Recommended Reading: Kiwi Rock Strips: an introduction

Above: Artwork by Barry Linton.

There's a great article by Bruce Mahalski from Audio Culture about the links between NZ comics and music (often by creators participating in both camps): covering the work of such cartoonists as Barry Linton, Chris Knox, Robert Scott, Ian Dalziel, Toby Morris, Indira Neville and more! You can read the full article HERE.

- AK!

Weekend Reading/Listening: My Ten Guitars by Barry Linton

Above: A page from My Ten Guitars by Barry Linton. Copyright the Barry Linton Estate 2018.

Speaking to Jesse Mulligan on Radio NZ's Short Story Club, Dylan Horrocks pays tribute to NZ cartoonist Barry Linton, who passed away last month. You can listen to the full interview HERE.

Also as a fitting print tribute, Linton's comic, My Ten Guitars is featured in the latest volume of literary journal Sport 46, published by Victoria University Press. They have made the comic available to view online as a PDF HERE.

- AK!

Remembering Barry Linton 1947-2018

Above: Barry Linton self-portrait from 2011. Copyright the Barry Linton Estate 2018.

Cartoonist Barry Desmond Linton passed away on Tuesday 2nd October 2018, aged 71, at Auckland Hospital. I met Barry in the early 2000s, at one of the monthly NZ comics meet-ups - usually held at the Alleluya Bar & Cafe in St Kevins Arcade off Karangahape Road in Auckland. Barry was short in stature and softly spoken, but always inquisitive and articulate about his love of comics and meeting new cartoonists. From my first encounter with Barry, it was clear from the reaction of others in the community how influential his work was to a whole generation of cartoonists.

Above: A page from Spud Takes Root. Copyright the Barry Linton Estate 2018.

He was one of the founding members of the first real home-grown comics anthology Strips released in the late 70s, where his idiosyncratic drawing style and distinctly locally set comic strips inspired young upcoming cartoonists like Dylan Horrocks. His comics of the time like Spud Takes Root perfectly captured the chaotic and jubilant atmosphere of the 70s gig scene - smoky nights out on the town at a crowded pup, followed by a sweaty summer morning hangover. Reading the strips you could almost hear someone's baby crying from the flat next door, a dog barking down the street and the noise of cars on the motorway off to work, the soundtrack of aotearoa urban suburbia. Twenty years later, young cartoonists I was meeting were still drawing inspiration from Barry's work - the youthful energy he captured on the page was as relevant today as it ever was.

Above: Aki in Tiko by Barry Linton. Copyright the Barry Linton Estate 2018.

Barry also drew from more than just his surroundings, he had a wide ranging list of interests that he explored in his comics. His interest in ancient history and archaeology inspired comics like 20th Century B.C. and the comic series Lucky Aki. The level of research he did for his comics could be described as obsessive, in the best possible way. For Aki - a comic about seafaring in the Neolithic Age - he painstakingly created a series of model ships out of paper and cardboard to accurately depict his designs for the comic. He was also interested in space and life on other planets, resulting in radiantly colourful comics about U.F.Os, aliens and space exploration. He also dabbled in pornographic comics that brimmed with good natured sexual mischief, generally produced for his own amusement and the occasional erotic anthology.

When I began planning my anthology of New Zealand cartoonists in 2008 (which became From Earth's End: The Best of New Zealand Comics, when it was published in 2013), Barry was one of the first cartoonists I approached to take part. I was excited to have Barry on board, because more than any other cartoonists I knew, Barry's work went largely unknown to the public. This was no accident of coarse, aside from the occasional comics anthology, Barry was really only producing comics for one reader - himself. He had little interest in fame, or the constant struggle to find a publisher and deal with printers. He told me that once he finished a comic, he would print up a few copies, read it, and if it pleased him, set it aside and immediately start the next one. He was a comics industry of one, and this pure dedication and enjoyment of the comics form was a huge inspiration to me.

Above: A page from Aki in Tiko by Barry Linton. Copyright the Barry Linton Estate 2018.

The following biography is based on my interviews conducted with Barry in 2012:

Barry Linton was born in Auckland in the year 5707 (Barry prefers to judge time by the ancient Sumerian Calendar of Nippur), to a naval family with a global outlook. He was educated in Christchurch and Hamilton, before attending Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts in 1967. He stayed only one year, before dropping out to travel and hitchhike his way across the country.

This ‘vision mission’ was a blur of hick towns, pubs, parties and hippie communes, that lasted till the mid-1970s. Along the way Barry discovered New Zealand’s thriving music scene, and produced a variety of related gig posters, record covers, and magazine artwork. Upon his return to Auckland, Barry deciding that his strength lay in combining words and pictures rather than music and lyrics, and set about creating experimental comic strips for the Auckland University newspaper Craccum and other alternative papers.

Inspired by the underground comix that were creeping in from America, he infusing their psychedelic graphics with the flavour of the local music scene for his own comics. His first mini comic, Spud Takes Root appeared in 1977, the same year the Strips comic anthology was formed. Barry was a founding member, contributing around 106 pages of comics during its decade long run. After Strips concluded in 1987, Barry continued to produce commercial artwork and comics for a range of publications like Landfall, Razor, the NZ Listener and The Auckland Star newspaper. In 1994 he collected all of his Strips stories into one self-published collection, Chok Chok! which quickly sold out.

Since 2000 he’s been studying ancient archaeology, which has inspired The Akia  – a series of adventures chronicling the lifetime of Aki, a seafarer from a fictionalised Neolithic land of Oceania. Starting with Lucky Aki, three volumes have so far been completed, but have yet to be widely published. The world of Aki is meticulously researched, with each volume containing detailed paper-craft models of ancient ships for the reader to cut out and assemble, as well as maps of visited islands and towns charting Aki’s exploits. Barry lived in Ponsonby, Auckland, where he slept during the day and created comics all night.

Barry is the much loved son of Robert, Dorris and Judith. Adored older brother to Greg, Diana and Brenda, and admired uncle to their families. Cherished spiritual advisor to daughter Lily. A dedicated artist and insightful member of the Ponsonby community.

Above: A model boat created by Barry Linton. Copyright the Barry Linton Estate 2018.

Above: Barry Linton at Chromacon 2017.

A memorial gathering to celebrate Barry's life and work will be taking place on Saturday 13th October, from 2pm – 4pm, at the Herne Bay Petanque Club, 19 Salisbury Street, Auckland 1011. For more information and updates you can visit the Barry Linton Communication Page on Facebook HERE. I hope to see you there.

- AK

From Earth's End Spotlight: Barry Linton's comics report of ICONZ '94

Auckland cartoonist Barry Linton produced this illustrated report of New Zealand's first comic convention - ICONZ, published in the NZ Listener, 7th of October 1994. The convention took place at the Avondale Racecourse in Auckland, August 1994. Organised by promoter Dwayne Lucas, the event was a success and spawned three more events in successive years before giving way to a rival event Armageddon Expo - initiated by William ‘Bill’ Geradts, which continues to this day.

You can check out more of Linton's work on this Tumblr HERE.

And as a bonus: here's a rare TV report on ICONZ 2, from July 1995. Featuring brief interviews with Cornelius Stone (Knuckles the Malevolent Nun) and Craig Petersen (Southern Tribe).

-AK!

NZ Comics Weekend in Review Part One: The Secret History of New Zealand Comics

Above: NZ Comics on sale during NZ Comics Weekend 2010. Pictured from left to right: Dave Bradbury, Tim Bollinger, Robyn E Kenealy and Brent Willis. Photo by James Gilberd.

It's been four years since the last NZ Comics Weekend, and in that time I'm pleased to say that the local comics community has grown in leaps and bounds.

The quality and quantity of material available during the weekend this year was truly impressive, with major showings from all corners of the NZ comics community. The Auckland community is making something of a comeback this year, with 'The Imposter' by Lee-Yan Marquez, the completed 'Inhabitants' series by the Sheehan Bros and of coarse the new printing of 'Hicksville' by Dylan Horrocks (which is an all-round winning situation really;).

The Wellington comics community was as strong as ever, with a new issue of 'Bristle', Draw's 'Silver' and the masterful 'Hotpools' series by Ned Wenlock (the break-out hit of the weekend, in my opinion).

One of the other notable changes in the comic community this year is the growing presence of NZ Webcomics.

Claire Harris and Ned Wenlock put together a great pamphlet on 'NZ Comics on the Web', covering the latest on-going NZ webcomics and online comics resources. This movement towards digital distribution of NZ Comics is a giant step forward in bringing local comics content to the attention of a wider public, and will play a major part in the future of comics in this country (goodbye to the shackles of limited distribution!). The pamphlet made it into many hands over the weekend, so I expect we'll see an increase in digital readership in the months ahead.

Now I'll give a rundown of the events that took place over the weekend at the Basement Gallery in Wellington, starting with the grand opening on Friday night, April 2nd.

The festivities kicked off with two exhibitions: 'The Work of H.W. Bennett', and 'NZ Comix in the 70s' curated by NZ comics historian Tim Bollinger.

Above: Tim Bollinger with 'The Work of H.W. Bennett' exhibition.

'The Work of H.W. Bennett: Comic Books and Men's Magazines 1944-1950', is a meticulously researched investigation into the work of one of NZ's most mysterious comics and magazine creators.

From what Bollinger has uncovered, H.W. Bennett was an Auckland artist and entrepreneur who published both children's comic books and adult magazines during the late 1940s and early '50s. His most well-known publications were 'Supreme Feature Comics' and 'Mister' magazine, featuring nude pin-ups and bawdy cartoons reprinted from American magazines. This may seem like a distasteful combination, but much like publishing in the US at the time, the cheap mass production of children's comics and pornography went hand-in-hand, often rolling off the same presses.

In an attention to detail that would make Dan Brown proud, Bollinger hunted down copies of H.W. Bennett's comics and adult magazines offerings under a variety of styles and signatures. He produced artwork and stories for his publications under several different pseudonyms to give the appearance of a larger publishing operation. Some of the credits and signatures he used in his magazines included: 'Harvey', 'RV', 'Rufus' and 'Frank Bradley and C.J. Bonington'. It's suspected that he also produced much of the editorial content for 'Mister' magazine, including 'reader' discussions on the subject of adult spanking, with titles like 'Whacko!' and the more literal 'Spanko!'.

H.W. Bennett worked out of offices in the Safe Deposit Buildings on High Street, Auckland. An address he also used to import and distribute sex-related books from the US. Times Printing Company in Auckland printed many of Bennett's comics and magazines for the local market and distribution in Australia.

'Supreme Feature Comics' was one of NZ's longest running comics, producing 33 comics through to the late 1940s. It contained simplistic adventure stories, often starring colonial heroes fighting off various 'foreign devils', alongside humourous strips. As sales lagged in the late '40s, Bennett attempted to reinvigorate 'Supreme' by re-launching it as 'The New Supreme Feature Comics'. Bennett took more care with the stories and artwork in the 'New Supreme', but it faded after five issues.

Following strong public opinion against the content of comics in the early '50s, government restrictions on the production of comics led to the closing of the Times Printing Company in 1954, for whom comics were 80% of their business. The NZ comics boom was over and H.W. Bennett disappeared with it, leaving behind these curious relics from the comics industry that could have been.

If this wasn't enough work for the comics historian, Tim Bollinger also assembled an impressive exhibition on 'New Zealand Comix in the '70s'.

This exhibition marks an interesting new chapter in NZ comics history, picking up several decades after the collapse of the original comics boom in the early 1950s.

Featured an eye-opening variety of local comics from the '70s, this rejuvenation was partly inspired by the D.I.Y underground comics movement taking place in San Francisco at the time. While cartoonist Robert Crumb was producing surprisingly frank comics about his life and sexual obsessions, back in New Zealand cartoonist Barry Linton was creating his own uniquely pacific flavoured underground comics. Banding together with other like minded artists enthusiastic about creating local comics, Linton was a founding member of the comics anthology, 'Strips'.

One of NZ's longest running comics, 'Strips' was published in the early '70s and ran until 1986. It featured early work from Colin Wilson, Terence Hogan, Joe Wylie, Dick Frizzell and many more. This exhibition featured rare artwork from these early issues and reproductions of the comics for curious readers to rediscover.

One of 'Strips' founding artists Colin Wilson, who has gone on to become a much acclaimed and respected comics artist in France, the US and Australia, also had some of his solo artwork spotlighted in the exhibition. Including his work on New Zealand's first true superhero, the environmentally conscious 'Captain Sunshine' from 1979. Aside from being NZ's first and only colour superhero comic, 'The Adventures of Captain Sunshine' has one other curious claim to fame: it's the only comic ever published to promote a wrist-worn sundial!

Above: Possible the most hair-brained comics cross-promotion ever: The wrist-worn sundial watch!!

It's hard to believe, but 100,000 copies of this comic were created for sale in NZ, Australia and the US to promote this product. Posters and full-size standees of 'Captain Sunshine' were also produced for sale. A second issue was commissioned but never published, as unsurprisingly the company producing it was deeply in debt (experiencing what I can only imagine was 'bankruptcy whiplash'!). If you overlook the nutty product promotion, Wilson's work on the book was stunning, and he was soon hard at work for British comics giant '2000AD'.

Above: Some more artwork by Colin Wilson.

There were plenty of other great unearthed NZ comics on display during the weekend; for a closer look he's some photos from opening:

Above: Photo by James Gilberd.

Above: Photos by Lee-Yan Marquez & Gijs Priegel.

Above: After the opening and some well deserved drinks, the comics crowd made it's way to the Left Bank sector for some Thai food. From left to right: Draw, Bob Gibbons, Matthew Kelly, Me, Grace C. Russell (behind me in red), Morgan Davie, Issac Freeman, Dick Whyte, Dylan Horrocks and Tim Bollinger. Photo by Lee-Yan Marquez & Gijs Priegel.

Coming up next in Part 2: The Wellington 'Hicksville' launch and the 2010 Black River Digital Eric Awards!

-AK!

A special thanks for use of photos from this event from James Gilberd and Lee-Yan Marquez & Gijs Priegel. Additional material on the background of H.W. Bennett provided by Tim Bollinger.