142 Comics and the Real World from Melbourne Rare Book Week

We are proud to present a special recording of an event from Melbourne Rare Book Week. The comic book form is used as a narrative medium by creators to tackle social, historical and personal histories: protesting about the Vietnam War in Mirranda Burton’s Underground; Napoleon Bonaparte’s Tasmanian imprisonment in Jamie Clennett’s The Diemenois; and growing up with an autistic sibling in Gina Chadderton’s Oh Brother. These creators present illustrated readings from their work, then engage in a discussion about comics and the real world, and how their books have enabled the two to converge and converse. Chaired by Bernard Caleo, this is a recording of a Melbourne Rare Book Week presented in partnership with the Melbourne Athenaeum Library and ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics on Thursday July 30, 2026. 00:20 Welcome and acknowledgement of country 01:20 Bernard Caleo introduces the night and discusses comics and the real world 13:11 Mirranda Burton reads from Underground 18:49 Mirranda in conversation with Bernard 22:59 Jamie Clennett reads from The Diemenois 30:17 Jamie Clennett in conversation with Bernard 33:51 Georgina introduces Oh Brother 38:50 Georgina reads from Oh Brother 43:34 Georgina in conversation with Bernard 47:44 Mirranda, Jamie and Georgina in conversation with Bernard To stay up to date with Melbourne Rare Book Week: https://rarebooksmelbourne.com/ To stay up to date with the Melbourne Athenaeum Library: https://melbourneathenaeum.org.au/library/ To stay up to date, for the full roundup of news, resources and new titles and our social media links visit our website: https://graphic.alia.org.au/ The ALIA Graphic Groove Theme 2025 courtesy of Clint Owen Ellis https://www.clintowenellis.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.