ReadFin Literary Journal (Winter 2018)

The initial beta release had the lead character Max Rockatansky speak
with a ‘generic’ American accent. When Stephen Farrelly, a writer and
editor with website www.ausgamers.com, asked the developer why,
he was told: ‘Because we’re trying to create our own vision.’ Farrelly
was incensed. ‘Max is such an iconic Australian character, it’s wrong
to do that. And they’ve recreated that iconic Australian car, the XB
Ford Falcon Interceptor, even down to it being right-hand drive,
so why change the character? (Quinn, 2013).’ Thanks to an online
petition and a horde of angry gamers (myself included) venting their
displeasure on the developers social media platforms the voice was
changed to an Australian accent.
It was a case of history repeating. Despite the international triumph
of the original Mad Max (1979), when the movie was released within
the United States its distributor, American International, wrongly
believed their audience incapable of understanding the Australian
language so they had it crudely dubbed by American actors. This
version removed all the Aussie slang which significantly altered the
overall ‘feel’ of the movie. Coupled with a poor marketing campaign
Mad Max failed to get the audience it deserved inside the United
States despite its huge success everywhere else (Harper, 2014).
When Mad Max 2 (1981) was released, Warner Brothers picked up the
American distribution rights and changed the title to The Road Warrior.
Unaware of the impact this Antipodean pop culture phenomenon,
with its original Australian sound track restored, had made in the
United States through cable television they mistakenly believed
Americans knew nothing of Mad Max. The movie initially suffered
from low attendance until word got around that it was actually Mad
Max 2. Subsequent DVD and Blu-ray releases have reverted back to the
original Australian titles. It highlights, again, the fact that American
businessmen do not always know what’s best for their audience.
In 2015, DC Comics released an official mini series based on Mad
Max which centred around the fourth film, Fury Road. Written
and inked by Australians, with final editing rights overseen by
George Miller, the four part series had a distinctly ‘girt by sea’
feel. While successive movies within the franchise have devolved
their Australian origins, the story of Mad Max is still regarded as
quintessentially Australian. Mad Max: Fury Road’s story arc was a
prelude to the 2015 big screen production which bears the same
name. The publications received critical and commercial success but
George Miller has no further plans to expand the series. While this
is disappointing to Mad Max’s millions of fans, it does highlight the
fact that, if done correctly, there is a market and an audience eager
to pay for and consume, on a world stage, Australian pop culture.
Unlike the landscapes that dominate the Mad Max franchise,
Australia isn’t a barren wasteland when it comes to superheroes.
We’ve had a number of attempts in the past and a few even survived
into middle age, but all were retired far too early. Recent efforts
lacked general appeal and, more importantly, a product range. The
international heroes have come to dominate the marketplace on
the back of significant marketing which includes, in no small part,
merchandise—toys, clothing, and accessories. And it’s not just the
big names like Batman and Spider-Man. Lesser known heroes and
villains, such as The Black Panther and Harley Quinn, have pushed
themselves to the fore thanks to Marvel and DC backed blockbuster
movies. With each cinematic release, a range of collectables and
consumables find their way to department store shelves to be eagerly
grasped by frenzied children and collectors alike.
Since the late 1970s, the comic scene in Australia has primarily been
driven by self-publishers who have created, printed and distributed
their own works. A few publishers, such as Phosphorescent Comics
were willing to publish the work of others, although they have now
seemingly vanished. Others, namely Gestalt Publishing (which
is acknowledged as Australia’s largest independent graphic novel
publishing house), have managed to become professional publishers
of Australian comics and graphic novels. While their stable of titles is
small and distribution limited, they have managed to survive against
the larger monopolies by clever product placement and a loyal fan
base. A recent coup was Gestalt’s contract to produce the Cleverman
comic book series whose television rights were sold to the ABC in
2016. Since the early 2000s international publishers have begun to
publish graphic novels by Australian comic creators, beginning with
The Five Mile Press, and Slave Labor Graphics and, more recently,
Allen & Unwin, and Scholastic. However, membership to the
Australian superhero club remains very thin on the ground.
Publishers like Australia’s Convict Comics are well aware of the
significance of public consciousness. They understand that if you
have a ready made character which an audience can empathise with,
in their case an alternative universe Ned Kelly in their series Ned
Kelly: Ironclad Alien Killer, much of the hard work is already done. By
choosing a persona with an existing background, the reader will have
a familiarity or affinity with the subject. People pick up a Doctor Who
comic as they are aware of the narrative. Unlike Batman’s seventyfive
plus years of myth, Convict Comics did not have the luxury of
time, or the depth of resources, to create and nurture an unknown
character to maturity. So, much like what Marvel did with Thor,
Convict Comics’s ‘superman’ was pulled from the pages of history.
And while the Ned Kelly: Ironclad Alien Killer series was short lived (only
three issues were released before the publisher switched genre), it did
underscore the point that a well written and illustrated comic can
attract an eager readership well beyond our sandy shores.
However, it’s not just American pop culture that impacts Australia.
Located in the Asian sphere of influence, globalisation plays a
significant role in shaping our international identity. Through
preserving traditional folklore and customs via regional culture and by
better understanding how transnational experiences can contribute
in the development of new-media delivery, recent and emerging
publishing technologies can be leveraged to overcome limitations and
obstacles encountered by current print and distribution processes.
This flow-through of knowledge could ensure the longevity of an
indigenous comic based enterprise and reward Australia with its
own superhero. But simply making the superhero Australian isn’t
guaranteeing a comic book’s success or longevity. Captain America has
survived decades because the character continues to be well written
and illustrated, not solely because he’s American. No doubt regional
factors play a part in the success or failure of a character because
readers are attracted to exotic locations and storylines, but even the
Black Panther must leave Wakanda occasionally.
Bibliography
Chez, K 2009, House of M: Incredible Hulk, viewed 19 October 2016.
Google, 2017, Mad Max, viewed online 15 March 2017.
Harper, O 2014, Mad Max 2 – The Road Warrior (1981) Retrospective/
Review, viewed online 12 January 2017.
Katz, E 2014, In general, has comic art improved over the years?, viewed
online 13 November 2016.
Koori History, 2016, Cleverman – The First Aboriginal Superhero?,
viewed online 19 August 2016.
Quigley, R 2010, Comic Book Covers Imagined for Cult Movies, viewed
online 13 September 2015.
Quinn, K 2013, Max mad as Australian accent scrubbed, viewed online
9 May 2015.
Rosenberg, A 2016, Doctor Strange’ writer blames China for
whitewashing, viewed online 27 April 2016.
School of Teacher Education, 1996, ‘Using the right words:
appropriate terminology for Indigenous Australian studies’ in
Teaching the Teachers: Indigenous Australian Studies for Primary Pre-
Service Teacher Education, University of New South Wales, Sydney.
Stewart, D 2017, Why the Portrayal of Australians in Superhero Comics
is So Cliched, viewed online 17 August 2017.
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ReadFin Literary Journal