New Zealand Comics World Tour Part 1: Treviso Comic Book Festival 2012

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.

Above: NZ cartoonists in Venice! Dylan Horrocks, Greg Broadmore and Ben Stenbeck.

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).

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!

EVENT: Traders Of The Lost Art!

If you like spending your weekends looking for cool popular culture nic-nacks in Second-hand Stores, then look no further: this event is for you! Gotham Comics manager Jeremy Bishop remembers a time when events like Armageddon were a smaller comics based affair, where collectors had a chance to sell and trade their rare collectors items. That was the genesis of this weekend's Traders Of The Lost Art event, taking place this Saturday, October 6th of October at Pearce St Hall, 3 Pearce St, Onehunga, Auckland (behind the Jordan Recreation Centre).

It will feature a wide range of traders like: Gotham Comics; Doctor Who specialist store, RetroSpace; the New Zealand Comics Creators, with the latest in local comics; new zine Potroast; Richard Fairgray's Blastosaurus, as well as several private collectors looking to off-load some of their rare comics, toys and collectables!

There will also be a Dr Sketchy Art Group drawing session happening from 1pm.

The event runs from 10am - 3pm, entry is $5 for an adult, $2 for children (5-13), and under 5yrs are FREE! (and there will also be door prizes;)

There's free car parking, and its close to the Onehunga bus and train stations; so there are plenty of good reasons to go on a collecting quest out to Onehunga this Saturday!

-AK!

EVENT: Blastosaurus Book Launch!

Above: The cover of Blastosaurus Vol. 1, by Darick Robertson.

Its been a long time coming, but the first collection of the new, fully-coloured Blastosaurus series is here!
Richard Fairgray's dino-detective with a big gun has come along was since its rushed debut in 2008. While a former US film producer promised to make him and the property a star, Fairgray went about producing two years worth of comics material, proving he had the dedication to make the comic book a cult favourite without any 'Hollywood help' (that company has since collapsed).

Above: A page from Chapter Four of Blastosaurus by Richard Fairgray and Terry Jones. Copyright Richard Fairgray 2012.

Since 2011, Fairgray has been publishing the series online at Blastosuarus.com in a re-mastered version as he had originally conceived it. Co-written with his former English teacher, Terry Jones, it now also features striking colouring by Tara Black. The first collection will be available in a limited edition Hardcover, exclusive to Gordon Harris Art Supplies stores for only $29.99, and a regular paperback available from all good booksellers.

This Wednesday there will be a Blastosaurus book launch and discussion on creating comics, taking place at Gordon Harris Art Supplies Albany. Located at: 3b Northridge Plaza, Don McKinnon Drive, Albany, Auckland.

The talk will kick-off at 5.30pm, followed by a book signing, general mingling. For more information, you can find a link to the Facebook event page HERE.

-AK!

News From Earth's End: September Edition

Above: The cover of New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels, published by Hicksville Press. Cover illustrations going clockwise: Akira Atsushi, Mat Tait (x2), Toby Morris, Greg Broadmore, Ant Sang, Andrew Burdan and Dylan Horrocks.

Hi everyone, sorry for the length of time between posts, it's been a busy year here at Earth's End Central; but there's plenty of exciting NZ comics publishing developments on the way in the next few months, so your patience will be rewarded!

In fact, here's some FREE stuff for you right now: Dylan Horrocks has edited a guide to New Zealand comics and creators for distribution at the various publishing events taking place in the next few weeks, including the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Treviso Comic Book Festival. As it's a promotional publication, you won't find it available at retailers, but the good news is you can download it for FREE HERE.

It highlights over sixty NZ comic creators, as well as a full listing of their available and upcoming projects, and features a brief historical overview of New Zealand Comics by Tim Bollinger.

Above: Wulfpak by Ed Butler aka Czepta Gold. Copyright Chronic Shock Entertainment 2012.

Back in 2009, before he became Czepta Gold, comic creator Ed Butler produced a kids manga hip-hop mash-up, Wulfpuk. A fun combination of Dragonball with a decidedly local street flavour, the complete 40 page comic is now available for FREE on Graphicly HERE.

Above: A preview page from Adventure Time #8, featuring a special story from Frank & Becky. Copyright Cartoon Network 2012.

In other news, Tiny Kitten Teeth creators Frank Gibson & Becky Dreistadt are making big inroads in the US, with a back-up in the latest issue of Adventure Time, a comic published by Kaboom, based on the hugely popular animated series. You can view an eight page preview of their contribution HERE via Comics Alliance.

Above: Mr. Unpronounceable returns! Copyright Tim Molloy 2012.

Tim Molloy has a forthcoming collection of his Mr. Unpronounceable stories coming out soon, so here's a first look at the cover...

Above: The cover of Snarked! #12, by Roger Langridge. Copyright Roger Langridge 2012.

Sadly, it seems Roger Langridge's Eisner Award-winning comic series Snarked! will be coming to an end with #12. Over on his blog Roger says the book will reach a natural conclusion, but he'd like to revisit the characters again in the future if there's enough interest. The best way for you to show your support is to buy the trade collections: Snarked! Volume 1 is available now, with Volume 2 hitting in late October, and the final volume landing in February next year. Roger will still be keeping busy though, with the ongoing Popeye comic for IDW and he's also working on another more 'action-orientated' title for them in the near future.

Stat tuned for information on several upcoming NZ comic events in the next few weeks!

-AK!

EVENT: These Glasses and Speculations on Their Owners: Paintings by Toby Morris

If you happen to be in New York City, there's an art exhibition opening by NZ cartoonist Toby Morris, creator of Alledaags and XTOTL! These Glasses and Speculations on Their Owners opens on the 13th September at Manhattan Born Gallery, 336 E5th St NYC, from 7pm-9pm EDT.

Above: The pair of glasses that inspired the exhibition.

I asked Toby to fill me in on the interesting premise behind the show:

'The show is called 'These Glasses and Speculations on Their Owners'. Basically it's this pair of really weird glasses I found and then a collection of 70 or so small paintings of me trying to work out who the hell would have worn them. I've been thinking a lot about character building, and about ways to tell a bigger story through a lot of side details. The little things that aren't supposed to matter but really do. 

The way it's displayed is suposed to be like the walls of clues that detectives build in cop shows, like I'm on the case, trying to build this person up, solve something. And yep, I think even when I try to do an art exhibition it somehow ends up really being a kind of comic.'

For those of us who can't make it to NYC, here's some exclusive preview images:

For more info, you can check out the Manhattan Born Gallery website HERE, and visit Toby's great website, currently featuring his cartoon parenting diary Meeting Max HERE.

-AK!

Intrepid Travels: The NZ Comics World Tour!

Above: A promotional poster for the Treviso Comic Book Festival 2012 by Dylan Horrocks.

New Zealand cartoonists are taking our comics abroad in the next few months, starting with an exhibition in Italy at the prestigious Treviso Comic Book Festival. Taking place from the 22-30th of September, the festival will feature an exclusive pavilion dedicated to New Zealand comics, and an exhibition Aotearoa: Clouds from New Zealand, featuring artwork by: Dylan Horrocks, Ant Sang, Chris Slane, Colin Wilson, Roger Langridge, Rufus Dayglo, Greg Broadmore, Toby Morris, Barry Linton, Ben Stenbeck and Becky Dreistadt. Many of the artists will also be attending the exhibition in person, signing books, discussing their work, and generally representing comics from the land of the long white cloud.

Above: A poster created to promote the Aotearoa: Clouds from New Zealand exhibition by Dylan Horrocks, featuring a classic Crash O'Kane comic book by Eric Resetar.

If you happen to be in Europe and want to check this out, the NZ exhibition takes place at the Benetton Foundation pavilion, from the 27th of September-14th of October, with a opening event on Saturday 29th of September at 12am. And if you're in Paris in early October, look for a comic signing featuring Colin Wilson and Ben Stenbeck...(details to come).

Above: Triumph, the latest book from Greg Broardmore, one of the many NZ authors appearing at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Copyright Greg Broadmore 2012.

Once the exhibition in Italy is done, a contingent of our cartoonists will be heading over to Germany to appear at the Frankfurt Book Fair, as part of the New Zealand Guest of Honour showcase. 

Taking place from the 10-14th of October, New Zealand is spotlighting a wide variety of NZ arts and cultural events at the fair, from author talks to film screenings. Included in the list of attending local authors are: Greg Broadmore with his latest Dr. Grobort volume Triumph, Dylan Horrocks promoting the new German edition of Hicksville, Roger Langridge with his first volume of Snarked! soon for release, and Colin Wilson, whose graphic novel Bullet In The Head has been adapted into a major movie due out next year.

To accompany these events, Dylan Horrocks has produced a new 100 page booklet promoting New Zealand Comics and cartoonists. If you'd like a copy of this for yourself, you can potentially look for it at the New Zealand Comics stand at this October's Auckland Armageddon Expo. I'll also have some special announcements for this year's convention; so if your a fan of NZ comics and this blog in particular, hold on to your hats! Because once we've taken New Zealand Comics to the world, we're going to be bringing them back home...in a BIG way.

-AK!

News From Earth's End: An August Pictorama Special!

Above: Tank Girl by Ant Sang. Tank Girl is copyright Jamie Hewlett & Alan Martin 2012.

Today I'll be presenting a round-up of recent local comics art and photos from the Auckland Zinefest that took place earlier this month.

Last week Ant Sang took a stab at drawing a Tank Girl pin-up, with sensational results! (see above). Tank Girl is of coarse the British comic creation of Alan Martin & Jamie Hewlett, which became a generation X icon in the early '90s before it was almost banished into cultural obscurity by the mediocre 1995 film adaptation. In recent years the character has enjoyed a resurgence, thanks to renewed interest in Jamie Hewlett's artwork and his involvement in co-creating the cartoon rock band The Gorillas. Whoever is controlling the rights of Tank Girl should get in touch with Ant about producing some official artwork for them STAT!

Above: An advance poster for Rufus Dayglo's Solid Gold Death Mask. Copyright Rufus Dayglo & Sofie Dodgson 2012.

Speaking of Tank Girl, her latest comics have also featured the artwork of ex-New Zealand resident and former Pistake artist Rufus Dayglo. Dayglo has produced 6 volumes of Tank Girl adventures with co-creator Alan Martin, and is now working on a brand new creator owned series Solid Gold Death Mask, with writer/colourist  Sofie Dodgson. The series follows a demigod assassin, in liege to a penguin, searching for her missing mother whilst her psychotic sister raises an undead army to wage war. Judging by the advance artwork, if you dig Tank Girl you'll want to check this out! Bookmark the official website for more information HERE.

Above: Art commissions by Dylan Horrocks: including Tank Girl and Dr. Strange. Tank Girl is copyright Jamie Hewlett & Alan Martin 2012. Dr. Strange is copyright Marvel Entertainment 2012.

Dylan Horrocks has been working through a back-log of beautiful art commissions; including Tank Girl, Dr. Strange, Moomins and a whole range of other requests which you can view HERE.

Above: Popeye goes western in this cover for Popeye #7 by Roger Langridge.

According to advance comics solicitations for November, Roger Langridge will be writing AND drawing issue #7 of Popeye, the series he's been scripting for IDW which has had a rotating cast of artists of late. Here's the synopsis: It's Wild West action this issue, as Popeye faces the return of Olive's old boyfriend, Ham Gravy... and the fearsome Desert Yeti! Can Popeye defeat the terrible beast before Ham steals his girl? Plus: More larks with Sappo, as Wotasnozzle presents his latest invention: the Electric Cow!

Above: A photo of me manning the New Zealand Comic Creators stall at Auckland Zinefest 2012.

Finishing off with photo coverage of the Auckland Zinefest 2012, he's some of the comics related stalls via the First Thursday's Facebook page (photos by Laura Forest: www.lauraforest.com and Ying: www.sayadesign.co.nz).

Above: Brent Willis and his range of comics, next to Kelly Sheehan and myself at the NZCC table.

Above: Sarah Laing, artist of Let Me Be Frank.

Above: Sarah's son Otto selling some of his own comics.

Above: Blastosaurus and Ghost Ghost creator Richard Fairgray.

Above: ActionMan Adam creator Marc Streeter on the left, next to Sam Orchard's table.

Above: More young comic creators: Sadie and Esther Galloway.

The event was well attended despite the stormy weather, with lots of interest and solid sales from all the NZ comics stalls involved.

-AK!

Sunday Viewing: In the Studio with Ant Sang

Shot for the TVNZ7 literature show The Good Word, Director Mitchell Hawkes and Director of Photography Chris Matthews take us inside Ant Sang's workspace to discuss his creative process. Enjoy!

-AK!

HUIA publishing goes to war with Te Reo Maori Graphic Novels!

Above: The cover of Hautipua Rererangi or Born To Fly, by Julian Arahanga and Andrew Burdan. Copyright Huia Publishers/Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga 2012.

Independent publisher HUIA, who specialise in stories told from a Maori and Pacific Island perspective, have been quietly producing some top flight graphic novels in the last few years, which have been turning heads and winning awards. In 2009 they published Hautipua Rererangi, a Te Reo Maori graphic novel collaboration between writer/actor Julian Arahanga and artist Andrew Burdan, retelling the war-time adventures of Porokoru Patapu (John) Pohe, the first Māori pilot in the RNZAF.

Above: A page from Hautipua Rererangi, art by Andrew Burdan. Copyright Huia Publishers/Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga 2012.

It was translated and remastered for an English language edition, which was released in April this year as Born To Fly. Burdan's crisp illustrations recall the great tradition of black & white war comics like Commando, with an eye for effective design layouts.

Above: Ngarimu: Te Tohu Toa or Victory at Point 209, illustrated by Andrew Burdan and retold by Kawata Teepa. Copyright Huia Publishers/Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga 2012.

This was followed up in 2010 with the Te Reo Maori release of Ngarimu: Te Tohu Toa by Andrew Burdan with Kawata Teepa. This adventure tells the story of how Second Lieutenant Te Moana-nuia-Kiwa Ngarimu of 28 Māori Battalion won the VC during World War Two. 

On 26 March 1943, two weeks before his 24th birthday, Ngarimu led an attack on Point 209, a vital hill at Tebaga Gap in Tunisia. Under intense mortar and machine gun-fire, he led the assault up the hill, personally destroying two German machine-gun posts on a crest of the hill. Despite being wounded twice during the night, he and his men defended their position from several counter-attacks. The following morning during a particularly strong counter-attack, Ngarimu was killed. Later the same day, the Germans still on Point 209 surrendered.

Last year it was the first graphic novel to win the Te Kura Pounamu (Te Reo Maori) award at the LIANZA Children's Book Awards, and also received a 'Secondary Education Highly Commended' award at the CLL (Copyright Licensing Ltd) Educational Publishing Awards 2011. 

It was re-released last month in a new Te Reo Maori and English edition Victory at Point 209. Its 40 pages and retails for $25 NZ, and is in stores now! You can check out a nifty trailer the publisher created to promote the book below, and view some preview pages of Andrew Burdan's artwork HERE.

-AK!