Nathan Onias Cole is an American born, Australian based artist, designer, teacher, comic-book maker and convention organiser. He runs ‘Crispy Cola Studio’, recently established the ‘Indie Comic Con’ – which will be happening on December 8th 2018, in Melbourne, Australia – and recently launched a Kickstarter for his indie comic project, ‘Commander Canine’.

Additionally, Nathan is also an Australian Lifetime Ambassador for Copic marker pens, as well as a featured sketch card artist with Upper Deck and their Marvel line.

Nathan is clearly a workhorse, a man of many talents, and proof of that old saying that the best thing to do, if you want something done, is to ask a busy person!

When asked about what most inspired him to become an artist, Nathan thanks his parents, wife and formal training at art school, stating:

“My mom and dad are both artists, though they wouldn’t say that if you asked.

Mom is great at drawing and I still admire these old paintings by my Dad that had a small stick figure man running through these enormous geometric landscapes.

My wife Nikki was an art major (and is an amazing 3D artist) and got me interested in it again after a dry spell.

Art school was great except they taught me everything except how to be a professional artist.“

(Logo for Nathan’s Crispy Cola Studio below)

With Indie Comic Con fast approaching, Crispy Cola Studios frothing away, and the Commander Canine Kickstarter live, now is the perfect time to get to know the man behind all three – the ever fantastic Nathan Onias Cole – by reading his Art Talk Interview, below…

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AKA – Discrimination at ‘Homecooked’ 2018 or How Local Creators were Banned from a Local Event Funded by a Local Council

On 2 March 2018 we received an email from Marian Blythe, the new director of the ‘Homecooked Comics Festival’ informing us that we were rejected from their event.

We wrote back expressing disappointment and let her know that we have been creating comics for over 25 years and are active members of the comics community. Of particular frustration was the fact that we had helped the ‘Homecooked Festival’ with their funding efforts yet we were blocked from this very event. We requested a reconsideration.

Marian Blythe was not interested in assisting and refused to reconsider.

(Screen shot below of Antoinette’s Facebook post concerning their rejection email from Marian Blythe)

On 18 March 2018 the ‘Australian Comics Journal’ published a news article promoting ‘Homecooked’ and focused on the director Marian Blythe.

Link: http://australiancomicsjournal.com/wp/home-cooked-comics-festival-meet-the-organisers/

I responded to that article and pointed out various inaccuracies, double standards and discrimination but Comments were closed off for fear my comments would spark “a flamewar on ACJ”. Instead, ‘ACJ’ promised that if I wrote an article about Homecooked they would publish it.

The ‘Homecooked Comics Festival’ was on Sunday 15 April 2018. It was held at the Northcote Town Hall and was funded by the City of Darebin. I wrote the article two days later on 17 April 2018. Although waiting patiently, the ‘ACJ’ has not published my article and the site now appears to have gone into semi-hiatus.

Although months have passed, the issues are not resolved and are likely to recur next year at the 2019 ‘Homecooked’. Discrimination in all its guises needs to be called out, so I’d like to thank Josh Griffiths at ‘Art Whore’ for publishing my article… Read it all, below:

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Will King is an Australian creative, who, under his ‘3310er’ moniker releases wild-lined semi-autobiographical comics, many of which deal with his early life as a teenage vandal.

As an adult, Will has also turned his adult talents to illustration, digital art and set design – with a major focus on the aforementioned comics and cartooning.

Growing up in the regional town of Goulburn in NSW, Will moved to Sydney proper as a young adult and has recently relocated once more – this time to a small-town in Northern NSW (location undisclosed).

When asked to explain his interest in all things art – Will thanks his mother, stating:

“My mum would be my biggest influence – She was a graphic designer before I was born and when I was a small child she was making and painting clothes before she got sick…

One things that definitely influenced me with comics was the birthday present I got just before going into year 7. Mum had asked what I wanted for my birthday, I had no fucking clue so I said “I dunno…comic books”. She got me this box of late 90s comics that were all these dark as shit experimental story arcs that just blew my mind.

She’d always buy me art supplies as presents, when I’d stay at her house i’d do tags in my room or in the laundry like a normal fuckwit kid and she never really tried to stop me bless her.“

(Some art below by Will depicting him and his mother hooning around on her mobility chair)

With Will constantly pushing his art, and an appearance in Australian indie comic anthology ‘Hash Brown Comix’ in the works, now is the perfect time to get to know both the man and his art, by reading the Art Talk Interview, below…

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