illustrator and writer, published, wrote and drew 'the first true Australian comic’ (Sheill 1998, p.137), a children’s paper costing 2d called The Kookaburra (published by Margaret Kinnear for Kookaburra Publishers from about September 1931 to 1932). It contained six strips: 'Bloodthirsty Ben & Callous Claude’, 'Sam the Sailor & Kookem’, 'Terry the Tramp’, 'Perky Pete the Prospector’, 'Puddin’ & Podge’ and 'Lucy Lubra the Artful Abo’. It lasted at least 40 issues; vol.1, no.34 (6 May 1932) is illustrated in Sheill 1998, p.7, but with no author or publisher mentioned. Despite the characters, the comic is extremely English in style.
Margaret Kinnear drew the comics 'Ben and Claude’ and 'Temple of the Lost’, while Syd Nicholls did most of the text illustrations and covers of the 3d boys’ paper Comet (1936-37), which lasted at least 17 issues according to Mick Stone (checklist in A. Shiell (ed.), Bonzer 1998, p.154). She also wrote and illustrated The Giant’s Pancake: An Australian Fairy Story (John Sands, Druitt Street, Sydney, n.d. [inscribed 1939], 16 pp, 4 f/p col. Illus., b.w drawings, stiff pic. wrappers ML: cited Muir). For the NSW Bookstall Company 'M. Kinnear’ did the one-shot Dad, Dave n’Daisy – The New Aussie Comic (c.1944).
- Writers:
- Kerr, Joan
- Date written:
- 1996
- Last updated:
- 2007
