Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (00:11):
Welcome to another episode of Oz Comic Show. Uh, today we are talking to Adam Gillespie about his book, coy. And, um, yep, there’s a copy of it. But before we do, I would just wanted to announce that this week is the return of Let’s make a comic book, uh, that is on tomorrow night, uh, eight o’clock Eastern Standard Time. So tune in for that. We’ll be designing the character this time, so there’ll be no blank coming straight in. There’ll be just the character being designed. It’s all from scratch. So we’ve got three artists doing that together. And, uh, so that will be an interesting night tomorrow night. And of course, we have the, uh, recent reads or comics, recent reads on Friday night as well. Um, so that’ll be a lot of fun talking about what people have recently read and what they recommend and so forth. So that’s this week. Uh, I’m not sure what’s happening next week, so I won’t go into that. And, um, in that case, this is where I press the button with the loud music and we start the show. See you soon on the other call.

Sheydin Dew (01:36):
Welcoming in the CAA royalty. Adam Gillespie, thank you so much for, uh, joining us tonight. Um, I have definitely been wanting to have you on the show for a very, very long time, and I’m very excited to talk all things quite

Adam Gillespie (01:53):
Awesome. Um,

Sheydin Dew (01:54):
I, let’s jump straight in. Um, give us a little bit of an instruction about you and maybe even a little bit of an el elevator pitch of coi.

Adam Gillespie (02:05):
Uh, well, I, um, I, I started late in the, uh, in the comic making game. Um, I started in 2016. It’s in my late thirties. Um, spent a lot of time. I drew a lot of comics as a kid, but I spent a lot of time not drawing because I wasn’t good enough, you know, so, uh, I came to it late, um, and really enjoying getting my, uh, my feet wet with all this comic making stuff. Um, elevator pitch for coi, um, probably the best is the blurb on the back, but with a little bit added <laugh>. It’s, uh, Daniel Grey is the last human left alive at the edge of space. At the end of time, Daniel is about to make a discovery that will change his very existence, a giant space fish.

Sheydin Dew (03:01):
<laugh>. Well said, well said. Um, for those who dunno anything, um, about you or your comics, how would you describe your writing style and your art style in just a few words?

Adam Gillespie (03:14):
I, um, I, I kind of fall, I don’t know, I fall sort of art-wise. I fall halfway in between, like messy and scratchy and like that really nice, clean, bold, cartoony style. I’m kind of neither, um, a mishmash of both. Um, I really like that, uh, really loose Jeff LaMere style art. And I also really like, you know, proper traditional cartooning with those nice curves and clean lines, and I think, I think I naturally just mesh those two together. Um, so I’m not, I’m not at all scratchy, but I’m not at all bold and curvy. I’m a bit, I’m a bit of a mishmash, uh, writing wise. It’s harder to pin down because I don’t think any one of my works is the same. I’ve done absurdist comedy, I’ve done science fiction, I’ve done nonfiction. Um,

Sheydin Dew (04:23):
You’ve done these as well, <laugh>. Yeah, I,

Adam Gillespie (04:25):
Yeah, like documentary food comics. Uh, I, I think like writing style, whatever, whatever enters my brain as an idea and doesn’t wanna leave is just what ends up on the page. So. Nice.

Sheydin Dew (04:40):
Yeah, I think that’s definitely a good balance to have as well. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Um, I did also dig out from the archives, you did mention that you started back in 2016. Um, if there are any South Australian peeps watching, um, I actually found this, which was actually made by Adam as well. Um, we actually met at, um, comics with friends and strangers, which was actually, um, created by Gina and Owen who are royalty here in South Australia. And they made a fantastic community for everyone who loved, um, who loves comics to come by. Um, was it monthly? I can’t remember if it was, it was monthly, wasn’t it?

Adam Gillespie (05:22):
Yeah, it was like the last Monday of every month, I think. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (05:26):
Yeah. And we’d, we’d all gather at the box factory and we’d all just draw comics and they’d have like an activity and we’d have snacks and, um, just everyone would, would come by. And it was just a really good networking and just awesome fun, um, event and something that I really looked forward to, because yeah, when I was starting out, it was just

Adam Gillespie (05:45):
Really, it was really great.

Sheydin Dew (05:46):
Yeah, it was a lifeline. Um, so the fact that you made this as like a farewell, um, present, um, yeah, it was really touching and I think, uh, Gina and Owen would’ve loved these. Um, but yeah. And then obviously also, um, your food documentary, um, comics that I also had to pick up as well. Um, you’ve just got such a, a plethora of different comics. You’ve got such a variety, um, and I think that speaks volumes about your work, so, yeah. Um, obviously you did dive in 2016, um, but you also mentioned that you’ve been drawing for much longer than that. How long does that go?

Adam Gillespie (06:26):
Since I was old enough to pick up a pen. Uh, what did you, did you enjoy

Sheydin Dew (06:31):
Drawing?

Adam Gillespie (06:33):
My mum used to, um, my mum used to draw, uh, the, the, the comic characters off of covers of like Disney comics. Um, she would, she would read the comic and then she would draw a grid on the comic with a pencil and then draw a grid on a piece of paper, and she would copy Donald Duck onto this grid, and then she would spend hours just colouring it in with coloured pencils. And, and, and it was always like, great to see, and I just wanted to do the same thing. So it was when I was old enough to pick up a pen and draw myself, I would just, I would just do that. I would copy off of covers. I would, uh, mum used to bring Home Viz Magazine. I don’t know if either of you remember Viz, but I just used to like, I would open it and I would find like a cowboy character and I would just copy these characters onto the page.

(07:27)
So I was constantly just drawing, uh, whatever was in front of me. Um, usually cartoony stuff. It was easier to do when you’re, when you’re younger. Um, but then like I graduated, I would copy out of the Phantom or I would copy out of, um, whatever, whatever comic just found its way across my, uh, and none of them good, of course, because I was like three or four, but, but that’s, yeah, that’s where I started. Just as soon as, as soon as I was old enough to draw, I was drawing. And it’s all because of my mum. I think having comics in the house and, and having that hobby of like doing the, making her own colouring in pages is basically,

Sheydin Dew (08:06):
Yeah. Nice. Um, jumping back to,

Adam Gillespie (08:11):
Oh,

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (08:11):
Sorry, I was just gonna throw in some of the G because we’ve got a few

Sheydin Dew (08:16):
<laugh>. Hey, Dave. Hello. Hello.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (08:23):
And Kylie. Um,

Sheydin Dew (08:24):
And obviously if anybody does have questions, keep them rolling in. Um, any questions you can add to my long list is always greatly appreciated, <laugh>. Um, but jumping back into coi, um, obviously I had the pleasure of reading this last year, um, for the CAA, um, which was formerly known as the Ledgers Award. Um, I, I would personally describe this book as a little bit of a mix of things. It’s got, um, like a bit of science fiction in there, fantasy, um, really deep elements, kind of like philosophy, philosophy, um, in it as well. Um, but I wanna, I wanna hear your words of how you would describe this little comic creation of yours, Adam.

Adam Gillespie (09:10):
Um, it, it all started from like a doodle that I did of a spaceman, like a, an astronaut and a giant fish floating in front of him. It was just a, a random doodle that I did, um, with no intention of creating koi at the time, just drew this picture and it just sort of like stuck in my head, this, uh, this little germ of an idea of these, these two completely disparate things, you know? Uh, but thematically the actual story comes from, um, just being in a really dark place. When I drew that in 2019, I was not in a very good head space, um, really bad mental health. Uh, and I don’t know, it just, the story just poured out of me like therapy, you know, it was really therapeutic getting that story and, and those images on the page. Um, and that, that, that initial cartoon was just like the, um, somewhere for me to put that, all those thoughts and ideas.

(10:27)
And that’s, that’s basically where it, where it came from. But yeah, I, I guess initially I was just like, this is gonna be science fiction. Um, but it has a lot of, um, like you said, tho those fantasy elements, not like traditional high fantasy. Yeah. But the, the, the dream aspects and the, um, um, the, the nature of, of the Koi fish being a giant fishing in outer space is very fantastical. Um, so yeah, I, I do think, like, personally, I think that it’s a, uh, it is a, a mix of science fiction and fantasy fantasy. Um, but yeah. Uh, the actual story that well, of dark thoughts just sort of like spewed out Yeah. Uh, onto the page. Um, and, and by the end of it, I was better, you know? Well, yeah. It, it was a very therapeutic six months of, um, of art making. Very much so.

Sheydin Dew (11:30):
And, and it won you the bronze medal at the CAA

Adam Gillespie (11:35):
Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (11:37):
<laugh>

Adam Gillespie (11:40):
Right here. Right, right. Where everyone can see it when they come in my house, because down. Good. I, can you tell us

Sheydin Dew (11:49):
What it was like winning that award? Yeah,

Adam Gillespie (11:53):
It was amazing. Like, quite frankly, like, I’m not gonna mince words, it was <laugh>. It was amazing. Uh, it’s, it’s so rare. Um, I, I don’t think I’ve won anything in my life, really. Uh, which, which, you know, you don’t do things to win awards. But, um, those, those six months of drawing that, and I was just happy to sort of have it out in people’s, in people’s hands and, and them reading it. And it didn’t matter what they thought of it, whether they enjoyed it, whether they thought it was okay, whether they, it wasn’t for them. I was just happy that it had found an audience. Uh, but when I found out that, um, that I had won, uh, the A ledger, I was like,

Sheydin Dew (12:48):
<laugh>, I remember that face on stage. I saw it <laugh>.

Adam Gillespie (12:55):
I was like, what? It was de like all the works that are out there. Yeah. Like that, um, that little catalogue that they did, this is a bit battered and beat up, but that’s what catalogue they did with all of, all of the comics that, that were, that were nominated shortlisted. Yes. Um, but like for Coi to, to be like, to, to win one of the, the awards, um, over pretty much any of those other books is astounding to me. There’s a little bit of imposter syndrome at play with every artist that I think if you win an award, you go, what me

Sheydin Dew (13:37):
<laugh>?

Adam Gillespie (13:40):
Um, I

Sheydin Dew (13:40):
Think it was definitely well deserved. Um, and again, it kind of just showed the, uh, variety that there is in Australia when it comes to comics. So, um, and it was nice to have, um, essay represented. It was awesome to see <laugh>. Um, that was a fantastic weekend. And I do remember sitting across from you, it

Adam Gillespie (13:58):
Was a great weekend.

Sheydin Dew (13:59):
Yeah. And I remember see getting your photo taken and you were sitting across the table from me and I was just like, yeah. Yes. Well deserved, well deserved. <laugh>

Adam Gillespie (14:08):
An amazing weekend. I think that weekend was Paper Cuts Comic Festival too. It was, so it was the award and then there was the festival over the weekend and it was just this amazing kind of long weekend of comics, awesomeness.

Sheydin Dew (14:22):
Yeah. And we had a few people actually come over, um, interstate. Um, that was actually the first night I met Spie. Shout out to Spie. Um, he was actually sitting next to me.

Adam Gillespie (14:30):
Me too. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (14:31):
Yep. He was sitting next to me during the ceremony, which was fantastic. Um, quick, Nick, who’s usually on the Friday drink draws, he was sitting on the other side of me. So yeah, it was just a really nice, um, weekend of networking

Adam Gillespie (14:42):
Shortlisted as well for Sluggish. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (14:44):
Yes.

Adam Gillespie (14:44):
Which is a great book.

Sheydin Dew (14:46):
Absolutely. And something that also kind of touches on similar kind of themes as well. So yeah, shout out to sp um, I guess going on from the, the CAA award, uh, CAA, can’t really say awards ’cause it’s redundant, but <laugh>, um, I guess that must’ve been like such a pinnacle point for you, but I think as artists we’re always like kind of, um, improving ourselves. What kind of skills are you still improving on?

Adam Gillespie (15:17):
I, I have always worked traditionally. Um, even when I started back up in 2016, I was just like, gimme a pen, gimme some paper. And I know a lot of artists were already transitioned to the digital way before then, <laugh>. So, um, I, I actually bought a, uh, a laptop with a touchscreen screen, uh, and a pen so that I could doodle and play and, and just improve myself in the digital arena. Um, I find it so very daunting ’cause it’s so unlike traditional drawing, it does not feel the same. It does not react the same. It is a very steep learning curve. So that’s where I’m at. I’m, I’m, I don’t think you’ll see anything digitally from me for a long time, but I am slowly trying to build that skillset. Um, yeah, for

Sheydin Dew (16:19):
Sure. What would, what would you say are your strengths then? Would it be the traditional drawing, or is there something else involved?

Adam Gillespie (16:28):
I don’t know that traditionally drawing is a strength. There’s certainly a lot of people that do it better than me. Um, but I think in all honesty, and I think something that a lot of people overlook when they’re creating comics or any kind of art, really, whether it be writing or, or just painting, comic making, uh, is that you are the only person that can do you. Yes. So I think my strength really lies in that I’m, me. I’m not gonna be able to pull out a Dylan Nailer comic. Uh, I, I, but I can make Adam Gillespie comics, whatever they look at, at the time, whatever they look like at the time, because they’re <laugh>, they’re, it’s such a personal thing, like you are, um, you are, you are, you’re creating this story and you’re putting it on the page, and it’s told from your unique point of view and your unique voice, and then you’re drawing on top of it, like if you, if you’re drawing itself. So there’s like those two separate aspects that are very unique to you. Uh, and if you’re collaborating with somebody, then it’s two unique views mingling together. And I do think, I think that’s the strength of any comic creator is that they’re making their work.

Sheydin Dew (17:46):
Absolutely. Well said. I like that answer. That’s a good answer. Yeah. <laugh>. Um, you obviously, uh, when creating comics and you’ve done such a, a variety of different comics, what would you say is your favourite thing to draw, and what is the most challenging thing to draw

Adam Gillespie (18:06):
To this day? My favourite thing to draw is Superman. Um, <laugh>, I’m a little kid, but when I’m, when I’m not drawing something for a comic and I’m just doodling away, it always comes back to Superman. Whether it be the S Shield or something, I just always, I always doodle. I always love doodling it. And sometimes I try and pull out a, um, you know, sometimes I try and pull out my best John Byr and draw a soman <laugh>, you know, sometimes I’ll just draw my soup, man. Uh, but I just have so much fun doing it there. There’s, I think if you look through all these pieces of paper in my house, at least 30 to 40% of it would be Superman drawings, <laugh>, uh, that’s cool. Challenging, challenging things, man. Cars, vehicles in general, but cars. How do people draw cars? <laugh>, I’ve gotta use, I’ve gotta use reference, and then I still get it wrong.

(19:09)
I, I can’t, like, when you draw, like a lot of people have difficulty with horses. I love horses. I don’t like drawing them particularly, but if I draw a horse, I kind of feel like you can use reference. You get it. You know, if you’re a cartoony kind of drawing, you can, you know, sort of go, this is the shape of a horse and big googly eyes, and people go, yeah, that’s a horse. But cars, man, like if you, even if you are using reference, if you get it just like wrong, like a couple of mil here with the headlights, not quite right, they just look really odd on the page. Like, if you, if you <laugh>, I almost like, I almost gotta trace a damn car to get it right. That’s how, that’s how hard I find drawing vehicles.

Sheydin Dew (19:53):
It so like, the perspective and whatnot, like with houses and things like that, you’re always gonna get, like, especially with like old houses and stuff like that, you can kind of get away with a little bit of a ski whiff like perspective. But cars, they’re just like,

Adam Gillespie (20:04):
Yeah, it’s, you can’t go really strange un unless you’re drawing something so ridiculously cartoony. Yeah, exactly. Then, then, yeah, like, if, if, if it’s even just a little bit realistic and it’s not quite right, it looks weird. Yeah. And I, I struggle, I really struggle. Yeah. <laugh> as soon I try my best to avoid drawing them. <laugh>

Sheydin Dew (20:27):
<laugh>. As soon as you said horses, I’m sure that Dave di in the comments probably perked up a little bit, um, him and dinky his horse dinky. Shout out to Dinky <laugh>, I guess. Um, having said that, you draw a lot of Superman, would you say that that is perhaps your all time favourite comic? Dare I say?

Adam Gillespie (20:48):
Uh, yeah. He was growing up, he was probably like Superman. The movie, um, was and, and is, to this day, one of my favourite films. Like, I, I never get tired of watching it. It’s so nostalgic and just such a hopeful film. And I think I saw that before I picked up a comic. But I have just always loved Superman, uh, stemming from that movie. Um, I was coming of age, like I was a teenager when the Death of Superman hit the shelves. And it is, yeah, it’s like a, it’s a very much like a, um, uh, I I guess the kids would call it a core memory.

(21:30)
<laugh>. Yeah. Like the, the death of Superman for me. Um, so yeah, Superman is a character. Uh, I, I always have time for Superman, all time favourite comics. I’d be remiss to not mention Bug and Stump the Australian comic from the nineties, uh, that tragically ended on a cliff. Hang on. <laugh> <laugh>, uh, is just one of my all time favourite comic books. Um, I love it. Every time I reread it, I love it all over again. Uh, something a bit more recent, um, I loved it as soon as I read it and I recommend it to anybody. Um, the Underwater Welder by Jeff Lame is a phenomenal, phenomenal read. It is. I think you,

Sheydin Dew (22:17):
You referenced that at the beginning of the, um, interview. Did you not Jeff Lemere.

Adam Gillespie (22:23):
Jeff Lemere is one of my favourite artists, so I love pretty much everything that he does. Um, like his, his style is just fantastic. And he’s, he’s put out a few books over the years that are just gob Smackingly good. And probably my favourite of all of them is the Underwater World. It was published, I wanna say 2011 or 2012 by Top Shelf. Great, great book. If you can find a copy. Absolutely.

Sheydin Dew (22:49):
I’ll have to, I’ll have to put it on my TBR, that’s for sure. <laugh>, um, oh, how about a horse driving a car? How about you, Aaron? You draw that for us? We’d love to see that. <laugh>. <laugh>. Hi, Vita. Um, I guess kind of moving on a little bit, uh, further along, um, I really wanna deep in, uh, dive deep into the, um, the nitty gritty about coi. Um, you said it took you around about six months to create this little masterpiece, that one near the bronze medal. Um, can you walk us through the process it it took to get there?

Adam Gillespie (23:26):
Yeah. Um, I say six months, but it was like six months of, uh, drawing more than anything else. Um, so there was time taken to write it prior to that. Um, it, uh, yeah, may, roughly May, 2019 to the end of 2019, um, just drawing the pages. Um, I work full-time, so my comic making is, um, in my spare time, which I don’t have a lot of, because I also have kids. So basically what I did was, um, I wrote the story in, um, prose, like I didn’t break it down by page or by panel. I just wrote the story. Um, and then I let the pace dictate itself to me. When I drew it. I, I had no idea. I’d only ever done, uh, mini comics prior to that, um, 20 pages, 24 pages. Um, I knew that I couldn’t get the story that I wanted to tell into that space, but I didn’t really know how to go about planning <laugh>. I know people thumbnail and stuff, and I do that with my comics as well. Uh, but I just didn’t know how to get this, all these feelings and this, this, this story out,

(25:02)
Uh, without it being more organic. Um, so I just let the pace dictate itself to me as I drew it. So I had the printed page of story just stuck to my drawing table, and then I drew from that. Um, and the panels came out on the page, uh, as the pace t dictated itself to me. So, uh, if I, if it, if I felt like it needed to go faster, it got faster, if it felt like it needed to slow down for a few pages, it would slow down. And that’s that. I, that’s how I did it. I did, um, so I did thumbnail, um, but I was thumbnailing on the go, so I was like reading from the prose, doing a quick, rough sketch of how I thought the page should go, then drawing the final page.

Sheydin Dew (25:49):
Yeah, I, well, I think that way that you did it, it came across super authe, like authentic. Um, and I think that’s what really, um, broke apart from the rest, um, in my opinion, um, you could tell how authentic it was. Um, and that’s what I really enjoyed about it. Um, the colours in it as well. I’ve been, I’ve been waiting to ask this question. Um, the colours in it is just so simplistic, but so, so well done, so effective. Can you tell us a little bit more about the choices behind those?

Adam Gillespie (26:24):
I can, I can, uh, um, I pretty much only work in black and white. Um, I don’t, I don’t really, none of my other work is in colour. Um, aside from the covers, um, uh, I, I have just always worked in black and white. I really like black and white art. Um, I, I just, I, I like coloured art, but I just, I love black and white art. I just feel like it’s, it just speaks to me. I, I love it. Um, but I knew I wanted to do something a bit different here with the fish. Um, and orange was a no brainer to me because of, you know, the, the koi fish have like the orange patches on them and everything. And I just knew, um, single colour, um, splash in black and white art looks great. Um, Frank Miller, sin City does it, um, I think really well. Other people have done it, um, really well. Um, so I, I just, I wanted to, I wanted to have that kind of feel where the fish and the, the, the light emanating off of the fish. So like, the reflections on Windows and on Daniel’s skin, um, were to be orange with the stark black and white. Um, so I’m, I’m, I’m, like I said before, I, I do not do digital work, uh, at all. So I, I coloured the fish with the bucket tool in Ms. Paint

Sheydin Dew (27:57):
<laugh>. No

Adam Gillespie (27:57):
Way. So, uh, <laugh>, all of the artists are out there, uh, probably dying of heart attacks right now. I apologise. I understand that. It’s quite terrible. Uh, but that’s how I, I, I know, I know there’s other programmes out there I could have used. I actually had gim on my computer at the time. I was colouring it, but bugger if I could make heads or tails of Gim, uh, it was, yeah, I can’t either. I totally understand <laugh>, it’s not an easy programme to, to make heads or tails of, so I was just like, bugger it. Oh, Ms. Paint.

Sheydin Dew (28:35):
That is by far my favourite fun text that I’ve ever heard on the show that somebody’s coloured their comic with Ms. Paint. I love that. That is amazing. <laugh> um, <laugh> makes me love this book even more <laugh>, honestly. Um, I guess, so having spoken about your process, um, and the steps you took to get to where it is now, um, what were your favourite stages and what was the most challenging stage for you in that process?

Adam Gillespie (29:06):
Uh, favourite inking. Um, I, I, that’s probably my favourite part of comic making, uh, simply because it’s so zen. It’s, I I love the creation side of it. Um, if I just, if I just like thinking I would in cover people’s stuff, but it’s kind of stressful when you’re like in the creation stage that I, I feel like whilst I enjoy that, it takes that edge of enjoyment off of it. And when you are inking, it’s just pure enjoyment. It’s like, it’s the best of comic making it, the, the, the hard stuff is on the page already. And you can just, you can just go in there and you can, you know, layer in those blacks and splatter the, the black with white out and, and just sort of go to town pure drawing fun, because there’s no, there’s no little, you know, oh, what should go here?

(30:10)
What angle should this be? It’s just, it’s, that’s already there. You just beautifying it. And I think that’s, that’s definitely my favourite and always has been my favourite. It’s such a joy to, to go in there with the pens and, and ink that challenging. In all honesty, it was the ending. Um, I, I knew how I wanted it to end. Um, but you worry so much about sticking the landing that it just, it becomes such a stressful part of the, of the process, uh, that yeah, that’s, that’s always my least favourite is, you know, finishing it off and then you have doubts and then you’re like, make sure I change this. Should I change that? Should I leave it? But, um, yeah, that’s, that’s always my least favourite. That’s always the most challenging part for me, is, um, is getting, getting that, that ending and trying to stick the landing.

(31:13)
And you’re not always gonna stick the landing. Um, people have told me I didn’t quite stick the landing with this particular book. Other people have told me they loved it. You know, that’s a subjective thing. But from a creator point of view, it’s just, I think you worry about that bit, and that’s always a challenge, trying to overcome that worry to just get it done. So, um, yeah, another challenge is being that I work full time and that I’ve got kids and I’ve got such a finite amount of time to do the work. Um, sometimes you just don’t wanna, you know, sometimes you go, I, I don’t want to, I wanna watch The Expanse on tele or Doctor who, you know, I don’t wanna draw. And then that takes, that takes that slot of time out of the creation process. So having the, having the, um, the, the discipline to make yourself sit down and do the work, uh, is also a challenge. Um, which I’m sure a lot of artists out there. It’s hard to make a living as a comic creator in Australia, um, more so than other countries, I think. Um, there are people that do it, and that’s excellent. I know a lot of people that have a day job, and that’s, that’s a struggle. So finding the time, but not just finding the time, finding the time, and then finding the discipline to just do it, uh, is, um, is, uh, yeah, I think that’s important.

Sheydin Dew (32:51):
Yeah. And I think it’s, it’s

Adam Gillespie (32:52):
A huge, I think in one of my earlier books,

Sheydin Dew (32:56):
Sorry, go ahead. A super huge credit to you. Um, it’s very admirable of you that you’ve done everything that you do. Um, but yeah, I bouncing back onto the comment about, um, the way you ended coi, I personally thought that it was really well-rounded. Um, and I don’t wanna spoil anything, but there was just, yeah, there’s just something about the way, the shape of the ending might I add, um, that just really correlates well with the cover. There’s an element on the cover. I’m not gonna say anything else, but it’s just the way that you rounded it off, it was really nicely done. Anyway, continue <laugh>.

Adam Gillespie (33:31):
Thank you. Thank you. Uh, yeah, sorry, I was just gonna say one of my earlier comics, I think the dedication was to my family for, um, for basically letting me ignore them whilst I create the comic <laugh>. And I think that’s, um, that’s the thing, when you’ve, when you’ve got, uh, you know, full-time work, family, when you’re at home, you should be with your family. But, uh, when you wanna make comics, you’ve gotta make comics. So yeah. Having a family that supports you, um, taking that time away from them for your art, um, yeah.

Sheydin Dew (34:07):
Yeah, it’s great.

Adam Gillespie (34:08):
Very cool.

Sheydin Dew (34:09):
That’s so heartwarming. Um, I guess moving right along, uh, I know that Amplified Press is on the back of your cover here. Um, can you talk to us a little bit about the process of what it was like getting published? Um, I also have just flown back from Melbourne, and I was lucky enough to spot one of your titles in a Melbourne comic shop, which was really cool to see. Um, cool. But yeah, let’s, let’s hear more

Adam Gillespie (34:35):
About that. Yeah. Um, all Star Comics. Yeah. Um, I’ve done three comics with Amplified Press now. Um, the first was a collection of my web comic help i a projectionist, um, which Owen approached me, um, to, to publish the first, I think it was the first 24 strips, uh, of that web comic as a, as a physical little com mini comic. Um, another one called The Unauthorised Biography of Birk Bergson, uh, which is, uh, on the shelf in All Star comics. Uh, and then coi, um, I being published by Amplified Press, was it, it needed to be done, you know, like I was never gonna pull the trigger on it myself. Like, I would create a comic and then put it in my drawer all over Red Rover. That, that was it. <laugh>. So having, having someone else come in and just say, I wanna publish your work, um, is, uh, uh, validates you.

(35:36)
But also, um, it, it so gives you a lot. I think that’s what Amplified Press do. You know, they, they amplify voices that wouldn’t normally be heard otherwise. Uh, and I think like people like me who are like too gun shy to try and self-publish, or people that just flat out can’t afford to self-publish, ’cause it can be expensive getting stuff printed. Um, that’s, that’s a godsend COI in particular. Um, I didn’t really, uh, create it, uh, with amplified press in mind. Um, didn’t really have anything in mind for it really. Uh, I finished it, COVID hit it, sat in a drawer for like two years. Um, it had been read, I brought it, I brought the, um, original art in a folder to comics with friends and strangers, which we mentioned earlier. Uh, and a few people there, um, were able to read through it.

(36:34)
And, um, a a lot of people were very, very kind telling me that it was like, like a level up in my storytelling, which was, um, very validating as well. But, um, I, I pulled it out of draw, sort of early 2022 ish, uh, and was like, gotta do something with this. And I thought, with the black and white art and the orange, the mix that it would look great, um, being Risso printed. So I reached out to a few Risso publishers in Melbourne just to find out how you would go about it, how much it would cost to get it printed. Um, and it was just really cost prohibitive, uh, for the amount of pages that it is, uh, for my, for my pocket. Um, so that was scrapped. Then I was like, well, I guess I could get it. So I looked into a lot of other options for self-publishing.

(37:32)
Um, and Owen from Amplified Press, um, emailed me, he goes, Hey, I know you’ve got this B in your bonnet to try and get this out yourself, um, but what if Amplified Press published it? Um, so we spoke about that. Um, and he did the, uh, the Kickstarter, which was like, fully funded in like 12 hours or something. It was crazy. Um, amazing. That’s awesome. And, and, you know, like, I don’t think anything that I could have done with it personally, self-publishing would look as good as the finished product. So it, it went to the right, it went to the right person to publish it, uh, and very thankful for Owen for, for putting it out. And it’s their first graphic novella that they published. I think just prior to this, they published a, um, a collection by George, uh, which was a similar size, but this was the first, um, sort of volume of that size that was one story that they published. So I’m happy that I could be their first graphic novel.

Sheydin Dew (38:42):
Yeah, absolutely. And what a, what a graphic novel it is to start the ball rolling. Um, so we’ve, we’ve talked a little bit of your process. Um, I wanna kind of cast our eyes to the future. Uh, are there any projects on the horizon at all?

Adam Gillespie (38:59):
There is, yes. I’m currently working on a comic called Sobeck Lives, uh, which is, um, a few things. Having done some mini comics and having done coi, um, I decided that I wanted to do something serialised. Um, I don’t know that I’m gonna be any good at it. I’ve been working on this for 12 months. <laugh>, I don’t think issue two is ever gonna come out, you know, <laugh>. But I needed to try my hand at it. Um, nice. I needed to try my hand at it. Um, being a comic fan, nine out of 10 comic fans are gonna have grown up reading the big two from the States. Super. Uh, the DC comics, Marvel Comics, they’re all serialised. Uh, I think deep down in my, uh, in my, like ape comic reading brain serialised equals comics, I have moved on to, to graphic. I, I read mostly graphic novels and collections now, but serialised comics is what I think of as real comics, you know? So I thought even if it’s just once in my life, I wanna try my hand at serialised comics. So I’m working on, uh, this book called CIC Lives. Um, I’m hoping to have the first issue ready for, um, the end of this year. Um, but yeah, it’s about, uh, it’s about the Egyptian god of crocodiles, um, sobeck, um, leaving heaven and coming to Earth to work in a secondhand bookstore and all of the things that happen because of that <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (40:31):
I’m very intrigued. I’m looking forward to this. I’ll make sure to mark on my, yeah. Nice <laugh>. Um, that sounds amazing. It’s good to know that, um, you’re working on another project as well, because Yeah, I, now that I’ve got my little collection of Adam on my bookshelf, I’m yet to add, to keep adding to it. So I’ll, uh, I’ll keep my eyes peeled. Um, I guess out of all the projects, was there that you’ve, you’ve published so far, or printed so far, um, has there been a favourite or is that like asking which child’s the favourite?

Adam Gillespie (41:10):
I think it’s the opposite of asking which child is the favourite, because you’re not gonna hurt a book’s feelings <laugh>. Um, uh, if you’re watching kids, I love you both equally. Um, <laugh> probably my favourite. I, I do have a lot of affection for, um, I have a lot of affection for coi. Uh, I really do. Um, it’s very nearly my favourite, but I just have a soft spot for the unauthorised biography of Bergson, which was my first proper comic book. Um, it’s just a 24 page mini comic. That’s the story. There’s, it’s not serialised or anything, it’s just, you know, go to woe, that’s it. 24 pages. I’d only ever really worked on g stuff prior to that one page. Yep. Three pages, you know, eight pages. So this was my first comic that I did. Uh, it was published by Owen at Amplified Press. Um, and I just really happy with the way it turned out. The absurdist tumour, I think lands, um, it makes me chuckle when I read it and I wrote the damn thing. I dunno if that’s egotistical, but, um, <laugh>, yeah. I just have a soft spot for that, for that, uh, for that particular comic.

Sheydin Dew (42:27):
Yeah. Amazing. Oh, that’s, that’s very heartwarming. Um, but yeah, you’ve got such a huge, like, variety of comics, so I had to ask that question ’cause I, I’m just wondering, um, this one’s more of a loaded question, but I do like asking this one to everyone that comes up on the show, because as a artist, I think everybody struggles with this, uh, from time to time. Um, how do you overcome Creative Block?

Adam Gillespie (42:53):
I work on something else,

Sheydin Dew (42:55):
<laugh>, <laugh>, <laugh>.

Adam Gillespie (43:00):
I just, if, if I find myself sitting there just going, I don’t know where to go with this, or, you know, whether it’s in the writing stage and you’re like, I, I’m stuck, or you’re drawing and you’re just like, I can’t make this page work. I just, I’ve got so many, like, sometimes I think it’s a bit of a detriment. I’ve got too many irons in the fire, like maybe it’s distracting, but I tend to only work on one thing at a time. But I’ve got other things boiling. You know, if I just get stuck on something, I just put it aside and I work on something else. Uh, I did that with, uh, with Server Lives. I got to a certain sort of part of the, the story and I was just like, these pages aren’t, aren’t working for me, uh, at the moment. So I just jumped off of it and I did, um, a brief history of pineapple and pizza and I was able to come back for, um, that’s it there. Yeah. Yeah. I was able to come back to Sobe with, uh, you know, taking a break from it, come back with fresh eyes and is sort of, yeah. Jumped back into it. But yeah, I just, I just jump on something else, you know,

Sheydin Dew (44:07):
It’s, it’s

Adam Gillespie (44:08):
So nice even if it’s just Doodle.

Sheydin Dew (44:10):
Yeah. And it’s so nice to know that I’m not the only one who does that. Um, I do feel guilty if I’ve got like, multiple different projects going on, but I would, I would agree with you in saying that having multiple projects helps, uh, keep it interesting, so to speak.

Adam Gillespie (44:25):
Hmm. It does. Yeah. But it can kind of, it can kind of distract, you know, just like, maybe if I just worked on one, it would get out on time <laugh>, as opposed to 12 months later, still drawing <laugh>. So,

Sheydin Dew (44:43):
Um, I guess having, like talked about your whole journey and whatnot, um, this too is another favourite question for me. Um, especially if you’ve got people who are just starting their, um, uh, their comic journey. Uh, what do you wish someone had told you before you started said Comic Journey

Adam Gillespie (45:08):
Two? I, I, I’ll tell you what I think I wish someone had told me, and I’ll tell you what I wish someone hadn’t told me because it was damaging. Um, I’ll start with that one so that we end on end on a happy note. Yeah. Um, when I was in my late teens, um, I expressed an interest in being a comic book artist, but of course back then it was, it was, you know, I want to draw Batman or Superman. I want to draw comics, you know, um, I was basically told, uh, you are not that good. You are not gonna make it as a, as an artist. That’s not, that’s not a career option for you. You should focus on other things, do other things. And I, I didn’t really draw anything, probably 16 years, 2000 to 2016. Wow. Um, so I wish that hadn’t been said.

(46:05)
Uh, I wish I hadn’t taken it to heart, maybe is a better way of saying it. Mm-Hmm. Um, ’cause I think it came from a loving place when it was said to me. Um, but I wish I hadn’t taken it to heart, uh, because I feel like, you know, I feel like an old man now starting up again. Uh, and other people my age so much more accomplished. And none of that matters. I’m doing what I love doing, you know? But yeah. Mm-Hmm. I wish that hadn’t been said to me when I was 19 years old. I, what I wish someone did say to me, uh, is just do the comic. It’s, even if no one reads it, just draw it, draw it for you. Don’t draw it for anyone else. You know, if, if, if other people read it, or if you find an audience that’s just gravy, that’s icing on the cake, do the comic making just for you.

(47:09)
Just do it. Um, don’t go in with like, I’m gonna make a graphic novel, or don’t go in with, uh, I’m gonna create a famous character that I’m gonna get a movie deal. Don’t, don’t go in thinking I’m gonna make money off of this. Just do it because you love doing it. And I think if you, if you just sit down and you just make your first comic, and for me it was help. I’m a projectionist. Um, I went along to comic with friends and strangers hadn’t drawn for years, was doing like the weekly, you know, the, the monthly, um, challenge and stuff like that. And then I was just like, this is cool. There are people out here just doing this for fun. And so I went home and I drew the first help on a projectionist strip, and I put it on a Facebook page, and I think my mom read it <laugh>, you know, <laugh>. But, um, I was just like, love doing this. And like everything else that came after that is, is just gravy. Just, just doing it. And I wish someone had told me it doesn’t need to be a magnum opus. It doesn’t need to be, um, a money maker doesn’t need to be your career. If you love comics and you wanna make comics, just make comics.

Sheydin Dew (48:33):
Exactly. Well said, well said. And I hope I, I’m just, I’m, I’m more than sure that 19-year-old Adam is smiling, smiling and very, very proud of the you that’s holding the bronze medal from the CAAA <laugh>.

Adam Gillespie (48:52):
A hundred percent. A hundred percent, hundred percent <laugh>. My, uh, my daughter asked me the other day, she said, when you were a kid, what did you want to do? Like, what did you wanna do when you grew up? And I said, I wanted to be a rock star. I wanted to be a musician. I wanted to be an astronaut, and I wanted to be a comic artist. And she said, dad, you did it <laugh>. I was like, do it. I did it. Yes. So, absolutely. Yeah. I, I I get to do what I wanted to do when I grow up, now that I’m grown up. So Yeah,

Sheydin Dew (49:26):
Absolutely. I think

Adam Gillespie (49:27):
That’s a 19-year-old me. 19-year-old me is happy to Yeah. Because I still feel, I still, I still feel if I let the grade school you, I still feel 19 <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (49:38):
No, that’s a super huge credit to you. And I think that was really well said. Um, I think that’s quite a common answer to that question on this show, and I just like to reiterate it all the time. Um, a lot of artists just say, just do it. Just do it for you. Um, and I think, yeah, I think that’s,

Adam Gillespie (49:54):
I think like, yeah, I think like it’s not, it’s not self-evident when you’re younger, and I think it becomes self-evident as you get older and you wish someone had just told you that. So. Mm-Hmm.

Sheydin Dew (50:05):
Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it’s good that you’re, you’re telling it now because maybe someone in the, uh, watching tonight, um, might just need that too, so Yeah. Good stuff to hear. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I guess moving along, uh, what would you say is your ultimate comic goal? If you have one,

Adam Gillespie (50:27):
Just keep making them. Yeah, nice <laugh>. Um, I, I recently, I recently changed professions. Uh, I worked for a great many years as a projectionist in cinema, uh, which was a fantastic job. And it was the basis for like 70 or 80 odd strips of help. I’m a projectionist, um, film went the way of the dodo, uh, like a decade ago. Um, everything went digital and my job basically just got less and less projection based and more and more office based. Um, and so I realised working shift work and working late and working Christmas and working public holidays and working weekends, uh, was not, uh, what I wanted to do anymore because the, the projection job had changed so much. And I wanted to do something where I could spend time with my family. So I changed professions. I’ve got a nine to five job Monday to Friday.

(51:25)
I’ve got weekends free, I’ve got nights free. I see my family a whole heap more. My productivity, comic making has gone through the floor. Um, uh, I used to draw, uh, my wife would be at work, my kids would be at school. I would be at home making comics. Uh, they would get home from school and work. I would go to work. Um, so now when I’m at home, they’re at home and I’m having so much fun watching movies with my son. He is getting into horror films, uh, reading books with Emily at bedtime, my daughter, uh, spending time with my wife, uh, as opposed to just being ships to the past in the night kind of thing. Yeah. Uh, I’m loving it so much, but just that change in, in job, uh, means that, uh, I’m nowhere near as productive as I used to be, and nowhere near as prolific as I used to be. Um, so my ultimate goal is to just not let that fade away. Um, recognise I, I love this. Even if it’s, even if it’s just, you know, selling two copies at a fair, i, I wanna keep making them until I’m old and grey. Right. That’s, that’s my goal.

Sheydin Dew (52:39):
But it definitely sounds like, um, you’re enjoying all the, uh, the important stuff at the moment, which I think is even better to hear. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Um, I guess we’re kind of getting to the, towards the tail end of the show. Um, these next three questions, um, if not probably the most important in my eyes. Um, and that’s what, uh, what do you think the Aussie indie comics scene needs more of?

Adam Gillespie (53:10):
I would’ve said a few years ago, I would’ve said publishers, um, uh, trying to, trying to, uh, self-publish, um, and, and get your work seen, uh, is a difficult thing at the best of times. Uh, but I would’ve said publishers, except now you’ve got cyclone have come back, RIE have come back. Um, comics have stepped up, um, into that void. Uh, there are, um, like the micro presses, like amplified press, there’s some rezo, um, micro presses in Melbourne. A lot of the book publishers are venturing into, uh, graphic novels like Alan Unwin and Brow Books. And it’s, that’s, I think, what was needed. And, and it is slowly building and coming in and it’s definitely, definitely, um, a long time coming, I think, and can only help, uh, Australian cartoonists and, and writers and, and artists get their work seen. So, yeah.

Sheydin Dew (54:19):
Absolutely. Um, and what do you think, uh, the comic scene does well at

Adam Gillespie (54:26):
Community? Absolutely. Uh, I, no, no other community that I’ve been a part of, um, has been as supportive as the local Australian, uh, comic making community. Um, locally in Adelaide, I found a very, very, very supportive community. Everyone is so supportive of everyone else’s work, and that just like when I discovered communities online, it, it’s, it’s Australia wide. There’s, there’s Discord servers for, for comic creators to chat and, and, and support each other and show their work. And there’s these shows on YouTube from the comics. And just like, the community is such a huge part of it that it’s, um, you just want to, you just want to stay and, and do more. Like, I’ve gotta stay in the comic community. I’ll make more comics, I’ll be part of the community that is supportive of my work, and it’s just this self-fulfilling thing that just, I think it drives the Australian well. ’cause we don’t have the, the market that, that America has. And I don’t think we’ll ever have the market that America has. Um, unfortunately, um, I don’t think the Australian population I maybe, but, um, <laugh>, but the community drives the creatives, I think, and it’s fantastic to see.

Sheydin Dew (56:08):
Absolutely. Um, and a massive shout out goes to this guy next door, <laugh>, um, but also to, uh, Gina and Owen, Owen from Ed Flood Press as well. Um, I too can agree with that. Is that, um, comics, creators,

Adam Gillespie (56:23):
Creators of,

Sheydin Dew (56:24):
Yeah.

Adam Gillespie (56:24):
Co-creators of comics, of friends of strangers, co-creators of paper cuts.

Sheydin Dew (56:30):
Absolutely. And they really threw, yeah, they threw a lifeline,

Adam Gillespie (56:34):
Very integral members of, of the Adelaide comic making community, Australian comic making community

Sheydin Dew (56:40):
For sure. Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, but yeah, obviously seeing like your work from, I mean, when I came along it was maybe 2018, so you were a few years into your like, comic creating journey. Um, it’s been so amazing to see your journey come to where it is now having a bronze medal on your shelf. Um,

Adam Gillespie (57:04):
Still can’t believe it myself,

Sheydin Dew (57:06):
<laugh>. Right. And it’s an amazing feeling. But, um, I guess for everyone watching tonight, um, where can we see slash buy some of your stuff?

Adam Gillespie (57:19):
Uh, my, um, the, my work that has been published by Amplified Press is available on their online store@amplifiedpress.com au. Um, I think they still have, uh, be bergson and coy available help on projectionist, um, sold at print run, which is fantastic. Uh, so that’s no available. Um, but yeah, through their store, uh, there’s a few shops around that stock. My work, uh, Greenlight Comics in Adelaide. Um, always a very big supporter of my stuff. Um, you mentioned All Star comics in Melbourne before. Uh, they, they stock a lot of really great Australian comics in their local section as well. Uh, Dee’s comics in Canberra, uh, sadly closing, but they’ve always been a massive, massive supporter of Australian comics. I think maybe I’ve got some stuff in there. I’m not a hundred percent sure, but if you’re in Canberra, go and have a look anyway and buy lots of other stuff. Um, and uh, Owen, the publisher of Amplified Press is going to be in Sydney this weekend at other, I wanna say other world’s zine in Merrickville. Yeah, I think you’re right. So he’s gonna have a lot of Adelaide comics available there, including my work. Yeah. Amazing. Oh, sweet. I’m also at, uh, Adam Gillespie, uh, on Instagram, if you just wanna see my doodles.

Sheydin Dew (58:42):
Yeah. <laugh> amazing. Adam, it has been an absolute pleasure having you on the show. Um, again, pleasure

Adam Gillespie (58:48):
Is mine.

Sheydin Dew (58:50):
If you haven’t already read Coi, go pick up yourself a copy. Um, it won the bronze, uh, award at the CAA last year. Um, so yeah, so definitely make sure you go and check out some of his other stuff. He’s got a plethora, a whole library of stuff. Um, but other than that, that wraps up the show. Is there anything else we’ve missed? Shane?

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (59:12):
I will just go through the comments that were missed because I didn’t want to interrupt the, the, uh, what have we got, what have we got organisation so much, but, um, someone really liked that you use paint, Ms Paint, <laugh>,

Adam Gillespie (59:24):
<laugh>,

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (59:26):
That coin came in when we’d changed the conversation. Totally. There’s such a lag between this and, um, what

Sheydin Dew (59:32):
We do. I think, um, bow also. Yeah.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (59:35):
Yeah. He’s, you think your art and then he compared it.

Adam Gillespie (59:39):
Thank you very much. Bo

Sheydin Dew (59:42):
<laugh>

Adam Gillespie (59:43):
Amazing. Yeah. I I probably can’t hide it. Yeah, he, he’s, he’s one of my faves for sure. For sure. <laugh>.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (59:52):
And I think that’s everything I’ve caught up.

Sheydin Dew (59:54):
Awesome. Amazing. Um, and obviously just to wrap up, um, the shows that are coming up for those who maybe joined us late.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:00:02):
Yeah, yeah. Uh, we’ve got, uh, let’s make a comic book coming back tomorrow night, and we will be designing the new character for the new book. Uh, three artists will be designing that. I don’t know how that works. I am not in the right circles. I don’t know, like I’m not important enough. Um, <laugh>. And, and then we have, uh, recent reads or comics, recent reads, sorry, on Friday night as well, where we just chat about comics we’ve read. Um, and Saturday, oh, I keep forgetting. Saturday I’m coming back to do my little thing, um, amateur hour where I try to draw. And this week it is Jean Grey. That’s right. I totally forgot. Thank God for Carrie <laugh>. Nice.

Adam Gillespie (01:00:49):
<laugh>

Sheydin Dew (01:00:50):
Amazing. Well, we’ve got lots to look forward to, that’s for sure. Cool. Awesome. Other than that, um, I think that pretty much wraps up our show. Thanks to everyone for joining us tonight, and thank you again to Adam, um, for being our guest tonight. It was amazing talking to you.

Adam Gillespie (01:01:05):
Thanks for having me.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:01:08):
Yeah. And before we go, remember to like, and subscribe and share the video, that would be awesome. Uh, thanks again, Adam. Thank you Shade. And thank you everyone who watched. Thank you for everyone who watches in the future, and, um, have a great night, everyone.

Sheydin Dew (01:01:23):
Goodnight.

Voice Over (01:01:24):
Check out Comex CX for all things Comex and find out what Comex is all about. We hope you enjoyed the show.