EVENT: Talking Pictures - The Graphic Novel with Dylan Horrocks & Ant Sang

This coming Monday, as part of the 'Writers on Mondays' lunchtime lecture series being held at Auckland New Gallery Art Lounge, Dylan Horrocks and Ant Sang will be discussing graphic novels (relating to their own work and the form in general) with host Mike Loder.

Above: A page from 'Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen', by Dylan Horrocks.

Dylan Horrocks is of course one of New Zealand's most highly regarded cartoonist, the author of the award-winning graphic novel 'Hicksville', which finally received it's first local printing this year from Victoria University Press (and is required reading here at Earth's End!). He is currently serializing two new graphic novels-in-progress at his website: 'The American Dream' and 'Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen'. The latter story follows a cartoonist through a creative crisis, as he struggles to write corporate superhero comics and retain his personal 'voice' as a creator. A dilemma which is all too familiar to Horrocks, who went through a similar ordeal writing for the 'Bat-family' of titles for DC Comics ('Batgirl', 'Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'). While this is not a straight autobiography of his experiences writing corporate super-heroics, it's certainly informed by them, offering a fascinating and honest account of a writer wrestling to reconnect with his craft, and the potential pitfalls of genre writing.

Above: Ant Sang with a page of his artwork from his up-coming graphic novel, 'Shaolin Burning'.

Ant Sang's artwork has quickly become iconic in New Zealand, as the lead designer of the hugely successful TV series 'Bro' Town'. He's also know for his cult comic series 'The Dharma Punks', one of the top selling NZ comics ever published, at it's peak it was locally outselling such bestselling comics as 'Uncanny X-Men'. Currently working on his first original graphic novel 'Shaolin Burning', which is to be released early next year, it should finally establish Ant as a house-hold name (and rightly so).

The talk is hosted by comedian and occasional comic-book writer Mike Loder, and takes place at the Art Lounge in the New Gallery from 12 noon, so feel free to bring your lunch and friends! You can find more details and information HERE at the Gallery website.

-AK!