Photorama: Armageddon Expo Wellington 2011

Above: The New Zealand Comics Creators stall, complete with new stock! Photo by Gijs Priegel. Copyright Gijs Priegel 2011.

Last weekend saw Wellington hosting it's annual Armageddon Expo, a week earlier than usual to fill the gap left by the cancelled Christchurch event. The Expo proved as popular as ever with a huge public showing of 15,000, filling the TSB Arena to capacity and causing the door sales to be closed over lunchtime to accommodate the massive crowd.

Above: The cover of Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch. Copyright Funtime Comics 2011.

The New Zealand Comics Creators stand was certainly busy this year, boosted by the release of Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch the Funtime anthology issue created to raise funds for the Christchurch Earthquake, with ALL proceeds going to the Red Cross. Signed copies of Ant Sang's recently released Shaolin Burning were also popular on the day. The final issue of Lee Yan Marquez's The Impostor series was also available and newcomer

Brendon Bennetts' The Tower graphic novel.

Here's some photos of the stand on the day, courtesy of Gijs Priegel:

Above: The set-up: from left to right: Lee Yan Marquez, Isaac Freeman and Brent Willis.

Above: Bristle editor Brent Willis in a pitch perfect cosplay as Tintin's Captain Haddock! (paging Peter Jackson!).

Above: From left to right: Isaac Freeman, Lee Yan Marquez, Brendon Bennetts and Brent Willis.

Remember, if you would like to get hold of a copy of Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch for yourself, you can order it directly online HERE from the Funtime website.

-AK!

New NZ Comics Autumn Edition 2011

Above: The Impostor #3 by Lee Yan Marquez. Copyright Lee Yan Marquez 2011.

Out just in time for Wellington Armageddon Expo this weekend, are three new titles from some of our most reliable and hardworking cartoonists!

Lee Yan Marquez has completed the final part of her comic trilogy The Impostor, with #3 debuting at Armageddon. Sharply written and beautifully drafted, this thriller set in a totalitarian state comes to a riveting conclusion not to be missed! It's available from Wellington Armageddon Expo this weekend, but you can expect it to appear at Auckland comic shops soon after.

Above: Bristle #9 cover by Matt Kelly. Copyright Matt Kelly 2011.

The great Wellington anthology Bristle is back again for it's ninth issue, featuring stories by Renee Lyons, Brent Willis, Robyn E Kenally & Richard Whyte, Sarah Laing, Ari Freeman, Claire Harris, W-S C, Draw, Clive Townsend, Grant Buist and a various artists jam. Covered by Matt Kelly and a back cover is by M. Emery. You can pick it up at Armageddon this weekend, or you can also mail order it for $5 +postage from series editor Brent Willis at PO Box 27-258, Wellington.

Above: Blastosaurus April Fool's Special 2011. Copyright Richard Fairgray 2011.

And no Armageddon Expo would be complete without another Blastosaurus Special by Richard Fairgray and Terry Jones. This year it's an April Fools Special, complete with a misleading cover edition (and a thankfully 98% less Lloyd promise!). Richard tends to sell out of these at the Expo, so either pick one up from him this weekend or drop his website a line for inquiries about back issues.

And don't forget the newest issue of Funtime, Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch. It's available now through Pay Pal at the Funtime website HERE. It's for a fantastic cause and is super-simple to purchase, so don't delay!

I'd suggest getting your hands on these new comics now while the sun is out, so you've got plenty of reading material to get you through those cold winter months.

-AK!

New Year, New Comics

Above: A panel from 'The Impostor' by L. S. Marquez.

The new year is off to a great start with some great new online comics for your summer viewing pleasure!

Auckland cartoonist L. S. Marquez is making her online comics debut with the extremely refined mystery/psychological thriller 'The Impostor' (click HERE to view).

Set in the totalitarian state of New Haven, social worker Lucy is rescued from a robbery by a mysterious stranger know only as 'K'. Their brief meeting lingers with Lucy, who has her own secrets that continue to haunt her waking world. Does she have more in common with this vigilante than she'll willing to admit, or will her attraction to 'K' lead her closer to danger instead of answers?

It's Part One of a three part series, which will eventually be released as three 24 page comics before being collected into a graphic novel. Each page of the original comic has been cleverly (and appropriately) divided into a classic nine panel grid. From there, she has cut the grid into three, allowing each section to form one 'slate panel' to read as the web-comic scrolls across diagonally, making for a pleasantly smooth reading experience. The artwork and storytelling is masterfully handled, and I look forward to seeing the next installments! For further updates be sure to register on the website.

Above: A page from 'The American Dream' by Dylan Horrocks.

After taking a break from his online serials to complete the finishing touches on the imminent new edition of 'Hicksville', Dylan has returned with new glorious colour pages of 'The American Dream' and 'Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen'.

As a bonus, he's also posted two recent short stories: 'Cornucopia', previously published in the Australian Journal 'The Lifted Brow'; and the serene 'My World', from the UK benefit book 'Ctrl.Alt.Shift'.

So there's a ton of great new comics content here to keep you entertained without even having to leave your work station! (although you may want to visit 'Cornucopia' in a more private setting;). Happy reading!

-AK!