• 135 Creator Chat with Wendy Tyrer and The Curator
    Jun 14 2026

    In this creator chat Marissa sits down for a conversation with Wendy Tyrer who recently publisher her first graphic novel, The Curator with a new publisher of Australian graphic novels: Perentie Press.


    In The Curator, artists are mysteriously going missing all over the world. But Mimi, a struggling art student working at the National Gallery of Victoria isn’t worried about her own safety. After meeting Simon, the sophisticated curator of the Master Portraits exhibition, Mimi is unwittingly pulled into an extraordinary adventure. What she uncovers will challenge everything she knows, and force her to make a life-changing decision.


    For more from Wendy Tyrer visit her website: https://wendytyrer.com/

    For more from Perentie Press visit their website: https://perentiepress.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.

    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
  • 134 Creator Chat with Campbell Whyte and Luna Express
    Jun 2 2026

    In this creator chat, Iurgi sits down to catch up with Campbell Whyte, an excellent cartoonist from Perth who also moonlights as educator at the Milk Tooth School of Art and Stories and is also the Chairperson of the Perth Comic Arts Festival. He somehow found time to join us today to talk about Luna Express, an excellent graphic novel set in Perth that is full of teen angst, social commentary, magic and lots of heart.


    01:58 What’s happening with Campbell and his many hats

    03:46 Looking back at Home Time

    07:47 Setting comics in Perth

    11:24 The origins, ideas themes of Luna Express

    19:55 Campbell talks about his approach to art and his need to work in different art styles

    26:41 The influences on Luna Express, from Sailor Moon to Ranma, from Steve Ditko to Katsuhiro Otomo and more

    42:55 Next projects on the horizon

    48:33 Campbell gives a run down on what to expect at the Perth Comic Arts Festival in July. The festival will be held at the State Library of WA in Perth.

    52:27 Campbell gives a final recommendation to read


    To stay up to date with Campbell Whyte’s check out his website: https://campbellwhyte.com

    To stay up to date with the Perth Comic Arts Festival and to book events check out their website: https://pcaf.org.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.

    Show More Show Less
    54 mins
  • 133 May Roundup
    May 26 2026

    In this month's roundup, Iurgi and James discuss all the latest. They start the episode with some of the news in brief. Then...


    04:49 Recent reads

    • Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross
    • Punderworld by Linda Sejic
    • Talgard by Gary Proudley and various artists
    • Pigeons! A Fable For Our Times by Marc Chalvin
    • System Preference by Ugo Bienvenu


    11:13 News:

    • We’re including more reviews and interviews on our roundups
    • Review of Gemma Correll's Anxietyland
    • Interview with Frank Quitely
    • The Nib and Ink Festival all throughout May. You can still join the last few events, including a panel talk with Reimena Yee, Scott McCloud and Nick Sousanis on Understanding Comics. Iurgi, mistakenly thought that it was a week earlier but it’s on Sunday May 31 at 8AM AEDT. All the panel talks are being recorded and published on the Ink and Nib Festival’s YouTube channel.


    21:34 New titles, starting with a few new titles by Australian creators:

    Anders and the Castle by Gregory Mackay (Allen & Unwin) [9781761066283] [Australian creator]

    Anders and the Mountain by Gregory Mackay (Allen & Unwin) [9781761066238] [Australian creator]

    Lamington Left Behind by Andrea Innocent (Figment Books) [9781761212819]

    Treehouse by Trace Balla (Allen & Unwin) [9781761181252]

    The Friendship Paradox by Aśka (Allen & Unwin) [9781761181689]

    Inferno Girl Red Vol 2 by Mat Groom, Erica D'Urso (Image Comics) [9781534335080]

    Spider-Verse Vs. Venomverse by Mat Groom, Kyle Higgins, Luciano Vecchio, Jim Towe (Marvel Comics) [9781302961558]

    Batman: Detective Comics Vol 2: Elixir by Tom Taylor Mikel Janin (DC Comics) [9781799502654]


    And our other picks for the month:

    • Dragon Quest: The Adventures of Dai Vol 6 Dragon Knights by Riku Sanjo, Koji Inada (Viz Media) [9781974762439]
    • Soviet Land: A Tragicomic Thriller by Pierre-Henry Gomont (Abrams ComicArts) [9781419788857]
    • The End of the Arab of the Future A Youth in the Middle East Vol. 1 by: Riad Sattouf, Sam Taylor (Fantagraphics) [9798875002373]
    • Aya and Her Magic Cat by Sam Ita (Tuttle Publishing) [9784805319987]
    • Dune House Harkonnen Vol 3 by Brian Herbert, Michael Shelfer, Kevin J. Anderson (Random House) [9798892158350]


    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.

    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • 132 Creator Chat with Lee Lai
    May 14 2026

    In this creator chat, Iurgi sits down for a chat with Lee Lai who has just won the Stella Prize for Cannon. It was long overdue with Cannon being one of the most outstanding graphic novels of 2025. The chat was recorded before the Stella Prize winner was announced.

    00:20 Introduction

    05:39 Lee talks about the recent book tour in Australia

    07:43 Lee looks back at the publication of Stone Fruit

    10:53 Conversation turns to Cannon and where the ideas for it originated

    17:55 Discussion moves to Cannon and Trish and their struggles and dilemmas

    28:57 Lee reflects on taking inspiration from real life events and people and harnessing them for fiction stories

    33:49 Conversation turns to the horror genre and horror comics with Lee declaring herself a new horror fan

    40:49 What’s next for Lee Lai (that she can talk about)

    44:01 Lee discusses what she’s reading and what she recommends, including a shout out to Fionn McCabe and Eloise Grills


    This the second chat with Lee Lai on the ALIA Graphic Podcast, if you missed out the first time or you want to rediscover the chat when we talked about Stone Fruit, it’s Episode 29 on our feed or you can find it here: https://shows.acast.com/alia-graphic-podcast/episodes/29-creator-chat-with-lee-lai

    For more info on Lee Lai check out their website here: https://www.instagram.com/_leelai/

    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.

    Show More Show Less
    47 mins
  • 131 Creator Chat with Andrea Innocent
    May 11 2026

    In this creator chat, ALIA Graphic convenor Sabina Wills sits down for a chat with Andrea Innocent to discuss her recently published debut graphic novel Lamington Left Behind, published by Figment Books.


    00:20 Acknowledgement of country and introduction to Andrea Innocent

    03:43 Andre talks about her relation to libraries

    04:56 Andrea discusses the comics she read as a kid

    06:40 The chat moves to the inspiration behind Lamington Left Behind and the development of the project

    16:38 The discussion turns to the themes and ideas behind Lamington Left Behind

    30:09 Andrea Innocent talks about her visit to the Takayna rainforest in Tasmania and what’s next for her

    33:36 Andrea’s advice to an aspiring comic book creator

    34:50 Andrea recommends Georgina Chadderton’s Oh Brother and Tove Jansson’s comics


    For more from Andrea Innocent check out her website here: https://www.andreainnocent.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.

    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
  • 130 April Roundup
    Apr 29 2026

    In this month's roundup, Iurgi and Mia discuss all the latest.


    02:09 Recent reads:

    Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat by Li Chen

    Once and Future Riot by Jean Sacco

    Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Absurd Skill by Akagishi K

    Cannon by Lee Lai


    11:35 News:

    DC’s Absolute Batman is super popular

    Anti AI and Matt Kindt’s hand drawn comics

    STEAM powered comics for middle graders

    Podcast shout outs: The Readings Podcast with Mandy Ord, The Thick Lines podcast discussing Rachel Ang’s I Ate the Whole World to Find You and Tiffany Babb on the Off Panel Podcast discussing her brand new comics journalism zine: The Comics Staple

    The Cartoonist Studio Prize and the The Los Angeles Book were announced recently, we mention the winners and celebrate that Lee Lai’s Cannon appears on both

    Cartoonists United has a YouTube channel and is also behind the Nib & Ink Festival that you must definitely check out


    22:46 New titles:

    Mia’s picks:

    Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga by Dav Pilkey, Motojiro (Scholastic)

    Leo da Vinci Renaissance Kid by Richard Ashley Hamilton (Papercutz)


    Iurgi’s picks:

    The Curator by Wendy Tyrer (Perentie Press)

    Corto Maltese: Fable of Venice and Other Stories by Hugo Pratt (Fantagraphics)

    Human Nature Book 1 (of 3) A Satirical Science Fiction Graphic Novel by Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel, Jeff Welch, Martin Morazzo (ABRAMS)


    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.

    Show More Show Less
    42 mins
  • 129 March Roundup
    Mar 30 2026

    In another packed episode, and we're only scratching the surface of what's in this month's blog post, Iurgi and Gabby discuss some of the latest news and new titles, which include more graphic novels by Australian creators.


    01:40 Gabby and Iurgi discuss their recent reads and then go on a tangent about One Piece.

    • We could be magic by Marissa Meyer and Joelle Murray
    • Frieren Beyond Journey’s End by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe
    • The Pass by Katriona Chapman
    • Criminal 3 The Dead and the Dying and 4 Bad Night by Ed Brubaker, Sean Philips
    • One Piece tangent


    11:17 News:

    • Perentie Press is a new Australian publisher of graphic novels
    • Publishers are expanding their publications of manga for adults
    • New Hello Kitty comics on the horizon published by IDW in partnership with Sanrio
    • The Rise of Image Comics, a book written by South Aus
    • The CBCA Notables list has included three graphic novels in the list
    • The British Book Awards have a new category for comics


    30:12 Gabby and Iurgi’s favourite picks from the new titles out this month:

    • PAWS The Trouble With Leo By: Nathan Fairbairn, Michele Assarasakorn
    • Run Home by Alyssa Bermudez (St Martin’s Press)
    • The Greenies by Emma Mills, Sarah Nicole Kennedy
    • Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter by Jay Kristoff, Tirso Cons, Tom Taylor, Riccardo Federici (DC Comics)
    • Skating Wilder by: Brandon Dumais, AJ Dungo
    • Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories by Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics)

    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.

    Show More Show Less
    47 mins
  • 128 Creator Chat with Georgina Chadderton
    Mar 11 2026

    In this episode Mia sits down for a chat with Georgina Chadderton.


    Georgina is a freelance cartoonist, lover of dogs, and plant enthusiast living on Kaurna Country (Adelaide), South Australia. Georgina has recently published Oh Brother, a memoir about growing up with their younger brother Robert, who is autistic and has an intellectual disability. The book is being published by Penguin Random House in Australia, the UK, Canada and the US. Oh Brother has been selected as part of the Junior Library Guild Gold Selection and as the American Booksellers Association’s Indie Introduces pick.


    02:14 Georgina talks about the publication of Oh Brother

    03:54 Georgina talks about how she discovered comics at the school library and how she got into making comics

    06:30 Georgina talks about libraries and their librarian story

    10:46 Vegemite, crumpets and pretzels

    12:13 The chat turns to Oh Brother, disability, autism and representation

    24:20 Ten years in the making, the story evolved and changed in the process

    33:12 Georgina talks about the process of making the graphic novel

    39:35 Discussion turns to the Papercuts comics festival in Adelaide

    45:35 A sneak peak on what Georgina is working on next

    51:09 Georgina recommends a bunch of graphic novels


    For more info from Georgina check out their website here: https://www.georgerexcomics.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.

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 2 mins