Bring it on back
SLUGGISH 3&4 • DRINK AND DRAW • FREE MONKEYS IN THE WILD
Hey folks! Welcome to the newsletter slash blog thing of writer and illustrator Rob Lisle (aka Spedsy). Thank you for being here!
NOT SELLING SPAWN COMICS, SPAWN SELLING COMICS
I’ve tabled at a few shows since we spoke last – with varying financial success but monstrous good vibes success. My kids had both expressed interest in tagging along to some shows and selling some comics. The one-on-one time with each of them has been a real gift. They’ve pigged out on bad ‘con food, spent all our earnings on manga and Sanrio stuff, and pestered the heck out of Neale Blanden, Peter Lane, and Nick May.
A huge shout-out and thank you to Reverie Publications and Gary Dellar for having me as a guest on all these shows. Gary’s continued support of me and nonsense has played a huge part in my creative journey – thanks, Gaz!
You know who else is spending some quality time with his twins?
The final chapters of the award-nominated SLUGGISH are here! Who needs action, adventure, and thrilling heroics when you can have depression, anxiety, and slugs!
Sluggish tells the story of Herb, a well-meaning slug with a brain that won’t let him just be. Herb is searching for meaning, for purpose – for happiness – and every time he gets close, if he doesn’t sabotage himself, the world does it for him.
With these final two issues in Herb’s story, the stakes have never been higher.
The Kickstarter for the last two issues in Herb’s journey launches in just under ONE WEEK! Both books are 100% complete and are at the printer RIGHT NOW with the intention that I have the books in your hands before Christmas.
Head over to the Kickstarter now, and hit the notify thingy. I don’t imagine we will break the internet and hit record funding, but I would like to give Herb his best chance of hitting the ground running on his last(?) outing.
THE MONKEYS ARE LOOSE
It’s been so exciting watching Free Monkeys make its way into the world. It’s all over the dang internet book shops, and is landing in libraries, particularly school libraries, all over the country. If you haven’t given the book a look and would like to, here are just a few of the places it’s available.
DRINKING and/or DRAWING
We’re bringing this thing back for a limited time…
In December last year, after 133 episodes, Friday Night’s Drink and Draw left the YouTube airwaves without so much as a goodbye. This Friday, November 7th 2025, at 8pm AEDT, we right that wrong with a little reunion tour of sorts.
The ol’ regulars are all coming back – Quick Nick Cleary, Dave Dye, Nick May, Alex Major, and Sheydin Dew. Plus, a bunch of the OG Drink and Draw’ers will be making appearances over the three episodes, including Chris Pitcairn, Lauren Marshall, Neale Blanden, Peter Wilson, Leigh Chalker, Tom Tung, Ben Sullivan, Tim McEwen, Jenny Mackintosh, and Brad Daniels.
And perhaps the biggest get – at first it looked like he wasn’t going to be available, but we did it, y’all! – the dude who started the whole thing – Shane Sizzle Syddall will be popping up throughout the shows. It was important to me that Siz be in attendance. I knew I had his blessing, but I wanted the world to know it as well.
The show will be appearing on my tiny YouTube Channel, as ComX has been sold to a third party. It’s a little weird to think that someone I’ve never met now has the keys to 100’s of hours of footage of me and my friends drawing and talking nonsense.
Not only Drink and Draw, but Tuesday Chinwag, the AusComX Show, and more serve as a bit of a snapshot of the Australian indie comics and the creators working today. There are people on those shows who have only been interviewed on video that one time. There are some who have since passed away. There are plenty of episodes featuring veteran creators passing on some of their knowledge to newer talents.
I believe the ComX library of shows is important. I wish the new owner all the success in the world and hope that, at the very least, they keep the channel up and viewable for as long as possible.
If you’re an artist and would like to see your work featured on the reunion shows, the theme for all three episodes is Australian comic book characters. Send you work and a sentence or two about who you chose to draw and why to - spedsy@yahoo.com
Alrighty, that’s enough from me today. But, before we go, here’s a sneak peek at a non-comic book by me that’s coming out next year and available for pre-order on Amazon and a handful of other places for peeps with little kids learning to read.
Thanks y’all!
Spedsy
Glad I kickstarted this… totally relatable