EVENT: The COVID-19 Diaries, New Comics by Sarah Laing

Sarah Laing, Wellington cartoonist and author of the graphic novels Mansfield & Me and Let Me Be Frank, is having an exhibition to showcase The COVID-19 Diaries, comics she created during and about the first COVID-19 Lockdown. The exhibition includes watercolours and some GIANT comics (we're talking A0 sized comics, people!).

The opening is this coming Monday, 7th of September between 4.30pm and 7pm at Bowen Galleries, 39 Ghuznee Street, Te Aro, Wellington. If you can't make it to the opening, the exhibition will be on until the 27th of September. It sounds like there will also be printed comics for sale, so get along and view/buy some great local lockdown comics!

You can also read Sarah's COVID-19 Diary comics and other stories on her website HERE.

- AK!

Quarantoon Episode 2: Sarah Laing

Dylan Horrocks continues his interview series Quarantoon, in this new episode featuring cartoonist Sarah Laing (Mansfield & Me). They discuss the process behind her daily comics diary, The COVID-19 Diaries. There's also a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at her sketchbooks and writing process for Mansfield & Me, and a discussion about the future of graphic design in the current climate (the recent collapse of Bauer Media and the NZ magazine industry, and the rise of social media). It's a great conversation that you can check out above, or on Youtube HERE.

- AK!

NZ Cartoonists respond to COVID-19

Above: The 'Flatten the Curve' GIF by  Toby Morris and Dr Siouxsie Wiles.

New Zealand is just over halfway through it's Level 4 mandatory lock-down, a national effort to eradicate the COVID-19 virus from our shores. During this pandemic, cartoonist Toby Morris has collaborated with Dr Siouxsie Wiles (Associate Professor and head of the Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland) to produce illustrated (and animated) articles for The Spinoff to help educate the public on COVID-19: how the virus spreads, best practice to protect ourselves from infection, and generally boiling down complex ideas related to the virus into easy to understand articles.

Above: NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern holding up a printed copy of Toby Morris'  'Flatten the Curve' illustration at a press conference.

The most widely shared of this would be the 'Flatten the Curve' GIF, accompanying the article, 'The three phases of Covid-19 – and how we can make it manageable', published on the 9th of March. Within days of publication it was used as an example to follow by NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during a press conference, and has since been used or adapted by foreign governments including Australia, Germany, Argentina and many more. You can read all of  Dr Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris' informative articles and updates on COVID-19 at The Spinoff HERE.

Dylan Horrocks has also started an interview series on youtube, Quarantoon, in which he interviews cartoonists about their work during the pandemic. His first episode is an in-depth chat with Toby Morris about his collaboration with  Dr Siouxsie Wiles for The Spinoff articles. It's honest and revealing, making it essential viewing if you want to hear more about what goes into the creation of these articles and the extraordinary response they have received from around the world. You can view the first episode HERE.

Above: Artwork by Sarah Laing from The COVID-19 Diaries.

Cartoonist Sarah Laing has responded to the pandemic with a more personal expression, a daily comic strip published on her website, The COVID-19 Diaries. A raw and honest account of daily life under Level 4 lock-down, Laing's comics are extremely relatable, illustrating the daily anxieties and humour arising from this unique situation. You can read  The COVID-19 Diaries daily on Sarah's website HERE. Sarah will also be appearing on Horrocks' Quarantoon series, so keep an eye out for that episode soon!

- AK

 

NEW RELEASE: Let Me Be Frank by Sarah Laing

Above: The cover of Let Me Be Frank by Sarah Laing. Copyright Sarah Laing 2019.

Hi folks, sorry I've been snowed under with day-job work, so it's time to catch-up on the recent comics related new releases, starting with Let Me Be Frank by Sarah Laing!
This is a full-colour collection of almost ten years of her blog comics, from 2010 to today, published by Victoria University Press. Here's the press release:

Let Me Be Frank brings Sarah Laing’s popular autobiographical comic series together for the first time. Sarah Laing began blogging her comics in 2009 as a way to shed light on her fiction writing and to record life before it evaporated. The comics soon had a large audience, eager for the next installment about Sarah’s parenting fails and successes, writing, her obsession with Katherine Mansfield, her family’s history, pet mice, sex, clothes and more. Let Me Be Frank is a witty, whip-smart comic collection that is ever disarmingly frank.

I'll look to have a review for it up soon, in the meantime, here's some press Sarah has done to promote the book:

Over at The Sapling she did an illustrated interview with cartoonist Giselle Clarkson, which you can read HERE
She featured on RNZ's Standing Room Only interview show, which you can listen to HERE
She has also written an essay featured on The Spinoff about her 'secret origin' as a cartoonist and creativity, which you can read HERE

Let Me Be FrankSarah Laing
352 pages, full colour
ISBN: 9781776562909
$35.00
Available now

- AK!

Recommended Reading: Kiwi Rock Strips: an introduction

Above: Artwork by Barry Linton.

There's a great article by Bruce Mahalski from Audio Culture about the links between NZ comics and music (often by creators participating in both camps): covering the work of such cartoonists as Barry Linton, Chris Knox, Robert Scott, Ian Dalziel, Toby Morris, Indira Neville and more! You can read the full article HERE.

- AK!

Recommended Reading: Kiwi cartoonists on what mattered in 2018

Above: Artwork by Toby Morris.

Over at the NZ Herald, writer Greg Bruce interviews cartoonists Toby Morris, Sarah Laing, Giselle Clarkson and Rod Emmerson offer their views on the year that was: the issues that concern them, and the people who have made a difference in 2018.

You can read the full interview online HERE.

- AK!

Artwork by Giselle Clarkson.

Weekend Listening: Contemporary New Zealand Comics

Above: An illustration by Jem Yoshioka.

Recently Radio NZ show, Standing Room Only, featured a discussion with three cartoonists, Jem Yoshioka, Toby Morris and Sarah Laing about the state of contemporary New Zealand comics - particularly comic strips, which have largely migrated from newspapers to online platforms. All three cartoonists have created an online presence for their work: Toby Morris currently creates the non-fiction comic series The Side Eye for The Spinoff's website; Jem Yoshioka has an ongoing webcomic Circuits and Veins available on international comic platform Webtoon, and Sarah Laing produces her webcomic blog Let Me Be Frank.

You can listen in on their wide-ranging conversation on New Zealand comics and their own work HERE.

- AK!

International Comic Creators attend New Zealand Festival: Writers and Readers Events!

Above: Cartoonist Sonny Liew. Photo copyright Tom White 2018.

The New Zealand Festival kicks off the literary calendar for 2018 with Writers & Readers events, running from March 8th - 11th. As per usual, they have assembled a great international and local line-up of writers, including a wealth of acclaimed cartoonists. Visiting cartoonists include: Singaporean Sonny Liew, Sarah Glidden and Mimi Pond from the US, who will be appearing alongside local cartoonists/writers: Sharon Murdoch, Toby Morris, Sarah Laing, Brent Williams, Jonathan King and Dylan Horrocks.

Here's a rundown of the cartoonist and comics related events:

Above: The cover of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Sonny Liew. Copyright Sonny Liew 2018.

SONNY LIEW: EPIC COMICS: Sat 10th of March

In 2015 Singaporean cartoonist Sonny Liew released The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, an ambitious graphic novel that charts the life and career of a fictional comic book artist, Charlie Chan Hock Chye. By weaving together fact, fiction, and different genres, it tells the story of the formative years of Singapore's modern history and also the multi-faceted history of the comics medium itself. It was the bestselling local fiction title of that year, and went on to win the Singapore Literature Prize, and Book of the Year at the Singapore Book Awards in 2016. The following year it was nominated for six US comics industry Eisner Awards, winning three -  Best Writer/Artist, Best US Edition of International Material - Asia, and Best Publication Design.

He talks to local comics creator Dylan Horrocks (Hicksville, Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen) about the challenges of speaking truth via art.

Above: Mimi Pond. Photo Copyright Wayne White 2018.

MIMI POND: A GRAPHIC LIFE: Sun 11th March

The illustrative works of Mimi Pond, described by New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast as “hilarious, terrifying, moving and compulsively readable”, have been pouring from her pen since she started at the National Lampoon magazine in the late ’70s. Since then, she has contributed to many publications such as The Village Voice, The New York Times,  The Los Angeles Times and many more. She also notably wrote the first broadcast episode of The Simpsons, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" in 1989, which was nominated for two Emmy awards.

In her two graphic semi-memoirs, Over Easy and The Customer Is Always Wrong, she looks back at her art student days working Oakland diners in the drugs ’n’ sex-fuelled ’70s – and talks hospitality, morality, mortality and more with broadcaster Eva Radich.

Above: An image from Out of the Woods, a graphic novel by Brent Williams, illustrated by  Korkut Öztekin. Copyright Korkut Öztekin 2018.

MIMI POND & BRENT WILLIAMS: SHADING LIGHT AND DARK: Fri 9th March

Mimi Pond will also be appearing in conversation with Wellington writer Brent Williams. Mimi Pond recalls heady ’70s days working at a California diner in her acclaimed semi-memoirs Over Easy and The Customer is Always Wrong. Brent Williams pursued social justice at Wellington community legal aid organisations in the ’80s, hit the wall with depression then addressed his troubled family past in the graphic novel Out of the Woods, illustrated by  Korkut Öztekin.

Above: The cover of  Rolling Blackouts: Dispatches from Turkey, Syria, and Iraq by Sarah Glidden. Copyrght Sarah Glidden 2018.

SARAH GLIDDEN: COMICS CORRESPONDENT: Sat 10th March

Seattle-based writer and illustrator Sarah Glidden works primarily in reportage comics. Her first book, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less (2010), detailed her encounters with Israel’s internal conflict, and has since been translated into five languages. She returned to the Middle East in Rolling Blackouts: Dispatches from Turkey, Syria, and Iraq (2016) – described as “an ambitious, nuanced and sprawling work of graphic non-fiction” (Rolling Stone).

She talks with former war correspondent and RNZ Morning Report co-host Susie Ferguson.

Above: The cover of  The Customer Is Always Wrong by Mimi Pond. Copyright Mimi Pond 2018.

SARAH GLIDDEN & MIMI POND: GRAPHICALLY PERSONAL: Fri 9th March

These two gifted American comics artists mine personal stories in graphic form. Sarah Glidden and Mimi Pond join in conversation on this panel to display and discuss the personal and political nature of their work.

Above: The cover of Mansfield and Me by Sarah Laing. Copyright Sarah Laing 2018.

MANSFIELD AND US: Sat 10th of March

This year, Katherine Mansfield fans celebrate the 120th anniversary of the famous New Zealander’s birth. Historian Redmer Yska, comics creator and illustrator Sarah Laing, and poet, novelist and critic Vincent O’Sullivan have all published on Mansfield's life and work. They discuss all things KM - particularly her singular legacy and place in Wellington’s history - with poet Kate Camp, who was the most recent Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow, in residency at the writer's former South of France home.

THREE SARAHS: Sun 11th March

How do you tap into your visual imagination? What makes a great illustration? And what’s it like living with one of the most popular first names of the 1980s and ’90s? All those questions and more will be addressed by comics creator, illustrator and graphic designer Sarah Laing (Mansfield and Me); award-winning designer and hand-letterer Sarah Maxey; and award-winning illustrator Sarah Wilkins, whose work appears in the bestselling anthology Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.

Chaired by Sarah Lang.

Above: Gun Lore, a cartoon by Sharon Murdoch. Copyright  Sharon Murdoch 2018.

POLITICAL PRICKING: Fri 9th March

Caricaturing, satirising and making fun of the powerful has been a popular and dangerous position since the days of the hieroglyph.

Discussing the challenges of drawing the right lines around current events are three top political cartoonists: Eisner Award–winning comics artist Sonny Liew from Singapore, and locals Sharon Murdoch (twice cartoonist of the year at the Canon Media Awards) and Toby Morris (The Side Eye); with filmmaker/cartoonist Jonathan King (Black Sheep).

Above: An illustration of the iconic D&D monsters, The Gelatinous Cube (!) by Dylan Horrocks.

MY DWARVEN CLERIC SLAYS YOUR ELF: Sun 11th March

Would you rather face chaotic evil or lawful evil? How high is your charisma? And what’s with those weird-looking dice? If you have the answers, you’ve probably rolled up your own characters and stories in role-playing games.

Join games maker Morgan Davie and comics creator and Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast Dylan Horrocks as they discuss player-generated games and their potential for great storytelling with novelist Danyl Mclauchlan.

Above: Bad Ape, one of the digitally created characters from the film, War for the Planet of the Apes. Copyright Weta Digital.

RISE TO WAR: MAKING THE PLANET OF THE APES: Sun 11th March

While this isn't strictly comics related, I imagine this event will also be of interest to pop culture fans. In this behind-the-scenes session, Visual Effects Supervisor Dan Lemmon shows and tells how rapid advancements in visual effects by Weta Digital allowed the creation of a large cast of digital apes displaying unprecedented and convincingly dramatic emotion and intelligence.

Dan will return to Wellington from attending the Oscars in Los Angeles, where War for the Planet of the Apes is nominated for Visual Effects, to show and tell how Weta Digital's cutting-edge technology now gives filmmakers the ability to tell stories limited only by their imagination.

With all these events happening over three days it's going to be a very busy weekend for comics fans in Wellington! For more information and to secure your tickets, visit the New Zealand Festival: Writers & Readers website HERE.

- AK!

EVENT: Cartoonists at Auckland Writers Festival 2017!

The Auckland Writers Festival is back for 2017, taking place this week at the Aotea Centre from May 16th - 21st. Alongside international and local authors, two of our most talented cartoonists will be taking part in the festival.

Sarah Laing, author of Mansfield and Me, will be featured in two events: 

EVENT 16: A Personal Tale: Dudding & Laing: Two recent New Zealand works entwine the personal with the literary: Sarah Laing’s 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlisted graphic memoir Mansfield and Me plots her literary journey alongside that of our starry export Katherine Mansfield; and the shortlisted Adam Dudding’s My Father’s Island circumnavigates his father, the late great literary editor Robin Dudding. Laing and Dudding speak with Geoff Walker about memoir writing, and inescapable literary forces.

A Personal Tale: Dudding & Laing, takes place Friday May 19th, from 10 - 11am at the Aotea Centre's Lower NZI Room. Tickets are on sale HERE.

EVENT 43: Walk On High: Walk on High is an intimate meandering journey, featuring a sampler of Festival talent on a word trail along High Street in the CBD. From 6.30pm to 8pm choose from four fifteen-minute events, repeated four times across the ninety minutes, individually crafted and each as delectable as the next. Formats take in games, Insta-essays, music, spoken word and theatre. Over 20 writers and performers take part, including: Jess Holly Bates, Anthony Byrt, Teju Cole, Glenn Colquhoun, Jonothan Cullinane, Mei-Lin Hansen, Ali Ikram, Simone Kaho, Sarah Laing, Last Tapes Theatre Company, Michelle Leggott, Lana Lopesi, Selina Tusitala Marsh, Doug Poole, Randa, Rosabel Tan, Apirana Taylor, Tourettes, Steven Toussaint, Ian Wedde, Rewa Worley and Sonja Yelich. 

Walk on High is a FREE event, taking place on Friday 19th at various venues on High Street, Auckland Central, from 6.30pm - 8.00pm. Check out the AWF website HERE for more information.

Toby Morris, author of The Pencilsword, The Day The Costumes Stuck and Capsicum Capsi Go will be taking part in three events:

EVENT 36: Writing the Past: A Museum Collaboration: Five writers recently went exploring at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, each seeking inspiration for a piece of writing. Hera Lindsay Bird, Anne Kennedy, Kelly An a Morey, Toby Morris, and Ngahuia te Awekotuku present their resulting takes on our archival past.

Writing the Past: A Museum Collaboration: is a FREE event, taking place on Friday 19th at the Aotea Centre's Upper NZI Room from 4 - 5pm.

EVENT 118: The Day The Costumes Stuck (5+): Iggy can’t get his party costume off, his parents haven’t noticed and weird happenings lie ahead. Toby Morris unfolds a fun family story with illustrations. Taking place on Sunday 21st from 11 - 11.30am at the Aotea Centre Heartland Festival Room, this is a FREE event but sessions are ticketed, so book early.

EVENT 123: Capsicum Capsi Go: Capsicum goes on holiday! Come on an adventure with the coolest Capsi around led by Toby Morris and featuring a chance to draw your own Capsi. This event takes place on Sunday 21st in the Aotea Centre's Herald Theatre from 1 - 1.30pm. There is FREE entry, no ticket required. 

For more information on the Auckland Writer's Festival, you can visit the event website HERE.

- AK!

Comicfest 2017: 5 Minute Interviews

Above: A page from Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen by Dylan Horrocks.

In the lead-up to this Weekend's Comicfest 2017, the Comicfest blog over at the Wellington City Library website have posted a series of '5 Minute Interviews' with some of their upcoming comics guests and panelists featured in this weekend's events. They ask about their influences, art practice, and much more. Check out the interview links below:

- 5 Minutes with Dylan Horrocks HERE

- 5 Minutes with Jem Yoshioka HERE

- 5 Minutes with Sarah Laing HERE

- 5 Minutes with Ben Milsom HERE

- 5 Minutes with Hannah Benbow HERE

So there's plenty of information for you to pick up and become familiar with these cartoonists and their work before you see them at the event!

- AK!

EVENT: Comicfest 2017

Wellington City Libraries and GRAPHIC comic store are joining forces to celebrate International Free Comic Book Day with Comicfest 2017, held this coming Saturday, 6th of May! From workshops and panel discussions with leading local cartoonists, to costume and drawing competitions, exhibitions and free comic giveaways - there's something for comic lovers of all ages at this multi-event comics festival!

Here are a rundown of the Comicfest events:

9.30am onwards Free Comic Book Day:
Sponsored by GRAPHIC comics

Grab some free comics from us and chat comics with our librarians at the Central 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 us with all the awesome free comics!

Comic drawing competition:

On Free Comic Book Day, come to the library and draw a comic story using just 4 panels and you could win an armful of comics! Feel free to come to Sarah Laing's character creation workshop on Saturday morning for inspiration. Entry forms available from Central Library on the day. All ages and drawing levels welcome.

Comics go to school:
Sponsored by The Ministry of Education

Over the course of its hundred-year history, the School Journal has included work from New Zealand's greatest authors and illustrators. In recent times, this has included comics from the likes of Dylan Horrocks, Ant Sang, and Andrew Burdan. Visit the Central Library to view a few highlights, new and old, in the lead up to ComicFest.

10am–11.00 Workshop: Comics character development workshop with Sarah Laing
Mezzanine Meeting Room, Central Library
Sponsored by Wellington City Libraries

Who's going to star in your comic? A superhero, a cybernaut, a talking sausage or a kid like you? Come to this comics workshop and we'll work on your character, from its backstory to the way it's drawn. Bring your own pens and pencils, and we'll have mountains of paper. Work on different expressions and poses, experimenting with line weight and form. We'll put them in some tricky situations to see how their story plays out in panels. All drawing levels welcome! Event info HERE.

10.30am–11.30am National Library: From where we started: Reading New Zealand's Comic History:
Session held at the National Library (Douglas Lilburn room, Level 1) to enable access to heritage collections
Sponsored by Alexander Turnbull library

The Alexander Turnbull Library collects New Zealand's documentary heritage and is home to a comic treasure trove. From early newspaper strips and children's annuals, through to contemporary graphic novels and zines, the Library offers a window into this unique and fascinating part of our history. Join research librarian Hannah Benbow for a hands on look at almost a century of New Zealand comics. Event info HERE.

11am-12noon Thunderbirds Are Go: Re-imagining the much loved brand for a new audience:
Sponsored by Pukeko Pictures

Ben Milsom, Production Designer and Episodic Director for Thunderbirds Are Go takes you through the process of re-imagining the 1960's classic for a new generation. Ben will guide you through the unique production process of this multi-media (CGI animation with live action miniature sets) series paying tribute to the legacy of model locations from the classic series.

Ben will showcase the inspiration taken from the original series and discuss how Thunderbirds Are Go was brought to life in animation, toys and comics through slides and video and present an opportunity to have your questions answered with a Q&A section. All attendees of this presentation go in to a draw to win a family pass to the Miniatures Stage Tour: Thunderbirds Are Go from Weta Studio Tours. Event info HERE.

12noon–1pm Panel: Creating graphic novels with Sarah Laing and Dylan Horrocks
Sponsored by NZ Book Council

Both Dylan Horrocks and Sarah Laing have authored popularly received and well regarded long form graphic novels including recent publications, Mansfield and Me and Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen. This informal, personal conversation will highlight the creative process involved in making a graphic novel, but also examine publishing, the graphic novel format and comics in New Zealand. Event info HERE.

1pm–1.30 Cosplay competition
Sponsored by Unity books

Dress up as your favourite character for a shot at a comic prize! There are prizes for all categories, including children, teens and adults. Event info HERE.

1.30pm–2.30pm Panel: A Wellington view – Local Cartoonists

What's it like to be making comics in New Zealand? Join us for a discussion between local Wellington comic artists Jem Yoshioka, Giselle Clarkson and Sally Bollinger about their unique experiences making comics about life, nature, tradition, culture, and doing all this from Wellington. Moderated by Robyn Kenealy. Event info HERE.

2.30pm–3.30pm Workshop: Taking your comics to the next level, with Dylan Horrocks
Sponsored by NZ Book Council

Gather up your comics (or that graphic novel plan) and bring them along to the Central library for a sit-down chat with Dylan Horrocks. This is a chance to examine your ideas and process, to share ideas and techniques and to take things to the next level. Limited to 10 participants. Email at enquiries@wcl.govt.nz to book your place. Event info HERE.

3.30pm–4.30pm Panel: Should we all be writing political comics?
Sponsored by Alexander Turnbull library

In spite of their subject matter, artistic responses to Trump and the current political climate have been witty, elegant, colourful and empowering. Join a group of panellists including Sam Orchard, Grant Buist and Toby Morris to discuss how they have responded to recent events in their work, and the ongoing power of comics to satirise and protest. Panel discussion moderated by Hannah Benbow. Event info HERE.

All events are free and unless stated, and open to participants of all ages. So if you're in Wellington this weekend and love comics, this is going to be a great day to celebrate the local comics community and the comics medium itself! You can find out more about Comicfest 2017 HERE.

- AK!

Review: Mansfield and Me by Sarah Laing

Above: The cover of Mansfield and Me by Sarah Laing.

One of the great delights of the NZ Summer Holidays is the opportunity to take the time to sit back in the sun and enjoy reading some of the great books released over the Christmas period. When it comes to new graphic novel releases, Sarah Laing’s Mansfield and Me was the ‘must read’ of the summer. Released in October, it spent over 10 weeks on the Booksellers Top Ten List, with strong sales ensuring the book made it into plenty of Christmas Stockings over the holidays.

A graphic memoir, Mansfield and Me traces Laing’s journey to becoming a writer alongside the life of Kathrine Mansfield, one of her literary idols. Memoirs have become a hugely popular sub-genre of graphic novels – drawing praise and recognition from the literary community, from titles as diverse as Allison Bechdel’s Fun Home to the likes of Freddie and Me by Mike Dawson. Laing has a similar starting point to Dawson, whose book discussed his adolescence and fan obsession with Freddie Murcury. Laing mentions her own teen idols - Morrissey, Madonna and Frida Kahlo, but it is Mansfield whose presence is most felt in the background of her everyday life, from community stories to sharing geographically linked childhood experiences.

While Dawson’s book was primarily about a fan experience, Laing’s memoir goes deeper: tracking the intersections between her own life and literary ambitions and Mansfield’s. There are passages in the book where she imagines interacting with Mansfield, almost haunted by her presence - at times Mansfield pops up to offer commentary and faint praise as Sarah’s writing career progresses. These interactions drive one of the most compelling themes of the book: how do we measure ourselves against our idols?

Laing does a great job of seamlessly weaving her life with Mansfield’s, finding places where they intersect (both professionally and personally): both Laing and Mansfield left New Zealand to pursue a career in writing – Mansfield to England, Laing to New York. There’s a passage where Laing writes about moving to the country to flat with her first boyfriend and a difficult flatmate, contrasted to Mansfield’s own country living experience with her second husband John Middleton Murry, and their neighbour novelist D.H. Lawrence, who also turned out to be difficult and demanding host (at one point challenging Murry to a naked wrestling match – as one does).

Above: A page from Mansfield and Me by Sarah Laing.

Laing shares from her own life and experiences very candidly – the eventful missteps in relationships and jobs, and the changing circumstances that ultimately brought her back to New Zealand and her dream of becoming a published writer. A goal she achieved in 2007 with her short story collection, Coming up Roses. She was 34, the same age Mansfield was when she died.

This is a very personal memoir, produced in vibrant watercolour artwork written in Laing’s own handwriting, which really gives you that tactile feel, like you’re reading from a private diary and sketchbook.

It’s a book about that compelling urge to be creative with the time you have – Mansfield achieved so much in a short time, but it was extremely difficult in her last years with tuberculosis. She never got to write that great novel, as she bitterly laments to Sarah after reading her short story collection: “you still have time…unlike me”. Laing has since written two novels and an ongoing blog with plenty of new comics to come.

It’s a remarkable ode to creativity and a personal journey to achieving one’s ambitions. If you love great memoirs and want to experience one that’s a bit unconventional but highly entertaining, this is the one for you.
You can visit Sarah Laing's blog, Let Me Be Frank HERE for more of her comics and out-takes/bonus material from Mansfield and Me. You can also listen to my review of Mansfield and Me featured on Radio NZ HERE.

Mansfield and Me Sarah Laing
336 Pages
Paperback, colour
160x245mm
ISBN: 9781776560691

Published by Victoria University Press

RRP: $34.99

- AK!

The Earth's End Uncanny X-mas Gift Guide!

With the Christmas season upon us once again, today I'm going to highlight the latest NZ comics related gifts you can pick up for your friends, family or your own bookshelf!

Above: Capsicum, Capsi Go and The Day The Costume Stuck by Toby Morris

Toby Morris has two new children's books out just in time for Christmas!

In Capsicum, Capsi Go, follow Capsi's delightful and amusing travel adventures! And in The Day the Costumes Stuck, meet Iggy: he can't seem to take off his party costume but his parents don’t seem to notice that Iggy has turned into the boogie monster! But that's not the weirdest part... A funny, original and heart-warming story destined to become a new family favourite!

Both books retail for $20nz, but they are also currently on sale at the Beatnik website for $16nz!

Capsicum, Capsi Go
By Toby Morris
SOFTCOVER: 32 pages
SIZE: 220 x 220 x 3mm
PUBLISHER: Beatnik Publishing
ISBN: 9780994120557

The Day the Costumes Stuck 
By Toby Morris 
SOFTCOVER: 32 pages 
SIZE: 220 x 220 x 3mm 
PUBLISHER: Beatnik Publishing 
ISBN: 9780994138309

Above: Maui: Sun Catcher by Tim Tipene & Zak Waipara

Tim Tipene & Zak Waipara re-imagine this popular Maori myth in a contemporary setting.

This modern Maui is an intermediate-school boy who lives with his Mum and three older brothers in a city where the day is never long enough to get things done. Maui grasps the mantle: Mum, I'm gonna catch that Sun for you. That Sun who's always on the run. With their woven flax net, the brothers drive to the pit where the Sun lives, and make their play to slow the day. This bilingual book, in English and Maori, brings Maui into the 21st century in a fun and colourful retelling - the first in the international Indigenous Voices series.

Maui: The Sun Catcher retails for $24.99 in Hardback, and is in bookstores now!

Maui: The Sun Catcher
By Tim Tipene & Zak Waipara
Publisher : Oratia Books
Dimensions : 270mm X 210mm X 9mm
ISBN : 9780947506148

Above: Maui and Other Maori Legends by Peter Gossage.

While we're on the subject of Maui, if you want a full collection of his adventures, you can't pass up this new hardback collection from Penguin Books of the late, great, illustrator Peter Gossage. His memorable retellings of Maori oral myths have captivated the children of New Zealand for generations. Their dramatic and distinctive illustrations with minimal yet evocative language form a powerful combination, and each has earned its place among the beloved classics of our literature.

These are exciting, magical tales of adventure and intrigue. Several feature the remarkable culture hero Maui – the quick-witted and the trickster – whose exploits include slowing the sun in its course across the sky, fishing up the North Island/Te Ika a Maui, discovering the secret of fire and his attempt to trick the goddess of death and become immortal.

Maui and Other Legends contains eight essential legends. In this volume you will find timeless favourites such as How Maui Found his Mother, Battle of the Mountains, Pania of the Reef and many more.

This hardback collection retails for $40.00nz, and is in bookstores now!

Maui and Other Maori Legends 
By Peter Gossage
Publisher : Penguin Group (NZ)
Imprint : Puffin
Publication date : October 2016
Dimensions : 302mm X 217mm X 20mm
ISBN : 9780143309291

Above: Annual edited by Kate De Goldi & Susan Paris.

Gecko Press’s Annual is a game-changer, packing dynamic, irreverent, challenging, and timeless material into a beautiful package for 9- to 12-year-olds.

Annual features a dictionary of crazy words that come in handy on car trips, a sophisticated "spot the similarity", a found poem from school newsletters, a maths-nerd's memoir full of tricky logic puzzles, and comics/illustrations by Jonathan King, Sarah Laing, Dylan Horrocks, Sharon Murdoch, Giselle Clarkson, Sally Bollinger, Paul Beavis and Coco Solid.

This is a book for readers who are hungry for sophisticated, wide-ranging, and challenging content. It aims to revitalize the reading experience for this age group and create lifetime readers.

Annual is available in hardback in bookstores now, and retails for $39.99nz.

Annual
Edited by Kate De Goldi & Susan Paris
Publisher : Gecko Press
Dimensions : 260mm X 193mm
ISBN : 9781776570775

Above: Murdoch: The Political Cartoons of Sharon Murdoch by Sharon Murdoch with Melinda Johnston.

With John Key recently calling it quits, now is a great time to review some of the best political cartoons to feature Key and his Government, produced by 2016 Canon Cartoonist of the Year, Sharon Murdoch. As the regular cartoonist for the Sunday Star Times and the Christchurch Press, she provokes and delights readers with her witty and often hilarious observations, and her hard-hitting and insightful social and political analysis.

In Murdoch, Melinda Johnston’s commentary sets the cartoons within their historical context, while her introduction locates the work within New Zealand’s cartooning history. Featuring over 150 full-page cartoons, which highlight the breadth and depth of Sharon Murdoch’s work, this book will entertain and educate any reader with an interest in New Zealand’s contemporary social and political history.

This collection retails for $39.99nz and is in bookstores now!

Murdoch: The Political Cartoons of Sharon Murdoch
Sharon Murdoch with Melinda Johnston
Format: Paperback with gatefolds
Pages: 216
Size: 215 x 235 mm
ISBN: 9780947503239

Above: Mansfield & Me by Sarah Laing.

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.

This is a perfect gift for fans of great New Zealand biographies looking for something a bit different. It's personal and insightful, a story intimately told through Sarah's distinctive comics voice. You can also hear me raving about it on Radio NZ nights HERE.

Mansfield and Me is in bookstores now, and retails for $34.99nz.

Mansfield and Me 
By Sarah Laing
336 Pages
Paperback, colour
160x245mm
ISBN: 9781776560691

Above: Terry Teo and the Gunrunners by Bob Kerr and Stephen Ballantyne.

With the new TV series currently screening on TV2, now is as good a time as any to catch-up on the original first adventure of the local skateboarding super-sleuth!

Terry Teo is not your average schoolboy - he's a skateboarding super-sleuth about to embark on his very first adventure!

When he stumbles headfirst into the criminal schemes of the villainous Ray Vegas, Terry finds himself embroiled in a dastardly gun smuggling operation. Along with his karate-chopping sister, Polly, and older brother Ted, Terry must use all his street smarts to avoid Vegas' henchmen, defeat the smugglers, and save the day!

Terry Teo and the Gunrunners is available in bookstores and online HERE. It retails for $24.99nz.

Terry Teo and the Gunrunners TV Tie-in edition
Bob Kerr & Stephen Ballantyne
Paperback, 56 pages, full-colour
ISBN: 9780473330675
Suitable for All Ages

So there's plenty of good gifts here for the cartoon connoisseur or picture book fanatic in your family, so get purchasing and support the local comics community!

- AK!