Above: Treviso Comic Book Festival 2012 poster, featuring artwork by Dylan Horrocks.
The Treviso Comic Book Festival took place at the end of September, with a special exhibition dedicated to New Zealand Comics.
A distinguished group of our finest cartoonists winged it to Italy to be on hand for the special occasion. Our 'comics ambassadors' included: Dylan Horrocks (Hicksville), Colin Wilson (Bullet to the Head) Roger Langridge (Fred The Clown), Ben Stenbeck (Baltimore), Chris Slane (Nice Day For a War), Greg Broadmore (Triumph) and Rufus Dayglo (Tank Girl).
Above: Shops in Treviso celebrate the comics festival each year by painting cartoon characters in their store windows. Photos by Chris Slane.
Above: Rufus Dayglo contributes to a window display.
To give you an idea of how big a deal comics are in Europe, retailers in Treviso were happy to collaborate with the festival and arrange for cartoonists to paint characters in their store-front windows! As you can see from the pictures, its pretty magical stuff.
Chris Slane gave me his impression of the festival: "Treviso is a city which looks forward to it's annual comics festival. It has a high profile here. Young cartoonists go around decorating shop windows with individual designs - over 200 by the end of the festival. Rufus Dayglo was even press-ganged into doing one.
Exhibitions and events are shared among venues all around town, rather than concentrated in just one place. You could walk everywhere - Treviso is very pedestrian-friendly and a few minutes walk would get you just about anywhere, through a picturesque maze of alley ways, canals and bridges.
There were two comics market days where we comic artists formed relays drawing flat out and giving away the art free to hordes of kids and collectors."
The photos presented here are courtesy of Chris Slane, Dylan Horrocks, Rufus Dayglo and the TCBF Facebook page.
Above: Roger Langridge and Dylan Horrocks.
The NZ Comics exhibition took place at the Benetton Foundation Pavilion (above), from the 27th of September-14th of October. There was an official opening on Saturday 27th of September, with all the guests on hand to present and discuss their comics.
Above: Outside the exhibition building Greg Broadmore and Chris Slane exchange creative energy...
Above: Walking into the NZ Comics exhibition, with Greg Bradmore's art on the far left wall.
Above: A display of Chris Slane's artwork in the main room, featuring an awesome standee of Maui!
Above: A display of Dylan Horrocks' work, with lighthouse standee.
Above: Artwork by Toby Morris.
Above: Artwork by Rufus Dayglo.
Above: At the exhibition opening, from left: Roger, Ben, Chris, Dylan and Greg.
Above: Alberto Corradi, one of the festival organisers, gives the introduction speech.
Above: Colin Wilson (left) discusses his artwork.
Above: Crowds enjoying the show.
Above: A wall of Ben Stenbeck's artwork.
Above: Ben Stenbeck and Rufus Dayglo take a closer look at some artwork.
Above: Roger Langridge and Dylan Horrocks check out Rufus Dayglo's work with the artist.
Above: A display of Dylan Horrocks' artwork.
Above: Examples of Barry Linton's artwork.
Above: A display of Frank & Becky's Tiny Kitten Teeth webcomic.
Above: NZ Comics at the United Nations? From left: Roger Langridge, Dylan Horrocks, Ben Stenbeck, Greg Broadmore and Chris Slane (Alberto Corradi at the back).
Above: A display of Frank & Becky's Tiny Kitten Teeth webcomic.
Above: NZ Comics at the United Nations? From left: Roger Langridge, Dylan Horrocks, Ben Stenbeck, Greg Broadmore and Chris Slane (Alberto Corradi at the back).
A discussion panel was also held during the festival, where the NZ creators discussed their work and the New Zealand comics scene in general.
Above: Dylan Horrocks sketching during the panel.
Above: Wide shot of the panel, from left: Rufus, Roger, Dylan, Ben and Greg. Alberto Corradi again acts as MC.
Above: During a break. You can't tell from this angle, but I understand Greg Broadmore (far right) is drawing naughty pictures on his cellphone which Ben Stenbeck is doing his best not to crack-up at!
Above: The NZ contingent of cartoonists checks out one of the italian comics exhibitions, in this case the artwork of Roberto Bonadimani. The framed artwork is actually free-hanging from the wall to protect the historic building.
Above: The main Festival hall for creator signing and sketching. In Europe its expected that artists will provide FREE sketches for fans, so our creators were kept VERY busy!
Above: Dylan Horrocks' pencil is kept busy with sketching...
Above: A fan hold up her Rufus Dayglo sketch.
Above: Fans look on as Roger Langridge sketches in the foreground with Colin Wilson next to him.
Above: The NZ creators take time out to enjoy some fine Italian dinning (as you do when you're in Italy!).
I understand the exhibition was a huge success, and you can read about some of the comics creators thoughts on the festival over on their blogs: Roger Langridge posts about it HERE, and Rufus Dayglo has posted a bunch of photos over on his blog HERE.
Above: The new guide to New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels made a star appearance in TV3's coverage of the Frankfurt Book Fair!
The next stop of our traveling NZ comics contingent is the Frankfurt Book Fair, which is under way in Germany this week, with a panel discussion on New Zealand Comics taking place at the NZ pavilion at 12pm on the 14th of October. Dylan Horrocks, Roger Langridge, Colin Wilson, Greg Broadmore and Ben Stenbeck will be in attendance.
There is also a special display of NZ comics at the fair's Comic Centre in Hall 3, along with copies of the new 100-page guide to New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels (which you can download for free HERE).
Check back here in the next week or two for continued coverage of the NZ Comics world tour!
-AK!
Above: The NZ contingent of cartoonists checks out one of the italian comics exhibitions, in this case the artwork of Roberto Bonadimani. The framed artwork is actually free-hanging from the wall to protect the historic building.
Above: The main Festival hall for creator signing and sketching. In Europe its expected that artists will provide FREE sketches for fans, so our creators were kept VERY busy!
Above: Dylan Horrocks' pencil is kept busy with sketching...
Above: A fan hold up her Rufus Dayglo sketch.
Above: Fans look on as Roger Langridge sketches in the foreground with Colin Wilson next to him.
Above: The NZ creators take time out to enjoy some fine Italian dinning (as you do when you're in Italy!).
I understand the exhibition was a huge success, and you can read about some of the comics creators thoughts on the festival over on their blogs: Roger Langridge posts about it HERE, and Rufus Dayglo has posted a bunch of photos over on his blog HERE.
Above: The new guide to New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels made a star appearance in TV3's coverage of the Frankfurt Book Fair!
The next stop of our traveling NZ comics contingent is the Frankfurt Book Fair, which is under way in Germany this week, with a panel discussion on New Zealand Comics taking place at the NZ pavilion at 12pm on the 14th of October. Dylan Horrocks, Roger Langridge, Colin Wilson, Greg Broadmore and Ben Stenbeck will be in attendance.
There is also a special display of NZ comics at the fair's Comic Centre in Hall 3, along with copies of the new 100-page guide to New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels (which you can download for free HERE).
Check back here in the next week or two for continued coverage of the NZ Comics world tour!
-AK!
Posts
