In this creator chat Mia sits down for a conversation with Li Chen the creator of the delightful Detective Beans series. Li Chen, from New Zealand, always loved drawing and has been working as a full-time comic artist since 2012. Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat was her first graphic novel and she's just published the third book in the series: Detective Beans and the Map of Mystery.

In this conversation they talk about:

• The origin and influences of Detective Beans
• How Li Chen started making webcomics
• How well Detective Beans has been received
• Li Chen coming to Australia
• and more!

For more on Detective Beans visit: https://detectivebeans.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/

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In this episode Luke sits down for a chat with Gregory Mackay the creator of the Anders graphic novels, a delightful series for young readers (and for all ages really).

They discuss:

• the newly published Anders and the Mountain, the fourth book in the adventures of Anders series,
• the themes and inspiration behind the Anders series
• the publication of Anders in French and French comics culture
• other work that Gregory is doing (which is not for children)
• and Gregory mentions what he's reading now, which is not children's books

Anders and the Mountain is out now through Allen & Unwin: https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Gregory-Mackay-Anders-and-the-Mountain:-Anders-4-9781761066238

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/

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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/

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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/

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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/

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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/

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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.

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.