DEATH
OF THE
COMMONS

I vividly remember sitting down and pressing play. It was another standard afternoon watching one of thousands of documentaries. I would gobble them up as soon as I found them online. It didn’t matter the subject, physics, biology, social science my hunger was insatiable. I’m not sure why but looking back I think I was looking for something. This documentary would change my life.

The documentary Graphic Novels! Melbourne! detailed the comparatively tiny Aussie comic book scene. I like a lot of Australians assumed that comic books were all about men in tights doing unrealistic things- or even worse, just for American. For the next hour I was introduced to a world of real people telling stories about worlds I could relate to, worldviews I understood. The book was Blue by Pat Grant and it was a story of racism in Australia.

I was hooked. I raced down to my favourite alternative bookstore and one crumpled up copy of Blue remained on the shelf. “20% off” read the sticker. The story interlaced with a beautiful little world blindsided me.

I didn’t know why but I was falling in love with a medium I never knew existed.

My first venture into a comic book store was an intimidating venture. It is an underground store with rows and rows of characters I had briefly heard of from movies, with obscure names that were just a little bit too silly. My first taste of a mainstream comic left a very bad taste in my mouth, it was over the top, silly, full of plot holes and everything that I thought cliche comics were about. But for some reason i persevered.

I learnt all about trades and floppies, marvel and image and independant vs comics from the big two.

I did all this to gain the inside knowledge of how these arcane pieces of art were put together, hey I thought if that bloke Pat Grant can put together a book why can’t I? I googled every drawing and comic creating book I could find. I started drawing again for the first time since my early high school art teacher told me I was crap.

Fast forward over a year and a half and here we are with the first 10 pages of my new comic. I over researched (as usual) to find every small detail I could. I know the subject areas I need to conquer, need to get out of my system and let the angst go. Climate change and overpopulation, which I believe are the most important problems facing our species. I’m not going to preach my views, thats for you to decide however I felt i needed to do something. Toil in some way to get rid of the frustration in a positive way. This is the result.

A story about a young man who is sent into an unknown world hidden deep below the ever circling clouds.

A tintin style adventure with a good dose of Mad Max savagery thrown in.

What does this keystone device do? How will he find it? Will he ever make it home? I’ve drawn inspiration from important characters of Australian history, some of which have been long forgotten. My characters are reflections of these historical figures, merely a nod to the important but largely forgotten roles they played in shaping this country. Wherever Wind goes i want this idea to be reflected in the people he meets.

Worst case sea level rises based off modelling^[3], species likely to do well in a climate altered world and the effect of overpopulation^[4] have all been factored in to the story and look of this book. Also a dose of fiction of course such as the red dirt that permeates every part of Australia due to the loss of topsoil and decades El nino weather patterns drying out Australia to the bone. I will draw on my journalist abilities learnt during my masters^[5] to highlight scientific theories and social ideas so that you don’t just get to read a story but also learn something. I’ll do this as it pops up along the way.

Thank you for taking the time to read the start of a very long adventure. I Hope you stick around.