Stuart McMillen

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Stuart McMillen posts

Posts: 106 Files: 140

1964: Will TV Ruin Life on Shetland?

A 9 minute long BBC documentary, originally broadcast 15 April, 1964.Cathal O'Shannon reports from the shores of Shetland, where television has arrived for the first time. How will this impact traditional life on the islands? Will the hand knitting industry be irrevocably damaged? Local resident...

Beaches, baby, book

Just sharing a quick life update for my wonderful Patreon supporters.A couple of months ago, my wife and I became parents for the second time. The labour happened very suddenly one night, and we were back home for breakfast the next morning, which is a sign for how uncomplicated the birth was for my...

Big fat life/work update

Hi Patreon supporters,It's time to give you an update as to what I've been working on!Rolling a whole bunch of miscellaneous news into this big post, broken up under the headings below:Parenting / life updateAs you probably gleaned from my earlier Patreon updates, 2023 was a year where I lar...

Behold: my 4 new comic books!

Hi Patreon supporters,You might have seen this info through my regular email list, but I thought I'd post to Patreon regardless.I have just released printed versions of Energy Slaves, Peak Oil, War on Drugs, and Supernormal Stimuli. This is the first time that these titles have been in physical ...

I am now supporting Annual memberships in Patreon

Hi supporters,A quick note to let you know about a new option that I am offering to my Patreon page.You can now choose to pay for your Patreon support to me on an annual basis. It’s a great way to show your support to me, and in return, you’ll get a discount of 10% when you change across from mo...

Life update

Hi everyone,I'll get it out of the way: my big news is that I am now a first-time dad!Actually, my wife and I welcomed this wonderful arrival a number of months ago, but we've been spending 2023 largely in the 'baby bubble' mode. It's definitely a big change to our lifestyle, but...

Announcement: Stuart McMillen signs publishing contract with Scribe for debut book

Today I am proudly announcing that I have signed a contract with Scribe Publications for my debut graphic novel The Town Without Television.Here is a video that I just published to my public YouTube channel explaining the news:( Click here to watch the above video )...but below is a video that I sho...

My submission to Australia's National Cultural Policy consultation

Hi everyone,I spent the bulk of this afternoon writing a submission to Australia's new National Cultural Policy.Australia has effectively had no national arts/cultural policy since the last days of the Keating prime ministership in 1996(!) The reason for this? A series of conservative/neoliberal...

Update: Rat Park in college textbook

Hi everyone,A short update about a few things that have been happening here.Rat Park in college English textbookMy comic Rat Park is being included as a reading in a new textbook aimed at U.S. college students.All in all, my comic takes up 11 pages of the textbook, (the 40-page comic is printed as f...

New comic: The Town Without Television, Part 2

Some good news: I have just published The Town Without Television, Part 2!Here is the blurb and link to the comic on my website:The Town Without Television, Part 2: UnitelHow are children and adults impacted by watching television? This comic outlines the effects of television on individuals, as fou...

Sneak peek: artwork from Town Without Television, Part 2. Full comic coming next week!

Hi everyone,It took me a little longer to wrap up Part 2 of The Town Without Television than I expected. Part of the reason is that it is the longest comic that I have yet published, with 144 pages in total.I spent the last few weeks making lots of little artwork tweaks here and there. This was comb...

Top book recommendations: books I read 2019-21

As with past years, I am using this as an opportunity to declare my favourite books that I read during the past two years. Here’s my Top 5 countdown of the best books that I during the period 2019-2021:#5: Working Class Boy (2016) by Jimmy BarnesJimmy Barnes is well-known to Australians as the fro...

Quick look at my latest crowdfunding postcards

I have now mailed all of my postcards to my Patreon supporters who are on the 'postcard' reward tier. Australian supporters have probably got their cards in the mail already. Non-Australians will probably get their cards next week.See the five postcards' artwork in the short video attach...

A look at me planning The Town Without Television, Part 3

A video from my living room. A look at my work-in-progress on Town Without Television, Part 3.I had gotten to the point where I had too many ideas to keep track of, and needed to physically move around sentences on a table, using sticky notes.Thanks for supporting my work already via this Patreon do...

The Tannis MacBeth Memorial Fund: funding The Town Without Television

Hi again Patreon supporters!I just wanted to tell you about an unexpected series of events that occurred in the past two weeks. Here is a brief timeline:• Tannis MacBeth, the scientist behind the Notel experiment, died on 15 June. (I told you about this with my recent blog post.)• As an unexpect...

Vale Tannis MacBeth, 1942-2021

I am saddened to learn about the passing of Professor Tannis MacBeth, who died on Tuesday 15 June 2021.As you know, I am covering her work through my non-fiction comic The Town Without Television, which I am publishing online at http://TownWithoutTelevision.com/In the world of research psychology, T...

New comic: The Town Without Television, Part 1: Notel

As promised in last month's post, I have just published Part 1 of my Notel project, which I have renamed as The Town Without Television.The Town Without Television, Part 1: NotelA classic study into the impact of television on a community. In 1973, researchers studied the last remaining Canadian...

What to expect from me in 2021? Video update about Notel and Basic Income Comics

Hi everyone,It is Thursday afternoon here in Australia, and I'm about to go away for a four day family Easter holiday.I just wanted to share a short 6-minute video that I just got back from my video editor. It is about what I've been working on lately, and what you can expect from me in 2021...

More work-in-progress illustrations from Basic Income Comics

Hi everyone,As mentioned last month, I am in the middle of a project titled Basic Income Comics, which will be profiling experimentation into universal basic income. The first major study that I will cover will be the Mincome Manitoba experiment that occurred in Canada during the 1970s.This is the p...

Work in progress: Basic Income Comics

Hi everyone, I just wanted to thank you for your ongoing Patreon donations, and to share some works-in-progress.These are scenes from an upcoming series of comics that I am creating called Basic Income Comics. This is a series of comics that will look at some of the experiments into universal basic ...

Sales tax changes / upcoming comics

Hi Patreon supporters,Just messaging you to cover a handful of things.Sales tax informationFrom July 1, Patreon will begin charging sales tax on certain pledges that supporters make to creators via its platform. This is Patreon catching up to laws requiring them to collect this tax on behalf of vari...

Thanks for your continued support during the COVID-19 pandemic

Hi supporters,I just wanted to write a short note to thank you for supporting my work during this current coronavirus pandemic.So far, I haven't had a single Patreon supporter cancel their pledge since the WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic on 11 March. That is a testament to the value you s...

New comic: "Doing It All Alone"

I've just released a new comic to my website: Doing It All AloneMany successful people view other members of society as irrelevant to their own personal fortune. Those who "did it all themselves" overlook many important ingredients to their success.http://www.stuartmcmillen.com/comic/doi...

Another preview of new 'Notel' artwork

Happy new year everyone.Just a quick update to remind you what your patronage is supporting at the moment.I'm still in the process of stockpiling artwork of the sequel to my Notel comic, about the effect of television on children in a remote Canadian town in the 1970s.Attached is a recently-comp...

Update on my 'Notel' comic: the town without television

Hi Patreon supporters,It's been a couple of months between posts, so I thought I'd update you on what I have been working on lately.Notel comicIn short, I have been completing pages of my comic Notel, which I will release in early 2020. This is my comic about the town that didn't get tel...

Greeting cards + art prints available!

Hi Patreon supporters,Last weekend I participated in an Open Day event here at my Canberra art centre. 13 of us artists opened our doors to allow members of the public to see inside our art spaces. Here is a look inside my studio, as I spoke to a visitor:Merchandise: greeting cards and art printsAny...

New comic: What the Dumbwaiter Hides

Today I am releasing my new comic What the Dumbwaiter Hides:What the Dumbwaiter Hides Thomas Jefferson invented the dumbwaiter to hide the slaves that he used to run his mansion. Today, we use the ‘dumbwaiter’ of globalisation to hide the dark parts of our supply chains. http://www.stuartmcmille...

12 things you didn't know about me

New blog post: Did you know I've been cartooning full-time since 2011? That I love Led Zeppelin? This is a list of 12 things you probably didn't know about me.I wrote this piece for another publication, so decided to share it here also.http://www.stuartmcmillen.com/blog/12-things-about-me/

Podcast interview about Buckminster Fuller [62 min]

I was interviewed by podcast Utopian Horizons about the life and work of Buckminster Fuller, who I profiled in my Energy Slaves comic. I discussed his utopian vision of a future, as well as his host of inventions such as the geodesic dome and three-wheeled Dymaxion Vehicle.It was nice to reflect on ...

Top book recommendations: books I read 2017-19

Top book recommendationsAs with past years, I am using this as an opportunity to declare my favourite books that I read during the past two years. Note that these are all 'pleasure reads, and have nothing at all to do with the topics of my comics!Here’s my Top 3 countdown of the best books tha...