Graphic

Overview

My love affair with comic books began in solitude. I read the sweet but politically incorrect Adventures of Tintin before moving into the much flashier worlds of Marvel, DC and 2000 AD. Over the years I sought out the others like me, sharing in secret our tales of masks and capes. I remember having long debates with my friends about who should play which costumed wonder in the theoretical films of our favourite comics (for some reason, Rutger Hauer was my pick for Magneto). It was a brave and exclusive world, back then.

And suddenly the planet transformed. Comics spread from the sweaty palms of pre-teens and into mainstream and indie media. Film companies pumped millions into realising my childhood dreams (sans Rutger), while pretty girls with black hair revealed that they were also fluent in the secret language of frames, inks and lettering. Comic books, graphic novels, manga — these galaxies amid the universe of illustrated words had successfully wooed the zeitgeist.

Now, Graphic, an inaugural celebration of comic books and related cultural media, will show Sydney just how much we need those "funnies". Filmmaker Kevin Smith and the poster boy for sophisticated comics, Neil Gaiman, head an impressive two-day schedule of talks, demonstrations, readings and screenings that will leave our city quaking from an ink-and-image overload. The program comprises both free and ticketed events, including the world premiere of Akira with a new live score by Regurgitator.

Prepare to be inspired, if not surprised, by the volume that comics grant to creative voices all over our spinning orb.