Comic Arts Awards of Australia Acknowledging excellence in Australian comics publishing
Siobhan Coombs
Siobhan Coombs is a comic retailer with over 15 years experience. She opened independent online comic book store Cockatoo Comics in 2021, and is on the committee for SCAMP, the Sydney Comics Arts Market Place.
James Baker
James is a founding member and the current secretary for ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics, a special interest group within the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and is the facilitator of the Librarians’ Graphic Book Club which uses discussions around comics and graphic novels for professional development in the library and information services industry.
Sabina Wills
Sabina is a qualified civil engineer but these days she prefers making zines and comics that make her laugh. After graduating from an Engineering Masters she worked in landfills! She writes comics, reads comics, promotes comics and teaches comic writing. In 2024 she took 26kg of Australian comics to a comics festival in Switzerland where she was able to use her best Swiss German to talk about comics for 9 days.
Brendon Dann
Brendon has wasted most of his life reading comics, selling comics, promoting comics and comic book art.
Iurgi Urrutia
Iurgi grew up in a house filled with his father’s comics and learned to read with them. He’s a strong advocate of comics and literacy. With a background in media studies and education. Iurgi is a founding member and the convenor of ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics, a special interest group within the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) that aims to raise the profile of comics, graphic novels and manga in libraries, paying particular attention to Australian comics and creators.
Paul Metcalfe
Graduated 1995 from Curtin University with a B. Sci. in Information & Library Science. Worked for City of Gosnells Library service for six years including as Assistant Librarian at Thornlie Library and Librarian at Kenwick Library. Assistant Librarian at Albany Campus of South Regional TAFE for 14 years then Librarian from 2015. Grad Cert in Linguistics in 2011. Paul developed the first graphic nonfiction collection relating to courses directly taught at the TAFE campus, as opposed to graphic fiction for recreational reading.
