I am very pleased with the news that both ELDRITCH KID: BONE WAR and my story from the 2019 Phantom Annual 'IT TOLLS FOR THEE' have made the short list of the 202 annual Ledger Awards, for excellence in Australian Comics and Graphic Novels.
Truth be told, I don't normally pay attention or enter these things, but was encouraged by my close friend and writer Christopher Sequeira to enter works from 'SuperAustralians', and decided on a whim to throw the 'Nam story in. At the time, I was proud of that work, and do hope one day that the other completed stories see the light of day.
Congratulations and thank you to my collaborators at Gestalt comics on Bone War (writer/creator Christian Read, editor and letterer Wolfgang Bylsma (thank you too for believing in the book enough to enter it), cover artist and book colourist Justin Randall, and guest chapter cover artists Nicola Scott, Douglas Holgate, Emily K. Smith and James Brouwer), the backers of the book, and for the Phantom story, my script/dialogue reviewer and cheerleader Amanda Bacchi, close friend and writer Andrew Constant for support, at Frew Publications, director and editor Glenn Ford for opportunity, publisher Dudley Hogarth, and the editorial team at King Features for their approval and kind words.
Thank you too too the judges and sponsors of the Ledger awards, and congratulations to all the others shortlisted, and eventual winners. A diverse and fantastic array of creators and works, an eclectic collection, and I appreciate that for a few minutes, my work in comics in this weird, "wild west" Australian comic landscape has not gone unnoticed.