Brenton E McKenna – November 2014

Brenton is a graphic artist and novelist who taught himself to draw by copying images from comics and a cartooning book given to him by a high school art teacher. He studied visual arts for two years at Goulburn TAFE, has attended several art workshop/residencies and in 2009 was awarded one of the highly sought-after mentorships with the Australian Society of Authors. After working with publisher Magabala Books for several years, Brenton published his first graphic novel,  the first in the Ubby’s Underdogs trilogy. Greatly influenced by his childhood in Broome and his Aboriginal and Malay heritage, the main character, Ubby, was inspired by his grandmother, a strong Aboriginal woman who knew how to look after herself.

Ubby’s Underdogs: The Legend of the Phoenix Dragon
Magabala Books, 2011; ISBN 9781921248313
Graphic novel – young adult
In a dusty pearling town in the north-west of WA, runs Ubby, a young ruffian who leads a rag-tag gang known as the Underdogs. When Ubby meets Sai Fong, a Chinese girl just off the boat from Shanghai, she finds herself thrown into a mysterious world of ancient legends and secrets never before exposed. Ubby is on the brink of becoming a hero unlike the world has ever seen, and must walk where most men dare not tread.

Ubby’s Underdogs: Heroes Beginnings
Magabala Books, 2013; ISBN 9781922142139
Graphic novel – children’s

Efforts to locate Sai Fong, the Dragon Summoner, by Ubby and her gang have been halted by the ambitious Pearling Master Paul Donappleton. Yupman, the guardian of Sai Fong, is pushed to breaking point as his past reaches out to strike. Old myths and smoky legends from an ancient scroll begin to take on new meaning, and it becomes a race to unravel the truth for all involved.