Ned Kelly: The Man Behind the Mask (ATOM Resource Guide)

Ned Kelly: The Man Behind the Mask is a historical graphic text by Hugh Dolan exploring the story of bushranger Ned Kelly, from the arrival of his parents in Victoria to his death by hanging in 1880.

It is 78 pages in length, and follows the traditional comic-book layout with colour artwork in panels. The narrative includes embedded extracts of primary source materials: newspaper articles, prison records, part of Ned’s Jerilderie Letter, and police reports. These documents appear in the artwork, but links in this resource guide below take readers to the original sources.

The storyline of the comic also refers to all major Ned Kelly–related historical locations on the Victorian Heritage Database, and to the site of the Jerilderie bank robbery in New South Wales. There are links in the resource guide to take the reader to these informative sites so that they can gain a greater understanding of these significant places.

The comic covers all major events in Ned’s life and is based on the major historical references available. It acknowledges several areas where there is controversy and seeks to provide readers with a comprehensive, detailed, balanced and engaging account of the life of this historic character.

This resource guide provides an accessible and non-traditional way of looking at the Kelly story, the social context of the time, and issues that are still passionately debated today about whether Ned was a vicious criminal or a self-sacrificing hero.

Curriculum applicability

The main curriculum relevance of Ned Kelly: The Man Behind the Mask is for Year 9 students studying Australian History.