News

Local Act closes its doors

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:34:58 +1000

Howdy folks,

After many weeks of serious thought and calculation, I have come to the difficult conclusion that Local Act Comics (LAC) requires more attention and management than I can afford to contribute at this time in my life. Therefore I am taking this opportunity to inform you all that as of the 1st of January 2009 LAC will be ceasing operation as a publisher and distributor.

I would like to thank everybody for their involvement and support over the last 2 years to make LAC one of the most prolific publishers of Australian comics.

All the best,

Dave Cunning.

Local Act Comics - Past, Present & Future - Part 4: Five, count â��em FIVE LAUNCH TITLESâ�¦

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:02:29 +1000

Since there was a lot of material in production before the initial print run of anything there was the opportunity to expand beyond Ma.B right from the beginning. Vigil #1 was well on its way, as was After Life, Millie Piddley Pup and the first LAC Presents… Anthology. By the time we had out first event (Supanova Sydney 06) we had the above five launch titles ready for release. I think it surprised people a little bit to see five titles on the table when we were basically just starting out.

I’d like to take this opportunity to go over those original 5 issues that got the ball rolling for LAC…

After Life

This comic just continues to impress. Despite some criticisms that it was stretched too far to fill a whole issue, I stand by the result as one of the most memorable comics in LAC’s range.

After Life is a gritty science fiction story set in the not too distant future, covering topics like immortality, ecology, the price of progress and a future with limited water.

After Life is "a topical story with a strong wake up call for our generation" Graeme McDonald (Writer).

“After Life represents yet another example of the depth of talent Australia has in terms of comic book creators and we are proud to have this title amongst the ever growing range of genres and styles Local Act Comics produces” Dave Cunning (Director LAC).

After Life is "a marriage of two great arts, the craft of words and pictures, Local Act Comics is helping to develop some wonderful projects" Gareth Colliton (Illustrator).

Whilst After life was originally scripted as a six-page piece for the Local Act Comics Presents Anthology, Dave Cunning (Director) saw the potential of this story and requested that it be made into a larger project. As a consequence

Writer(s): Graeme McDonald
Artist(s): Gareth Colliton
Pages: 28

Millie Piddley Pup – The Great Pop Idol Swindle

Millie Piddley Pup started as a one-off six pager for the LAC Presents...Anthology. The characters are loosely based on writer Graeme McDonald's two pets and their antics which later became stories he made up to make his daughter laugh.

Millie the plucky pup with a bladder problem is paired up with a cantankerous old cat, who just happens to be a master of Kung-Poo, to form an unlikely crime fighting duo!

Writer(s): Graeme McDonald
Artist(s): Chris Catlin
Pages: 36

Vigil #1

This is the issue that launched the McDonald / Wells combo.

A meditation on violence and its impact on everyday people's lives. Vigil follows the lives of three men and women as they respond in individual, personal, political and collective ways, to acts of violence. Some will face violence with peaceful opposition, some will fight using violence against itself and others will become...the violent.

Writer(s): Graeme McDonald
Artist(s): Colin Wells
Pages: 28

LAC Presents... #1 Anthology

Our first attempt at a themed anthology ended up lacking content, but at the time when I was about to pull the plug on this idea a few other anthologies fell over and I managed to salvage some pretty good content from folks who were looking to still be published.

Local Act Comics is proud to present to you some of the fine individuals that make up the Australian comic and cartooning community.

Writer(s): Various
Artist(s): Various
Pages: 32

Ma.B #0 Comic

The zero issue. At the time I wasn’t aware that it’s a bit of a no-no to try and sell a zero issue. You have to give ‘ash-cans’ away. Since then we’ve only had the one zero issue which was received with a bit more approval, even though we were still breaking the rules.

This introductory issue features concept sketches, background information, character profiles and preview pages from the series.

Writer(s): Graeme McDonald
Artist(s): Dave Cunning & Chris Catlin
Pages: 20

Stay tuned for the next article where we look at merchandising. Until then...Dave.C

Phosphorescent Comics Joins Local Act Online Store

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:06:20 +1000

Founded in 1999, Phosphorescent Comics, trading under its parent company Phosphorescent Media Pty Ltd, is currently one of Australia's leading publishers of original graphic fiction (comic books and graphic novels). Their existing range of comic books and graphic novels are sold at over 500 comics’ outlets throughout the world.

Phosphorescent Comics have made the following titles available for purchase through Local Act!

· AZERATH Collected Edition - The Collected Edition contains the first 8 issues of this acclaimed manga-fantasy series! For fans of the series and new readers alike, this is a great opportunity to live the adventure. The edition also contains a dozen BONUS pages of extra Azerath material never before seen!

· KATE LAWSON and the Ship of Lost Souls - The British Colonies of Australia 1812AD, rebellious convicts seize His Majesty's Ship 'The Guildford', and set sail for England, disappearing without trace! In the present day a sea captain is murdered in the city of Sydney! His lifeless body discovered floating in the waters of Central Harbour. In one hand, held in a death grip is a solid silver compass and etched upon its casing, the name of an old British ship 'HMS Guildford'! Federal Agent Kate Lawson and the hapless Detective Hamilton are assigned to investigate. And soon both must confront the undeniable truth! That after nearly two centuries... The Convicts are Back!

· WITCH KING - On a shattered throne, sitting among the dead, rests the most powerful and arrogant sorcerer of the age. This is Gavriel, the Witch King, who has claimed his father's house with fire and death and spared not even his family, save for his eldest brother and a sister. He tells them of his quest for knowledge and power and of a coming threat against the world much greater than any imagined. He tells them the story of his life, of how he became the Witch King.

Local Act Comics - Past, Present & Future - Part 3: The Beginning

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:15:32 +1000

How it all began…

I was asked recently in an interview “Why on Earth would you start an Australian comic publishing company?”

After months of work with the initial plan of approaching an existing comic publisher with a finished first issue of the series Ma.B, I looked into the option of printing the comics myself through a contact that I had from my 9-5 job. From there it went from 1 comic to 2 and onwards…

I quickly realised that the freedom that would come with self-publishing was a plus. We would be able to do it just the way we wanted and wouldn’t be governed by any restrictions that may have otherwise been placed on us.

I started LAC with the intention of promoting both myself and other comic creators who may not have the time, access or the knowledge to promote themselves.

From the very beginning I offered my printing/publishing services to Graeme McDonald for his other projects. From there the idea evolved into what it is today with the main emphasis being on promoting local comic creators who may not have the time / skill / finances / knowledge / connections to do it themselves. It seemed to me to be waste of potential to have work never see the light of day just because the creator may not have been able to make the necessary preparations and actions to see their material printed.

I’ve had a number of creators approach me since about publishing their material and I have also offered publishing deals to creators whose material I thought deserved to be published. With the merging of LAC and RadioTAK (which we’ll get into later on) a whole heap of creators came to join the LAC ranks and we’ve been growing in number ever since.

I guess its not so much a matter of choosing to start a publishing company, but rather hanging on for dear life while it evolved all around us.

Until next time...

Dave C.

Warrigal Press Joins Local Act Online Store

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:56:04 +1000

Warrigal Press is a internet-only secondhand bookshop. Warrigal Press has been publishing since 1987, and selling new, used, antiquarian and collectable books since 2002. They have over 15000 books their collection.

Warrigal Press has made the following titles available for purchase through Local Act!

·Joe Blake #1 – Murder is never pretty…even when the corpse is a blonde - Meet Joe Blake, Western Australia's best known detective. When a beautiful blonde is murdered in her suberban unit the local police put a call through to Joe Blake, because nothing gets in his way. Joe always gets the bad guy. And along the way he gets a few naughty girls, because Joe likes them naughty...very naughty.

·Joe Blake #2 – Warning Shots Last - Joe Blake has seen plenty of girls with 'slut' written all over them, but never like this. The girl was near naked, tied to a bed and the killer had driven a sharp object through her heart. 'Slut' had been written on her skin with a black pen. Hot on the trail of the murderer, Joe Blake continues his fight against evil and the seedy underbelly of Australian society. This time, it's personal. Joe Blake never expected to find his friend Latty Sharpe suspended cruelly from the ceiling of a maniac's dungeon. Revenge is sweet, and Joe Blake always fires his warning shots last.

Local Act Comics- Past, Present & Future - Part 2: The Man With The Plan

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:40:00 +1000

I’m 25. Married. One son. I work full time as the business manager of a technical writing / publishing company. I have a degree in Psychology. I’ve always had an interest in comics. From the time I was a little kid I wanted to be an artist and actually used to sell my artwork to other kids in the playground. I’m really just an average guy who doesn’t sleep enough and loves to write, draw and publish comics.

It can be hard managing LAC as well as finding the time to write and draw my own comics. I have certain nights of the week dedicated to different projects or responsibilities. I love to draw and at the same time I love running LAC. For me it’s both or nothing.
So what keeps the director of LAC so busy? Keeping in touch with all of our creators. Keeping the accounts up to date and paying everybody each month. Keeping the website up to date. Keeping in touch with the stores and making sure they always have enough stock. Preparing files to go to the printer. Keeping a track of stock levels. Attending conventions and comic or small press events. Keeping an eye out for new talent and opportunities. Trying not to get sucked into the cynical attitudes of so many other Aussie comic creators. Its not easy but I persevere ;)

My first exposure to comics came in the form of a hard cover comic adaptation of Star Wars that was handed down to me from my older brother. From there I graduated into a more regular habit of collecting when I used to pick up 2nd hand comics for 50c each at a local market.

Batman was the extent of my interest early on and I still remember reading those same few issues over and over and trying to copy the artwork in them. Along the way I picked up a few random issues of Captain America or Iron Man and with my already present love of drawing it wasn’t a hard decision to want to be a comic artist when I grew up. I told this to my dad who said that I was probably better off working on book covers or something but if I put my mind to it I could do anything I wanted. As time went on comics were pushed to one side until I developed an interest again later in primary school after collecting a series of x-men cards with a friend. Spiderman became my main focus in these years and I would swap comics with friends to complete the stories. From there I spent a brief stint collecting Mr.Hero and other comics coming out of the publisher Tekno.

Once again I lost interest in collecting comics for a while. My friends were getting into spawn comics but I was more interested in video games and all of my money seemed to go towards that. Skip ahead a few more years to high school. I managed to swap a collection of batman comics off a friend for starwars cards or pogs or something…anyway I ended up with about 25 consecutive issues of Batman around the time they moved to glossy pages. My friend at the time was collecting Lobo so didn’t mind parting with the Batman comics. I collected Batman for years. One of my main influences of the time was Kelly Jones and he still remains one of my favourite artists tho his style doesn’t come up in my artwork his compositions and use of shadows have stuck with me.

Once again comics took a back seat to everything else. Other things became more important. Fast forward to University a few years back and I found myself once again in a comic shop picking up copies of Hellspawn, Bastard Samurai and Robotech. I collected comics for a few months but once I was finished studying I stopped collecting again. Jump to 2005. I had started a course in freelance illustration and cartooning to help out with the drawing work that I was doing at the time. I found myself drawn once again to the idea of comics – both reading and creating them. Hellboy, Sin City, Hellblazer and Lucifer all took front row in this latest voyage into the world of comics.

Through a series of contacts that started with my tutor and lead to Greg Gates I found myself at the pulpfaction.net forums contacting others who were all about the creation of comics locally here in Australia.

My biggest influences over the years have been Kelley Jones – Batman never looked as good as when Kelly drew himin the 90’s, Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) for his use of shadow and black and white starkness, Marcelo Frusin (Hellblazer, Loveless) for his figures and faces, Todd McFarlane (Spawn) for his ability to bend or break the rules. There’s probably more but those are the top four for me.
My journey into Australian comics started back when I first hit the pulpfaction.net forums. I went in looking for a writer to work with.

Apparently its not how things are done and its usually the writer who goes looking for the illustrator (I didn’t know that at the time and I still challenge people to break this norm). Regardless I was greeted with the ‘who are you and what have you done?’ comments from most that I contacted. Once I posted up a bit of my recent artwork I managed to win over a couple of people including the writer of Ma.B (and Vigil, After Life and Millie Piddley Pup) Graeme McDonald. Graeme and I met up and talked about putting together the first issue. Then I started working on it and after enlisting the help of a work colleague Chris Catlin we found we had a creative team that would be willing to put in the hours to make it happen.

I struggled in the beginning relying too much on photographs and using a style that is probably closer to design that I originally intended. As the first issue progressed I found myself starting to develop my own style away from using lightboxed photos. You can see the transition and development of the style throughout the released 3 issues of the series. In all honesty my earliest work shows weaknesses in my style that I have made an effort to improve as time has gone on.

I was very lucky in the beginning to get to know Graeme well and we’ve managed to stay on the same page about most things in the series. I think being able to understand where he was coming from and what he is trying to say with the story has been one of the factors that made it possible to draw.

So where to from here? We are looking at lots of new material and are involved in bringing together some exciting projects, so keep an eye on the website.

Local Act Comics- Past, Present & Future - Part 1: Welcome

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 07:57:20 +1000

We’ll be having a look at the progression of Local Act Comics over a series of articles. We will also be looking at those who have helped along the way, what’s been produced and all the great events we managed to get to as well as the merchandise struggle and the journey to our first comic convention. We’ll also have a look at the how and the why LAC began. I hope you enjoy the highs and lows that we have experienced along the way.

Gestalt Joins Local Act Comics Online Store

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:58:24 +1000

Gestalt is an Australian independent publishing house based in Western Australia. We are very excited to have them onboard at Local Act Comics, they have many talented writers and artists such as Chris Bones, Andrew Richardson, Justin Randall and Shaun Tan.

· Character Sketches: Trauma & Joy - Exploring the themes of Trauma & Joy, "Character Sketches" is an engaging annual anthology series containing the best emerging comic and illustration talent from Australia, including Shaun Tan (‘The Arrival’, ‘The Red Tree’), Justin Randall (‘30 Days of Night’), Chris 'Bones' Burns (‘Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday’), Christian Read (‘Eldritch Kid’) and more, with an introduction by acclaimed Australian author Terry Dowling.

· Vowels - Spanning five imaginary eras, VOWELS examines the human condition through eyes that aren't human at all and serves as a gentle reminder to look at ourselves and all that we are capable of.

· Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday - The graphic novel sequel to the cult film REPO MAN. "In 1994, ten years after I made REPO MAN, I became interested in the idea of a sequel. Specifically - what had happened to Otto, during his ten-year absence from Earth? And what would he make of the changes which had taken place in his absence? Otto, it would appear, has been held prisoner, in great luxury, on the planet Mars. Now he has returned to Earth, and changed his name -- to Waldo." - Alex Cox

Click here for Gestalt's titles

Local Act FAQ

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:10:45 +1000

1. Local Act Comics eh? What’s it all about?
Local Act Comics is an independent Australian comic publisher and on-line store. We are committed to expanding the range and exposure of local comic writers and artists. As one of the only independent publishers in Australia to have regular monthly releases, Local Act Comics has a range of titles suited to all ages and tastes, and there is always something new and exciting to read.

2. An Australian comics publishing company! Cool, so how do I get in if I want to be a part of it?
You can submit work to a number of our anthologies, or if you already have your own comic you can send in a sample for consideration. If we like it we can publish it for you – simple as that!
You can submit work to us as long as it has a Submission Form attached to it. You can download a Submission Form from the submissions section of this website.

3. I’ve written a script, but I don’t have an artist – what can I do?
We can line up an artist to work on your script for you. You can send us the script along with a submission form and we’ll get in touch with you if we can find a suitable artist.

4. I’m an artist looking for a project to work on – what can I do?
Since we accept scripts, we can try to find something that will complement your style and level of commitment you are able to give to the project. Send us a sample of your artwork along with a submission form and we’ll see if we can find something for you.

5. I’ve got a finished comic that I’m looking to have published – what can I do?
Submit the comic to us for consideration. If we like it we’ll contact you. From there we can move onto the necessary paperwork.

6. What sort of paperwork is involved in being published?
Local Act Comics operates under licence agreements. This means the material always remains your property. There is no transfer of copyright. The licence agreement simply outlines that for the decided period of time Local Act Comics has the exclusive rights to publish and distribute the comic. Once that agreement is over we can either re-enter into another agreement and continue on or you may take your material elsewhere.

7. Will I lose my Copyright?
Absolutely not! Local Act will publish and distribute your comic for the agreed period of time but at no point does Local Act own your material.

8. What sort of expectations do you have with my comic? Do I have to follow a certain genre or can it be something that is of my own creation?
While we don’t want to plug the flow of creativity we cannot accept pornographic or illegal material. If we feel that the content of your comic is too offensive in any way (themes, violence, etc) we’ll let you know and we can talk about changes that might be made. We need to make sure a comic will be saleable and that our stockists will approve of the content otherwise it makes it very difficult to sell your book.
Other than that we are open to just about anything else. One thing that is important is that the material is of a professional standard. Once again this comes back to being able to sell your comic.

9. Can I submit ‘manga’ style comics?
Sure you can, as long as it’s original. We can’t publish fan art or fan books. Once again, we want you to have as much freedom as possible in how you create your comic, your style, the story and so on.

10. What if I have a comic but I’m from overseas?
There are a few extra details to work out with payment when international fund transfers are required, however being outside of Australia does not exclude you from being published.

11. How many pages can a comic have at current stage?
The sky is the limit! We are printing both single issues (usually around 20-30 pages) and graphic novels/trade paperbacks (which start at 75 pages and can be as big as 500 pages). If you’ve got something in particular in mind let’s talk about it.

12. Does the comic have to be in full colour or black and white?
We are currently printing in Black and White for the interiors and full colour for the covers.

13. What are the comic page specifications?
For single issues - Standard Comic book size is 26cm by 17cm with a 5mm bleed. Make sure no text is within 1cm of the edge of the page. You can download a template below.
For graphic novels – The overall page size is up to you (from A5 to Standard comic size), however the same rules apply as with the single issues. The pages will require a 5mm bleed and no text can sit within 1 cm of the edge of the page.

14. You don’t like my comic? I’d like to know where I went wrong!
We’ll give you a full rundown of why we are not interested in your comic at this time. It may be details of content, skill level in the art or storytelling aspects or any number of other reasons. Rest assured we’ll give you a reason. The important thing is not to give up. Take the criticism into consideration and see if your work improves in time.

15. Wow my comic has been approved! How long will it take before it goes on sale?
This depends on how much material we already have ready for release, however we can usually narrow it down to a particular month for you.
We’ll organise a proof copy from the printer for you to approve. Once you give us the go ahead we organise the print run.
Once it heads off to the printers it usually takes a few weeks before you’ll see it on the website or store shelves, but we’ll let you know as we go what’s happening with it and where it’s up to at any given time.

16. How many copies will be printed?
Local Act prints the comics using a digital process which means print runs can be anywhere between 10 copies and 1000 copies. We will usually begin with a small print run (up to 30 copies) and see how the book sells. If it does well we’ll organise for subsequent print runs as we go.

17. Do I make any money from the comic you’ve just published? If so how much do I get and when will I get paid?
Yes you do! Once the initial print run cost has been recovered you will start to receive payment. At the end of every month we tally up the sales and pay you a percentage of the sale of your comic. All details are outlined in the licence agreement, but the short version is you (and everybody else involved in the production of the comic) get an equal split of the profit made from the sale of your comic.
The profit is determined by the sale price minus the production cost. Where comics are sold to comic stores the sale price is less (so they can put on their own mark-up) and so the profit is less. The production cost depends on how big the comic is (ie. how many pages).
We will go through all of the details with you when the time for the licence agreement comes up.

18. What if I want to buy copies of my comic for myself - do I get a cheaper price?
You are able to purchase your own comics at the wholesale rate that is usually reserved for stores.

19. Where can my friends and family purchase a copy?
You can purchase the comics on-line at our website, or at the many comic shops around the country who stock our material.
If you have people overseas looking to purchase your comics they can do so from the Local Act Comics on-line store using PayPal.

20. What can I do to help LAC get the attention it deserves?
You can spread the good word to comic minded people, sell your comics and other people’s comics published by LAC to friends and family, at markets, universities or local convention opportunities.
The more you get yourself involved the better the business prospects are for everybody associated with LAC. With growth comes economic and social prosperity for the LAC community and the Australian Comics industry – this is a good thing for all of us and is exciting to be involved with too!

21. I’d like to be more involved in the Australian comic community. Where is a good place to start?
Check out the forums at www.pulpfaction.net for advice and also check out www.ozcomics.com for the latest comic news from around the world. There are groups in most major cities that meet up each month to talk comics. You’ll find all details at the Pulp Faction forums.

Got more questions?
You can email us at info@localactcomics and we’ll do our best to answer any further queries you have.

New Release - Split Lip Vol.1

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:21:23 +1000

100 pages of pure horror await you.

Apartments infested with never-before-seen bugs. Mysterious old men who peer into the second-floor windows of sleeping children. A woman, blind to faces trusts a boyfriend that she shouldn’t. A pair of bank robbers stowed away on a haunted train.

You’ll find these stories, and other chilling tales, in Split Lip Book 1.

Split Lip is intellectual horror with strong doses of shock, violence, and unsettling ideas. You won’t find vampires or zombies here, just disturbing new takes on horror. Split Lip sheds those traditional horror archetypes in favor of creating dark moods, original characters, and frightening experiences.

These stories will leave you disturbed long after you turn the page or close the book.