From Earth's End - a New Zealand Comics Blog: Public Awareness Comics

Showing posts with label Public Awareness Comics. Show all posts

Friday, March 18, 2016

EVENT: A Change Comic Launch

Above: The cover for A Change, artwork by Ant Sang.

Launching this Tuesday at Graphic Comics, A Change is a comics collaboration between a group of young people from BGI (Wellington Boys' and Girls' Institute), the Victoria University's Youth Wellbeing Study and cartoonist Ant Sang (The Dharma Punks).

A Change tells the story of Ash, a young person who struggles with self-injury. Ash navigates through the experience of being misunderstood, judged and stereotyped, and the barriers created around seeking help - all common themes for those who self-injure. This graphic novel has been written by youth for youth, and illustrated by Ant Sang to promote awareness and conversation around this topic. The comic will be free for everyone.

The launch is taking place on Tuesday 22nd of March, at Graphic Comics, 106 Cuba Mall, Wellington, at 3.30pm. Come along to pick up a free copy and get it signed by the creators! For more information on the event, visit the Facebook event page HERE. You can also read/download a PDF version of the comic online HERE.

If you or anyone you know needs support or information relating to self-harm, please visit the Mental Health Foundation website HERE for information and links to support groups and help lines.

- AK!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Medikidz Comics launch in NZ market STAT!

Above: a 'Medikidz' comic focusing on HIV. Copyright Medikidz 2010.

The medical education comic-book series 'Medikidz', created by former Hawke's Bay doctor Kim Chilman-Blair, was officially launched in New Zealand this week.

The 'Medikidz' are a team of five superheroes from outer space, who each specialize in different parts of the human body. They inhabit a living planet shaped like the human body called 'Mediland', and go on adventures designed to entertain and educated children about their bodies and the causes and effects of serious illnesses.

Dr.Chilman-Blair conceived of the series while training at Auckland's Starship Hospital. She realised there was a need for an education resource specifically aimed at children to help explain, in terms they can understand, the often complex world of medical issues, procedures and treatments. She partnered with a fellow medical graduate Dr Kate Hersov to form the publishing company 'Medikidz Limited' in 2006, and moved their business to London to trial it on a larger market. Since it's official launch last year, they have sold more than 600,000 comics to hospitals, clinics and families based in the UK, Europe, India, Australia, and the United States.

The comics are co-produced by the doctors with John Taddeo a long-time comics enthusiast, once employed as a Marketing Manager for Marvel Comics. All the material produced is peer reviewed by doctors and specialists in the medical field to keep it accurate and accessible. So far topics covered by the comics include: Leukaemia, Breast Cancer, Swine Flu, ADHD, Childhood Overweight, Epilepsy, Type 1 Diabetes, HIV, Asthma, Osteosarcoma, Autism, Food Allergy, and Scoliosis.

To celebrate the New Zealand launch, local businessman Owen Glenn purchased 500 issues, which have been donated to the Starship Hospital.

Published in New Zealand by HarperCollins, the series of graphic novels should be available from all good booksellers this month and retail for $16.99. If you would like more information regarding upcoming titles or resources, you can visit the 'Medikidz' official website HERE.

-AK!

Above: The Medikidz take on HIV. Copyright Medikidz 2010.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

'Who's Driving?' by Dylan Horrocks

Above: From left: Papakura District Council’s road safety co-ordinator Donna Dick, Dylan Horrocks, road policing inspector Heather Wells and Ardmore Marist sports club president Rob Burton. Photo by Imogen Neale from the Papakura Courier.

Announced today, 'Who's Driving?' is a free four page comic by Dylan Horrocks that will be offered to patrons of sports club bars in South Auckland in an effort to cut down on drunk driving accidents. Commissioned by the Papakura District Council, the comic illustrates a young couple trying to get home after a night out. Having had too much to drink, they consider their transport options: drive drunk or find another way home?

"You see countless ads on TV but you do think: `how the hell else am I going to get home?", explained Horrocks to the Papakura Courier. The comic ends with a panel featuring the phone numbers of local taxi companies. It's hoped that the familiar comics format will inform and educate bar patrons on the alternatives to driving intoxicated in a more relaxed, informal manner than previous road safety campaigns. As Horrocks told The NZ Herald, "An advantage with the comic medium is that people are more relaxed when they start reading one and you can reach all kinds of people and tell a story of characters making the right choice."

Council road safety co-ordinator Donna Dick was inspired to use the comics format for this campaign after thinking about how effective cartoons are at communicating information: "We all read comics at some stage of our lives, and having a well-known graphic comic author like Dylan on board means the booklet will be picked up by people outside that target group as well".

About 3000 copies of the comic have been printed and will go to sports clubs in the Papakura and Franklin districts of Auckland, which have been identified as high-risk areas for alcohol-related crashes, as alcohol plays a part in 22 per cent of fatal or serious-injury crashes in those areas. Depending on the feedback, the characters featured in the comic may be used in other road safety campaigns.

-AK!