Who is Angry Fred?

Welcome to Angry Fred Comics.

If you're a subscriber to my email list, you would have heard my father Fred's name mentioned a few times. He's the inspiration behind my comic book brand and the character of Angry Fred. Sadly he passed away in September of 2019. I wish he were here right now to read the completed Angry Squad comic books. I know he would have gotten a kick out of it.

Was my Dad an angry guy? Of course not; he was a passionate and strong-minded individual, a very generous man who loved to tell stories. I remember countless occasions where we'd chat for hours about current events, collectible items, and shared interest in movies. Dad loved watching movies, and like me, he enjoyed creating them. So I was always excited when he would show family and visitors to our house his super 8 short films. Then, he'd draw the curtains in our living room, turn off the lights, and projects his movies onto a small projection screen. The clicking of the film projector and the flickering light beaming through the room is still vivid today. He made films in the 1950s right through to the early 1980s and starred his family, friends, and even himself in lead roles. Some stand-out films were his detective movie, a documentary about a local rodeo (which won him an international award), and a movie about two guys searching for survival after a plane crash in the middle of a desert. His movies mesmerized me so much that they led me to make my films and pursue a filmmaking career.

My Dad was always there, supporting me in my movie-making endeavors. Dad, Mum, and my and sister would build sets, cater to the production, and even shoot scenes if I acted in them. It was a family affair. In 2007 I decided to randomly go out on a whim and make a b grade feature film. It featured gangsters, hit-women, and zombies. (Yeah, I know! It sounds bizarre! JoBlo.com at the time called the trailer and concept too far-fetched and a recipe for disaster!) The film was a big learning curve for me. It taught me many lessons in filmmaking and life in general, but ultimately it allowed me to reconnect with my Dad and get him in front of the camera and act alongside me. Our passion for movies came together on that film and planted a seed for future creations I was unaware of yet. What's the film, you ask? The film is called 'The Counterpart,' made on a shoestring budget, and after some hustle and an odd twist of events, it got distributed on DVD in Australia and New Zealand! As you can imagine, Dad was over the moon that the film had an official release, and I didn't know then that b-grade film spawned the birth of Angry Fred.

Fast forward 14 plus years later, and here I am with a couple of Angry Fred-inspired comic books available to purchase in honour of my late father. All of the main characters that feature in the Angry Squad started in 'The Counterpart.' I showed Dad some of the Angry Fred artwork and comic panels six months before his passing. I'll never forget how his eyes lit up when he saw the artwork; a spark and inner child-like joy were gleaming from his eyes. I'll also never forget his first words in response to one of the completed Angry Fred drawings. He said, "Oh, you didn't make his nose big enough!" If you knew my Dad well enough, that was his tick of approval.

 

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Writer/Creator

Angry Fred Comics