Tad Pietrzykowski is a pioneer of the Australian comic industry.  Throughout his childhood and at College, he was working towards his dream.  Many of his colleagues from Riverina College of Advanced Education (RCAE), an antecedent of Charles Sturt University (CSU), will remember him working on his pet project, The Dark Nebula.

 

After graduating, Tad’s first job was in a graphics arts studio.  However, he devoted all his spare time to writing.  In 1982, his first graphic novel The Dynamic Dark Nebula was published.

 

While it was Tad’s dream to work full time writing comics, there were still the realities of life to deal with.  So, at the same time as writing he attended radio school and worked as an ‘extra’ in TV and movies.  Tad then branched out into commercial broadcasting, a career which lasted 21 years, fifteen of these in the competitive Sydney market.

 

Tad recalls “I was fortunate in that I was able to follow two career paths simultaneously, writing and creating original Australian comic books and broadcasting.”

 

During this time, Tad teamed up with other comic book writers on the Cyclone! series of comics where he continued to write the adventures of The Dark Nebula and his other creation, The Golden Age Southern Cross, along with co-creator Glenn Lumsden.

 

After an apprenticeship in Cyclone!, Tad returned The Dark Nebula to his own on-going title.  The Dark Nebula was something of a cult favourite in the late 80s / early 90s. The character has been in print for twenty five years (1982 - 2007) and it's still going.

 

Tad Pietrzykowski now writes full-time.  He says “returning to my first love, comics and my own creation, The Dark Nebula, has allowed me to take charge of the direction of my life as opposed to having that determined for me by a boss – here I am the boss. Plus it allows me relative privacy and anonymity after many years in the public eye.

 

“My website has been in full swing for over fourteen months. I'm pretty much working on it full time at the moment and I have just secured a literary agent in the United States.  He will be my advocate, for any literary, T.V., movies or other projects related to my intellectual properties, to the international mainstream market.”

 

When asked where his drive and commitment to keep pursuing his dream came from, Tad replied “probably stubbornness, an ingrained work ethic and a pursuit of excellence that no amount of therapy can cure (joke!).

 

“When you hear the word ‘no’ you can either quit or persist. If you always quit you’re nothing but a quitter but if you persist you’ll achieve your goals and it isn’t just wanting them or wishing for them, it’s working for them. Aiming high beats having no goal in mind.”

 

Tad added that “some very fundamental personal events that were character-building shaped my stubbornness and determination. I’ve been influenced by all the people I’ve met, all the books I’ve read, all the art I’ve appreciated, all the music and mixed media I’ve enjoyed. Inspiration is everywhere you look as long as you’re receptive.”

 

For young graduates starting out Tad has some very sound advice; “Set a goal and stick to it, so long as it’s something you want above all else. Don’t get distracted and don’t follow someone else’s dream; to quote a line from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, ‘don’t dream it, be it’.”

 

Tad Pietrzykowski didn’t dream it, he lived it.  You can find out all about The Dark Nebula on the website www.thedarknebula.com