tale town
The annual TALE TOWN comics journal was begun by Elizabeth Marruffo as a project of the Milktooth School of Art and Stories. Since the second issue, it has become a regular feature of the Perth Comic Arts Festival, with a new issue being released for free to coincide with the Festival weekend.
The publication commissions new works from comics-makers, who are asked to engage with the theme of the that year’s Festival.
Jump To:
2021
tale town: inglewood
Curated by Elizabeth Marruffo
The very first TALE TOWN issue was a community project that was held over two months at the Inglewood Library. Local community members of all ages took part in a series of workshops where they created short comics and dioramas that mapped their experiences in the neighbourhood.
The resulting sculptures and publication were exhibited as a part of the 2021 Perth Comic Arts Festival.
Contributors include: Elizabeth Marruffo, Campbell Whyte and members of Inglewood community.
2022
tale town: tales from the hermit kingdom
Curated by Elizabeth Marruffo
Tales From the Hermit Kingdom provided the PCAF organising committee the opportunity to reflect upon the impacts the pandemic had on their lives and their time spent in lock-down within the so-called “Hermit Kingdom” that was Western Australia.
Contributing artists created short comics works that featured anthropomorphic versions of themselves and came together at the Milktooth School of Art and Stories to design and craft soft-felted dioramas of their lock-down lives.
Contributors include: Aśka, Lola Baldsing, Jess Harris, Scott Higginbotham, Soolagna Majumdar, Elizabeth Marruffo, Stuart Medley, Bruce Mutard, Sarah Winifred Searle, David Strack, Kristina Turner and Campbell Whyte.
2023
tale town: who cares?
Curated by Elizabeth Marruffo
It’s a question we often find ourselves asking, ‘Who Cares?’
The 2023 TALE TOWN commissioned new works that invited comics-makers to respond to the cover-up of feminised labour throughout history and how the consequences of this have been sharply brought into view over the last few years during the covid pandemic.
Contributors include:
Aśka, Bruce Mutard, Campbell Whyte, Claudia Flores, Eleri Mai Harris, Elizabeth Marruffo, Isis Dorado, Joshua Santospirito, Kim Lam, Lauren Marshall, Soolagna Majumdar and Stuart Medley.
2024
tale town: Tales from PAndora's Box
Curated by Elizabeth Marruffo
We invited comics makers from all over to let us know their thoughts and feelings on what may be one of the biggest mistakes humanity has unlocked – generative artificial intelligence (the great plagiarism machine).
From sassy shakedowns to existential crises, our bold and brave comics makers are getting busy, fighting for the future of human creativity.
So if you share their concerns, then you’ll find camaraderie in these pages. If you’re undecided, let these comics be your guide. And if you’ve already sworn allegiance to our robot overlords, then hopefully these tales will help restore your humanity.
Contributors include:
Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Trace Balla, David Blumenstein, Aśka, Oscar Mckay, Luke Milton, Ariel Ries, Sarah Winifred Searle, J Harris, Nina Dakin, G J Craddock, Campbell Whyte, Soolagna Majumdar, L G Veldenmire, Steven Martelotta, Nathan Vass Viney, Scott Higginbotham, Jorden Allen-Barr
