Auckland Zinefest returns this year as a part of First Thursdays, taking place this Thursday, 2nd of August on K Road.
First Thursdays is a community-conscious collaboration of artisans and art lovers whose ultimate goal is to showcase new and exciting talent in the fields of visual arts, music and performance. The DIY themed festival taking place from 6pm-9pm, features a variety of free art events taking place at shops, galleries and creative spaces along Karangahape Rd. Some of the activities include: a handmade craft & zine market, zine making and screen printing workshops, light installations, live music, fashion shows and theatre productions. The Zinefest will take place in St Kevin's Arcade with around 30 stallholders, including a great line-up of local comics talent!
Sarah Laing, cartoonist behind the Let Me Be Frankwebcomic. She's going to be selling a selection of her autobiographical/fantastical comics, some of which have appeared in her blog. She's also going to be selling some one-off, hand-painted and bound books and her son Otto's book of monsters.
Each of the handcrafted books are 12 pages long and bound with embroidery thread. They are arranged into five groups: eighties pop icons, toys made for my children, significant women, my tea cup collection, and cans in my cupboard. She'll be selling them for a bargain price of $15, so be in quick!
Marc Streeter is the creator of the weekly ActionMan Adam webcomic, which follows the hilarious mis-adventures of a young Canadian looking for love in Christchurch.
He'll be debuting his latest collection at the event, ActionMan Adam: Things Change. Last year Streeter chose to acknowledge the events of the Christchurch earthquakes in the webcomic, and incorporate their effects on the characters in the on-going story. It was a bold creative move which has payed off handsomely for readers. Its sensitively handled, and adds a much greater depth to the characters and proceedings, making the laughs that much more welcome. Highly recommended!
Brent Willis, Wellington cartoonist and editor of the Bristle anthology will be there with his latest creation for the event: Wark! #1. Brent Willis has steadfastly stuck to the DIY ethic and self-published for the last 15 years (because he likes it). Expect to discover a wide range of his other titles at his table: there's just about a comic for every occasion!
Sam Orchard, creator of the Rooster Tailswebcomic will be there, representing himself and the Dunedin Comics Collective. Rooster Tails features Sam's charming comics about being a trans and queer dude in Auckland. The Dunedin Comics Collective have so far produced two issues of the comics anthology DUD, featuring comics and a CD of Dunedin music. A third issue is currently due for release soon...
Richard Fairgray, creator of Blastosaurus will be present with a host of new material, including collections of Ghost Ghost and I Fight Crime!
And lastly, the Sheehan Bros creators of The Inhabitants and Into The Woods will be there, along with myself, representing the New Zealand Comics Collective: selling locally produced comics from creators across the country, including newly arrived stock from Toby Morris and the latest issue of Radio As Paper!
The Zinefest market will be taking place Thursday 2nd of August, 6pm-9pm in St Kevin's Arcade on K Road. You can find out more information about Auckland Zinefest HERE and First Thursdays HERE.
It's that time of year again, the start of the Armageddon Expo season in New Zealand. And this year it's extending it's scope, with it's first Hamilton based expo. Taking place this weekend, April 14-15th at the Claudelands Event Centre, bringing it's circus of all things sci-fi and geektastic to the heart of the Waikato!
Above: a cover from the acclaimed comic series 100 bullets, by Dave Johnson. Copyright Vertigo/DC Comics 2012.
As always there'll be a health presence of local and international comics guests.
Headlining this year's guest list is Dave Johnson, comic artist and award-winning cover artist of such books as:100 bullets, Punishermax, Batman, Unknown Soldier and many more. He also collaborated with writer Mark Millar on the highly acclaimed Superman mini-series Red Son, which recast Superman as a communist Russian superhero. Aside from his comics work, he's also a veteran animation designer, working on such shows as: Batman Beyond, Justice League, Legion of Super-heroes, Venture Bros. and Ben 10.
Above: A Witchblade cover by Stjepan Sejic. Copyright Top Cow Productions 2012.
Ron Marz is a long-time comics writer, having written for just about every major comics company in the business, including DC Comics, Marvel, Top Cow, Dark Horse and CrossGen. He's often been the go-to writer for fantasy with a cosmic scope, leading to extended runs on such titles as:Green Lantern, Silver Surfer and Star Wars. In Green Lantern he co-created the popular character Kyle Rayner, who replaced a temporarily crazy Hal Jordan (it was the 90s, look it up kids!). More recently he's been writing the Witchblade franchise for Top Cow productions, and it's spin-off titles Magdalena and Artifacts.
Above: The Inhabitants, by the Sheehan Bros. Copyright Sheehan Bros 2012.
There will be a strong NZ Comics presence at the event, with myself and Kelly Sheehan (one half of the Sheehan Bros) manning the NZ Comic Creators Booth. We'll be selling a wide variety of local comics, from creators all across the country. If you missed the Comics Generation exhibition that recently took place in Wellington (see last months posts), we'll have stock available from those young creators for you to check out!
Above: Cover of Moas #2 by James Davidson. Copyright James Davidson 2012.
James Davidson will be there with copies of the latest issue of his full-colour all-ages adventure series Moas. Set in Colonial New Zealand, it features Possum Von Tempsky and Kiwi Iti, two Moa riding adventurers. It looks to be a rollicking great yarn in the Carl Barks tradition, so be sure to seek out a signed copy!
Above: Blastosaurus: The 'Fries With That' Caper' issue 00, by Richard Fairgray & Terry Jones. Copyright Richard Fairgray & Terry Jones 2012.
A permanent fixture on the local convention scene, Blastosaurus creator Richard Fairgray will be on hand with a new print issue of Blastosaurus:The 'Fries With That' Caper' issue 00. If you'd like a preview of what to expect, you can check out two free issues of the new full-colour Blastosaurus series at the official website HERE.
Above: Ghost Ghost Squared by Richard Fairgray. Copyright Richard Fairgray 2012.
He'll also a copies of Ghost Ghost Squared available, a sequel to Ghost Ghost, a comic he wrote as a child and redrew recently.
Above: Armageddon Expo and Beyond Reality Media head-honcho Bill Geradts, with copies of The Inspiration Duncans Hardcover collection.
Leading NZ webcomics site Beyond Reality Media will be well represented, with print copies of two of their titles available for the first time! The Inspiration Duncans series written by Bill Geradts and Richard Fairgray with art by Gonzalo Martínez, will be available in a special 80-page Hardcover edition. The Warden series, written by Bill Geradts and Christian Gossett with art by Alan Robinson, will also be available in a softcover collection. Keep an eye out for both of these eye catching books and the creators signing at the Beyond Reality Media booth (as well as the Warden in person!).
The Armageddon Expo Hamilton is on this weekend at the Claudelands Event Centre, open from 10am-6pm. Tickets are available on the door and from Ticketek HERE. I'd strongly recommend buying tickets in advance to avoid the endless lines that can sometimes build up at these events, as no one wants to spend an hour waiting in line!
If you can't make it to Hamilton, fear not, it will all be happening again NEXT weekend in Wellington, 21st-22nd at the TSB Bank Arena ((whew!)). For more information on other events taking place over the weekend at the Armageddon Expo, check out the official site for news and updates HERE. We'll see you there! (I'll be the person NOT in costume).
It's been a landmark year for New Zealand Comics in 2011, with three original graphic novels seeing print: Shaolin Burning by Ant Sang, Nice Day For a War by Chris Slane, and Kimble Bent: Malcontent by Chris Grosz. This weekend all three authors, along with NZ Comics mainstay Dylan Horrocks, will be attending the Armageddon Expo, appearing exclusively at the New Zealand Comics booth #90.
Ant Sang has long been a pillar of the Auckland comics community, producing one the best selling NZ comics series of all time, The Dharma Punks, which was published between 2001-03. It was this series that brought him to the attention of the producers of the animated TV series Bro'Town, who hired Ant as art director and production designer for the show, winning him several awards. Earlier this year saw the release of his first original graphic novel Shaolin Burning from HarperCollins, a kung-fu infused meditation on revenge and destiny in ancient China. It was an instant hit upon release, making the top ten NZ Bestsellers fiction list four weeks running and the #1 book for it's publisher that month.
Chris Slane is an award-winning cartoonist whose work has appeared in countless magazines and newspapers including: The Listener, The New Zealand Herald, Metro and many more. His editorial cartoons have won him the prestigious Qantas Cartoonist Of The Year award three times and the Qantas Editorial Graphics Artist Award twice. This year saw the release of his second graphic novel Nice Day For a War: Adventures of a Soldier in World War 1, co-authored with Matt Elliott from HarperCollins.
Chris Grosz has worked in a variety of creative mediums over the years, as an illustrator, political cartoonist, art director, teacher and animator in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. A collection of his political cartoons with writer Shane Maloney called Australian Encounters, for Australian magazine The Monthly, was published in December 2010. His first graphic novel, Kimble Bent: Malcontent was released this year from Random House.
Dylan Horrocks is the author of the seminal graphic novel Hicksville. Universally praised by the international comics community upon it's release in 1998, it has only recently been published locally for the first time last year by Victoria University Press. He also spent several years of the last decade writing for DC Comics, putting the speech bubbles in the mouths of such well recognised characters as Batman, Batgirl, Supergirl, John Constantine, Tim Hunter and more. After his corporate comics experience he was happy to return to creating his own comics, which he currently publishes weekly through his website hicksvillecomics.com. These include the two serials Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen and The American Dream.
All four authors will be signing and selling their graphic novels and comics Saturday and Sunday at the New Zealand Comics booth #90, so make sure you stop by for the best of homegrown comics! There will also be a special panel on New Zealand Graphic Novels, held Sunday October 31st at noon on Stage Two. This panel will give you an exclusive look inside the creative process of creating a graphic novel, from concept to script and finished artwork. If you're an aspiring cartoonist or have an interest in finding out more about New Zealand Comics in general, you won't want to miss this! It was one of the most popular panels at this year's Writers & Readers Festival and is available this weekend at Armageddon FREE of charge! So make sure you get in early for a good seat.
Above: The Inhabitants comic series by the Sheehan Bros. Copyright Sheehan Bros 2011.
The NZ Comics booth will also be showcasing a wide variety of NZ Comics from across the country, from DIY zines through to indie favourites, like The Inhabitants comic series by the Sheehan Bros.
Above: The cover of The Official Authorised Blastosaurus Super Happy Awesome Time Rainy Day Activity and Indoor Excitement Booklet ((whew!)). Copyright Richard Fairgray 2011.
Blastosaurus creator Richard Fairgray will once again be attending with a wide range of new titles, including: The Blastosaurus Hallowe'en Special, The Official Authorised Blastosaurus Super Happy Awesome...etc (see above!), the Blastosaurus: A Wee Bit Special: A collected edition of the first four convention specials from 2009-2011, I Fight Crime Volumes 12-14, and finally, Richard and Terry's Animation Compilation: Special Burglary Edition DVD (!).
Yes, you read that right. Here's Richard to explain: 'Recently the Blastosaurus offices were robbed. The thieves took all our computers and all our back up drives and now the insurance company won't cover all the replacement costs. The only files we were left with (on a thumb drive in Richard's pocket) were our animations (though some had to be downloaded from Youtube to complete the set). As a fundraiser we are selling a DVD that contains all 62 episodes of Chewing Zombies, Stavros The Contractor and Jake's Never The One To Go Crazy for $10. Also on the set are a bunch of special features such as Audio Commentaries from Terry and I on all the shows, a second rap by Rapscallion, a Behind The Scenes look at Chewing Zombies, an animated Documentary about Richard and Terry, the trailer for Blastosaurus and a hidden Easter Egg.'
Blastosaurus is booth #38, so stop by and show your support by buying some comics and DVDs (I'm sure the DVD is worth it for the Rapscallion rap alone: you've been warned! And who knows what's on the hidden Easter Egg...).
Richard Fairgray will also be appearing next door at the Beyond Reality Media booth #39 to promote his webcomic The Inspiration Duncans with co-creator and BRM/Armageddon head-honcho William Geradts. The BRM booth will showcase their current range of webcomics on viewing tablets. Their current titles include: The Inspiration Duncans, Attica,Warden, The Red Star and Robert Rankin's Empires. You can read these titles for free right now over at the BRM website HERE. And as a bonus, here's a look at their first motion-comic for Warden:
As you can see, there's a ton of great locally produced comics available at the Expo this Friday to Monday, so make sure you come down and check it out! Armageddon Expo: October 28th-31st at the ASB Showgrounds. Friday Preview only $10 a ticket, Saturday to Monday- Adults $20, Student $17 (with ID), Child (5-12) $10 or FREE with full paying adult. For more details visit the Armageddon Expo website HERE.
Above: a page from Into The Dark Woods by the Sheehan Bros. Copyright Sheehan Bros 2011.
At this weekend's Auckland Zinefest there will be a number of new NZ comics making their debut.
Here's an exclusive art preview of issue #3 of the Sheehan Bros' graphic novella Into The Dark Woods. It's only $3 and if you've missed the earlier issues, you can pick them all up for just $8!
Above: Into The Dark Woods by the Sheehan Bros. Copyright Sheehan Bros 2011.
Marc Steeter will also be there with a new comics collection ActionMan Adam: First Impressions (based on his popular webcomic that you can view HERE). It follows the romantic misadventures of Adam, an outgoing Canadian guy making his way in Christchurch, New Zealand. It's a huge 44 pages and comes in a pack with a badge and stickers for only $10!
Above: A box of customised ActionMan Adam: First Impressions. Copyright Marc Streeter 2011.
The print run is strictly limited to 46 copies, and to make it extra special: each and EVERY cover has been personally customised by Marc! (yes, that's 46 separately hand drawn backgrounds, you can view them all HERE). So be in fast to get your favourite cover.
Above: A page from ActionMan Adam by Marc Streeter. Copyright Marc Streeter 2011.
Marc's ActionMan Adam webcomic has recently started a new story-line reflecting the effects of the Christchurch earthquakes on Adam and his friends; it's a bold move and definitely worth checking out. You can follow the latest updates HERE.
Above: Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch. Copyright Funtime Comics 2011.
Speaking of the Christchurch earthquake, the charity issue of Funtime Comics Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch, devoted to raising funds for the victims of the Christchurch earthquakes will also be on sale from the NZ Comic Creators table. It features an all-star line-up of NZ comic creators for only $10, with all proceeds after printing costs going directly to the Red Cross.
The Zinefest Market takes place tomorrow at St Kevins Arcade, 179 Karangahape Road, Newton, from 12 noon - 5pm; so set aside some of your zine buying budget for these essential NZ comics!
Auckland Zinefest is already well under way, with plenty of events for fans of traditional DIY self-publishing in all it's forms; from magazines to comics and everything in between. The featured centerpiece of the event will be this Saturday's Zinefest Market, held at St Kevins Arcade, 179 Karangahape Road, Newton. From 12 noon - 5pm you'll be able to buy and browse a wide variety of zines and comics, as well as take part in special talks and activities.
Above and below: Photos from Auckland Zinefest 2010.
Featured events include: a talk by cartoonist Sam Orchard of Rooster Tails on 'Trans and Queer Web Comics'; a panel discussion 'Zines as a Tool for Resistance' organised by Rebel Press; and a binding workshop 'Inside Out' by David Merritt from Landrover Farm Press on how to recycle hardback covers, scavenged cardboard and flour sacks.
The New Zealand Comics Creators store will be there on the day, distributing the best of NZ comics from across the land. Web-cartoonist Marc Streeter will be on hand with a new comic-book from his popular web-comic ActionMan Adam, and the Sheehan Bros will have the latest issue of their immaculately presented graphic novella, Into The Dark Woods (return here for a special preview later this week!).
After a long day of Zine purchasing, you can unwind at the official Zinefest After Party held downstairs at The Wine Cellar from 8pm, featuring live band, karaoke and punch specials all night long.
There are plenty of other Zinefest events taking place this month, so visit the website HERE for more information and details.
Above: The New Zealand Comics booth, manned from the left by Aimee Cairns and Kelly & Darren Sheehan. photo by Karl Wills.
The Armageddon Expo returned to the Auckland ASB Showgrounds this year for another successful Labour Weekend celebration of all things pop culture related, with an estimated 45,000 punters through the door! The global credit crunch and recent tax increases clearly didn't stop fans from turning out in their droves to enjoy a weekend of sci-fi overload; with two Doctors Who in the house, a variety of web and comic guests, the voices of Goofy and Bender, and because no Expo would be complete without a pseudo-celebrity, that washed up kidult from Married With Children.
This year New Zealand Comics had it's strongest showing yet, with a large 'new and improved' NZ Comics booth, the Blastosaurus booth, Drake's Ninjet booth, Coal Powered Press, Drawfest and a variety of solo artist booths.
Above: The cover of Gridley Stones #1, by James & Aimee Cairns. Copyright James & Aimee Cairns 2010.
At the New Zealand Comics booth there was a wide variety of great books on sale for the weekend: including two new novellas from the Sheehan Bros, Into the Dark Woods and Frozen; part two of The Impostor by Lee Yan Marquez, Connie Radar PH D by Karl Wills, the latest issues of NZ comic anthologies Funtime #25 and Bristle #7, the debut issue of Gridley Stones by James & Aimee Cairns, and a great selection of back issue favourites.
Above: A signed sketch from Living with the Dead by artist Ben Stenbeck.
There were also some booth exclusives: the Dylan Horrocks and Emily Perkins collaboration,All Hail Elle: Destroyer of Worlds!, previously only available at the Orcon Great Blends event; and signed and sketched copies of Witchfinder and Living with the Dead by local superstar artist Ben Stenbeck.
Local comics guests appearing at the booth over the weekend included: the Sheehan Bros, Lee Yan Marquez, Karl Wills, James & Aimee Cairns, Isaac Freeman, Brent Willis, Marc Streeter and Jianran Pan.
Above:Kelly Sheehan attracting punters at the NZ Comics booth. Photos by Karl Wills.
Above: Funtime editor Isaac Freeman at the NZ Comics booth. Photo by Karl Wills.
Above:Lee Yan Marquez drawing at the NZ Comics booth. Photo by Karl Wills.
Above from left: Richard Fairgray and Drake drop by with a note....Brent Willis hiding out on the right. Photo by Karl Wills.
Above from left:James Cairns & Lee Yan Marquez still smiling on Day #2. Photo by Gijs Priegel.
Above: Bristle editor Brent Willis on the right, Day #2. Photo by Gijs Priegel.
Above: ActionMan Adam webcomic cartoonist Marc Streeter drawing on Day #2. Photo by Gijs Priegel.
Above: More photos of the NZ Comics team from Day #2. Photos by Gijs Priegel.
Above: Richard Fairgray at the Blastosaurus booth. Photo by Karl Wills.
Meanwhile, over at the Blastosaurus booth Richard Fairgray had a large amount of new material on offer, which virtually sold-out after the first two days. This included a new Blastosaurus Halloween Special, a DVD collection of Chewing Zombies, new volumes of I Fight Crime, and Clip Show a collection of his earlier high school stories.
Above: Drake manning his Ninjet booth.
Drake did brisk business over the weekend at his Ninjet booth, with a new issue of his ninja-cat series to promote.
In pavilion #1 around the corner from the NZ Comics booth, Coal Powered Press made their convention debut, with an impressive line-up of New Zealand web-comics, which you can check out right HERE.
Above: The cover of White Cloud Worlds. Copyright Paul Tobin/Harpercollins 2010.
The Weta Workshop booth provided a hidden treat, with a Expo preview of the new fantasy art anthology collection White Cloud Worlds, featuring among others, fantasy and comic artists Ben Stenbeck and Greg Broadmore, edited by artist Paul Tobin. It will be available at all good booksellers from the 1st of November, and you can also check out the official website HERE.
It was a great convention for NZ Comics, with a noticeable increase in sales across the board. There was a competitive nature in the air after Day #1, which led me to proclaim the NZ Comics booth as the best in show on Facbook, which lead to an ominous note, left at the booth for me on Sunday morning:
Unfortunately I had the day off, so any retaliation, or a Star Trek inspired death duel would have to wait till Monday.
While attendance was healthy with punters ready to part with their cash, retailer and promotional spending appeared to be down, with less 'wow' factor than previous years. The usually elaborate video-game and console area seemed noticeably smaller, with fewer screens and less advertising. In general there seemed to be more blind-spots than usual inside the pavilions, as if the Expo was stretched thin to fill the entire complex to capacity. Unsurprisingly, major sponsor Warner Bros were a late no-show (possibly to avoid public backlash from the ongoing Hobbit controversy?), leaving a gap in pavilion #1 which was quickly filled by an extra artists alley. The presence of a fairly large NZ Army/Navy recruitment stand was a little alarming if you ask me, but I suppose it places them in slightly more interesting company than the usual career expos.
Another cause for concern was the amount of repetitive stores. There were at least six booths selling the same imported novelty T-shirts, caps and other nick-knacks. This lead to a repeated feeling of 'sameness' when walking through the Expo as a whole, making it feel more like Victoria Park Markets than a special event you payed $20 to attend. I think some decisive 'culling of the herd' next year could well improve the Expo's image and make way for some fresh stands and new exhibitors. One big improvement though, was the speedy entry point with multiple ticket booths, which prevented any timely delays, like last year's killer two hour entry line!
Overall, it was a pleasant weekend spend with friends: talking comics, tripping over R2-D2 and watching kids over-dose on mini donuts and candy-floss, while the monolithic Burning Man watched on.
Posts
