Name:
James Clifton
Creative Position:
Publisher/Creator/Writer
Contact Info:
FAVORITE COMIC BOOK:
Growing up:
Groo
and now:
Walking dead
The 1 Superpower you want:
Ability to put up with idiots
Location:
Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Website(s):
Your Credits:
Ten issues of Captain Koala and several short stories that are found in obscure Australian independents 🙂
What have you been a part of creating that you can’t help but brag about to anyone who will listen?
I was part of an ‘artist alley’ table in 1996 when an aspiring artist wanted me to look at his work (I was a writer, but anyway) and I told him he drew hands incorrectly. Then at a con in 2001, which I had my own table, the same artist came up to me and told me that he corrected the hands I had critiqued; I looked at his work and his drawings were now perfect 🙂
What Indie Title are you currently a huge fan of and recommend?
Not a huge fan of any one project at the moment.
What is a Dream Project of yours??
Working on a project that makes enough money to live on! I think I’m like most people that this is a labor of love, but how long can that last? I’ve already quit the industry once but my love of it pulled me back, I just love comics 🙂
Is sexuality focused on too much in comic books?
When I was single I didn’t realise there was a problem but now I’m happily married with 3 daughters and have woken up to the fact that the comic industry has a huge problem with female characters. Did you know that you can instantly recognize the characteristics of a female by the size of her boobs?
– If she has has no breasts then she is a nerd who no man ever looks at, but will solve the problem in the end
– If she has small breasts then she is a scientist with no interest in men
– If she has normal size breasts (very rare in comics) then she is someone’s wife
-If she has large breasts then she is either lead character or a butt kicking fighter who acts like a man
According to research 53% of comic book readers in Australia are female so we need to respect that by not catering to the male gaze, and that starts by not putting a picture of a woman with huge boobs on the cover for no apparent reason!
As a father I browse through comic book stores when looking for presents for my family (especially around Christmas), and if the cover is offensive (there are other things I look at in a cover) then I will pass on it without a second thought. And yes I do know the saying ‘never judge a book by it’s cover‘ but I suspect that if a comic needs a big breasted woman on the cover then it’s not going to be ‘female friendly’ 🙂
What is the worst thing a Villain can do to a Hero?
Kidnap family members; it’s one thing to say ‘we don’t give in to terrorists’ but it’s different when it’s your family involved.
Which Character is so overrated given the power you would kill off and why them?
‘The Phantom’. He fought against the Japanese in WW2 and he’s still going! He’s part of a family legacy so just kill him off already and let his son/daughter (he had twins) take over.
Several years ago the Phantom published the 1,000th issue of the Phantom in Australia and I told the publisher it was the perfect opportunity to kill him off to which he laughed and said ‘You can’t do that’.
Several years ago the Phantom published the 1,000th issue of the Phantom in Australia and I told the publisher it was the perfect opportunity to kill him off to which he laughed and said ‘You can’t do that’.
What is a mistake you made in your early years that our readers can learn from and not make themselves thanks to your advice?
Listened to family members, especially my mum. Don’t get me wrong, my mum is the best mum ever and she encouraged me to chase my dreams, but I didn’t get constructive criticism of my writing. Her argument was that she wasn’t a comic reader so didn’t understand, but I only wanted her to give me feedback on the story (was there any major plot hole?).
Which leads me onto a second brick wall I hit; years later I wanted to join a local ‘Crime writers’ group, each year they put out a book of their short crime stories but the main advantage was that they provided constructive feedback to each other all year. I tried to join but was rejected because ‘they don’t do comics’, I tried to explain that I would write it as a short story and then, after I received feedback, would convert it to a comic script; but to no avail 🙁
Which leads me onto a second brick wall I hit; years later I wanted to join a local ‘Crime writers’ group, each year they put out a book of their short crime stories but the main advantage was that they provided constructive feedback to each other all year. I tried to join but was rejected because ‘they don’t do comics’, I tried to explain that I would write it as a short story and then, after I received feedback, would convert it to a comic script; but to no avail 🙁
Well done you have a single paragraph to tell us why we should become fans and what you are working on now:The first issue of ‘Captain Koala’ was written in 1992 and since then it has changed direction immensely, what started as a spy comic has changed into a crime/mystery book. I also put pages up on facebook often; the latest issue is actually a competition, work out the bad guy and be drawn into an issue!