Her memoir is funny, awkward, deeply personal – and it’s about to be released around the world. Here’s how Georgina Chadderton stayed in Adelaide and made it happen.
Graphic novels are being taught in schools, topping bestseller lists and winning major literary awards. From Alison Bechdel and Margaret Atwood to David Lynch and Keanu Reeves, it seems like everyone cool is writing comics these days.
Now meet the Adelaide cartoonist about to join their ranks.
Georgina Chadderton, AKA George Rex Comics, started her middle-grade graphic memoir Oh Brother thinking she could knock it off in a year. That was in 2016.
After a decade of late nights, re-draws, mentorships and a whole lot of doodles, it’s being published by Penguin Random House across Australia, the US, UK and Canada in February 2026 – and available for pre-order now.
Drawing on family
Georgina’s debut graphic memoir, Oh Brother, is a funny, thoughtful and emotionally layered story about growing up in Brighton with her nonverbal autistic brother, Rob.
It’s about kindness, chaos, being a sibling to someone with high needs – and also just being, as Georgina puts it, “an awkward, sweaty teenager.”
So much is changing for Gina in the book. She’s starting high school, her family is moving house – and her brother climbs out the window and raids the neighbour’s fridge.
Oh Brother is about what it means to grow up in a family where someone needs a lot of support – and how you still find love, humour, frustration, and joy in the middle of it all.
Complete with cameos of Brighton Jetty and Brighton High School, it’s proudly South Australian. Sadly, the Farmers Union Iced Coffee didn’t make the cut (turns out US middle-grade readers aren’t allowed caffeine).
“I hope it’s like a good Pixar film,” Georgina says. “Something adults can enjoy as well as kids – and maybe a way to start conversations around things like autism, disability and family.”
Staying put and making things happen
Georgina lives – and creates – in Adelaide. She didn’t move to Melbourne. Didn’t do a Master of Fine Arts. Doesn’t even have a design degree.
“I have a degree in classical music performance,” she says. “You definitely don’t need formal training. If you’ve got a pen and some paper, you can make comics.”
Alongside her partner Owen Heitmann – also a comics creator and founder of Adelaide micropublisher Amplified Press – Georgina has built a community that supports young artists, publishes local creators, and runs workshops across Adelaide’s suburbs.
She’s proudly, stubbornly local. “I’m absolutely pro ‘staying in Adelaide’,” she says. “If you move away, you lose the chance to make more good things happen here. So we’re staying, making things happen, and making things good.”
She’s also the co-director with Owen of Papercuts Comics Festival, a free three-day biennial celebration of comics, zines and graphic storytelling held in the Adelaide CBD from 12-14 September.
Comics, but make it Adelaide
Papercuts began in 2019 as a DIY comics fair. These days, it’s a Ruby Award-winning festival backed by all three levels of government – and a proving ground for the idea that comics are art, literature and culture all at once.
If you’re new to comics, Georgina says the best place to start is Talking Pictures, this year’s Friday night opener. Eleven creators – most of them local – perform their comics live on stage while the art is projected behind them. It’s part theatre, part graphic novel.
Across the weekend, Creators in Conversation panels explore every corner of the medium. There’s Text-Tiles, where artists stitch and embroider their comics, and Icons, featuring Australians who’ve worked on Wonder Woman, Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
On Sunday, Market Day takes over Adelaide Town Hall with more than 120 stallholders – from zine-makers and indie artists to big-name creators.
There will also be workshops throughout the day by creators. Among them is 14-year-old Max Baird, who had his own stall at Papercuts 2023, and is now super excited to be running his own workshop: How to Make Comics for Kids, by a Kid.
Low barriers, high impact
“This is a community festival, not a commercial one,” Georgina says. “We want as few barriers as possible – but we also want to pay artists and respect their time.”
None of it would be possible, she says, without grant support from the Commonwealth Government, South Australian Government, and the City of Adelaide.
“I couldn’t have got my book to where it was to pitch to the publishers without the mentorships and grants,” she says. “And Papercuts wouldn’t happen without all those grants either.”
Georgina, who is neurodivergent herself, has built accessibility into the festival from the ground up. All venues are wheelchair accessible, hearing loops are provided, and both Talking Pictures and Creators in Conversation have Auslan interpretation. There are also dedicated quiet spaces at the major events.
Teaching kids to draw – and belong
Georgina also runs workshops in Adelaide for kids aged 8-14, the Inky Fingers Comic Gang, which regularly book out.
“I was a kid who loved to draw comics but not much else,” she says. “I found it hard to find my people, even at art classes. So I started these sessions so awkward comics-loving kids could find like-minded new friends.”
“Now, there’s this beautiful mix of kids who are really confident and love attention, and kids who are very shy but have incredible skills. They help each other out and it’s really wholesome.”
From Dog Man to bookworm
Comics also play a big role in getting kids into reading – especially those who find big blocks of text intimidating. Series like Dog Man or Bunny vs Monkey turn reluctant readers into bookworms, and Georgina sees it in her own workshops too.
“Some kids just really connect with visual storytelling,” she says. “It gives them a way in. If you’ve got a kid who struggles with reading, comics can be the thing that changes everything.”
Georgina says comics don’t need to be flashy or perfect to be powerful. And anyone with a real love for the artform can make them.
“People think you have to be good at drawing to make comics, but really, you have to be good at comics to make comics – and that comes with practice. One of the most successful online comics is just stick figures – it’s called XKCD. It’s so clever and funny. You don’t need amazing art to make something great… just lots of passion and patience.”
Comics are a medium – and they matter
Still think comics are all spandex and superheroes? Despite all the Marvel and DC comics everywhere lately, that’s just not the case.
“People confuse comics with a genre when it’s actually a medium,” Georgina says. “When someone says comics, you go, like, oh yeah, superheroes. But that’s just the genre. Comics are a way to tell a story – not the type of story you’re telling.”
“We sort of sit in this twilight zone of not quite literature writing and not quite fine art illustration,” she says. “I just like using pictures and words to tell stories.”
Papercuts Comics Festival runs 12-14 September 2025 across Adelaide CBD venues. All events are free – but some require registration. For the full program, click here.
