Chromacon indie arts festival 2019!

The biennial Chromacon indie arts festival returns to Auckland in 2019, offering the public 2 FREE days of arty market goodness, with some of NZ's finest art creators selling and showcasing: Illustration, Comics, Concept Design, Animation, Board Games, Sculpture, Designer Toys, Mural & Street Art, Video Games and more!

Taking place at the Aotea Centre from June 1st - 2nd (Queen's Birthday Weekend),this year the event boasts 188 exhibitors, including special guests: Concept Art/Designer Andrew Domachowski [Canada]; illustrator/animation guests Cloud Yang 人狼 and Clover Xie 无言  [Wolf Smoke Studio | China]; Eisner Award-winning cartoonist Katie O'Neill [New Zealand]; and Illustration/Mural/Street Artist Nate Frizzell [US]. You can find a full line-up of exhibitors HERE.

Hosted alongside Chromacon, the Chroma Art Awards recognises creative excellence from Aotearoa’s leading and emerging independent creators.This year they will celebrate the best independent work across 5 disciplines, with Open and Student categories for each award: Illustration, Concept Design, Comic Art, Animation, & Video Games. Winners will be announced at the Chroma Art Awards Evening, 1st June 2019. The Awards are open to all New Zealanders of all ages (no, you don't have to be a Chromacon exhibitor). Entries close this Friday, 24th May (11:59PM NZST), so get submitting now as there are some great prizes up for grabs! Check out the full details HERE.

It's going to be a great weekend of creativity, so save the date on your calendar and visit the Chromacon website for more details HERE.

- AK!

NZ Cartoonists Katie O'Neill and Rachel Smythe nominated for Eisner Awards!

The nominations for the 2019 Eisner Awards (the US Oscars of comic books) have been announced, and this year there are two NZ cartoonists who have scored nominations for their work!

Katie O'Neill, who readers might remember took home 2 Eisner Awards last year for 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. This year she is nominated once again in Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12) for her latest book, Aquicorn Cove from Oni Press.

Joining her this year with a nomination for Best Webcomic is Rachel Smythe, the writer/artist of the webcomic, Lore Olympus. An exquisitely illustrated romance, here's the synopsis: Witness what the gods do…after dark. The friendships and the lies, the gossip and the wild parties, and of course, forbidden love. Because it turns out, the gods aren’t so different from us after all, especially when it comes to their problems. Stylish and immersive, this is one of mythology’s greatest stories - The Taking of Persephone - as it’s never been told before. 

You can read Lore Olympus weekly HERE.

Above: Aquicorn Cove by Katie O'Neill. Copyright Katie O'Neill 2019.

Here's the Press Release, and the nominated categories:

Comic-Con International is proud to announce the nominations for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2019. The nominees are for works published between January 1 and December 31, 2018 and were chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges. Once again, this year’s nominees in 31 categories reflect the wide range of material being published in the U.S. today in comics and graphic novel form, representing over 170 print and online titles from more than 50 publishers and produced by creators from all over the world.

Named for acclaimed comics creator Will Eisner, the awards are celebrating their 31st year of bringing attention to and highlighting the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels. The 2019 Eisner Awards judging panel consists of comics journalist Chris Arrant (Newsarama), academic/author Jared Gardner (Ohio State University), librarian Traci Glass (Multnomah County Library system in Portland, Oregon), retailer Jenn Haines (The Dragon, Guelph and Milton, Ontario, Canada), reviewer Steven Howearth (Pop Culture Maven), and comics creator Jimmie Robinson (CyberZone, Amanda & Gunn, Bomb Girl).

The results of the voting will be announced in a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 19 at a gala awards ceremony at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel. Jackie Estrada is the Eisner Awards Administrator. The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are presented by the San Diego Comic Convention (Comic-Con International), a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation organized for charitable purposes and dedicated to creating the general public’s awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular artforms, including participation in and support of public presentations, conventions, exhibits, museums, and other public outreach activities which celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture.

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9–12)
Aquicorn Cove, by Katie O'Neill (Oni)
Be Prepared, by Vera Brosgol (First Second)
The Cardboard Kingdom, by Chad Sell (Knopf/Random House Children’s Books)
Crush, by Svetlana Chmakova (JY/Yen Press)
The Divided Earth, by Faith Erin Hicks (First Second)  

Best Webcomic
The Contradictions, by Sophie Yanow, www.thecontradictions.com
Lavender Jack, by Dan Schkade (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/thriller/lavender-jack/list?title_no=1410&page=1
Let's Play, by Mongie (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/letsplay/list?title_no=1218&page=1
Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe, (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/list?title_no=1320&page=1
Tiger, Tiger, by Petra Erika Nordlund, (Hiveworks) http://www.tigertigercomic.com/  

Congratulations to Katie O'Neill and Rachel Smythe and we wish them the best of luck!

- AK!

ComicFest 2019 is almost here!

The annual ComicFest event held in Wellington each year is back for 2019 and has taken a huge step forward! 

It will be taking place this week from May 2nd – 4th, at the National Library, 70 Molesworth Street. With the recent closure of the Central library, the National Library have come to the rescue with a generous, well-timed offer to co-sponsor and house ComicFest in the Te Ahumairangi Foyer, Taiwhanga Kauhau Auditorium, and programme rooms on the corner of Molesworth and Aitken Streets. 

Once again, ComicFest will be giving away 1,000’s of free comics on Free Comic Book Day, with the brilliant support of Graphic comic store, who will be providing local sales of cartoonists on the day for the first time. ComicFest is sponsored by the National Library, Graphic comics, Creative New Zealand, the New Zealand Book Council, the New Zealand Cartoon Archive, Weta Workshop, CoNZealand, Penguin Books, Unity Books and Wellington Zinefest.

This year the show has a stellar range of events and special guests, including NZ's own Eisner Award winning cartoonists: Katie O'Neill, Roger Langridge (direct from the UK) and Dylan Horrocks! Other guests include: Ant Sang, Sarah Laing, Jesse Barrett, Giselle Clarkson, Michel Mulipola, Jem Yoshioka, Paul Diamond, Alex Cara, Ross Murray, and Sharon Murdoch.

There are so many great events, from panel discussions and talks, master classes, cosplay, Free Comicbook Day and more!

Here's the full list of events:

Thursday 2 May:

6:00pm – 8:00pm | Mystery ComicFest Film

Can you guess this classic Science Fiction film? Help us celebrate the start of ComicFest with one of the most beloved science fiction films of the 1980’s, based on a pulp classic novel and comic strip, and boasting a killer soundtrack! Please fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to book a seat at this limited entry, free event. (Programme rooms)

Friday 3 May:

5:30pm – 6:30pm | ComicFest Star Wars Quiz Night

Is the force with you? Are you are Star Wars mega brain, or are you a Padawan rather than a Jedi Master? Put your knowledge of the Star Wars universe to the test, in our very special Star War’s quiz. Join in groups of up to 5, and fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to reserve a place at this limited entry, free event. Fabulous prizes provided by CoNZealand! (Tiakiwai Seminar Rooms)

Sponsored by CoNZealand, 78th World Science Fiction Convention.

6:45pm – 8:45pm | Roger Langridge – A Career in Comics (Presentation and Workshop)

Eisner winning, London-based cartoonist, Roger Langridge has worked for major and independent comics publishers across the world and is visiting Wellington as part of ComicFest 2019! Roger will provide a presentation on his career in cartooning, with examples of his highly regarded comics. Join in later, as Roger provides the chance for all to create a unique and creative comic strip of their own, based on formal constraints provided at random!

Please fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to reserve a place for the Presentation for this limited entry, free event.

If you would like to go to the Workshop, fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to reserve a place at this limited entry, free event.

(Auditorium / Tiakiwai Seminar Rooms)

Sponsored by Creative New Zealand

Saturday 4 May:

All Day | Free Comic Book Day | CoNZealand Area | Drawing competition|

(Te Ahumairangi Foyer)

9:00am onwards | Free Comic Book Day

Grab some free comics from us and chat comics with our librarians at the National Library! Comics from all different publishers and for all age ranges are included in the selections, so there will be something for everyone. Thanks to Graphic for providing free comics, and book sales of local cartoonists on the day!

Sponsored by Graphic comics

CoNZealand, 78th World Science Fiction Convention Area

Come and talk to the crew of CoNZealand, the 78th World Science Fiction Convention, and find out how you can join in the fun between 29 July and 2 August 2020, when SF and Fantasy authors from all over the world, including Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon and George R.R. Martin, will land right here in Wellington.

Drawing Competition: Can You Comicify That?

Come to the library and draw a ‘comicified’ version of your favourite character from a book, movie or TV show! Submit it to our drawing competition and be in to win a bunch of awesome prizes, or bring it to the Zine Crafting Table and learn how to turn it into your very own homemade comic! Entry forms available from the National Library during ComicFest. All ages and drawing levels welcome.

9:00am – 10:00am | Tea Dragon Workshop with Katie O’Neill (Workshop)

Kids (and big kids!) are welcome to join author of The Tea Dragon series Katie O’Neill in creating some new species of Tea Dragons based on suggestions from the audience. Feathers or scales? Wings or horns? And most importantly, what type of tea will they be? There will also be a demonstration by Katie of how she creates the colourful pages of her graphic novels. Please fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to reserve a place at this limited entry, free event. (Programme Rooms)

Sponsored by The New Zealand Book Council

10:00am – 10:30am | Kids Cosplay!

It’s May the fourth, so here’s your chance to dress up as your favourite Jedi, Robot or Sith Lord! Or come along as your favourite comic’s character to get lots of spot prizes, free comics from Unity books or a Weta Cave Workshop tour pass! Limited to children up to the age of 12, free entry. No weapons, or military cosplay please. (Te Ahumairangi Foyer)

Sponsored by Unity Books

10:30am – 11:30am | Comics Masterclass with Ant Sang (Workshop)

Join cartoonist creator, Ant Sang, of award-winning comic Shaolin Burning, and recently released graphic novel Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas, for a workshop covering some of the fundamentals of comic storytelling. Should I use a close-up or wide shot? Big or small panel? How do I make a story that readers can’t put down?! All these questions will be answered, and more… Please fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to reserve a place at this limited entry, free event. (Programme Rooms)

Sponsored by Penguin Books

11:30am -12:30pm | The Future of Storytelling : A Look Inside the Art of Dr Grordbort’s Invaders (Presentation)

Did you know that Weta Workshop develops mixed reality games? Using the comic books of Dr. Grordbort’s, their gaming studio released Dr. Grordbort’s Invaders, available exclusively on Magic Leap. Weta Workshop’s Senior Artist, Jesse Barrett, delves into the challenges of expressing the world of Dr. Grordbort’s in a whole new medium and the solutions they uncovered while working within mixed reality. Learn which key elements Weta Workshop’s artists look for when translating from one medium to another and how to retain the vibe of an original source material. Attend this presentation and be in with a chance of winning a Weta Cave Workshop Tour pass. Please fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to reserve a place at this limited entry, free event. (Taiwhanga Kauhau Auditorium)

Sponsored by Weta Workshop

12:40pm -1:40pm | The Ascent of Children’s Comics (Panel Discussion)

There are more amazing comics made for children’s and young adult audiences than ever, aimed at diverse audiences across every age group. Join Eisner award winning cartoonists, Roger Langridge and Katie O’Neill, New Zealand Post Book Award Winning author, Ant Sang, Giselle Clarkson from, ‘The Sapling,’ and cartoonist-chair Sarah Laing, as they discuss the growing phenomena of children’s and young adult comics internationally, and in New Zealand. Please fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to reserve a place at this limited entry, free event. (Taiwhanga Kauhau Auditorium)

12:40pm -1:40pm| Comic Zine Crafting Table (Workshop)

Want to learn how to make and publish your own homemade comics? Check out some of the comic zines from the Wellington City Library zine collection made by local comic artists, and learn how to make your own with the volunteers of Wellington Zinefest at our crafting table. All ages welcome. Please fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to reserve a place at this limited entry, free event.

1:50pm – 2:35pm | Digital Comics Demo with Michel Mulipola (Presentation)

Join comic book artist and illustrator Michel Mulipola, as he demonstrates digital tools whilst drawing live (and live streaming) on the big screen! Bring pen and paper, and join in with Michel as he provides story-telling tips, panel composition ideas and illustration guidance. All welcome! Please fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to reserve a place at this limited entry, free event.  (Taiwhanga Kauhau Auditorium)

Sponsored by Wellington City Libraries

2:45PM – 3:45PM | Stories from Aotearoa / New Zealand (Panel Discussion)

What is a New Zealand comic (and who’s reading them)? How do we foster and celebrate diversity in comics? What stories aren’t being told? And what can we learn from New Zealand’s cartooning history? Join Jem Yoshioka, Paul Diamond, Alex Cara and Ross Murray to hear their perspectives on New Zealand cartooning in 2019. Discussion chaired by Hannah Benbow, cartoon and comics librarian at the National Library, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. Please fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to reserve a place at this limited entry, free event. (Taiwhanga Kauhau Auditorium)

Sponsored by the New Zealand Cartoon Archive

3:55pm -4:55pm | Perspectives on the Cartooning Life (Panel Discussion)

The physical and digital world of comics creation and publishing has changed massively in recent years. What are the ways a cartoonist can succeed, and sustain a modern career in comics and cartoons? Join award-winning cartoonists, Sharon Murdoch, Michel Mulipola, Roger Langridge, and chair Dylan Horrocks as they discuss their brilliant careers, comics today and their views on the future of cartooning. Please fill in the form at the Wellington Libraries website to reserve a place at this limited entry, free event. (Taiwhanga Kauhau Auditorium)

Sponsored by Creative New Zealand

For more information on ComicFest, and to RSVP for the special events, visit the event page HERE.

- AK!

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.  

Upcoming Release: The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill

Above: The cover of The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill.

Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with the amazing work of Christchurch based cartoonist Katie O'Neill from her award-winning graphic novel, Princess Princess: Ever After, and her contibutions to Faction and High Water comics anthologies. Having recently concluded her webcomic series, The Tea Dragon Society (which you can read in full HERE), it will be published this month as a large format hardcover from Oni Press!

Above: Artwork from The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill.

Here's the synopsis:

From the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever After comes The Tea Dragon Society, a charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons. After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives--and eventually her own.

Above: Artwork from The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill.

The Tea Dragon Society is an all-ages graphic novel and will be available from comic shops on October 18th, and October 31st from booksellers and online retailers (Amazon, Book Depository, Mighty Ape etc). It retails for $17.99 US, so it should be around $25-30 NZ, which is still a great price for an oversized hardcover. So head over to your local comic shop or bookstore and pre-order a copy today!

Ordering Information:

The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill
Format: Hardback, 72 pages

Dimensions 218 x 300 x 13mm
Publisher: Oni Press
ISBN: 9781620104415

Oh, and if you can't get enough of The Tea Dragon Society, there's also an official card game in the works from Oni Games for release in 2018! For more information on Katie O'Neill and her projects, visit her Tumblr page HERE.

- AK!

Upcoming Releases: Princess Princess: Ever After, Mr Unpronounceable, Mansfield and Me

Above: The cover of Princess Princess: Ever After by Katie O'Neill.

There's some great graphic novels coming out in the near future from some of our best NZ comic creators, making a name for themselves, both locally and on the international publishing stage.

Christchurch based cartoonist/illustrator Katie O'Neill has built an international audience for her work online via social media and blogging at her website, Strangely Katie. Her comics have featured in the Faction and High Water comics anthologies, and she’s also illustrated the series Crystal Cadets for American publisher LionForge Comics.

Above: Two pages from Princess Princess: Ever After by Katie O'Neill.

Her most popular self-published graphic novel, Princess Princess, first appeared online as a webcomic in 2014, and features two very different princesses - Amira and Sadie, who meet and decide to take their happily ever after into their own hands. A thoughtful story of love and friendship for all-ages, this graphic novel will now be published in September by American publisher Oni Press in a beautiful Hardcover edition as Princess Princess: Ever After!

Here's the official synopsis:

When the heroic princess Amira rescues the kind-hearted princess Sadie from her tower prison, neither expects to find a true friend in the bargain. Yet as they adventure across the kingdom, they discover that they bring out the very best in the other person. They'll need to join forces and use all the know-how, kindness, and bravery they have in order to defeat their greatest foe yet: a jealous sorceress, who wants to get rid of Sadie once and for all.

Join Sadie and Amira, two very different princesses with very different strengths, on their journey to figure out what "happily ever after" really means--and how they can find it with each other.

Princess Princess: Ever After will be available September 7th, 2016 in all good comic shops and bookstores, and online through Amazon, Google Play, Comixology, Nook, and iTunes.

Princess Princess: Ever After HC by Katie O'Neill

56 Pages, colour

Publisher: Oni Press

ISBN: 9781620103401
RRP: $12.99 US

Above: The cover of Mr Unpronounceable and the Infinity of Nightmares by Tim Molloy.

Tim Molloy returns to the surreal world of Mr Unpronounceable with his third graphic novel in the series, Mr Unpronounceable and the Infinity of Nightmares.

Here's the official synopsis:

As reality itself dissolves in the tears of the Sect Of the Bleeding Eye, Mr Unpronounceable sets off on a multiverse-spanning quest to retrieve the Sacred Godstone from its shrine on a distant planetoid. Meanwhile, The Synthetic Sorcerer has designs of his own, shadowing our hapless hero’s delirious journey across an increasingly warped spacetime continuum. Join Mr Unpronounceable, wandering Necromancer, in this third volume of his insane adventures from cult author, Tim Molloy.

If you would like a taste of what to expect, you can read some short segments over at Tim Molloy's art Tumblr HERE.

Above: A page from Mr Unpronounceable and the Infinity of Nightmares by Tim Molloy.

Mr Unpronounceable and the Infinity of Nightmares will be released June 25th 2016 by Milk Shadow Books (distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment).

Mr Unpronounceable and the Infinity of Nightmares
190 pages
Black & White, paperback
RRP: 23.86 AUS (available for pre-order HERE).

Above: Mansfield and Me by Sarah Laing.

2016's a busy time for Sarah Laing: earlier this year she co-edited the well received NZ woman's comics anthology 3 Words, and in October Victoria University Press will publish her first complete graphic novel, Mansfield and Me. Coming in at 336 pages this will no doubt be the biggest local comics release of the year. I've had the privilege of seeing some of the original artwork for this in progress, and if you're a fan of Katherine Mansfield or Sarah's previous novels or comics - you're in for a treat!

Here's the official synopsis:

Katherine Mansfield is a literary giant in New Zealand - but she had to leave the country to become one. She wrote, 'Oh to be a writer, a real writer'. And a real writer she was, until she died at age 34 of tuberculosis. The only writer Virginia Woolf was jealous of, Mansfield hung out with the modernists, lost her brother in World War I, dabbled in Alistair Crowley's druggy occult gatherings and spent her last days in a Fontainebleu commune with Olgivanna, Frank Lloyd Wright's future wife. She was as famous for her letters and diaries as for her short stories. Sarah Laing wanted to be a real writer, too. A writer as famous as Katherine Mansfield, but not as tortured. 

Mansfield and Me charts her journey towards publication and parenthood against Mansfield's dramatic story, set in London, Paris, New York and New Zealand. Part memoir, part biography, part fantasy, it examines how our lives connect to those of our personal heroes.

Mansfield and Me will be released by Victoria University Press in October 2016, and available in all good bookstore. For more details visit the VUP website HERE.

Mansfield and Me by Sarah Laing

ISBN: 9781776560691

336 Pages

Paperback, colour

160x245mm

RRP: $25 NZ

So mark these dates on your calendar, and prepare to increase the shelf space for your New Zealand Comics collection!

- AK!