2023 Ledger of Honour recipients!

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The Ledger of Honour is the ‘Australian Comics Hall of Fame Award’. The recipients have had an historically significant, positive impact on Australian comics; shaping the art form of comics in this country in a meaningful way.

Nominations are registered on the CAAA website. A separate committee comprising of Australian comic book historians and educators discuss the online nominations via email and/or online and decide on the recipients.

Each year two awards are given. One to a person or persons that have passed away, or ‘dead-set legends’, and the other to ‘living legends’. From 2023, this second Ledger of Honour has changed its criteria to include people who have been in the industry for 25 years or longer. They may also still be actively producing material.

The CAAA Organising Committee and the LoH Committee are proud to announce that the 2023 Ledger of Honour recipients are:

Will Donald (1883-1959) &
SCAR (Steve Carter & Antoinette Rydyr)

About Will Donald

Will Donald (circa 1907-09)

Will Donald was a pioneering comics creator whose career in Australia spanned almost forty years. In 1911 his “Ebineesor Crump, Boonie Bunch, and Squasher the Dog” was the first locally created comic strip to regularly appear in the pages of an Australian newspaper, and the strip’s span of twelve years is a stand-out in terms of local longevity. His “Fashion-plate Fanny” strip likewise had a creditable run of eight years, and was the second Australian comic strip to be syndicated overseas.

In the 1940s Donald was again a pioneer: when import embargos created an opportunity for local creators to rise to the challenge of creating original Australian comic books. His elaborate plots were infused with subtle humour and his artwork effectively combined with the text to tell stories that were clearly written for children. His eight comic books published by the New South Wales Bookstall Company set a standard for his contemporaries to aspire to, and the reprinting of the eight comics by a different publisher was unprecedented for original local creations of the 1940s. Accordingly, Will Donald is a worthy recipient of the 2023 Ledger of Honour.

The Brass Vulture, Offset Printing Co. (circa. 1946)

About SCAR

Steve Carter and Antoinette Rydyr (SCAR) have forged a unique and indelible comic book career of uncompromised creativity. Together, they have explored the boundaries of horror, science fiction and adult fantasy. From alien worlds populated by flesh eating creatures to graphic images of body horror, SCAR has been captivating their readers with challenging, sometimes confronting, but always original stories to shock, outrage, entertain and redefine the comic reading experience.

As they are proud to advertise: “No moralisin’, no preachin’, and no compromise”.

It is their unwavering dedication to their craft, their single-mindedness in being true to their creative independence, despite censorship and political attacks, that they have been recognised as 2023 Ledger of Honour recipients.

Find out more about SCAR at their website: www.weirdwildart.com