Road to Armageddon 2017: Colin Wilson

Above: Captain Sunshine (1979) by Colin Wilson.

Recently announced as a Comics Guest for the upcoming Armageddon Expo shows in Christchurch and Dunedin in March, Colin Wilson is one of the country’s most successful cartoonists.

He started his career in 1977 editing and self-publishing Strips, the first locally produced comics anthology. In 1979 he also co-created New Zealand’s ecological superhero comic, Captain Sunshine – which featured in my book, From Earth’s End: The Best of New Zealand Comics. Wilson soon realised that to become a professional comic artist he would need to move overseas.

Above: Judge Dredd: The Colin Wilson Collection.

Arriving in London in 1980, Wilson began working for the UK weekly 2000AD, drawing Judge Dredd alongside artists like Dave Gibbons and Brian Bolland. While his colleagues looked to the States, Wilson’s eye turned to Europe, as he began a 15-year career drawing his own series Dans l'Ombre du Soleil, and realizing a personal dream by drawing the western Blueberry alongside his artistic idol Jean Giraud aka Moebius.

Wilson returned to Australia in 1996, and while he continued to produce work for the European market (Tex, Du Plomb Dans La Tête), his art also appeared regularly via US comics publishers, on such titles as The Losers, Battler Britton, The Rocketeer Adventures and Bionic Commando. 

Above: The Example by Tom Taylor and Colin Wilson.

Forming a creative partnership with Australian writer Tom Taylor (who will also be appearing at Armageddon Expo), they have collaborated together on numerous projects. Including such titles as: Star Wars: Invasion, The Example, Jour J, and donated a short story to Funtime #26, Darkest Day: Comics For Christchurch – a comics anthology created to raise funds for the Red Cross in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake in 2010.

In 2013, his European comic series Du Plomb Dans La Tête (published in the US as Bullet To The Head) was made into a major motion picture, directed by Walter Hill, starring Sylvester Stallone, Christian Slater and Jason Momoa. Wilson is currently completing the art for Martha, a book in the very successful European series XIII Mystery, before starting work on a new, original series for Delcourt.

Above: The cover of The Adventures of Captain Sunshine (1979) by Colin Wilson.

This will be a great opportunity for local comics fans to meet and talk to one of our own who has made a career from comics, working at the top of the global comics industry. And maybe also get a rare copy of The Adventures of Captain Sunshine #1 signed! (I believe there are still copies surfacing on TradeMe from time to time…).

Armageddon Expo Christchurch takes place in March 11-12^th at the Horncastle Arena, and Armageddon Expo Dunedin follows on March 18-19^th at the More FM Arena. For tickets and information visit the Armageddon Expo website HERE.

 – AK! 

From Earth's End Spotlight: The Adventures Of Captain Sunshine

Above: The Adventures of Captain Sunshine #1 (1979) by Colin Wilson. Copyright Sunshine Watches Limited 2013.

Before New Zealand became a nuclear-free zone in the eighties, or promoted itself to the world as ‘100% Pure’, there was Captain Sunshine.

In the late seventies, Reuben Sandler and Roy Middleton were two young, environmentally aware entrepreneurs, looking to develop a project that would promote their ecological interests – solar power, saving the whales - and become a financially successful business. Together with their friend Peter Farrell, they brainstormed ideas. Middleton pitched the idea of a superhero mascot character 'Captain Sunshine', which Farrell immediately recognized as having potential as a marketing tool. “We were hoping to create a world-wide hero who was involved in fighting pollution and working for environmental goodness in general”, Reuben recalled. “Isn’t it nice to be young? We were also hoping to support ourselves financially from the project”.

Above: an advert for the Sundial Wristwatch(!), 1979. Copyright Sunshine Watches Limited 2013.

Farrell came up with the idea for a Sundial wristwatch to promote solar energy awareness, and the two concepts were combined. They formed the company ‘Sunshine Watches Limited’ and made plans to manufacture the Sundial wristwatches, which would be promoted in dairies and bookstores by a 32 page full-colour comic book, The Adventures of Captain Sunshine.

Above: Captain Sunshine in action! From The Adventures of Captain Sunshine #1 (1979), artwork by Colin Wilson. Copyright Sunshine Watches Limited 2013.

To create the comic book they needed an artistic collaborator, and approached artist Colin Wilson. Wilson had gained a reputation for his comics work as the editor and major contributor of Strips, New Zealand's first comics anthology since the early 1960s. He was interested, but daunted by the task that lay ahead, “back in those days I was up for just about anything. Of course I said yes to the work offer, but realistically there was no way that I was capable of turning out a 32 page full-colour comic by myself in the time we had available”.

Above: A painted sequence by French artist Jean-Luc Bozzoli, from The Adventures of Captain Sunshine #1 (1979). Copyright Sunshine Watches Limited 2013.

To meet the deadline, Wilson assembled a team of his best Strips collaborators to help him complete the task. Laurence Clark (credited as Helen Cross) came on board to handle the lettering. Joe Wylie pitched in on the colouring, and a visiting French artist Jean-Luc Bozzoli, produced paintings for the story’s underwater diving sequence, in which Captain Sunshine communicates with whales – it’s not a coincidence that the inside back-cover features an advertisement for the whale protection group, ‘Project Jonah’.

Above: The Splash page for The Adventures of Captain Sunshine #1, which was also used as a promotional poster, artwork by Colin Wilson. Copyright Sunshine Watches Limited 2013.

In addition to producing the comic’s interior artwork, Wilson also have to come up with in-store promotional items: a full-colour poster, and stand up display figures of Captain Sunshine and his vehicle, the Sunchariot spacecraft. With the deadline looming, the splash-page of the comic book was selected for the 2 X 3ft poster – with additional time lavished on the artwork; and the cover image of Captain Sunshine was blown up to created the standees.

The sundial wristwatch and comic book went on sale in November, 1979. The comic was well received, selling a staggering 100,000 copies, along with 20,000 watches. Considered a success, a second issue was quickly put into production, with an aim to be out by late February of 1980.

Completing the artwork for the second issue, Wilson departed for England to seek full-time work in the British comics industry. Shortly after his arrival, news reached him that the project was cancelled. “the first issue worked really well, and it was my understanding that it was the lack of success for the solar watch that finally torpedoed the whole operation", recalls Wilson. "No watch, no comic required”.

The artwork for the unpublished second issue has been lost over time. According to legend, there may still be a warehouse somewhere in Auckland filled with boxes of Captain Sunshine memorabilia: sundial wrist watches, comics, and standees destined for Australia, currently gathering dust. Wilson never wore a watch, so failed to keep any from the promotion, “which is a pity, as I’m sure that, like the comic, any surviving examples are real collector’s items now”.

Both Reuben Sandler and Roy Middleton went on to be involved in many entrepreneurial business ventures, some failures and significant successes. Looking back on Captain Sunshine, Sandler reflects, “we didn’t know any better. All great entrepreneurial projects work on misguided optimism. Many work out, more fail”.

Above: A double page spread of a gathering of intergalactic Sunshine protectors, heavily influenced by the art of Jean Giraud. From The Adventures of Captain Sunshine #1 (1979), artwork by Colin Wilson. Copyright Sunshine Watches Limited 2013.

Colin Wilson went on to become an internationally acclaimed comic artist. Starting in the UK, he draw Judge Dredd for the popular British weekly 2000AD, before moving to Europe to work alongside Jean Giraud aka Moebius, one of the artists who directly inspired Wilson’s artwork in Captain Sunshine.

Above: Caption Sunshine ponders his future on the last page of The Adventures of Captain Sunshine #1 (1979), artwork by Colin Wilson. Copyright Sunshine Watches Limited 2013.

"The whole project was a blur of excitement" recalls Wilson. "Looking at that first issue now, all I see now are the glaringly obvious shortcomings of a immature comic artist, but we produced New Zealand's first ecological superhero comic, and I'm sure proud of that. And 35 years later, people still remember Captain Sunshine, so perhaps, maybe, we actually got a few things right."

From Earth's End will be the first occasion an extended excerpt from The Adventures of Captain Sunshine #1 has been reprinted since it's original publication in 1979. Perhaps it's time this long forgotten kiwi comics icon had his rightful time in the sun...

- AK!

News From Earth's End: February Edition

Above: Mr Unpronounceable Adventures by Tim Molloy. Copyright Tim Molloy 2013.

Tim Molloy will be releasing his next comic collection Mr Unpronounceable Adventures, at the 'Big Arse 3' comics launch taking place in Melbourne on March 2nd. Other NZ comics launching at the event include: Awakenings #2 by Jesca Marisa, and Adversaries by Matt Emery. You can find more about Big Arse 3 HERE. Tim also has an art tumblr that you can check out HERE.

Above: Former Gotham Comics employees Jeremy Bishop and Michel Mulipola rise from the ashes....

The end of January saw a major shake-up in the management of Auckland's much-loved comic store, Gotham Comics. This resulted in a mutual parting of ways between the store owners and long serving manager Jeremy Bishop and employee Michel Mulipola. While the future of Gotham Comics may be uncertain, Bishop and Mulipola aren't going dwell on the past and already making plans to set-up their own brand new Auckland store, Arkham City Comics! 

More details are still to come, but you can join the inmates at their Facebook group HERE (over 300 inmates strong in just over a week!). Here at Earth's End we wish them the best of luck with their new endeavour, and I'll be updating with any news of the opening when it happens.

Above: Thor: The Mighty Avenger by Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee. Copyright Marvel Comics 2013.

Despite a parting of ways last year on the issue of creator rights, Marvel Comics are releasing a paperback collection all of Roger Langridge's Thor: The Mighty Avenger stories in one volume. This should be available now from your local comic store, or book retailers/Amazon etc in early March.

Above: Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror #1, variant cover by Roger Langridge and J. Bone. Copyright IDW 2013.

Langridge is currently writing a four issue mini-series based on Dave Stevens' Rocketeer for IDW. With art by J. Bone, the first issue of Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror is in comic stores now.

Above: New guests added to the Chromacon artists line-up. Top row: Paul Tobin, Chris Slane, Henry Christian-Slane. Bottom row: Michel Mulipola, Richard Fairgray and Kayla Oliver.

The line-up for May's Auckland illustrator event, Chromacon 2013 continues to grow with some impressive new additions in the last few weeks. Paul Tobin, artist and editor of the White Cloud Worlds books will be in attendance, along with award-winning cartoonist Chris Slane, and Chris' son Henry Christian-Slane proves talent runs in the family, fronting his own impressive artwork.

Michel Mulipola will be on hand, as well as Blastosaurus creator Richard Fairgray, and Hawkes Bay illustrator Kayla Oliver. Chromacon is a FREE event which will be taking place at the Aotea Centre, Auckland on the 12th of May. For more updates visit the Chromacon website HERE.

Above: An illustration by Tony Renouf. Copyright Tony Renouf 2013.

One of the major figures in the Dunedin comics scene in the 1980s and 90s, Tony Renouf has a new online presence at his blog HERE. He's posting new work and mussing about his life and times working at a second-hand record store.

Above: Sci-fi stickers from Tip Top's Galactic Bar Ice-cream range, featuring artwork from Colin Wilson. Copyright Tip Top Ltd 2013.

From the depths of the internet comes this nugget of rare NZ comics memorabelia: a set of stickers featuring sci-fi artwork from the great Colin Wilson! Created in 1977, the set of 10 stickers and game poster could be collected with each purchase of the Galactic Bar Ice-cream. The Galactic Bar featured a similar promotion tied into the release of the first 'Star Wars' movie.

 

More images of the Galactic Bar posters and wrapper. Copyright Tip Top Ltd 2013.

Its likely that this set was created to continue the success of the promotion without the expensive royalties attached to a tie-in product. In any case, the stickers are very rare now and can only occasionally be sighted on TradeMe.

To address the lack of resent updates: I'm currently very busy working on a publishing project that is taking up a great deal of time, but will make readers of this blog VERY happy...so keep your eyes peeled for a big announcement in early May.

-AK!

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!