News From Earth's End: December Edition

Above: Dr. Grordbort's Exceptional Exhibition currently on in Wellington.

Hot on the heels of his latest graphic novel, Triumph, Greg Broadmore has recently opened a Dr. Grordbort's Exceptional Exhibition in Wellington. Almost more of a museum than an exhibition, this event displays the full depth of the universe that Greg has created around this character, including: concept art, character portraits, ray gun prototypes, statues and much more!

Located at 48-50 Cuba Street in Wellington, the exhibit is open now till January 26th, 2013. Exhibition hours are: Tues to Sat – 12 -7 pm, and Sun – 12 - 4pm. After it finishes up in Wellington, the exhibition will travel around the world to Germany, France, China and Hong Kong. So make sure you see it while you have the chance!

Above: Cover of Fresh Volume 2 by Michelle Bai & Kay See Yan. Copyright the respective creators 2012.

Following on from Fresh Vol. 1 a few years back, the students of Alfriston Collage have produced a second anthology of comic stories. The comics in this volume are largely manga inspired, reflecting the huge influence this style continues to have on young people, and will no doubt deliver exactly what that audience is looking for! Edited by Steve Saville, the creators include: Michelle Bai, Ahmed Rajeh, Gabby Westerlund, Kay See Yen, Ryan Thuker, Tracy Tsai and many more.

Fresh Vol. 2 is $8 per copy, and can be mail ordered by check made out to Alfriston Collage, from Steve Saville, 166 Seddon Street, Pukekeohe. Or look for issues to be available from Gotham Comics in the near future.

Above: Art from Princess Seppuku: The Lower Depths. Copyright Karl Wills 2012.

The second volume of Karl Wills' exceptionally crafted, and darkly funny Princess Seppuku series is also out now. Titled The Lower Depths, you should be able to pick it up from all good comic shops (or directly from the Comicbook Factory HERE for $10 (plus postage and packaging).

The series has also inspired some neat pin-up art from other comic creators including Ant Sang and Cory May!

Above: Princess Seppuku by Ant Sang.

Above: Princess Seppuku by Cory May.

And for some bonus nice art, here's some classic New Zealand comics character appreciations by Jason Winter: Chop Stick from Ant Sang's Dharma Punks, and one of the villains from The Inhabitants by the Sheehan Bros.

Above: Chop Stick from Dharma Punks and a character from The Inhabitants by Jason Winter.

Above: The cover of Czepta: The Prophet Rides Again #0. Copyright Czepta Gold.

Here's a sneak peek at the cover of Czepta: The Prophet Rides Again #0, by Czepta Gold. A print and online edition of the comic should be available from 21st of December, so keep an eye on the official website HERE for more details!

Above: Manu Bennett and Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke the Terminator. Copyright DC Entertainment.

In comics related casting news: local actor Manu Bennett, previously of the locally filmed TV series Spartacus and soon to be seen in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, has been cast as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke the Terminator in the new TV series Arrow (based on the DC Comic book character, Green Arrow).

Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, the formidable mercenary/assassin first appeared in New Teen Titans #2 in 1980. A master tactician and weapons expert, he's one of the few comics characters who can hold his own against the Justice League single-handed (read: major badass!). Since crossing paths with Green Arrow in the mini-series Identity Crisis (where Ollie stuck an arrow in his eye socket..ouch!), he's regularly turned up in the archer's adventures looking to even the score.

Its unclear yet how similar Bennett's appearance will be to the comic character (who is traditionally in his 40s with white hair and a goatee), but physically he certainly fits the bill! Arrow screens on the CW network in the US, and I expect it will debut on TV2 here in New Zealand sometime over the summer.

-AK!