Category Archives: Comics and drawings

Why humans love fire

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A few years ago, my son spotted a remote control helicopter out the back of a charity shop as we dropped off some clothes. He immediately wanted to buy it.

Unfortunately, the bloke at the store said he couldn’t sell it to us. Because it was a potentially dangerous, untested electronic item, he was supposed to throw it away.

However, he mused, perhaps he could trust us to take it and throw it away for him? Wink wink nudge nudge.

My son joyfully brought the helicopter home, powered it up and launched it high in the air on its maiden flight. It span briefly at its apex, burst into flames and plummeted to the ground, smashing on impact.

Far from being disappointed, he was thrilled by the unexpected outcome.
Drawing of a boy holiding a remote control and looking up at a burning helicopter, saying "It's on fire!!"
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When you know you are falling

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There’s a stretch of sweet terrain between anxiety and depression that feels almost like bliss. Because when I find myself there, the tumult of anxiety falls quiet.

Drawing of a girl looking worried, with negative words swirling around her.Drawing of a girl cupping her hand to her ear, with the words "Everything is shhhhh" above her.

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Captain Awesome

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Until I met my boyfriend last year, I hadn’t drawn anything for a really long time.

At that stage he wasn’t my boyfriend – just a guy I had a Big Crush on – and when he mentioned he liked ‘Where the Wild Things Are’, I went home and made some stickers of Max and one of the Wild Things for him. As any self-respecting madwoman would do.

pencil drawing of Captain AwesomeI was nervous as hell when I gave them to him – afterall, he had no idea that I liked him, so giving him something I’d obviously taken hours to make specifically for him, felt roughly equivalent to delivering him my heart on a plate.

I handed them over quickly, hands trembling, and mumbled some disclaimer about how they were for him – but only if he liked them.

Luckily, he did like them. Quite a bit, as it turned out. And within a week, we were dating.

Naturally, going out with someone who appreciates my quirky tastes has brought new opportunities to draw! To begin with, I started reproducing existing characters on sticker sheets, but one day, I was doodling in a notebook on the train ride to work, and Captain Awesome sprang to life.

He has appeared in his own comic strip, but Captain Awesome’s a busy man. So mostly he confines himself to stickers – which have a tendency to turn up in unexpected places!

I drew this one to celebrate Captain Awesome’s selection in the 2013 Australian Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup side.