Saturday, March 24, 2018

Road to Armageddon Wellington 2018


Armageddon is back for 2018, starting the year in grand style with its biggest event yet - Wellygeddon, headlined by The Avengers superstar Jeremy Renner! Taking place at the Wespac Stadium this Easter Weekend, from March 30th - April 1st, you can expect to see the pop culture crowds descend in force to meet media guests from such popular movies and TV shows as: Harry Potter, What We Do In The Shadows, Constantine, Supernatural, iZombie, Altered Carbon, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, The 100 and more.

Above: Artwork by Ben Stenbeck. Copyright Ben Stenbeck and Dark Horse Comics 2018.

As always though, here at Earth's End we're more focused on the comics guests appearing at the show, and this year there's a great line-up of local comic creators who are already making a mark on the comics industry, both here and overseas. 

Headlining the comic guests this year is Ben Stenbeck, the Dunedin based artist who has firmly established himself in the comics industry as one of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola's closest artistic collaborators. Best known for his artwork on the Eisner nominated series Baltimore, Stenbeck's other works include: Frankenstein Underground, Witchfinder, Hellboy and the BPRD 1953 and Lobster Johnson. His current series is Koshchei the Deathless, written by Mignola and published by Dark Horse Comics.

Above: Artwork by Al Barrionuevo. Copyright  Al Barrionuevo and DC Comics 2018.

Originally hailing from La Plata, Argentina, international comics guest Al Barrionuevo has worked extensively in American comics for a variety of publishers. He got his start drawing Legion for DC Comics, before starting an extended run on Batman: Gotham Knights. Other DC titles he has worked on include: Martian Manhunter, Countdown to Final Crisis, Teen TitansThe War That Time Forgot and The Authority. He has also drawn Loki, X-Men, Avengers: Solo and Storm for Marvel Comics, and several books for Valiant, including Ninjak.

Above: Artwork from The Warden Vol.4, published by Beyond Reality Media. Copyright Beyond Reality Media 2018.

Beyond Reality Media will be in attendance, with a variety of their titles available at the show, including: The Warden Vol.1-3, NowPocalypse, Attica Vol.1-3, One Must Break, The Darwin Faeries, The Inspiration Duncans, The Time Travelling Tourist, Prepocalypse Vol.1-2 and many more! The NZCC will also be at the BRM booth, with all the best graphic novels from local creators, including the latest issues of the anthology Funtime, and copies of NZ favourite titles, The Dharma Punks, Moa, The Heading Dog Who Split in Half, The Crow of Whareatua, Faction Comics and more!

Above: The Adventures of Jack Scratch by Craig Phillips. Copyright Craig Phillips 2018.

Taupo based artist Craig Phillips will be there to launch his latest children's graphic novel, The Adventures of Jack Scratch! Phillips is also the author of last year's Giants, Trolls, Witches, Beasts: Ten Tales from the Deep, Dark Woods. So make sure you check out his books and artwork available at the show.


Above: Artwork from WWE #13 by Michel Mulipola. Copyright WWE Entertainment 2018.

Comic artist and wrestler Michel Mulipola will also be attending. His comics credits include the Headlocked series and WWE for BOOM! Studios! He's always busy drawing amazing commissions, so make sure you check him out near the IPW Wrestling arena!


Above: Artwork by Xephia. Copyright Kirsti Hogan 2018.

Artist/Designer extraordinaire - and Armageddon regular, Xephia aka Kirsti Hogan will be attending, and will no doubt have a great deal of art and prints available for sale over the weekend.

Above: Gunface by Paul Jason Young and Tim Hunger. Copyright Sonny Studios 2018.

Auckland based artist Paul Jason Young, artist of the crime comic series Gunface will attending the show under his Sonny Studios banner. He'll be releasing Gunface #5 at Armageddon, so it will be a good opportunity to catch up on the earlier issues and get a signed copy while you're there.

Above: The White Cloud Worlds logo.

White Cloud Worlds has released three collections of fantasy art from some of New Zealand's most respected artists. This is a great opportunity to pick up these collections of eye-popping artwork if you haven't already, and meet some of the artists in person.

With all these great guests in attendance you'll be hard pressed to find a better entertainment option in Wellington this Easter weekend! Armageddon Expo is open Friday March 30th from noon - 5pm, Saturday March 31st from 9am - 6pm, and Sunday April 1st 9am - 5pm. For more information, visit the official Armageddon website HERE, and advance tickets can be purchased through Ticketek HERE.

- AK!