Coming Attractions: NZ Comics to watch out for in 2014

Above: The cover of Incomplete Works by Dylan Horrocks. Copyright Dylan Horrocks 2013.

It's been another banner year for local comics publishing, and the future continues to look brighter with a very promising line-up of titles already announced for next year!

Recently Victoria University Press announced that in March they will be releasing Incomplete Works, a collection of short stories by Dylan Horrocks. Assembled together for the first time, these stories span the length of Horrocks' career, from early contributions to Fox Comics like 'Little Death (1986)', to rare Pickle gems - 'Letter from Catwoman (1991)', and other memorable stories like 'There Are No Words In My Mouth' (2000), 'The Physics Engine' (2006) and many more. It will come in at 192 pages, for an RRP of $35.00.

Horrocks' other major project, The Magic Pen (which you can read online for free HERE), is also nearing completion, with an eye to publish later next year.

Above: Morgan Goes to Nowhere, by Richard Fairgray, Terry Jones & Tara Black. Copyright Richard Fairgray, Terry Jones & Tara Black 2013.

Blastosaurus creator Richard Fairgray and his team of collaborators have recently turned their attention to publishing picture books, with their well received first effort, Morgan, the Moreporks and the Moon currently out now. Co-written by Fairgray, Tara Black and Terry Jones, Morgan's night-time adventure will surely be a hit with any child who enjoyed the picture books of the late Maurice Sandak (In the Night Kitchen would be a good comparison here). Morgan's next adventure, Morgan Goes to Nowhere, is due out in April.

Above: Moa #4, by James Davidson. Copyright James Davidson 2013.

Over at Pikitia Press publisher/blogger Matt Emery has just announced an exciting line-up of forthcoming NZ comics for 2014. This includes a new issue of James Davidson's Moa and Sarah Laing's Let Me Be Frank; a collection of Tim Bollinger's Wellington Stories, Barry Linton's Lucky Aki, MVH's webcomic Die Popular, and Bob McMahon's Claire Melody.

Above: The New Supreme #2, by Harry Bennett (1940s). Copyright the Harry Bennett Estate 2013.

For NZ comics history buffs there will also be The Art of Harry Bennett, by Tim Bollinger, Geoff Harrison and Matt Emery, which will finally piece together the story behind one of NZ's most enigmatic cartoonists; and New Zealand Reprint Comics, a survey and catalogue of New Zealand's rich history of reprinting foreign material from the 1940's - 1970's, compiled by comics historian and collector Geoff Harrison.

There's still plenty more titles to look forward to in the New Year, but we are clearly already off to a great start.

- AK!

NZ Comics Weekend in Review Part One: The Secret History of New Zealand Comics

Above: NZ Comics on sale during NZ Comics Weekend 2010. Pictured from left to right: Dave Bradbury, Tim Bollinger, Robyn E Kenealy and Brent Willis. Photo by James Gilberd.

It's been four years since the last NZ Comics Weekend, and in that time I'm pleased to say that the local comics community has grown in leaps and bounds.

The quality and quantity of material available during the weekend this year was truly impressive, with major showings from all corners of the NZ comics community. The Auckland community is making something of a comeback this year, with 'The Imposter' by Lee-Yan Marquez, the completed 'Inhabitants' series by the Sheehan Bros and of coarse the new printing of 'Hicksville' by Dylan Horrocks (which is an all-round winning situation really;).

The Wellington comics community was as strong as ever, with a new issue of 'Bristle', Draw's 'Silver' and the masterful 'Hotpools' series by Ned Wenlock (the break-out hit of the weekend, in my opinion).

One of the other notable changes in the comic community this year is the growing presence of NZ Webcomics.

Claire Harris and Ned Wenlock put together a great pamphlet on 'NZ Comics on the Web', covering the latest on-going NZ webcomics and online comics resources. This movement towards digital distribution of NZ Comics is a giant step forward in bringing local comics content to the attention of a wider public, and will play a major part in the future of comics in this country (goodbye to the shackles of limited distribution!). The pamphlet made it into many hands over the weekend, so I expect we'll see an increase in digital readership in the months ahead.

Now I'll give a rundown of the events that took place over the weekend at the Basement Gallery in Wellington, starting with the grand opening on Friday night, April 2nd.

The festivities kicked off with two exhibitions: 'The Work of H.W. Bennett', and 'NZ Comix in the 70s' curated by NZ comics historian Tim Bollinger.

Above: Tim Bollinger with 'The Work of H.W. Bennett' exhibition.

'The Work of H.W. Bennett: Comic Books and Men's Magazines 1944-1950', is a meticulously researched investigation into the work of one of NZ's most mysterious comics and magazine creators.

From what Bollinger has uncovered, H.W. Bennett was an Auckland artist and entrepreneur who published both children's comic books and adult magazines during the late 1940s and early '50s. His most well-known publications were 'Supreme Feature Comics' and 'Mister' magazine, featuring nude pin-ups and bawdy cartoons reprinted from American magazines. This may seem like a distasteful combination, but much like publishing in the US at the time, the cheap mass production of children's comics and pornography went hand-in-hand, often rolling off the same presses.

In an attention to detail that would make Dan Brown proud, Bollinger hunted down copies of H.W. Bennett's comics and adult magazines offerings under a variety of styles and signatures. He produced artwork and stories for his publications under several different pseudonyms to give the appearance of a larger publishing operation. Some of the credits and signatures he used in his magazines included: 'Harvey', 'RV', 'Rufus' and 'Frank Bradley and C.J. Bonington'. It's suspected that he also produced much of the editorial content for 'Mister' magazine, including 'reader' discussions on the subject of adult spanking, with titles like 'Whacko!' and the more literal 'Spanko!'.

H.W. Bennett worked out of offices in the Safe Deposit Buildings on High Street, Auckland. An address he also used to import and distribute sex-related books from the US. Times Printing Company in Auckland printed many of Bennett's comics and magazines for the local market and distribution in Australia.

'Supreme Feature Comics' was one of NZ's longest running comics, producing 33 comics through to the late 1940s. It contained simplistic adventure stories, often starring colonial heroes fighting off various 'foreign devils', alongside humourous strips. As sales lagged in the late '40s, Bennett attempted to reinvigorate 'Supreme' by re-launching it as 'The New Supreme Feature Comics'. Bennett took more care with the stories and artwork in the 'New Supreme', but it faded after five issues.

Following strong public opinion against the content of comics in the early '50s, government restrictions on the production of comics led to the closing of the Times Printing Company in 1954, for whom comics were 80% of their business. The NZ comics boom was over and H.W. Bennett disappeared with it, leaving behind these curious relics from the comics industry that could have been.

If this wasn't enough work for the comics historian, Tim Bollinger also assembled an impressive exhibition on 'New Zealand Comix in the '70s'.

This exhibition marks an interesting new chapter in NZ comics history, picking up several decades after the collapse of the original comics boom in the early 1950s.

Featured an eye-opening variety of local comics from the '70s, this rejuvenation was partly inspired by the D.I.Y underground comics movement taking place in San Francisco at the time. While cartoonist Robert Crumb was producing surprisingly frank comics about his life and sexual obsessions, back in New Zealand cartoonist Barry Linton was creating his own uniquely pacific flavoured underground comics. Banding together with other like minded artists enthusiastic about creating local comics, Linton was a founding member of the comics anthology, 'Strips'.

One of NZ's longest running comics, 'Strips' was published in the early '70s and ran until 1986. It featured early work from Colin Wilson, Terence Hogan, Joe Wylie, Dick Frizzell and many more. This exhibition featured rare artwork from these early issues and reproductions of the comics for curious readers to rediscover.

One of 'Strips' founding artists Colin Wilson, who has gone on to become a much acclaimed and respected comics artist in France, the US and Australia, also had some of his solo artwork spotlighted in the exhibition. Including his work on New Zealand's first true superhero, the environmentally conscious 'Captain Sunshine' from 1979. Aside from being NZ's first and only colour superhero comic, 'The Adventures of Captain Sunshine' has one other curious claim to fame: it's the only comic ever published to promote a wrist-worn sundial!

Above: Possible the most hair-brained comics cross-promotion ever: The wrist-worn sundial watch!!

It's hard to believe, but 100,000 copies of this comic were created for sale in NZ, Australia and the US to promote this product. Posters and full-size standees of 'Captain Sunshine' were also produced for sale. A second issue was commissioned but never published, as unsurprisingly the company producing it was deeply in debt (experiencing what I can only imagine was 'bankruptcy whiplash'!). If you overlook the nutty product promotion, Wilson's work on the book was stunning, and he was soon hard at work for British comics giant '2000AD'.

Above: Some more artwork by Colin Wilson.

There were plenty of other great unearthed NZ comics on display during the weekend; for a closer look he's some photos from opening:

Above: Photo by James Gilberd.

Above: Photos by Lee-Yan Marquez & Gijs Priegel.

Above: After the opening and some well deserved drinks, the comics crowd made it's way to the Left Bank sector for some Thai food. From left to right: Draw, Bob Gibbons, Matthew Kelly, Me, Grace C. Russell (behind me in red), Morgan Davie, Issac Freeman, Dick Whyte, Dylan Horrocks and Tim Bollinger. Photo by Lee-Yan Marquez & Gijs Priegel.

Coming up next in Part 2: The Wellington 'Hicksville' launch and the 2010 Black River Digital Eric Awards!

-AK!

A special thanks for use of photos from this event from James Gilberd and Lee-Yan Marquez & Gijs Priegel. Additional material on the background of H.W. Bennett provided by Tim Bollinger.

EVENT: New Zealand Comics Weekend

This Easter will see the return of the New Zealand Comics Weekend, to be held from the 2nd-4th of April, at The Basement Gallery, 39 Dixon Street, Wellington. A wide range of independent New Zealand comics and zines will be on sale, with the following events and activities scheduled during the weekend:

Friday 2nd of April:

The festivities kick off with an opening night celebration from 5.30pm, featuring two exhibitions: 'NZ Comix in the 70's' and 'The Work of H.W. Bennett', curated by NZ comics historian Tim Bollinger, which will run for the entire weekend from 10am daily.

Saturday 3rd of April:

5.30pm: The Wellington Launch of the Victoria University Press edition of 'Hicksville' by Dylan Horrocks.

'Hicksville' is arguably New Zealand’s best know graphic novel, and the VUP edition is the first edition of the novel to be published in New Zealand. It has been translated into several languages, and its author, Dylan Horrocks, has been a guest of several comics and literary events, including the Les Belles Etrangères festival in Paris.

7:30pm: The Black River Digital New Zealand Comics Awards

A celebration of excellence in New Zealand’s independent publishing community, hosted by Fringe Festival comedian Nic Sando, featuring an interview with Burton Silver of 'Bogor' fame.

The following is a list of nominees for the 2010 Black River Digital New Zealand Comics Awards, also known as 'The Erics'. The Erics (named after early NZ comics pioneer Eric Resetar) recognise excellence in the New Zealand comics community.

BEST COMIC:

The Inhabitants by The Sheehan Bros
The Tangled Garden by Draw
Love Stories by Mat Tait
Hotpools by Ned Wenlock
Book by Hayden Currie, James Rowsell and Matt Henley

BEST COMIC STRIP:

Western Park by Tim Kidd.
Thumbscrew Theatre by Brent Willis, Salient 2007.
Tim Bollinger's recurring series in White Fungus magazine.
Jitterati by Grant Buist.
Desert Funnies by Grant Buist.

BEST ANTHOLOGY:

Bristle (ed. Brent Willis)
Radio as Paper (ed. Jerome Bihan)
Pictozine II (ed. Dave Bradbury)
Book (eds. Hayden Currie, James Rowsell, Matt Henley)

BEST WEBCOMIC:

I Fight Crime, by Tara Black and Richard Fairgray.
Tiny Kitten Teeth, by Frank and Becky.
Drawing Silence, by Draw.
Guzumzo Comics, by M. Emery.
How to Understand Everything and not hate yourself

BEST ARTWORK:

The Inhabitants, art by Darren Sheenan
Hotpools by Ned Wenlock
Chicks with Knives by Claire Harris
Utopia Now Vol.1 by Margaret Silverwood
Love Stories by Mat Tait

BEST WRITING:

Passion of the Gimps by Clive Townsend & Brent Willis
The Inhabitants writing by Kelly Sheenan
Omnisexual by Robbie Neilson
The Garden by Draw

BEST DEBUT:

Book by Hayden Currie, James Rowsell and Matt Henley
Hotpools by Ned Wenlock
G33K by Renee Lyons
Skate Rat by Theo MacDonald
Girls can Really Fuck You in the Head by Elliot Stewart

BEST SHORT PIECE:

Under the Bed by Tim Molloy (Single issue)
The Adventures of Happy Satan by Ari Freeman (Bristle #2)
Super Camel by Claire Harris (Bristle #1)
Commuters by Brent Willis (Bristle #1)

The categories BEST COMICS RELATED WEBSITE and BEST DISTRIBUTION will be decided based on popular vote.

This year the judging responsibilities will be shared between Roberta Gregory (American author of ‘Bitchy Bitch’), Andrei Molotiu ( editor and publisher at Fantagraphic Comics), New Zealand Writer Elizabeth Knox, Ant Sang (of ‘Dharma Punks’ and ‘Bro’ Town’), Cornelius Stone (probably best known for ‘Knuckles the Malevolent Nun’), Claire Brunette (one of the co-ordinators of the Wellington City Library Small Press collection), Australian cartoonist and organiser David Blumenstein, and New Zealand’s pre-eminent comics historian, Tim Bollinger.

Other events confirmed but yet to be scheduled include: bande-dessinee with Travis Lealand-Mapelsden, Abstract comics with Dick Whyte, and engaging kids comics activities with G.C.R.

The NZCC (New Zealand Comics Creators) will be hosting sales all weekend at both NZ Comics Weekend and Wellington Armageddon. They will a full range of NZ comics on offer at both venues, including the new edition of Dylan Horrocks' 'Hicksville', 'The Imposter' by Lee-Yan Marquez and a new issue of 'Chicks With Knives' by Claire Harris.

For more information on NZ Comics Weekend or The Black River Digital New Zealand Comics Awards, you can visit the NZ Comics Weekend blog or email: nzcomicsweekend@gmail.com.

-AK!