Wednesday, April 18, 2012

GO READ: Angouleme by Jerome Bihan



Above: Page 1 of Angouleme by Jerome Bihan. Copyright Jerome Bihan 2012.

Jerome Bihan, cartoonist and editor of the great anthology series Radio As Paper, has started a new comics diary of his recent trip to the Angouleme Comics Festival. He'll be updating it weekly at his blog A Strict Diet Of Self, found HERE.
Above: So Art Spiegelman walks into a bar...Page 6 of Angouleme by Jerome Bihan. Copyright Jerome Bihan 2012.

It's well paced and richly inked, with some surprise celebrity comics cameos to boot! I'll be monitoring the progress of this lush comics travelogue and you should too.

-AK!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Road To Armageddon: Hamilton & Wellington 2012



It's that time of year again, the start of the Armageddon Expo season in New Zealand. And this year it's extending it's scope, with it's first Hamilton based expo. Taking place this weekend, April 14-15th at the Claudelands Event Centre, bringing it's circus of all things sci-fi and geektastic to the heart of the Waikato!

Above: a cover from the acclaimed comic series 100 bullets, by Dave Johnson. Copyright Vertigo/DC Comics 2012.

As always there'll be a health presence of local and international comics guests.
Headlining this year's guest list is Dave Johnson, comic artist and award-winning cover artist of such books as:100 bullets, Punishermax, Batman, Unknown Soldier and many more. He also collaborated with writer Mark Millar on the highly acclaimed Superman mini-series Red Son, which recast Superman as a communist Russian superhero. Aside from his comics work, he's also a veteran animation designer, working on such shows as: Batman Beyond, Justice League, Legion of Super-heroes, Venture Bros. and Ben 10.

Above: A Witchblade cover by Stjepan Sejic. Copyright Top Cow Productions 2012.

Ron Marz is a long-time comics writer, having written for just about every major comics company in the business, including DC Comics, Marvel, Top Cow, Dark Horse and CrossGen. He's often been the go-to writer for fantasy with a cosmic scope, leading to extended runs on such titles as:Green Lantern, Silver Surfer and Star Wars. In Green Lantern he co-created the popular character Kyle Rayner, who replaced a temporarily crazy Hal Jordan (it was the 90s, look it up kids!). More recently he's been writing the Witchblade franchise for Top Cow productions, and it's spin-off titles Magdalena and Artifacts.

Above: The Inhabitants, by the Sheehan Bros. Copyright Sheehan Bros 2012.

There will be a strong NZ Comics presence at the event, with myself and Kelly Sheehan (one half of the Sheehan Bros) manning the NZ Comic Creators Booth. We'll be selling a wide variety of local comics, from creators all across the country. If you missed the Comics Generation exhibition that recently took place in Wellington (see last months posts), we'll have stock available from those young creators for you to check out!

Above: Cover of Moas #2 by James Davidson. Copyright James Davidson 2012.

James Davidson will be there with copies of the latest issue of his full-colour all-ages adventure series Moas. Set in Colonial New Zealand, it features Possum Von Tempsky and Kiwi Iti, two Moa riding adventurers. It looks to be a rollicking great yarn in the Carl Barks tradition, so be sure to seek out a signed copy!


Above: Blastosaurus: The 'Fries With That' Caper' issue 00, by Richard Fairgray & Terry Jones. Copyright Richard Fairgray & Terry Jones 2012.

A permanent fixture on the local convention scene, Blastosaurus creator Richard Fairgray will be on hand with a new print issue of Blastosaurus:The 'Fries With That' Caper' issue 00. If you'd like a preview of what to expect, you can check out two free issues of the new full-colour Blastosaurus series at the official website HERE.

Above: Ghost Ghost Squared by Richard Fairgray. Copyright Richard Fairgray 2012.

He'll also a copies of Ghost Ghost Squared available, a sequel to Ghost Ghost, a comic he wrote as a child and redrew recently.
Above: Armageddon Expo and Beyond Reality Media head-honcho Bill Geradts, with copies of The Inspiration Duncans Hardcover collection.

Leading NZ webcomics site Beyond Reality Media will be well represented, with print copies of two of their titles available for the first time! The Inspiration Duncans series written by Bill Geradts and Richard Fairgray with art by Gonzalo Martínez, will be available in a special 80-page Hardcover edition. The Warden series, written by Bill Geradts and Christian Gossett with art by Alan Robinson, will also be available in a softcover collection. Keep an eye out for both of these eye catching books and the creators signing at the Beyond Reality Media booth (as well as the Warden in person!).

The Armageddon Expo Hamilton is on this weekend at the Claudelands Event Centre, open from 10am-6pm. Tickets are available on the door and from Ticketek HERE. I'd strongly recommend buying tickets in advance to avoid the endless lines that can sometimes build up at these events, as no one wants to spend an hour waiting in line!

If you can't make it to Hamilton, fear not, it will all be happening again NEXT weekend in Wellington, 21st-22nd at the TSB Bank Arena ((whew!)). For more information on other events taking place over the weekend at the Armageddon Expo, check out the official site for news and updates HERE. We'll see you there! (I'll be the person NOT in costume).

-AK!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

GO READ: Done To Death: The Truth



Above: Page 1 of Done To Death: The Truth by Stevie James & Michel Mulipola. Copyright Stevie James & Michel Mulipola 2012.

Michel Mulipola's artwork has gone from strength to strength in the last few years, and the comics industry is starting to take notice. Last year Michel was one of the few artists attending San Diego Comic Con to be hand-picked for a portfolio review with DC Comics Art Director Mark Chiarello. They've officially invited Michel to submit further art samples, so it won't be long until other publishers start knocking on his door. Until then, you can find some of his impressive artwork over at his deviantART page HERE.

A prime example of his crazy art skills is this new short story, Done To Death: The Truth, illustrated for Wellington writer Stevie James. Completed in a mere two weeks(!), it's a great showcase of Michel's artistic strengths: great character, pacing, and plenty of atmosphere to burn. You can read the full story HERE.

-AK!