Drawing Together: Comics and Censorship

In this special ALIA Graphic Webinar we had three very special guests talking about their experiences in creating comics, the freedom of the creative process in comics, why it’s important to defend different stories and art and their experiences with censorship, book challenges and bans.
We were absolutely honoured to have:
Briar Rolfe, a Melbourne based cartoonist who loves to make comics about the sorts of fun and messy people you might meet on the street and has a soft spot for dad jokes and queer characters who are works in progress. Briar’s debut graphic novel Get Your Story Straight will be out September 2025 through Hachette Australia.
Eleri Harris, is an Eisner award-winning cartoonist, journalist and editor working on Ngunnawal Country in Australia’s national capital. Her non-fiction history, science and reportage comics have been exhibited and published all over the world. For a decade she was Features Editor at US-based comics website and magazine, The Nib, and is now using all she learned to write a book about comics journalism. The Power of Graphic Journalism, co-authored by Sarah Shay Mirk, will be released by Abrams ComicArts in 2025.
Ryan Estrada, is an author and an adventurer. In the multiple award winning Banned Book Club he teamed up with his wife Kim Hyun Sook to tell the true story of her experiences being hunted down by the police for participating in an underground illegal reading club in 1980's Korea. Ryan has spent 22 years travelling the world. He has lived and visited over a dozen countries and his work is heavily inspired by his experiences and the cultures and people that he has met in his travels. Ryan will join us to discuss Banned Book Club, book challenges and bans in North America and Korea and the upcoming No Rules Tonight where he teams up with his wife Hyun Sook to tell a new story of fighting for freedom!
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