Ngā Atua Māori: Illustrating Māori mythology with Munro Te Whata

Above: Munro Te Whata drawing live at the KIWA Ngā Atua Māori Graphic Novella Launch. Copyright Kiwa Digital 2015.

Earlier this week I reported on the launch and creation of KIWA's Ngā Atua Māori Graphic Novella e-books, today I'm talking to Munro Te Whata, the artist behind these ground-breaking adaptations.

Munro Te Whata was born and raised in Auckland, his iwi are Nga Puhi, Ngati Porou, and also has Niuean heritage. He has a background in animation and a Bachelor of Creative Arts majoring in Creative Writing, and was one of the animators who brought the animated series Bro' Town to our screens during its successful five season run. Long time readers of this blog may also recall some of Te Whata's early comics work, when he collaborated with Czepta Gold on a kids manga/hip hop infused comic, Wulfpak back in 2009.

With KIWA's four graphic novellas competed and more comics work on the way, I caught up with Munro to find out more about the creative process of collaborating on these e-books and some of his artistic influences.

Above: Illustration by Munro Te Whata. Copyright Kiwa Digital/Munro Te Whata 2015.

AK: We've seen different takes on illustrating Māori mythology over the years - from Peter Gossage's children's books to Chris Slane's edger take on Maui; what was your particular approach to the material in terms of style and storytelling?

Munro Te Whata: I was actually the second illustrator to come on board - I was hired because the first illustrator was pumping out some really awesome artwork, but she was way too slow. So there was a style already developed before I even came on. It was meant to look like something an international audience would like, basically something Marvel or DC [comics] readers would buy. Because the stories I was working on were different to the ones the first illustrator worked on, I was able to put my own spin on the artwork, however I was given a lot less time to do it. So my approach was to do everything digital because it was a lot faster. I never really looked at other illustrators of the Māori myths for inspiration, although I do love their work. I looked more at animated TV shows like Avatar and Dragon Ball Z or video games like Street Fighter and Marvel vs Capcom. These were all really influential to me growing up and are therefore part of my style as an artist.

Above: Storyboards be Munro Te Whata. Copyright Munro Te Whata 2015.

AK: How closely do you work with the writers to insure that the stories are entertaining but still retain all the key information and cultural significance of the original myths? I was talking to someone at the launch party and it sounded like there were a few 'false starts' before the series found the right balance between retelling the original stories and adapting them as comics for a contemporary audience?

MTW: During the storyboard stage I would meet up with the writer and try to match how he saw the story in his head, to how I drew it. Each page had it's own text so for example: 'Page 1: this happens.. Page 2: that happens..', so I just had to choose what part of the text would be best to show to make the whole story flow and sometimes when there was more than one bit of action on the page I'd split the page into two or more pictures/panels.

It wasn't actually a false start. We had done four different Myths each around 40 pages which were fully completed. The first illustrator worked on two books and when she couldn't finish all four, I was brought on to do the other two. The big problem with these books was that they were written in English first and then translated to Māori. First and foremost the books are a language and cultural resource for anyone wanting to learn Māori. But by telling the story in English first the translation to Māori wasn't very good. The second problem was that the story was retold in a way that a lot of Māori didn't like. Basically defeating the purpose of why the stories were created in the first place.

Above: Illustration by Munro Te Whata. Copyright Kiwa Digital/Munro Te Whata 2015.

AK: Did you have any personal favourites from the stories/sequences you enjoyed illustrating for the series?

MTW: I think the third book, during the first half I felt like I was getting in a groove but due to having to pump them out quite fast - like 3 pages a day - I have to say that took a bit of the fun out of it! (laughs).

Above: Character designs by Munro Te Whata. Copyright Kiwa Digital/Munro Te Whata 2015.

AK: What's your drawing process from script to finished artwork? And what are your preferred art tools of choice?

MTW: I usually start by doing a whole lot of scribbling on paper. Just concepts of characters and then when I have the script I start going through the whole story and doing thumbnails of different ideas for the layouts of the page. Working in thumbnails helps the overall flow of the story, so I try to get it to a point where someone can read the thumbnails without the script and still get the story.

My experience is in traditional animation and I've never really learnt how to paint, so when I started getting work as an illustrator I bought a wacom tablet and now everything I do that needs colour is done digitally. For me nothing beats drawing with just a pencil, pen and permanent marker.

Above: Illustration by Munro Te Whata. Copyright Kiwa Digital/Munro Te Whata 2015.

AK: And what are some of your art influences?

MTW: I find inspiration from everywhere. I love old spaghetti westerns, old samurai and martial arts movies. Comics like Saga, 100 bullets and Lone Wolf and Cub are real inspiring to me and great reads. I follow quite a lot of TV shows. I tend to gravitate toward stories of wandering types maybe because I moved around a lot as a kid. I also like video games and usually the long free roaming types. I tend to listen to a lot of music while I work as well which can be anything depending on my mood. I also find a lot of inspiration reading about world mythologies/religions, New Zealand history and I'm constantly looking for imagery from old cultures. Some favourite artists would be Bengus, Le Sean Thomas, Banksy, Mike Mignola, Tarantino, Fiona Apple, Goseki Kojima, Miyazaki, Joe Madureira, Moebius and so much more I can't think of right now.

Above: Rough art layout by Munro Te Whata. Copyright Kiwa Digital/Munro Te Whata 2015.

AK: At the launch we talked a bit about some of your future projects in the pipeline, and it sounds like you might have a potential long-form comics project in the works?

MTW: With the Ngā Atua Māori comics Kiwa will be pushing to get more of those done in the future. I also have an ongoing comic series which I'm working on with a friend. It's just a passion project at the moment and we both have kids and full-time jobs so not too much time to work on it but we are hoping to eventually submit to Image Comics. Basically it's an historical fiction comic set in and around New Zealand leading up to the Treaty of Waitangi. There's not much else to say about it other than it's going to show a lot of crazy shit that went down in that time. So it probably won't be for kids...

Above: Illustration by Munro Te Whata. Copyright Kiwa Digital/Munro Te Whata 2015.

You can view more of Munro's artwork over at his art blog HERE, and for more information on KIWA and their Ngā Atua Māori graphic novellas you can visit their website HERE.

- AK!

Above: Munro Te Whata drawing live at the KIWA Ngā Atua Māori Graphic Novella Launch.

News From Earth's End: September Edition

Above: The cover of New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels, published by Hicksville Press. Cover illustrations going clockwise: Akira Atsushi, Mat Tait (x2), Toby Morris, Greg Broadmore, Ant Sang, Andrew Burdan and Dylan Horrocks.

Hi everyone, sorry for the length of time between posts, it's been a busy year here at Earth's End Central; but there's plenty of exciting NZ comics publishing developments on the way in the next few months, so your patience will be rewarded!

In fact, here's some FREE stuff for you right now: Dylan Horrocks has edited a guide to New Zealand comics and creators for distribution at the various publishing events taking place in the next few weeks, including the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Treviso Comic Book Festival. As it's a promotional publication, you won't find it available at retailers, but the good news is you can download it for FREE HERE.

It highlights over sixty NZ comic creators, as well as a full listing of their available and upcoming projects, and features a brief historical overview of New Zealand Comics by Tim Bollinger.

Above: Wulfpak by Ed Butler aka Czepta Gold. Copyright Chronic Shock Entertainment 2012.

Back in 2009, before he became Czepta Gold, comic creator Ed Butler produced a kids manga hip-hop mash-up, Wulfpuk. A fun combination of Dragonball with a decidedly local street flavour, the complete 40 page comic is now available for FREE on Graphicly HERE.

Above: A preview page from Adventure Time #8, featuring a special story from Frank & Becky. Copyright Cartoon Network 2012.

In other news, Tiny Kitten Teeth creators Frank Gibson & Becky Dreistadt are making big inroads in the US, with a back-up in the latest issue of Adventure Time, a comic published by Kaboom, based on the hugely popular animated series. You can view an eight page preview of their contribution HERE via Comics Alliance.

Above: Mr. Unpronounceable returns! Copyright Tim Molloy 2012.

Tim Molloy has a forthcoming collection of his Mr. Unpronounceable stories coming out soon, so here's a first look at the cover...

Above: The cover of Snarked! #12, by Roger Langridge. Copyright Roger Langridge 2012.

Sadly, it seems Roger Langridge's Eisner Award-winning comic series Snarked! will be coming to an end with #12. Over on his blog Roger says the book will reach a natural conclusion, but he'd like to revisit the characters again in the future if there's enough interest. The best way for you to show your support is to buy the trade collections: Snarked! Volume 1 is available now, with Volume 2 hitting in late October, and the final volume landing in February next year. Roger will still be keeping busy though, with the ongoing Popeye comic for IDW and he's also working on another more 'action-orientated' title for them in the near future.

Stat tuned for information on several upcoming NZ comic events in the next few weeks!

-AK!

The Auckland Armageddon Expo '09 Review

Above: The Auckland Armageddon Expo '09 Poster.

After a decade at Auckland's Aotea Centre, in 2009 the comics and pop culture convention know as Armageddon Expo returned to the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane. This announcement was met with some uncertainty and speculation in local comics circles: was the show being down graded? Had it being edged out of the Aotea centre by rising rental costs? In recent years the show had being showing signs of stagnation (same stalls, same stock), and whatever the reason for the change of venue, a face-lift was definitely necessary. However, the biggest question raised by changing venues had to be: would the city crowds follow the convention to the suburbs?

The answer was a resounding yes, with an attendance of 40,000 people making their way to the new location for the three event (with a two hour line for entry tickets on the first day). The change of venue turned out to be the show's saving grace, giving it and it's audience a chance to breathe, with more room to move and a generally less cluttered layout.

Above: The Gotham Comics stand.

According to store holders, sales were also on the rise, with an increase in comics awareness due to the mainstream coverage of comics related movies like 'Dark Knight', 'Ironman' and 'Watchmen'. Much like the overseas conventions, there was a sizable increase in female readers, drawing in fans of the teen vampire franchise 'Twilight', but also taking an avid interest in graphic novels. More than ever, the event positioned itself as a truly family orientated show: with plenty of giveaways, TV and animation guests aimed at a younger audience and an outside area of carnival rides (conveniently wheeled out from storage from the Easter show).

Above: The Head Comics stand.

Despite a late change to the schedule, there was a healthy line-up of comics guests including: Greg Rucka ('Queen & Country', 'Detective Comics'), Peter David ('The Incredible Hulk', 'Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'), Matthew Clark ('Outsiders', 'Doom Petrol') and legendary artist Bill Sienkiewicz('Electra Assassin', 'Stray Toasters').

Above: Greg Rucka at (the mercy of) the Gotham Comics stand!

Greg Rucka and Peter David gave insightful talks on the ins-and-outs of writing comics for corporate companies, like the 'Big Two': Marvel and DC Comics. David spoke of the balance of writing for yourself and maintaining your individual voice while keeping editorial happy and following the company's direction. The discussion also touched upon the nature of serial storytelling in comics, and the difficulty of navigating the often convoluted continuity of corporate owned characters like 'Batman' or 'Superman'. David used the 'drive-by' analogy to describe a writer's quick run on a book, changing the status quo of a character and leaving another writer to pick-up the pieces. This lead to an amusing moment as David used the resent changes in 'Wonder Woman' as an example ("oh look, Wonder Woman kills now!), leading Rucka to point out that HE had actually written that book. It was now Rucka's turn to explain the flip side of that argument: when you are writing a turning point in a character's life and you are removed from the book before you can pay-off that event and write it's natural resolution. As a result there are plot points from Rucka's run on 'Wonder Woman' (2004-2006) which have not been resolved, but at this point he feels that to much time has passed, and it's best to let the character's story continue on it's current course.

Above: Greg Rucka signing at the Gotham Comics stand.

Both writers were asked for advice on breaking into comics as a writer. As Rucka observed, "writer's write. If you want to be a writer, you write every day; it's that simple. Now, what else can I tell you about writing?". Rucka then provided a visual example: he pulled out his laptop and started typing quickly. "This is NOT writing; this is typing. I can type extremely fast, but it's NOT writing. THIS is writing..". He pauses, thinking. He starts to type again, then stops and puts his head in his hands...a moment passes. "...and then you think some more. THAT'S writing".

Above: Peter David reading one of his scripts for 'Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man' (with his daughter).

On Sunday morning Peter David proved the point that good dialogue should be readable, by delivered a dramatic reading of one of his 'Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man' scripts. It focused on an emotional face-off between J. Jonah Jameson and Peter Parker, who had recently being unmasked as Spider-Man. It took half an hour for David to read, and really showcased his skill for delivering a dramatic story with both humour and heart.

Above: Bill Sienkiewicz working on a commission at the Gotham Comics stall.

Bill Sienkiewicz also gave an insightful talk on his creative process and his work on a variety of projects, including movie conceptual artwork (which is what he currently works on, between inking comics here and there). Recently he had produced a series of promotional illustrations based on 'The Dark Knight' film, which he was selling at the show as a sketchbook. He was also doing commissions (if you had a spare couple of grand!).

Above: The NZ Comics stand, manned by Claire Harris and the Sheehan Bros.

New Zealand comics were well presented at the convention, both at the NZ Comics stand and by solo exhibitors. Organised by Claire Harris, the NZ Comics stand was selling comics from all ends of the country, with books on hand from Wellington, Christchurch and local Auckland creators. The Sheehan Bros were present for the weekend, selling their recently completed epic 'The Inhabitants' as a complete graphic novel package. Kelly Sheehan had this to say about their Armageddon experience at the new venue, "we were very happy with Armaggeddon. The NZ comics stall was well organised and well run by Claire. The foot-traffic was a little slow at times, but over all steady. At the end of the day we walked away with a reasonable amount of comics sold. The new venue is great, I hope Bill decides to keep it there in the future. I should add a thanks to Bill. Over the years he has made his events accessible to the NZ comics creators and doesn't ask much in return. In a lot of ways he is the reason Darren and I continue. We are provided with a public and feedback once a year, and a we get to hang with other creators. So, cheers Bill - your efforts are much appreciated".

Above: Richard Fairgray at the 'Blastosaurus' stand.

There was also a decent representation of solo NZ Comics exhibitors. Richard Fairgray made a welcome return with the 'Blastosaurus' stand, debuting the 'Blastosaurus Halloween Special' and a cheque book sized collections of the 'I Fight Crime' web-comic.

Above: Drake at the 'Ninjet' stand.

Right next door to him was Drake, selling comics, T-shirts and art from 'Ninjet': the high adventures of a ninja cat! You can sample this fun series online HERE.

Above: Ed Butler at the 'Wulfpak' stand.

Across the way, Ed Butler was back at Auckland Armageddon this year in force, with a new kids friendly manga-sized series 'Wulfpak'. Produced with Munro Te Whata, this book went down a treat with the family target audience of the convention, so expect to see more from these guys in the future!

Above: Copies of 'New Ground' #12 on sale at the DMC Comics stand.

The latest issue of 'New Ground' from DMC Comics made it's debut at the convention, with an eye-catching cover from Jared Lane.

Above: Marc Streeter at the 'ActionMan Adam' stall in the Artist's Ally.

This year there was an added bonus: an artist's alley, championed by Jeremy Bishop of Gotham Comics. It featured a collection of stalls selling everything from comics to jewellery, toys, posters, badges, finger-puppets and more. It was a lively addition to the show, adding a friendly market vibe to contrast the usual promotions heavy businesses crowding the other areas of the hall. Amongst these punters was cartoonist Marc Streeter, selling his comic 'ActionMan Adam' (which is now a full-colour web-comic that you can follow HERE), along with T-shirts and badges.

Above: Fox's 'Avatar' stand.

That was the comics side of Armageddon, so how did the rest of the convention hold up? As per usual, promotions and marketing were assaulting you from every side, but it's hard to complain when it's this marketing that's largely picking up the tab for the show. Fox's 'Avatar' stand wowed crowds with it's plasma screen trailer, while over in the 18+ XBox 360 zone, a 3D version of the tie-in videogame popped eyes (and left me with a slight headache).

Above: The Activision stand.

There was a huge Activision Sing Star/Rock Band stage, which well and truly dwarfed it's performers. A SkyCity Cinemas stand took up an unnecessary amount of floor space at the back of the main hall, which could have been put to better use. In future, perhaps the celebrity photos/signing area would be a better candidate for this space. Unfortunately this year they were housed in the second hall AKA the dilapidated rusty warehouse!

I'm not sure if they were going for an 'old school depression era hollywood studio' approach here, if so, kudos on the attention to detail. Overall it wasn't a good look. They may be TV stars, but selling their pictures in a rundown warehouse surrounded by stalls selling day-glow sticks and other products that wouldn't be out of place in an underground flea-market will probably have them thinking twice about taking part in the australasian convention circuit. That whole second hall definitely needs a re-think.

Above: Storm Troopers and friends with a Fett.

Now it wouldn't be an Armageddon without massive amounts of Cosplay!

After a decade of attending Armageddon (god, did I just type that?) you think you've seen it all...and then some dude walks in dressed as 'Doria the Explorer', in a costume three sized too small that leaves nothing to the imagination! Unfortunately there are some things you just can't un-see. Aside from that, there was a great deal of Star Wars stormtroopers, a neat R2D2, jedi Knights, several jokers, Batman, Spider Jerusalem, Dr Zoidberg, a massive amounts of anime characters (with over-sized weapons not for the weak of wrist) and that staple of sci-fi conventions: slave-girl Leias (a note of caution: it's not a costume that should be attempted if you can't pull it off).

I understand there were Anime screenings on the main stage during the weekend, including the NZ premier of 'Superman/Batman: Public Enemies' the DC animation adaptation of the Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness comic series (which I hear isn't quite as good as the previous releases, but I'll reserve my judgement till I see it).

Above: At the show there's always something for everyone: I got a little carried away by 'Watchmen' mania! (but I'm cool with it, as long as my money goes straight to Dave Gibbons' pockets!).

Overall, it was a vast improvement on previous years; Bill Geradts and the team put on a great show and I expect the next Auckland Armageddon will take the convention to new heights of success.

-AK!