Stephen Crowley	The Koala Bares

Published in 2002 by Toons Au Naturel.

Back in 1996, readers of Australian Sun and Health were treated to the first public appearance of Stephen Crowley's cartoon characters Loxie and Zoot. Unfortunately, the magazine decided not to publish a second strip. Undeterred, Stephen Crowley took his happy couple to the expanding world of the Internet - where word of mouth (or whatever it's 'net equivalent may be) soon produced an appreciative and ever-expanding audience. I caught some issues of Noodtoons at the time, but stupidly forgot that producing good-quality artwork in one's spare time means there will be quite a gap between updates, and failed to become a regular reader.

Encouraged by his readers, Stephen Crowley's next step was to produce a full-length story in book form. At this point, I couldn't help but be aware of the bandwagon. As well as 'net information, The Koala Bares received a positive and comprehensive review in H&E. Although I was a little concerned that buying a book from Australia could be awkward, Toons au Naturel's Website makes the whole exercise not just easy but relatively inexpensive. I did have a minor problem at one point, but sending off an email brought an immediate response and a revision of the relevant Webpage - a gold star for customer service.

The book tells a complete story, and features what has become a gloriously disparate cast. In addition to Loxie and Zoot, who run The Koala Bares naturist resort, there are singles, couples and families. It doesn't stop there: we get young and old - from several ethnic backgrounds - thin and fat, shaved and bushy, you name it! To provide the final element of the real world, we have the local town of Koala Bay. This provides not only a large collection of bit-part actors, but also the primary baddie: Councillor Tex Tyler. As part of his election campaign, this bigotted anti-nuddy wants to close down the naturist resort. A secondary anti-nuddy is local TV reporter Kylie.

In an attempt to tackle Tex Tyler's media campaign, Loxie and Zoot organise an open day. This produces a range of encounters, including a wonderfully-scripted one between two pairs kids: one long-term naturist, the other determinedly textile brought along by their curious parents. The tale is beautifully told, and it's several levels above slapstick humour played for laughs - and in my opinion is actually funnier as a result.

I won't spoil the story - but you can read the first few chapters at loxieandzoot.com.

Last updated 2006 January 27.
 
Images Copyright © Stephen Crowley and Toons Au Naturel
Other content Copyright © author Tim Forcer

Ratings:

Nudity	Naturist nudity	A good read?

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