Katie O'Neill wins 2 Eisner Awards!

Above: The Tea Dragon Society, by Katie O’Neill. Copyright Katie O'Neill 2018.

This year at the 30th annual Eisner Awards (the US comic-book Oscars for those not in the know), Christchurch based cartoonist Katie O'Neill took home 2 Eisner Awards! Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12), and Best Webcomic, both for her webcomic (and subsequent print edition) of The Tea Dragon Society, published by Oni Press. 

At the ceremony her editor, Ari Yarwood of Oni Press accepted the awards on Katie's behalf. Congratulations to Katie for her amazing work! If you don't have a copy of The Tea Dragon Society, I suggest you rush out to your nearest comic retailer now!

Above: Aquicorn Cove by Katie O'Neill. Copyright Katie O'Neill 2018.

And if you want more Katie O'Neill comics, the good news is she has another book on the horizon, Aquicorn Cove. Here's the official synopsis and a preview:

From the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever After and The Tea Dragon Society comes Aquicorn Cove, a heartfelt story about learning to be a guardian to yourself and those you love. 

When Lana and her father return to their seaside hometown to help clear the debris of a big storm, Lana remembers how much she's missed the ocean-and the strong, reassuring presence of her aunt. As Lana explores the familiar beach, she discovers something incredible: a colony of Aquicorns, small magical seahorse-like creatures that live in the coral reef. 

Lana rescues an injured Aquicorn and cares for it with the help of her aunt, who may know more about these strange creatures than she's willing to admit. But when a second storm threatens to reach the town, choices made many years ago about how to coexist with the sea start to rise to the surface. Lana realizes she will need to find the strength to stand on her own, even when it means standing up to the people who she has always relied on to protect her. 

Available in Hardcover, Aquicorn Cove (ISBN:9781620105290) will be available October 17th 2018.

- AK!

Above: Pages from Aquicorn Cove by Katie O'Neill. Copyright Katie O'Neill 2018.  

Tragicomic brings Shakespeare to Comics and Screens!

Above: From left:  Liv Scott as Isla Stevenson and Nova Moala-Knox as Hannah Moore. Photograph by Tabitha Arthur.

Tragicomic is a ground-breaking new digital media experience, debuting as both a webseries and a webcomic, inspired by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

The series is the latest project from The Candle Wasters, the SPADA New Filmmakers of the Year for 2017, a team of four young women (and a token dude) from Wellington. With help from New Zealand On Air, they make fierce, funny, feminist webseries that have so far amassed over 5 million views worldwide. 

The Candle Wasters are: Claris Jacobs, Elsie Bollinger, Minnie Grace, Robbie Nicol & Sally Bollinger. Their production name is derived from a Much Ado About Nothing quote which refers to people who stay up late at night wasting candles. Claris, Elsie, Minnie, and Sally met at Western Springs College in Auckland. They began making webseries when the youngest of the group was just 17. Robbie Nicol, of the popular political satire White Man Behind a Desk, joined the writing team in 2016.

Above: Nova Moala-Knox as Hannah Moore. Photograph by Tabitha Arthur.

Tragicomic follows Hannah Moore, a world weary 15yr old, she’s an aspiring cartoonist searching for the truth about her missing dad. Tragicomic invites you to revisit Hamlet and high school through the eyes of a teenage girl. Lovesick, isolated, and venting her feelings through her comics, Hannah is on a quest to discover what really happened to her absent father. All the while uncovering a secret from her family's past that will follow her for the rest of her life. Tragicomic is a ten part webseries and twenty part webcomic, created to be read and viewed together.

Tragicomic breaks new ground by inviting the audience to scroll through both film and cartoon components of the story. We see the protagonist, Hannah, upload her comics to the internet, and you can scroll down to see what she has created. The majority of comics are drawn by Sally Bollinger (who also co-directs the webseries).

Above: Tragicomic artwork from the comic version by Sally Bollinger.

Bollinger's comics have been published in The Millennial, and NZ woman's comics anthology Three Words, and the recent children’s Annual. In 2015 she received a mentorship from the Society of Authors to work on a graphic novel. Her mentor was cartoonist Dylan Horrocks, who also makes a Stan Lee-like cameo in Tragicomic, providing guidance and encouragement to Hannah as she develops her comics. Like one of Hamlet’s soliloquies, each comic gives the audience an insight into our hero’s mind. The webcomics grow increasingly dark as the fairytale characters grow to represent Hannah’s increasingly paranoid view of the people in her life.

You can watch part one of Tragicomic when it is released on YouTube and RNZ this Friday, 3rd of August. You can check out The Candle Wasters website HERE, and subscribe to their youtube channel HERE, so you don't miss any upcoming episodes!

- AK!