In this month's roundup Iurgi and James take us through the latest news and new titles.

02:10 September news in brief

04:08 Recent reads: Luke (Slam Dunk Vols 1,2,3 by Takehiko Inoue, The Library of Memories by Barbara Perez Marques and Lissy Marlin, Batman and Robin: Year One by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee), Iurgi (Starship Godzilla: First Wars by Chris Gooch, Oliver Ono, Neverlanders: Get Lost by Tom Taylor and Jon Sommariva, Fullmetal Alchemist Volumes 10, 11, 12 by Hiramu Arakawa)

13:01 News:

• The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is adapted into an opera
• Reimena Yee blog post discussing the Australian comic book community and making the case for more institutional support
• Things they are a changin' and the print edition of Weekly Shōnen Jump has declined dramatically
• Marvel's Mignight Universe is coming
• Hometown a new graphic novel by Shaun Tan is out now!
• The American Manga Awards

36:16 New Titles:

• The Long-Lived King: An Original The Owl House Graphic Novel by by: Dana Terrace, Daun Han
• W0RLDTR33 Deluxe Hardcover Volume 1 by James Tynion IV, Fernando Blanco, Jordie Bellaire
• Earth to Chris Cleevy by Christof Bogacs, Hannah Krieger, Sammy Savos
• Journey to the West: The Beginning by Cheng’en Wu, CharA, Jim Zub, Julien Choy
• Hometown by Shaun Tan (Levine Querido)
• The Dissidents: Autocrats! Vigilantes! Communists! … And Cartoonists! by Derf Backderf

To stay up to date, for the full roundup of news, resources and new titles and our social media links visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

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In this special podcast Iurgi sits down for a chat with Aaron Billings and Bruce Mutard two of the organisers of MAKE, the Melbourne Alternative Comics Expo, a new independent comics festival coming to Melbourne from October 9 to 11.

The festival is free for the Community Day and Market Day and a very affordable $15 for the opening gala Speaking to Pictures event.

01:29 Aaron Billings and Bruce Mutard join the podcast

03:52 What’s MAKE and what prompted the creation of MAKE

06:49 Who's in the MAKE organising committee

08:44 What’s the vision for MAKE this year and into the future

12:53 Opening Gala: Speaking to Pictures

15:54 Community Day: A wide range of panel talks

22:27 Market Day: workshops and an exhibition

27:25 Shout out to allies and sponsors

For more information visit the festival's website: https://makecomics.com.au/

To stay up to date, for the full roundup of news, resources and new titles and our social media links visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

The ALIA Graphic Groove Theme 2025 courtesy of Clint Owen Ellis https://www.clintowenellis.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month's roundup Iurgi and Gabby discuss the latest.

02:06 Some of the news in brief including the CBCA winners including a graphic novel as the Best Book of the Year for Younger Readers, John Carpenter's horror graphic novel Cathedral and more.

05:22 Recent Reads:

• Ivy and Bearlock Holmes by Kristyna Litten
• Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
• Absolute Batman Vol 1 & 2 Scott Snyder (a bunch of artists)
• Anders and the Mountain by Gregory Mackay (Allen & Unwin)

09:59 News:

• Publisher’s Weekly highlights upcoming early reader and elementary graphic novels, showcasing diverse stories and creators for young comics fans and emerging readers.
• Creators Tasia M.S. and Barbara Perez Marquez discuss their romantasy graphic novel To Dance the Moon and Stars, exploring collaboration, fairy-tale influences, and world-building
• A The Conversation essay examines whether Australia has a defining graphic novel, highlighting Lee Lai’s Cannon and the growing literary recognition of comics.
• Australian cartoonists warn AI-generated newspaper illustrations threaten creative jobs, highlighting transparency, ethics, and the future of editorial art.
• Melbourne Alternative Comics Expo (MAKE) is a new festival celebrating comics, graphic novels and storytelling through workshops, panels, performances and creator markets
• Comic street is Brisbane’s annual indie comics festival, connecting creators and readers through markets, workshops and events celebrating independent comics and graphic storytelling.
• A graphic biography reexamines Eileen Blair Orwell’s life, highlighting her intellectual influence on George Orwell while exploring history, creativity and political upheaval.
• In a wide-ranging interview, Maus creator Art Spiegelman reflects on his career, American politics, censorship, and concerns about rising authoritarianism

24:19 New Releases:

Pickle on Wheels by Sylvie Kantorovitz

Ember and the Grand Metamorphosis by Jason Pamment

Middle School Monsters by Robin Easter

Home Time: Twelve Days (Collecting Books 1 and 2) by Campbell Whyte

The Nightingales by Emil Wilson

Look out for our next podcast episode coming soon with two of the committee members of MAKE, the Melbourne Alternative Comics Expo coming up in October. More info here: https://makecomics.com.au/

To stay up to date, for the full roundup of news, resources and new titles and our social media links visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

The ALIA Graphic Groove Theme 2025 courtesy of Clint Owen Ellis https://www.clintowenellis.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are proud to present a special recording of an event from Melbourne Rare Book Week.

Georgina Chadderton is an Australian cartoonist. Her work has been featured in outlets including The Nib and Voiceworks magazine. They are a cofounder of Papercuts Comics Festival, an independent annual celebration of graphic novels held in Adelaide. When they’re not drawing, Georgina enjoys eating pizza and playing roller derby.

In this event recorded at Melbourne City Libraries, part of Melbourne Rare Book Week, Georgina talks in depth about Oh Brother and the ten year process of making her first graphic novel.

00:00 James Baker’s intro for the episode

01:14 Georgina introduction and talks about Oh Brother

09:14 Georgina discusses the process of making Oh Brother

32:45 Questions and answers

For more from Georgina check out her website: https://www.georgerexcomics.com

To stay up to date with Melbourne Rare Book Week: https://rarebooksmelbourne.com/

To stay up to date, for the full roundup of news, resources and new titles and our social media links visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

The ALIA Graphic Groove Theme 2025 courtesy of Clint Owen Ellis https://www.clintowenellis.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are proud to present a special recording of an event from Melbourne Rare Book Week.

The comic book form is used as a narrative medium by creators to tackle social, historical and personal histories: protesting about the Vietnam War in Mirranda Burton’s Underground; Napoleon Bonaparte’s Tasmanian imprisonment in Jamie Clennett’s The Diemenois; and growing up with an autistic sibling in Gina Chadderton’s Oh Brother. These creators present illustrated readings from their work, then engage in a discussion about comics and the real world, and how their books have enabled the two to converge and converse.

Chaired by Bernard Caleo, this is a recording of a Melbourne Rare Book Week presented in partnership with the Melbourne Athenaeum Library and ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics on Thursday July 30, 2026.

00:20 Welcome and acknowledgement of country

01:20 Bernard Caleo introduces the night and discusses comics and the real world

13:11 Mirranda Burton reads from Underground

18:49 Mirranda in conversation with Bernard

22:59 Jamie Clennett reads from The Diemenois

30:17 Jamie Clennett in conversation with Bernard

33:51 Georgina introduces Oh Brother

38:50 Georgina reads from Oh Brother

43:34 Georgina in conversation with Bernard

47:44 Mirranda, Jamie and Georgina in conversation with Bernard

To stay up to date with Melbourne Rare Book Week: https://rarebooksmelbourne.com/

To stay up to date with the Melbourne Athenaeum Library: https://melbourneathenaeum.org.au/library/

To stay up to date, for the full roundup of news, resources and new titles and our social media links visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

The ALIA Graphic Groove Theme 2025 courtesy of Clint Owen Ellis https://www.clintowenellis.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month’s roundup podcast Iurgi and Luke discuss the latest news, their recent reads and their picks from the new titles out this month.

We start with the intro and some news in brief then:

08:31 Recent reads

18:14 News

40:44 New titles

To stay up to date, for the full roundup of news, resources and new titles and our social media links visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

The ALIA Graphic Groove Theme 2025 courtesy of Clint Owen Ellis https://www.clintowenellis.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this creator chat James sits down for a conversation with Aśka, the creator behind The Friendship Paradox, out now through Allen & Unwin.

The Friendship Paradox is a young adult graphic novel where high school is over and Dash is excited to spend their gap year working for the local science museum, travelling and teaching kids about physics. Maybe they'll even make a friend. People are part of the universe, so the laws of physics should also apply to them, right?

Except Dash discovers the workplace is just as challenging as school - relationships are confusing, students don't follow the rules and co-workers aren't what they expect. Then Dash meets Kay. Can opposites really attract? Or will Dash's attempts to use physics to understand their world repel a potential friend?

The conversation focuses on science communication, balancing communicating the science with telling the story of Dash, Kay, their adventures and their developing friendship and more.

Aśka also gives us a quick update on PCAF and recommends three titles to read:

Wake Up Pixoto by Weng Pixin

Speaking in Pictures by Neil Cohn

Manta by Jorden Allen-Barr

For more from Aśka check out their website: https://askastorytelling.com

To stay up to date, for the full roundup of news, resources and new titles and our social media links visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/

The ALIA Graphic Groove Theme 2025 courtesy of Clint Owen Ellis https://www.clintowenellis.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.