featuring a wideselection of Aussie talent led by Swampcreator Gary Clark. Well done!

Peter Broelman ACA Secretary

2nd Edition June 2002Inkspot is produced fourtimes a year by the AustralianCartoonists’ Association andis posted to all major subur-ban and regional newspa-pers and national magazines.Articles, cartoons and infor-mation about all sorts of stuffare welcome.

InkspotACA

PO Box 318,Strawberry Hills

NSW [email protected]

All membership [email protected]

02 9601 7688

National Committee

PresidentRod Emmerson07 4930 4267

[email protected]

Peter Broelman08 8255 9939

[email protected] Clark

[email protected] Vice PresidentsRoger Fletcher (NSW)

02 9604 [email protected]

Malcolm McGookin (QLD)07 3822 1821

[email protected] Allen (SA/NT)

08 8370 [email protected]

Vane Lindesay (Vic/Tas)[email protected] Horne (WA)

08 9388 [email protected]

Contents copyright ACAor the cartoonist concerned.

Australia Post RegistrationPP 533798/0015

A big thanks to all those whohelped contribute to this issue

of Inkspot. All typos areBroelman’s fault.

Australian Cartoonists’ AssociationRates Guide

B&W spot cartoon or illo. $ 160.00B&W half page $ 220.00B&W full page $ 350.00Colour half page $ 650.00Colour full page $1200.00Colour Cover $1400.00

UnpublishedB/W Caricatures A3 $200.00Colour caricatures A3 $300.00Live caricaturing (per hour) $150.00

Comic strips (newspapers)10,000 circulation (per day) $15.0050,000 circulation $20.00100,000 circ $30.00400,000 circ. $80.00

One of the roles of the ACA is torecommend members not to under-estimatethe value of their work.

Many enquiries are about rates. Whilethe ACA cannot dictate what market forcescommand it strongly advocates fairrenumeration for an artist�s profession.

This Recommended Rates chart is aguide only. There are many variables that acartoonist should consider when operatingin the freelance world.

This is very evident in the competitivecomic strip field where there can beextenuating circumstances such ascirculation, publishing rights and marketforces. The figures do not include Sundays.

And, of course, should you becharging more than any of these figures,ignore this page altogether.

And if in doubt, ask anothercartoonist. One artist�s experiences mightbe more invaluable than you would think.

As passed at the Special Meeting earlierthis year in Coogee, ABWAC is now officiallyknown as the Australian Cartoonists’Association as approved by the Department ofFair Trading in NSW. A more diligent report onthe Special Meeting and its consequences areon page three of this issue of Inkspot.

The ACA Committee has decided to keepthe exisiting logo design with alterations towording and we will also be keeping our websiteaddress - www.abwac.org.au - in an effort tomaintain contact with a name that’s been inexistance since 1924.

We are confident that this more apt namedescription will suit Australia’s only cartoonnistorganisation better.

It was sad to see an icon of Australianpublishing, Australasian Post, fold. With wellover 100 years of service Aussie Post was alsohome to many Aussie cartoonists. Doug Tainsh,Vane Lindesay and Ken Maynard are just a fewof the names who have graced its pages inrecent decades. It was also a prolific user ofsingle-gag cartoons. It will be sorely missed.

Work is well underway on the planningof the Stanleys and Cartoon Conference to beheld in Canberra on October 26. This tentativebooking was endorsed by the Special Meetingand is a result of the success of last year’sStanleys. Currently venues are beinginvestigated by Mark Lynch, Rod Emmersonand Roger Fletcher. We are sure that a simple,cost-effective Stanleys is the way to go andthat all cartoonists will embrace it as a funweekend and one not to be missed.

James Kemsley and myself have justreturned from the National Cartoonists’Society’s Reuben Awards in Cancun, Mexico.

Coverage of the Reubens (the NCS’s websiteis www.reuben.org.au), is restricted because thisissue of Inkspot was being printed while we wereaway. Details will follow in due course.

LJ Hooker’s National Cartooning Competitionwill continue for one final year in its current format.What happens afterwards will be assessed by theirgreat team. Hopefully they will be able to maintaina strategy to encourage cartooning amongst Aussieschool kids which the ACA will ask that allcartoonists donate a little of their time to assist.

One of the ACA’s great members VaneLindesay has recently lost the use of an eye. TheVictorian VP, despite this blow, will maintain hisencouragement for social functions in Melbourne.We certainly wish him well.

This month will be one of the busiest monthsfor us all. Membership renewals will soon be issued,Stanley entries called for, Stanleys planning putinto full swing, and nominations for the ACACommittee be called for.

The ACA Committee has a two-year term.All positions will be declared open. Have a thinkabout what you could do for the profession we alllove. Roger Fletcher is the new NSW VP so Isuspect it would take a fair bit of effort to pry himaway so soon. All details will be mailed to all financialmembers of the ACA as soon as possible (whichmeans as soon as I start enjoying licking stampsagain).

Curry is the flavour of the month lately. ChrisKelly returned from India recently while Luke Fox-Allen and Joanne Brooker (formally Applegate -congratulations Jo!) are swanning around theGanges. Also welcome back multi-Stanley awardwinner Brett Lethbridge from Europe too!

I’m sure there’s a swag of other things I shouldhave mentioned. Keep an eye out for ACA emails.

FOR @#$%& SAKE, STOP SLEEPING; THIS IS SERIOUS!ACA Secretary Peter Broelman gives us the lowdown on what the heck happened at that Special Meeting in Coogee.

After much concern we’d be struggling to reach a quorumwe were delighted that 28 people took the time to travel toCoogee last March for a special meeting that was to steer theclub back in the right direction.

The Special Meeting’s intentions were threefold. Firstly wehad the change of name issue to consider, granting fullmembership to overseas cartoonists and, last but not least,the future of the Stanleys.

Not surprisingly the meeting started a trifle late as attendeesfrolicked in the downstairs bar at the Legion’s Club.

Chairman Rod Emmerson introduced Kylie Roll from LJHooker to address the Special Meeting.

In short Kylie informed the floor that LJ Hooker is to re-evaluate National Cartooning Competition and that 2002 is tobe the last year of the competition and sponsorship in its currentform. Any new program likely to be internet-based. She addedthat LJ Hooker is keen to hear feedback from any cartoonistand the club. She then fielded questions from the floor. It wasmoved and carried that LJ Hooker be thanked for their programand sponsorship of the club.

Two weeks earlier we all heard that comedy genius SpikeMilligan had passed away. Rod expressed condolances toSpike’s brother, Patrick, who was present at the meeting.

Next on the agenda was the counting of the ballots. Whilethis was taking place Rod moved the agenda onto the Stanleyswhere much discussion was focussed on issues such ascatering, location, statuettes, attendance, history of past ArtistBalls, entertainment, focus on fun, forward planning, Year Book,dates, need to get past members involved, sponsorship, awardcategories, formalities, Stanleys weekend, and conference.

Phew!Then the tally was available from our industrious returning

officers Jon Kudelka and Pat Campbell.The change of name motion was carried: 67 votes in favour

and 8 against.The overseas membership motion was carried: 52 votes in

favour and 23 against.The required vote had to be 66.6%.Motion 1 was a landslide

while Motion 2 just squeezed though.After a morning of yabbering, people were getting hungry

and thirsty. A lunch break was called while Rod drafted aStanleys strategy taking into consideration sentimentexpressed from the floor . This was then approved by everyoneafter lunch.

The consensus is as follows:Location: Canberra (all functions in the same venue)Date: October 26 (tentative)Schedule: Friday night – meet and greetSaturday – cartoon conference, AGMSaturday night – less formal, possibly themedStanleys catering: to be less formal, possibly finger food

and casual seating.Stanley trophies to remain the same format.Sponsorship of the Year Book to be investigated.

In a nutshell it was recognised that sponsorship opportunitieswould have an affect on Stanleys indulgence. Members alsodidn’t want to spend big bucks.

The AGM, conference, Stanleys and post-Stanleys drinky-poos had to be in the same venue so that all cartoonists havethe chance to meet eachother.

In other words the focus should be fun.Three-course catering is out. Apart from being incredibly

expensive, formal catering and seating prohibits interaction.People can sit where they like. The name of the game ismeeting everyone else, compare jokes and talk about HBpencils and sable brushes.

After the success of last year and 1995, Canberra wasidentified as the preferred venue until further notice. It’s easierfor Melbourne-based and Sydney-based members to fly downor drive. After all the national capital was originally planned asa middle ground between Australia’s two most populated cities.And this is certainly the case with the ACA’s membership.

And Canberra is a nice place too!Tom Hamilton-Foster addressed the General Meeting on

behalf of the Rotary Club of Coffs Harbour City.The National Cartoon Awards is now in its 14th year with prizemonies of $10,000 (woohoo!). Tom sought continued clubsanction, goodwill and support to continue.

And that about wrapped up the meeting. Oh, except thepart where Marie Fletcher dobbed her husband Roger intobecoming the NSW Vice President. Good onya Marie!

Proceedings then moved into the Legion Club bar again andeventually a group of around 20 ended up at The Establishmentin Sydney for a President’s nosh-up.

Many thanks to those people who turned up at this importantmeeting (and those who passed in their apologies). It’s alsogreat to see some people travel from interstate and afar. Withcommitment like that it’s heartening to know that the future ofthe ACA is looking brighter.

Those present: Rod Emmerson (Chairman), Malcolm McGookin,Lindsay Foyle, Vane Lindesay, Gary Clark, Mark Lynch, PatCampbell, Lee Sheppard, Marie Fletcher, Roger Fletcher, KerryMillard, Ian Dalkin, Patrick Milligan, Jon Kudelka, Paul Newell,Scott Rigney, Steve Panozzo, Norman Hetherington, Chris Kelly,Jenny Hughes, Luke Fox-Allen, Warren Brown, Doug Albion, PeterBroelman (minutes), Tom Hamilton-Foster (guest), Kylie Roll(guest), Jodie McLeod (guest).

Paul Zanetti

“Spirituality is more popularthan God or the Church in Australia.Theological conversations need to engagespiritual beliefs of all people in opennessand humility. Cartoonists give voice tomany of these conversations, boldly sayingthings that are normally only whispered.They tell the truth when nobody else willand thus are often loved – and sometimeshated.”

So said Geoff Wraight in hisintroduction of Michael Leunig’spresentation at Whitley Theological Collegein Melbourne on April 10. The seminar waspart of an ongoing series designed tostimulate thinking about what role theChurch has in a society in which it haslargely lost relevance. So why not begin witha “conversation” with one who penetratesthe homes and lives of ordinary Australianpeople every day? The cartoonist.

In his usual style, Leunig turnedup late with seemingly nothing prepared.His wooly hair and softly spoken, bumblingmanner, gave the impression that he wouldmuch rather be anywhere but in the presenceof two hundred people who were waitingfor something profound. But very soon,Leunig warmed to his audience by tellingsome stories of his life in the bush and hisview of the land.

Leunig described the spirit ofAustralia as something that belonged to theland. It grows within the land mass andconquers the people who inhabit it, so muchso that even migrants become infected. Overtime it forms a people, giving them thecharacter that is unique to Australia. Theplayful, infectious and beguiling Australianhumour is very much part of that character.

The spirit of the land is alsopersistent, withstanding the abuses that thehuman race has inflicted on it over the lastcentury. Leunig was astounded that evenafter so long, we still had not managed tosee that human nature was somehow linkedto the rest of nature, and so when we harmedthe environment, we were also harmingourselves. But at the same time, thatpersistence also contributes to theformation of the people, giving them anendurance that, even in the face of some ofthe most difficult conditions, says,“Everything will be alright.”

Returning to the subject ofhumour, Leunig described it as somethingthat happens between people. “The besthumour,” said Leunig, “Is the spontaneoushumour of relationship.” It is a form ofshowing off in the attempt to be heard and,

perhaps, understood. But humour is notalways the truth. It can be a destructive lieand still cause people to laugh, and so thecartoonist needs to be discerning in his orher use of humour.

For the cartoonist, the negativecapacity of humans is essential for thecreative use of humour. By “negativecapacity”, Leunig referred to the ability forhumans to not know something - ourcapacity to wait, or get lost, or be totally outof our depth, but still enjoy the experience.In one sense, this not knowing brings anelement of authenticity to what we do for itis here that we are all equal.

In the following question time,Leunig revealed more about his personalcarreer and some of the difficulties he hasfaced as a cartoonist. Surprisingly, his majorinfluences were not any famous cartoonists,but his mates from school that made himlaugh. Like most of us, his formative yearswere shaped more by the people of hisneighbourhood than anyone he saw ontelevision or in the papers.

Caricature was something thatLeunig revealed a respect for but also apersonal dislike. Although he began hiscareer by trying to do caricature, he foundthat he didn’t respond to it and over time

Comedians, Poets and other Truth Sayers in Australian SocietyMatt Glover reports on this presentation by Michael Leunig.

has come to agree with the aboriginalthought that portraying the likeness ofsomebody can steal their identity. That is,others come to know that person by thepicture, not the person themselves.

Finally, criticism has beensomething very familiar to Leunigthroughout his career. Everybody fromeditors, to fellow cartoonists to the averageJoe in the street seems to have an opinionabout his work. But as he has grown older,Leunig has learnt to accept criticism as partof life and firmly believes that even in theharshest words, there can be foundsomething of value.

At the end of the session, I couldn’thelp but think that the seminar was a lot likeone of Leunig’s cartoons. Some of the timeI laughed. Some of the time I pondered. Someof the time I just had no idea what he wastrying to say. Nevertheless, he was very wellreceived, and it was encouraging to see thatthere are some sections of our communitythat value the contribution cartoonists maketo our society.

Matt Glover is a pastor at Mitcham BaptistChurch in Melbourne, a student at WhitleyTheological College and a freelance cartoonist.www.mattglover.com

ABC’s Mediawatch featured this Leunig cartoon that was rejected by TheAge’s editor recently. Deemed too contentious in the prickly issue ofMiddle East politics this cartoon was never published. AustralianCartoonists’ Association President Rod Emmerson penned his thoughtsabout the issue of editorial direction in a letter to Mediawatch. That letteris duplicated on the opposite page.

I watched with interest your story (Monday6th May 2002) regarding the rejection of aMichael Leunig cartoon by his editor from TheAge.

I must confess to some intrigue. Firstly,rejection by editors of editorial cartoons byartists the calibre of Michael althoughextremely rare, can and does happen, butrarely the stuff of public debate; more a matterof fodder for intellectual jousting.

Cartoonists are found often defending theirwork at an editorial level and usually win theright of publication after some debate.However, rejection at this level can also bewell founded for reasons way beyond thesubject of the work and ofserious concern to the editor.

In this instance, the editor and thecartoonist are probably both right. The cartoonmeets all the expectations of high qualityincisive work and displays a greatunderstanding of middle-east dilemmas. It’sclever, it creates debate and tiptoes aroundthe edges of decency, slander and fairness. Itis everything you would expect Michael to doand quite worthy of publication.

On the other hand, the editor is no doubt alltoo aware of the combustible debate that canand does rage relentlessly as a result of thisparticular subject at street-level; especially incartoon format. Misconception andinterpretation can take on mammothproportions; many well documented. Thereis a small but well-defined boneyard of similarwork in the US on this subject, that has metthe wrath of Jewish/Arab readers and at theend of the day, both cartoonist and editor mayhave silently wished it had never surfaced atall. With The Age circulation reaching a fairlysimilar readership, and circulation a buzz wordon editorial floors; the editor I suspect hasprobably thought (right or wrong), “greatcartoon...pity we can’t afford to spend the next12 months defending it”. For the cartoonisthowever, political and religious sensitivitiesare just another subject.

So they should be.Another more prickly matter is that an

editorial decision is now in the public arenafor discussion. Freedom of the press isn’t theissue here. The cartoon can easily bepublished. Our cartoonists (by and large) enjoymore freedoms than their Americancounterparts, which is an awesomeresponsibility and not taken lightly by ourhandful of notable scribblers, nor their editors.

The intellectual locking of horns is an age-old problem and more often than not - theeditor falls on the side of caution. In this case,he may well have saved them both fromthousands of man-hours of defence; or lostan extra print run because the cartoon was sopopular, it rated it’s socks off. In these days ofpost-September 11, I imagine this scenariorepeating itself on matters very close to thebone.

Once again, a great cartoon.

Rod Emmerson

SKETCHING FOR TENTHYEAR RUNNING

Grab your pencils and prepare tolaugh yourself silly, as schools acrossthe nation get up to some funnybusiness. The 2002 National CartooningCompetition is here, on-line and readyto discover Australia's cartoonists of thefuture.

The medium of cartooning offersprimary and secondary art and mediastudies teachers a new direction for their2002 curriculums.

Through the 2002 NationalCartooning Competition, teachers canoffer their students the opportunity toenter a national competition whiledeveloping their artistic and creativethinking skills through the medium ofcartooning.

The National CartooningCompetition is a joint initiative of the ACAand L.J. Hooker, the competition sponsorsince it's inception. The competitionassists and encourages students toengage in cartooning to produce one-off,gag cartoons.

The aim of this project, now in itstenth year and in place in hundreds ofschools nationally, is to introducecartooning into education in a form thatwill enable students to benefit from anactivity that offers unique educationalopportunities.

As part of their curriculum, primaryand secondary students can enter theNational Cartooning Competition.Cartooning skills are taught to childrenthrough an interactive education kitdelivered via the Internet atwww.ljhooker.com.au or alternativelywww.cartooningcompetition.com.au. Thekit has been endorsed by both theFederal and the New South WalesGovernments and is recognised as anational teaching resource.

For those schools who do not have

access to the Internet the resource isavailable through a video kit for primaryschools and as a CD ROM for secondaryschools.

Well-known Cartoonist andEducator, Ian Dalkin has developed theeducation resources. These teachingtools are fully interactive and task driven,allowing for easy facilitation by theclassroom teacher.

The resource provides children witha foundation designed to give them theparameters for developing their ownstyles. It also serves as a critical basefor teachers to monitor drawingdevelopment.

According to Mr. Dalkin, cartooningis an important learning vehicle forchildren.

"Cartooning not only developscompetence in drawing and creativethinking, but it is also a means ofdeveloping skills in other important

NEWS FROM THE BUNKERBUNKER CARTOON GALLERY, COFFS HARBOUR

The competition with prizes of over$10,000 recognises the best ofAustralian and International cartoons.

The Rotary Cartoon Awards are sponsored by theRotary Club of Coffs Harbour City to raise funds forvarious Rotary charities and promote black and white artthrough the Bunker Cartoon Gallery. All entries aredonated to the Rotary Club of Coffs Harbour City,which exhibits the cartoons to raise additional charityfunds. The closing date for entries is July 31, 2002.

NATIONAL AWARDSOpen ONLY to Australian citizens or residnts of Australia over 18years of age.BEST CARTOON WITH A POLITICAL THEME1st $750 plus winner�s medallion (Merit $250 plus Merit Medallion)BEST CARTOON WITH A BUSINESS THEME1st $750 plus winner�s medallion (Merit $250 plus Merit Medallion)BEST CARTOON OPEN THEME1st $750 plus winner�s medallion (Merit $250 plus Merit Medallion)BEST CARTOON SPORTS THEME1st $750 plus winner�s medallion (Merit $250 plus Merit Medallion)BEST COMIC STRIP1st $750 plus winner�s medallion (Merit $250 plus Merit Medallion)BEST CARICATURE1st $750 plus winner�s medallion (Merit $250 plus Merit Medallion)SPECIAL 2002 THEME: What�s cooking - Food1st $750 plus winner�s medallion (Merit $250 plus Merit Medallion)INTERNATIONAL AWARDOpen to ALL cartoonists WORLDWIDE over 18 years of ageSPECIAL 2002 THEME: Art and the artists1st $750 plus winner�s medallion (Merit $250 plus Merit Medallion)CARTOON OF THE YEAROne cartoon to be selected from all categories in bothNational and International sections$1,500 plus winner�s medallionFor an entry form and conditions of entry email the ACA and a form will be emailedto you - [email protected]

The Rotary Cartoon Awards 2002 are conducted in association with the Australian Cartoonists�Association and the Federation of Cartoonists� Organisations (FECO). AWARDS PRESENTATION:Saturday 31 August, 2002 at the BUNKER CARTOON GALLERY in Coffs Harbour, NSW.

14th ANNUAL ROTARY CARTOON AWARDS

Rotary Club ofCoffs Harbour

City

AustralianCartoonists�Association

Federation ofCartoonists�

Organisations

Entries for the 2002Rotary Cartoon Awardsare now invited.

Our current exhibition “Caught” is bowling more than afew maidens over. Quite a few males have also been ‘caught’ up bythe “Flannelled Foolery” on display.

A one-off exercise features 50 photographs of Australianand international cricket at its best and worst. Mr Viv Jenkins, formerofficial photographer for Kerry Packer’s World Series and the ACBdonated the framed photographs to the Bunker to be used as amajor fundraiser during the exhibition

Big thanks to Matt Golding for making available his winning“Walkley Award”, described by the judges as “Terrific talent anda beautifully executed piece. The death of Australia’s cricketingicon is handled with style and affection. Its everything it shouldbe – like the man himself – restrained and stylish. Goldings piecebrilliantly walks the tight rope between reverence and gentlehumour”.

David Rowe’s winning “Cartoon of the Year” for the 2001Rotary Cartoon Awards, also paid tribute to “The Don” and is afeature of the exhibition, which closes at the end of July. If you’reup this way come in and judge for yourself.

Lindsay Foyle, in Coffs for the exhibition opening, broughtour volunteers up to date on the changes within ABWAC and alsotalked about cartooning history. Thanks Lindsay. The gallery isvery appreciative of his ongoing support.

With the 2002 Rotary Cartoon Awards only a few weeksaway The Bunker Cartoon Gallery extends a special invitation toall ACA members to come along for the Awards Night. Althoughthe date has not been officially set by Rotary yet, you will be advisedthrough the ACA. The industry has been poorly represented at

this function and it would be a great boost to Rotary and the artistsmoral to have some of their peers present to acknowledge theirachievements.

The Bunker is indebted to the City of Coffs Harbour RotaryClub for maintaining a competition which provides the backbonefor most of our exhibitions. Any ACA members who would like toattend and spare an hour on a Saturday morning to speak with ourvolunteers – I’d love to hear from you! Volunteers are our backboneand we try and expose them to as many cartoonists as possible.They use this experience in when speaking with our visitors.

Until next time remember “He who Laughs – Lasts”Margaret BridgmanGallery Administrator

The industrious Richard Jones and his magical whiteboard at the Bunker Cartoon Gallery entertainsenthusiastic patrons.

QUEENSLAND NEWSThe State Library workshops went swimmingly in Janu-

ary, with ACA members Joanne Brooker, Ken Dove, SeanLeahy, Gerard Piper, John Cook and Malcolm McGookinall giving talks to audiences ranging in age from eight to 18.

The State Library were so happy with the responsefrom children and parents that they’ve scheduled a further weekof workshops in the July school holidays to cater for demand,the first time they’ve felt moved to do so since the workshopsstarted over ten years ago.

Three QLD members, Gary Clark, Craig Mann andMalcolm McGookin , made the journey to Sydney for the Spe-cial Meeting, the focal point of a weekend which was a littlebit historic in its nature, but more than a little enjoyable too.

The QLD chapter of the ACA has been unforgiveablyslack in arranging its first yearly meeting as late as May, butwith a lot of people absent (and certainly a couple have simplydropped off the radar) the pressure of work, plus the fact thatboth Malcolm McGookin and Gary Clark’s kids play socceron Saturdays, the excuses aren’t hard to find.

Nevertheless, a permanent venue seems to have beenestablished at last, with the Plough Inn Tavern at SouthBank proving itself a hit in the past with members. The lastmeeting (held at 2pm) stretched on into the early evening, anda couple of diehards - well, Craig Mann and McGookin stayedon quaffing a little longer than was prurient.

Lee the landlord at the Plough has offered an upstairsroom for regular meetings, and the meeting day has beenswitched from that inconvenient Saturday afternoon to a Thurs-day evening at 6.30pm.

Consider yourself invited. Ring me for the next date.Malcolm McGookinACA QLD VP ESQ

Anyone wondering where all that budget moneyfor internal security is going to be spent should visit DavidPope and Pat Campbell at Studio 8 in Canberra.

The Australian Protective Service have been usingthe laneway directly below their windows for riot trainingfor a couple of months, ever since the hardware storebelow them closed down. And they’ve been practising inbrand new clobber - the full Imperial Death Star monty;shiny new batons, sleek black helmets, protectivepadding with built in drink bladders, etc.

It’s been impossible for David and Pat to get anywork done as they are easily distracted into watchingthem line up in Roman formation and practise their batontechnique.

“Today the trainees were complaining about howtheir visors were steaming up in the cold Canberra air.”,said David. “Their instructor replied that they’d better getused to it, because they’ll get just as steamy up in“coconut land”. I wonder which lucky “coconut landers”they’re off to visit?”

MAY THE FARCE BE WITH YOU

You might think that after 40 years on Australian television,countless magazine articles, TV documentaries, exhibitions, adcampaigns and science fiction conventions, Norman Hetherington(and his perennially-youthful sidekick Mr. Squiggle) would havealready seen the pinnacle of success. Well, it looks like they’vefinally cracked it, big time. The May 2002 edition of Reader’s Digestcarries Norman and Squiggle on the back cover under the headline,“Australian Icons”. We’re not worthy, we’re not worthy...

Part of Darren’s winningcomic strip about asthma

WE�RE NOT WORTHY!

The Living With Asthmas Art Competition was a joint initiativebetween Asthma Australia and AstraZeneca with the aim to raiseawareness of the impact of asthma on people�s lives.

The �Living with Asthma� National art competition was open topeople of all ages with asthma, who were invited to draw or paint theirexperience of living with asthma. First, second and third prizes of $1,000,$500 and $250 were awarded in each age category: children (up to 11years); youth (12-18 years) and adult (19 years and over).

Congratulations to 11 year old Darren Quinn from Ocean Reef,WA, for his comic strip detailing his positive outlook and love of physicalactivity while being an asthmatic.

LIVING WITH ASTHMAART COMPETITION

Children winners1st - Darren Quinn, 11, WA2nd - Charles Buchner, 6, Vic3rd - Sam Ferguson, 4, QldYouth winners1st - Anne Williams,18, Tas2nd - Genevieve Clay, 13, NSW3rd - Julie Lovell, 15, NSWAdult winners1st - Athena Ferreras, 20, Tas2nd- Bernadette Harrigan, 50, NSW3rd - Catherine Poronnik, 36, NSW

SUPANOVA CONVENTION

(Left) Tim McEwen, star ofStar Wars (the t-shirt givesit away) towers above 6�2�Lee Sheppard.(Above) DC Comics� artistFrank Quitely (Judge Dredd,New X-Men) and writer MarkMillar (Swamp Thing, TheFlash, X-Men) at Supanova.

Supanova Pop Culture Expo 2002, held in Sydney in April wasan extravaganza for sci-fi fans with special guests, specialactivities, competitions, tournaments, animation and filmscreenings. Star Wars, Pokemon, DragonBall Z, Batman, theX-Men and Star Trek fans met at the Sydney Showgroundswhich, not surprisingly, included cartoonists. ACA’s LeeSheppard caught up with the team from DC Comics flown outespecially for the expo. Will Cactus Island join the X-Men?

Lothian of Melbourne is aboutto publish a 64-page childrens bookwritten and illustrated by Rolf Heimann ,‘TOM’. All 40 or so illustrations as wellas the coloured cover design werecreated in Photoshop on Rolf’s Maccomputer.

Penguin has bought the rightsof most of Rolf’s previous book and isexpected to reprint some of them andhas signed contracts for more childrensbooks. His last book ‘Day of the Dragon’has been rewritten in German as aradioplay and is available on audio CD.It has also been published in Estonia!

In addition to German, Danish,Spanish, Chinese and Estonian, someof his books will soon appear in Korean.The Chinese translator required about ahundred clarifications, such as: ‘please,what is a mayor of Wagga Wagga?’

Meanwhile Little Hare Booksof Sydney has contracted Rolf to produceanother book of colourful mazes with theanimals of the Chinese Zodiac. It isappropriately titled ’Zoodiac’.

ACA member Jon Cocks isseen regularly in televisioncommercials with this latestappearance for Onga waterpumps. Here�s a still shot ofJon sprucing himself up for adate with destiny... er, Ongapump. We hope he didn�t blowa gasket. Pic courtesyGeorgina Toole and theexcellent folk at KWP!

�FROM THE PAVILLION - ADISPLAY OF ORIGINALCARICATURE� features 44sport caricatures by MCCmember Alan Rose who isnoted for scribbling awayduring a footy match or cricketgame. �I draw from the limitedmug shots in the records. Allthe original tea and saucestains, biro lines, and creasesfrom being jammed into acrowd, are still there!� Alansaid.

Rolf’s latest childrens bookcharacter Tom.

ROLF TRANSLATES WELL

The National Museum of Australia haspublished a book and cards of cartoonsby ACT/ACA member David Pope, fromits popular exhibit on Australian English.”Aussie English for Beginners” exploresthe origins and meanings of someunique Australian words and phrases,with definitions provided by theAustralian National Dictionary Centre.David’s cartoons for the exhibition andbook helped him win the Stanley last yearfor humorous illustration. Copies of thebook can be ordered direct from theMuseum Shop by phoning (02) 62085222 ($14.95 + $5 postage withinAustralia).

Rolf Heimann, Australian correspondent for the international cartooningmagazine WittyWorld, has just returned from a editorial meeting inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania. The attending cartoonists participated - amongother things - in a discussion about censorship at the University ofWashington. It seemed that the American audience was not aware thattheir country practices more censorship than comparable ‘democratic’countries, especially in areas touching religion. Joe Szabo, founder ofWittyWorld, expressed dismay that no pro-Israeli cartoons were submitted,leaving him open to accusations of bias. With official duties over, Rolf andhis wife Lila went on a tour of West Virginia and neighboring states,sampling such local delights as fried green tomatoes and biscuits andgravy. Lila, a quilt-maker, took special interest in the crafts of Amishcountry. And blue-grass music is still ringing in their ears!

STREWTH! DAVO ISFAIR DINKUM, MATE!