New and Upcoming NZ Comics: Spring Edition 2014!

Above: Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen by Dylan Horrocks. Copyright Dylan Horrocks 2014.

Its been a while since I had a chance to update this blog, so here's a round up of all the latest NZ comics and graphic novels coming out in the next few months!

First up is the print edition of Dylan Horrocks' Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen. Beginning life as a back-up story in Atlas #2 (2005), it was revived in 2009 as Horrocks' first ongoing webcomic. Here's the official synopsis:

Cartoonist Sam Zabel hasn’t drawn a comic in years. Stuck in a nightmare of creative block and despair, Sam spends his days writing superhero stories for a large American comics publisher and staring at a blank piece of paper, unable to draw a single line. Then one day he finds a mysterious old comic book set on Mars and is suddenly thrown headlong into a wild, fantastic journey through centuries of comics, stories, and imaginary worlds. Accompanied by a young webcomic creator named Alice and an enigmatic schoolgirl with rocket boots and a bag full of comics, Sam goes in search of the Magic Pen, encountering sex-crazed aliens, medieval monks, pirates, pixies and—of course—cartoonists. Funny, erotic, and thoughtful, Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen explores the pleasures, dangers, and moral consequences of fantasy.

As his first major work since Hicksville, Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen will be released in late November as a 208 page, full-colour paperback from Victoria University Press for $35.00 NZ.

It will also be released in seven international editions, translated into six languages: in North America from Fantagraphics, Knockabout in the UK, Casterman in French, Bao Publishing in Italian, Egmont in German, Astiberri in Spanish, and in Danish from Fahrenheit.

Above: Abigail and the Snowman by Roger Langridge. Copyright Roger Langridge 2014.

Another kiwi cartoonist with an international following is Roger Langridge, who has two new projects on the horizon.

Abigail and the Snowman is Langridge's latest project for US publisher Boom Studio's all-ages imprint Kaboom! Launching in December this four issue mini-series focuses on Abigail, a young girl moving to a new town in need of a friend - which she finds in the form of a yeti named Claude. Unfortunately, Claude (known as 'Specimen 486' to the authorities), happens to be an escapee from a nearby government facility that wants him back. To keep her new friend safe, Abigail and Claude go on a journey to find his home.

Above: Jim Henson's The Musical Monsters Of Turkey Hollow, adapted by Roger Langridge. Copyright the Jim Henson Company 2014.

And coming out next week, Langridge makes a welcome return to the world of Jim Henson, with Jim Henson's The Musical Monsters Of Turkey Hollow graphic novel from Archaia. The story is adapted by Langridge based on an unproduced teleplay by Jim Henson & Jerry Juhl, which is sure to be a treat for any fan of Henson's work and Langridge's fantastic comic adaptation of The Muppet Show.

Above: Capture Creatures by Frank Gibson & Becky Dreistadt. Copyright Frank Gibson & Becky Dreistadt 2014.

Frank Gibson & Becky Dreistadt of Tiny Kitten Teeth also have a new comic series coming out from Kaboom! in the form of Capture Creatures! It began life as an art blog project, with Dreistadt sketching new creatures which Gibson would provide a back-story for. After a very successful Kickstarter Art book, the concept will be graduating to an ongoing series in November. The series will follow two teens who set out to investigate the mysterious arrival of over a hundred new creatures on earth, and to stop those who would have them destroyed. For more updates visit the Capture Creatures website HERE.

Above: Ricky & Lyle by Ralphi. Copyright Ralphi 2014.

Above: Patient Lab by Tim Danko. Copyright Tim Danko 2014.

Our friends over at Radio As Paper (now based in Nantes, France), have recently released some lovely mini-comics by kiwi creators: Ricky & Lyle by Ralphi, and Patient Lab by Tim Danko (French edition). You can order them from the Radio As Paper website HERE and HERE.

Above: Holocaust Rex and the Plague Lords of Koch: Book 2, by Karl Wills & Timothy Kidd. Copyright Karl Wills & Timothy Kidd 2014.

The next installment of the excellent mini-comic series Holocaust Rex from The Comicbook Factory will be available from October 1st, and will be able HERE and from selected retailers.

Above: Ant Sang with an advance proof copy of The Dharma Punks graphic novel! Photographed by Damon Keen.

There was excitement at the Earth's End office this week as the first proof copies of The Dharma Punks collected edition arrived! It came out great, and we are looking forward to punters getting there hands on it when it releases nationwide on October 31st. If you live in Auckland, stay tuned for an announcement regarding the release party in late October!

- AK!

GO READ: Angouleme by Jerome Bihan

Above: Page 1 of Angouleme by Jerome Bihan. Copyright Jerome Bihan 2012.

Jerome Bihan, cartoonist and editor of the great anthology series Radio As Paper, has started a new comics diary of his recent trip to the Angouleme Comics Festival. He'll be updating it weekly at his blog A Strict Diet Of Self, found HERE.

Above: So Art Spiegelman walks into a bar...Page 6 of Angouleme by Jerome Bihan. Copyright Jerome Bihan 2012.

It's well paced and richly inked, with some surprise celebrity comics cameos to boot! I'll be monitoring the progress of this lush comics travelogue and you should too.

-AK!

EVENT: Auckland Zinefest 2010

Zinefest makes a mighty returns to Auckland this year, moving venues to St Kevins Arcade on K Road, taking place this Saturday, August 14th from11am-4pm in both the Alleluya Cafe space and Wine Cellar. There will be zines and comics galore for you to purchase and enjoy, plus guest speakers and interactive workshops throughout the day (see the Zinefest website HERE for a timetable).

Above: The cover of 'Pig #1: Bucklame' by Jerome Bihan. Copyright Jerome Bihan 2010.

The NZ comics community will be well represented, with stalls featuring local comics creators: The Sheehan Bros ('The Inhabitants'), Marc Streeter (webcomic 'ActionMan Adam'), Jerome Bihan (with 'Radio As Paper #5 and 'Pig' #1), and the NZ Comics Creators Stall (with sells NZ comics on behalf of creators across the country). The Cross Street Zine Library will also be on display in it's own reading area.

There will also be a 'Zine of the Fest' competition running on the day, so bring along your own zine and submit it for judging. Winner will be announced at the after-party, and a glass trophy made by ex-Cross Street artist Tes Clark will be presented by sound-artist Nich Rogan.

Speaking of the after-party, it's free of charge and takes place at the Wine Cellar and Whammy Bar from 7pm, featuring local poetry troupe The Literatti, an OHPJ performance by Aaron Cole, and local musicians Ghost Wave, Mothers Of Darkness, Wilberforces, Canadia, and Hold Dear!

So brave the wind and rain this weekend for some locally produced DIY goodness!

For more information check out the Zinefest website HERE.

-AK!

LAUNCH: Radio As Paper #4

Above: The cover of 'Radio As Paper #4, by Chris Fitz.

Tonight will see the launch of Radio as Paper #4, the latest issue in the comics anthology edited by Jerome Bihan.
The Auckland launch will take place from 6pm at the Dry Dairy, 43c Dryden street, Grey lynn. There will be musical entertainment and drinks, with the new issue and other zines for sale.

This issue will showcase comics by: Draw, Ned Wenlock, Chris Cudby, Vincent Shields, Sophie Oiseau, Stefan Neville, Clayton Noone, Matt Scheurich, Jerome Bihan, Terreur Graphique and Sam Thomas. Articles by Robyn E Kenealy, Matt Emery, Susan Strongman and Joseph Jowitt. With a cover by Chris Fitz and layout and design by Rachael Clark.

If you're not in the Auckland area don't fear, there will be copies for sale in Wellington at the NZ Comics Weekend this Easter, and in Christchurch on the 9th and 10th of April from Franz Tormers.

Unfortunately this will be the last print issue of 'Radio As Paper' for the time being, as it's publisher Fleet FM is shutting down due to financial problems. However, 'Radio As Paper' will live on in digital format. As it's latest issue is released under a Creative Commons License, once it's initial launch run is over it will be made available for free as a digital download from it's blog and the Fleet FM website.

So pick up this last issue while it's still in print, and keep an eye on the Radio As Paper blog for an future digital developments!

-AK!

Fleet FM Radio As Paper #3 Launch & Exhibition at The High Seas

Above: Tintin VS Akira by Jerome Bihan. Copyright Jerome Bihan 2009.

The ongoing comics anthology edited by Jerome Bihan launched it's third issue in style on Friday night with an exhibition at Auckland's newest comics mecca The High Seas.

The quality of this series is growing by leaps and bounds, with some top-notch pieces from it's staple of regular contributors including: Mat Tait, Tim Danko, Frank & Becky, Sophie McMillian and others. The presentation of this issue is also an improvement, with nice clean reproduction that really showcases the artwork to optimal effect without showing any production seams the occasionally distracted in the previous issues.

The pieces in this issues are nicely diverse, a view into the ongoing interests and projects of each artist.

Frank & Becky's owl infatuation continues with a historical twist, while Melbourne artist Mandy Ord contributes a nice auto-bio strip chronicling a night out after a long week working.

Above: A page from 'Operations and Passages' by Chris Cudby. Copyright Chis Cudby 2009.

A except from Chis Cudby's 'Operations and Passages' shows a lot of promise, and Jerome's Tintin VS Akira is a fun discussion of the differences between these two great works and the joys of comics discovery in general (let's hope Jerome puts more solo work out there!).

Above: Robert Walser's Choice Walk by Tim Danko. Copyright Tim Danko 2009.

Tim Danko and Mat Tait both contribute very polished pieces that are clearly part of a larger body of work.

Tim Danko has been producing some very intriguing comics mash-ups of late, combining comics with found literature to interesting effect. This piece combines extracts from Robert Walser's prose with a comic featuring a pair of ghostly ciphers with a Dada-like effect. It's off-set by a narration strip that runs along the bottom of the pages before merging with the main comic in the final panel. It's layout is well realised and invites repeat reading and multiple interpretations. For more of Danko's unique work check out his website which also features animated comics utilising a similar approach.

Above: 25/07/09 by Mat Tait. Copyright Mat Tait 2009.

Mat Tait's piece is a moody rumination on the nature of memory and regret. As always his work is clinically clean, a crisp world of inky shadows and bright whites with style to burn (and a scary, full-stop of a dog!). It's an evocative, well developed style which leaves you hoping a longer work will be forth-coming from Mat sometime soon.

Matt Hunkin's comic as interview piece 'Evil Genius', about a Wellington cartoonist Ahzan (who produces comics that can be seen at his family's Curry Takeaway) is a great watercolour comic that really isn't done justice in black and white. It has a similar feeling to some of the watercolour comics Eddie Campbell has been doing recently, and you should really check out the colour reproduction at the exhibition to really appreciate it.

Above: Karl Wills with the original artwork from 'Anal Atrocities'.

This issue also features an interview with Karl Wills by Matt Emery, focusing on Wills' mid-nineties comic-strip 'Anal Atrocities'. Wills has been keeping a fairly low profile of late, so for many of fans it's a welcome update on what Karl is working on now, and when you can expect to see more of his work in print (apparently you can expect a complete box-set of 'Jessica of the Schoolyard' from Meltdown Comics next year, along with some new comics featuring 'Connie Radar').

Above: Prints of the artwork from Radio as Paper #3 on display at The Hight Seas.

Prints of the artwork from this issue will be on display at The High Seas till the 8th of October. This is easily the best comics culture gallery space to be based in Auckland for some time and deserves your support. There are more great exhibitions on the way, so if you're interested in New Zealand comics this is a vital hub of Auckland's comics activity. Stop by to see the artwork and be sure to pick up an issue of Radio as Paper #3 for only $3!

For more information on Radio as Paper check out it's blogspot, and for updates on The High Seas take a peak at their website.

-AK!

Below: Some photos from the Radio as Paper #3 launch.

Fleet FM Radio As Paper Issue #3 Launch

This Friday (25th of September) sees the launch of the third issue of 'Fleet FM Radio As Paper' with an exhibition at The High Seas in Auckland from 6pm.

The exhibition features work by an all-star lineup of artists included in the new issue and previous contributors to the series: Mat Tait, Chris Cudby, Vincent Shields, Frank and Becky, Tim Danko, Mandy Ord, Cornelius Stone, Nik Smythe, Sophie McMillan, Karl Wills, Tim Molloy, Toby Morris, MF Joyce, Timothy Kidd, Elliot Stewart and Radio As Paper editor Jerome Bihan himself!

Refreshments will be provided by Co-Pilot Wines.

So come Friday night, be sure you're at The High Seas to indulge in some great art, wine and comics (always a winning combination in my books;). I'll have a full report of the exhibition and issue #3 this weekend, but in the meantime you can catch-up by reading my previous review of issue #2.

For more information and updates check out the Radio As Paper blog and The High Seas website.

-AK!

The Wellington Report: Fleet FM Radio as Paper #2 Launch

Above: Art from 'The Devil's Handshake' by Robyn E. Kenealy, as featured in Fleet FM Radio as Pictures #2.

Hey everyone,

Here's a report on the Wellington Fleet FM Radio as Paper #2 Launch held last Friday, from my Welly correspondent in the field, the lovely and talented Robyn E. Kenealy (who is also a contributer to issue #2 so you have no excuse not to pick it up!).

So enjoy with a pinch of politics and a dash of Battlestar Galactica!

-AK!

Dear 'From Earth's End' and associates,

There’s this debate going round about New Zealand comics and neo-liberalism. Actually, the reason there is a debate is because I keep starting it. Neo-liberalism pisses me off, in case you were wondering. Seriously. If you were planning to invite me to a party with the caveat that I don’t upset your neo-liberal Grandmother, take my advice and don’t.

Anyway, I bring this up because that is mostly what we were all talking about at the Wellington Fleet FM: ‘Radio as Paper’ launch at the DAF 106 Gallery on Friday (for those of you not in the know, DAF stands for Don and Francie, the two wonderful people who run the gallery. They charge to put a show on, but not terribly much, and really, the whole gallery runs on their kindness and dedication. It is at 106 Aro Street,and you can friend them on myspace here).

So it was a small event, mostly due to the weather (which was awful) but reasonably well attended. There were a few people I didn’t even recognise. Everybody drank. Everybody was nice. Nobody got sick. Tim Bollinger even made an appearance. Personally, after a little obligatory circulating, I spent most of my night sitting around with editor Jerome Bihan, DRAW, Brent Willis, Don and M. Emery drinking wine and talking about – as I’ve said – neo-liberalism. For a while we wandered off into ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and then, I think, we talked about Segues, which are those bizarre faux scooters that you see around from time to time. But after that, I'm almost sure, it was back to the politics, and it was heated. Actually, I blame DRAW for making that conversation happen. All I did was engage the usual public argument that my husband and I have about BSG.* Oh yes, and M. Emery and I had a long bitch about the Destiny Church.

But the reason I’m bringing politics up is that Bihan, when faced with all this excitement about business imperatives and comics, has a plan.* Or, kind of a plan, in that his goals and aspirations are not at all scary or confrontational; they are simply personal and ethical, with something of a community focus, and Bihan, I found out, is a smart and remarkably unpretentious fellow, even though he called himself pretentious several times. On none of those occasions was he actually so, and I was pleased about this because recall putting myself forward for ‘Radio as Paper’ sight unseen without having met him, and it was a genuine pleasure to find out he wasn’t a creep, a jerk or a Republican (in the American sense.) At any rate, the goals of Radio As Paper, contiguous with the goals of Fleet FM, are to represent diversity of opinion and to showcase what might otherwise slip under the radar. It is a community thing, not an industry thing, done for public good rather than private gain. These are noble goals, and Bihan appeared optimistic and eerily relaxed about them as he laid them out for me. And I say eerily relaxed because I mean it. He was reclined in his chair, cigarette in hand, talking easily as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His calm demeanour could have been because he was –as he said - very tried from the Auckland launch and so didn’t have the energy to worry, but also, possibly, because he is French. That is, from the land where, as DRAW put it, ‘culture comes from.’

Adrian has already reviewed the magazine here, as you likely well know, and I can’t say I really have a lot to add to his description, because this seems about right. Besides, I am in the magazine (mine is the strip where the two gay guys talk about wanking) and so it feels a bit funny to start picking it apart or puffing it up. However, I had a lovely time at the launch. I really did. I think you should buy the magazine if only because I am in it – and, honestly, M. Emery’s strip is splendid. I’m so impressed by his new work. It is smart and weirdly cute at the same time – and, of course, to reward Jerome for being awesome. Neo-liberalism aside, it’s only $2. Cheapness, I wonder, possibly resolves some of the debate.

Fond regards,

Robyn E. Kenealy

*My husband and I had the same public argument we always have, because, as it turns out, we are geeks. “Put him out the airlock!” my husband inevitably says, referring to Dr. Gaius Baltar, upon whom I have a fictional crush. “They should have put him out the airlock at the beginning. It’s the only way to maintain order.”

“You leave Dr. Baltar alone,” I will then say “he clearly had a hard time growing up on the planet of North Yorkshire. And besides, he has mother issues.”

“Cry me a river,” my husband will reply. “Cry me a fucking river.” And so it goes. People come and go around us, but the argument remains the same. My husband has too much respect for Admiral Adama to suffer a traitor aboard the Galactica. My conjecture is this: you say what you like about cylon collaboration. Baltar makes out like Charlie Sheen.

*like the cylons!! But no, not like that.

Fleet FM Radio As Paper Issue #2 Launch

FLEET FM RADIO AS PAPER ISSUE #2

Price: $2

Edited by Jerome Bihan

Featuring comics by: Cornelius Stone, Vincent Shield, Elliott Stewart, M+S Emery, Robyn E. Kenealy, Jerome Bihan, Tim Kidd, Frank & Becky, Thom Burton and M.F. Joyce.

As the future of slick print comics becomes more uncertain it's refreshing to see a local anthology printed on cheap folded A3 newsprint proving that as a disposable medium for exchanging artwork and ideas, print ain't dead just yet.

Equal parts comic and zine; Radio on Paper features a mix of short comic pieces (one or two pages for each cartoonist) and articles (interviews, comics appreciations and music talk from the FLEET crew). Like any good zine made especially to distribute amongst friends it's a fun print reunion for cartoonist's who's work hasn't been seen in print nearly enough recently.

In the case of Cornelius Stone it's the first work of his I've seen in sometime; while some new names to me were a welcome surprise (Vincent Shield's 'The Mysterious World of Arthur C Clarke' has a nice Eddie Campbell feel to it).

Other creator's featured here like Robyn E. Kenealy, Tim Kidd, and Frank & Becky are well represented online at their respective websites, but it's a pleasure to see there work back on newsprint where it really sings.

Tim Kidd's two page story 'Bernard Can't Sleep' is a real treat to behold (especially after rationing myself on each new single strip at his website!). Given room to breath here there's a lot to like; from the confident pacing to the playful word balloons. And the floating heads flashback on page two is masterful in it's simplicity.

The only criticism I can level at the book as a whole is it feels a little slapped together in places, like some on the articles were quickly re-typed to fit the format before finding it's way to the office photocopier. But that's kind of missing the point; the enthusiasm and sheer effort of Jerome and his contributors to put this out more than makes up for what it lacks in production value. Besides, not all comics are made to last forever. At an extremely affordable $2, Radio on Paper is perfect to pick up and see what your local cartoonists are up to. Read it, share it, love it, recycle it. It's only newsprint after all.

I attended the Auckland launch party at Cross Street Studios on Monday night and if you're down in Wellington there's a launch party happening there at Mighty Mighty this Friday, May 8th (see above Gig poster). I'll hopefully have a report on that from one of my Welly corespondents.

If you're in Auckland and looking to get hold of a copy, I'd recommend getting in touch with Fleet FM at: +64 9 307078 to enquire after copies of issue #2 and #1. If you're interested in contributing to future issues you can contact: Jerome@fleetfm.co.nz.

-AK!