Debra Jane Boyask (

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, England, 11 April 1966 –

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England, 23 April 2013) was a comics artist and educational developer. Boyask was born and died in England, but lived for many years in New Zealand, after moving there with her family in 1974.

Education

Boyask completed a Bachelor of Education (hons) at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

in 1992 and worked as an educational evaluator in New Zealand and then an educational developer on her return to the UK.

Comics

Boyask was an "integral part of the

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

comics scene in the 1990s", contributing to '' Funtime Comics'' (after winning a competition to produce its title and banner) while also producing her own

independent comics Alternative comics or independent comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream su ...

. Her sister Ruth Boyask also produced comics for ''Funtime,'' at the time they were the only female contributors to the anthology. She continued to contribute to ''Funtime'' after moving back to England in the early 2000s. She also began publishing in a number of British anthologies including, ''Factor Fiction'' and the ''Girly Comics''. She organised Midwinter Comics Retreats for artists in both New Zealand and England and was known for her support of new artists. Boyask produced comics under a number of pen names, including 'Teacake', 'Pelms' and 'Bad Astronaut'. She was also actively involved in the

LGBTI Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (such as genitals, gonads, and chromosome patterns) that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". They are substantially more likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexua ...

community, and to diversity issues within the comics community.

Publications

*''Funtime Comics'' (1990-). Christchurch, New Zealand. *''The Ancient Geeks'' (2001). Self published, Christchurch, New Zealand. *''Adult issues'' (2001). Self published, Christchurch, New Zealand. *''Naughty tales from academia'' (2001). Self published, Christchurch, New Zealand. *''The sound of muzac'' (2001). Self published, Christchurch, New Zealand. *''The girly comic'' (2002 - ). England, Factor Fiction Press. *''Twelve Go Nuts in Gloucester'' (2005), with Jay Eales, Terry Wiley and others. England, Factor Fiction Press. *'' Three Words: an anthology of Aotearoa/NZ women's comics'' (2016), edited by Rae Joyce, Sarah Laing and Indira Neville. Auckland, New Zealand, Beatnik.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyask, Debra 1966 births 2013 deaths New Zealand comics artists New Zealand female comics artists University of Canterbury alumni