EVENT: Remembering Eric Resetar 1928-2011

Above: Eric Resetar at The Cartoon Show exhibition in 2000.

As readers of this blog may recall, pioneering New Zealand comics creator Eric Resetar passed away last December at the age of 83. This weekend Eric's niece Andrea has arranged a memorial gathering to celebrate the life and memory of this remarkable cartoonist.

It will be taking place this Sunday, March 4th at 2pm at the Arthur Street Bar & Grill, 267a Arthur St, Onehunga.

If you knew Eric or were a fan of his work, please come along to share some memories and honour the passing of one of New Zealand comics finest.

-AK!

Graphic Novels dominate New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards!

The nominations for this year's New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards were announced on Friday, and all three of the local graphic novels released last year have received nominations. Ant Sang's Shaolin Burning (Harper Collins) is up for Best Picture Book, and Kimble Bent: Malcontent by Chris Grosz (Random House) is competing against Nice Day For a War: Adventures of a Kiwi Soldier in World War I (HarperCollins) by Matt Elliott and Chris Slane for the Best Non-Fiction title.

Above: The nominated titles and authors: Shaolin Burning, Kimble Bent: Malcontent, and Nice Day For a War: Adventures of a Kiwi Soldier in World War I.

The nomination of Shaolin Burning may raise some eyebrows, as it's in a category generally dominated by picture books for the very young (I think it's safe to say it's the only book in the category this year to feature multiple decapitations!).

'Dominate' may seem like a strong word to use here, but for those playing at home, that's THREE nominations for THREE graphic novels out of the over 350 children's titles nominated. That's a pretty high batting average by any estimation, not to mention all three titles topped the Nielsen BookScan Bestseller charts on their respective releases. One would hope this sends a strong message to publishers who are still cautiously approaching graphic novels with a barge pole: they are here to stay, and you are missing out on surest thing in publishing since vampires hit puberty!

The winning titles will be announced at a ceremony in Wellington on Wednesday 16th of May. 

-AK!

Above: All three nominated authors (with some other guys...) at Auckland Armageddon Expo 2011. 

From left: me, Dylan Horrocks, Chris Slane, Ant Sang and Chris Grosz.

EVENT: Fantasy & Pop Culture Panel with Denise Mina, Kelly Link & Robert Shearman

Above: Zine creator and writer Kelly Link, novelist Denise Mina & fantasy and screenwriter Robert Shearman.

As a part of the Wellington Writers & Readers Festival 2012, taking place from the 9th - 14th of March, a trio of writers whose work collectively covers a wide spectrum of pop culture, will be discussing their writing in a fantasy-filled hour at the Embassy Theatre on March 14th. The panel will be hosted by NZ cartoonist and fantasy writer Dylan Horrocks.

Above: Denise Mina's two Hellblazer collections, covers by Lee Bermejo. Copyright DC Comics/Vertigo 2012.

Scottish writer Denise Mina is best known for her hard-hitting crime novels, but to comics readers she's the author of a well-regarded run on Vertigo's flagship title, John Constantine: Hellblazer. Her run was collected in two volumes: Empathy Is The Enemy and The Red Right Hand. She's also written A Sickness In The Family for Vertigo's Crime line, and was just announced as the writer for the upcoming graphic novel adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series.

Above: Cover for Book One of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Graphic novel. Cover by Lee Bermejo. Copyright DC Comics/Vertigo 2012.

Robert Shearman is a writer with some serious geek credentials, having written the episode Dalek for the modern Doctor Who TV series, which re-introduced the Daleks to a whole new generation of viewers.

And rounding out the trio is Kelly Link, an award-winning writer and zine creator. Her collections of short stories include: Stranger Things Happen, Magic for Beginners, and Pretty Monsters.

The panel will be taking place at The Embassy Theatre, Wellington, Wednesday 14th of March at 3.30pm. Tickets are $18 ($10 for students). You can book through Ticketek HERE.

-AK!

WEEKEND LISTENING: Dylan Horrocks & Mike Dawson Interview

Above: Dylan Horrocks and Mike Dawson.

Mike Dawson, the US cartoonist behind Freddie & Me, Troop 142 and one half of the indie-comics podcast Ink Panthers, recently got on the phone to interview Dylan Horrocks for The Comics Journal's TCJ Talkies series.

They discuss the recent creator rights controversies: from DC's announcement to finally move forward with it's Before Watchmen series of prequels without Alan Moore's blessing, to Gary Friedrich's failed lawsuit to be recognised as the creator of Ghost Rider against Marvel Comics. Dylan has always been outspoken and honest with his views on creator rights in comics and intellectual property, and this conversation is no exception.

On a more personal front, Dylan starts off talking about the start of his career and the decision to move from part-time worker to full-time cartoonist. With New Zealand heading into another term of a National led government and a US election on the horizon, there's also an interesting discussion on the differences between our two electoral systems, and why we should perhaps get a vote in Uncle Sam's elections!

All this plays out to the occasional Tui tune from Dylan's backyard in Maraetai. You can listen to the full recording HERE.

-AK!

GO READ: Under The Bridge by Tim Molloy

Above: A panel from Under The Bridge by Tim Molloy. Mr Unpronouceable is copyright Tim Molloy 2012.

While you're waiting for the imminent release of Tim Molloy's upcoming strip collection, It Shines And Shakes And Laughs, here's a brand new Mr Unpronouceable strip! I understand a collection of this cult character's complete adventures is also in the works sometime in the future, but until then here's a squirming taste of things to come! 



For the full story, check out Tim's Deviant Art page, as well as his blog HERE (where you'll also get to see a colour treat from this story!).

Now join everyone's favourite homeless Necromancer as he encounters a Bridge Troll, Demonic inter-dimensional entities and some very questionable reading material! Grim Hilarity Ensues...

-AK!

EVENT: White Cloud Worlds Exhibition

Based on last year's fantastic NZ fantasy art collection White Cloud Worlds, published by HarperCollins NZ/Ignite Inc, an exhibition featuring artwork and sculptures from the collection will be touring the country, kicking off with an opening this week at Lopdell House Gallery in Titirangi, West Auckland. Here's the official announcement:

White Cloud Worlds is a first-of-its-kind popular culture exhibition, which showcases the diverse and unique work created by New Zealand science fiction and fantasy artists. Working with over 20 artists and illustrators who work within the digital, new media and film genre, this ground breaking exhibition showcases the conceptual artwork and illustrations which have graced the screen, graphic novels and games around the world.

White Cloud Worlds is a partnership project, developed by The Dowse Art Museum and Ignite Inc: artist Paul Tobin and Project Manager Kate Jorgensen, both of whom are leaders in the New Zealand science fiction and fantasy art community. Ignite Inc. has produced a lavish hardcover book titled White Cloud Worlds: An Anthology of Fantasy and Science Fiction Artwork from Aotearoa New Zealand, published by Harper Collins in 2010. The exhibition includes a selection of artwork from the book, which was launched in conjunction with the exhibition.

With the creation of The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson’s multi-award winning trilogy and James Cameron’s recently released Avatar, the creative energy, sophistication and technical prowess of New Zealand’s Film industry has been thrust into the international spotlight. This success has inspired great energy within the fantasy art community and allowed the genre a much more widespread, and popular, profile. White Cloud Worlds is the first time fantasy art will be seen in a contemporary gallery context and we envisage it will be especially popular with regular visitors, while encouraging new audiences to visit the gallery.

Featuring artwork by: Gino Acevedo, Guido Anton, Aaron Beck,  Jeremy Bennett, Jamie Beswarick, Greg Broadmore, Dylan Coburn, Stephen Crowe, Claire Hackett, Rebekah Holguin, Gus Hunter, Nick Keller, Jeffrey Lai, Stephen Lambert, Warren Mahy, Simon Morse, Christian Pearce, Matty Rodgers, Andrew Shaw, Thomas Simpson, Ben Stenbeck, Stuart Thomas, Paul Tobin, Frank Victoria and Ben Wootten.

The exhibition opens this Thursday 16th of February at 6pm, and runs until Sunday 15th of April at Lopdell House Gallery, 418 Titirangi Road, Titirangi, West Auckland. For more information, you can visit the Gallery website HERE or the official White Cloud Worlds website HERE.

-AK! 

Below: Still available, the White Cloud Worlds collection at a bookstore near you!

Coming Attractions: It Shines And Shakes And Laughs

Above: The cover of It Shines And Shakes And Laughs by Tim Molloy. Copyright Tim Molloy 2012.

Making it's debt next month, It Shines And Shakes And Laughs collects the silent and surreal comics of Tim Molloy! This covers his work from 2007-2012, as Tim describes it, "its a collection of all my silent work for the last five years or so. It's very esoteric and experimental in it's entirety and reflects a big transition period in my life... On the other hand, it is very eclectic and very much a 'collection." Published by Australian indie-press specialist Milk Shadow Books, it comes with an introduction by Dylan Horrocks. 

Above: A silent strip by Tim Molloy. Copyright Tim Molloy 2012.

Look for it next month, and I'll keep you posted on where you'll be able to pick this up in New Zealand. For more updates check out the Milk Shadow Books website HERE.

-AK!

GO READ: City Lights by Chad Taylor & Jonathan King

Above: A page from City Lights by Chad Taylor & Jonathan King. Copyright Chad Taylor & Jonathan King 2012.

In the latest addition to his Brighter Future Blog, cartoonist/film maker Jonathan King has teamed up with writer Chad Taylor for a 9 page comic, City Lights. It follows a debate between two astronomers who may have just discovered signs of life on another planet; but what difference would this discovery make to the future of mankind, or more directly, to their own lives? The answer may surprise you. 

You can read the full story HERE.

-AK!

Coming Attractions: Roger Langridge boards Popeye for IDW

Above: Popeye sketch by Roger Langridge.

Welcome back to From Earth's End, we're getting the New Year underway with some big comic announcements from local creators. Kicking off today with the news that Roger Langridge, the NZ writer/artist behind such acclaimed titles as Snarked!, The Muppet Show Comicbook and Thor: The Mighty Avenger has been tapped to write a new Popeye series for IDW that will debut in April.

Above: A fun homage cover for Popeye #1, by Bruce Ozella (based on Joe Shuster's Action Comics #1). Copyright IDW/King Features 2012.

Based on the iconic comic-strip by E.C. Segar, this new series will see Langridge team-up with newcomer artist Bruce Ozella, whose art is a dead-ringer for Segar. In a press release from IDW, Language expressed his long-time affection for the character: "Ever since I was a kid, the two cartoonist who have had the biggest influence on me have been Carl Barks and E.C. Segar, so getting a change to write Popeye is quite a thrill. I'm especially pleased that IDW have decided to go with a Segar-flavoured interpretation. As much as I like some of the later versions of the character, for me, it's those early strips where the magic really happened. Just as well Segar drew everybody with big feet, because Bruce and I have some enormous shoes to fill!"

Above: a sample page by Bruce Ozella. Copyright IDW/King Features 2012.

The comic will feature a mix of long and short form self-contained stories, with a denser panel count than most regular comics to capture the original pacing of the strip. As Langridge explained in an interview with Comicbook Resources, "I've deliberately made each story quite dense -- eight panels per page is the norm -- to try and evoke that Segar feeling. We're not going the whole Segar route of twenty-four panel pages(!), but I felt a bit of density was desirable. It seems to be a good rhythm for the stories so far, allowing us to pack a lot of plot and gags into every issue."

Langridge also offered his take on the spinach powered sailor, "to me, Popeye is someone who thinks in straight lines. Mentally, he's not complicated. This is right, this is wrong; we need to achieve this, so let's just go and do it in the most direct way possible. He's not the sort of character who experiences a lot of doubt; on the rare occasions when he does, it's a real crisis for him. The best Popeye stories generally give him something to feel righteously angry about -- that can be an external threat or an emotional one, because he's quite thin-skinned, emotionally. And, of course, it helps if he's got an excuse to clobber somebody at some point!"

Popeye debuts from IDW this April. So keep an eye out for it, and come back here tomorrow for another NZ creator announcement!

-AK!

RIP Eric Resetar

Above: The Cover of Crash O'Kane: All Blacks On Mars #1 by Eric Resetar.

One of New Zealand's comics pioneers passed away this week, on Wednesday 21st of December at Auckland Hospital. Eric Resetar is believed to be one of the first self-publishing comic creators in New Zealand, starting in the 1940s while still attending high school! 

During World War II he applied to the government for paper supplies (which were rationed at the time) to print his comics on, making the argument that they would increase national moral. The government agreed, approving his application and he was on his way to producing local comics!

Above: The Cover of Crash Carson Of The Future #2 by Eric Resetar.

Inspired by Buck Rogers comics he traded with visiting US sailors, his own comics were a mix of Sci-Fi and adventure, with his own added touch of Kiwiana.

Some of the titles he produced from the 40s through to the 60s included: Crash O'Kane: All Blacks On Mars (if there's a more obvious kiwi Sci-Fi fantasy idea I've yet to hear it!), Crash Carson Of The Future, Half-Back Comics: The Space Pirates, Adventure: Thrills On The Planet Jupiter!, Treasure Comics: Black Cobra And The Red Gold, Captain Sinister, Childrens Xmas Comic and Invisible Smith.

Above: The Cover of  by Eric Resetar.Half-Back Comics #1: The Space Pirates.

His legacy lives on in the biannual Eric Awards, celebrating excellence in New Zealand Comics, named in his honour. He is survived by a cousin, his close friends, and a legion of local cartoonist who have followed in his footsteps.

-AK!

Below is a brief interview excerpt featuring Eric from the excellent documentary The Comics Show by Shirley Horrocks.

EVENT: From Earth's End Xmas Drinks 2011!

To celebrate the end of yet another successful year of New Zealand Comics, From Earth's End will be hosting it's 3rd Annual Xmas drinks at Brooklyn Bar, 332 Queen Street (or 57 Lorne Street, just opposite the Central Library) in Auckland, this Thursday the 8th of December from 7pm!


This will be a great chance to talk about some of the fine New Zealand comics and graphic novels that have been released this year and generally catch-up with other Auckland cartoonists to 'talk shop' and discuss the year that was. Everyone is welcome, so if you're a casual visitor to this site now is the perfect opportunity to meet some of Auckland's local cartoonist in person and share a couple of brews to celebrate! So if comics and alcohol sound like a winning combination, then this is the Xmas event for you! You can RSVP on Facebook HERE.

See you there.

AK!

REVIEW: The Art Of The Adventures Of Tintin by Chris Guise

Above: The cover of The Art Of The Adventures Of Tintin by Chris Guise. Copyright Paramount Pictures/HarperCollinsNZ/Weta Workshop 2011.

This latest publishing collaboration between Weta Workshop and HarperCollins gives an intriguing and immersive look into the conceptual art behind the upcoming Spielberg/Jackson film production of The Adventures Of Tintin. Weta Workshop have once again wisely chosen to give the author duties over to the film's Lead Conceptual Designer Chris Guise (following on from Greg Broardmore's Art of District 9), who's in a knowledgeable position to really draw on the best of the film's concept artwork to produce this eye-popping collection.

Guise makes it clear from the beginning that this hardback collection looks at the many paths taken in the film's design process, focusing more on the concept exploration and 'roads not taken' rather than just the finished product, a decision which makes all the difference here. With the wealth of material on offer, it's great to see the development of visual ideas with all the side-steps along the way, which really provides the most fascinating material.

Above: Steven Spielberg on set with Peter Jackson, directing Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock and Jamie Bell as Tintin in Motion Capture suits. Copyright Paramount Pictures/HarpercollinsNZ/Weta Workshop 2011.

It's no secret that the film itself is entirely CG animated, with actors providing performances via Motion Capture technology, building on Weta Digital's previous work on The Lord Of The Rings and Avatar. Because of this process, a great deal of the film's success will rest on it's concept and production artwork, providing the locations and appearance of the characters themselves, right down to the burst blood-vessels of Captain Haddock nose!

Guise presents each part of the film's production process in a largely visual layout with minimal but informative text, letting the artwork speak for itself. He also wisely utilises the artists to talk about their own work and choices, providing some fun personal observations. Probably the most enjoyable section comes early in the book, where the concept artists (clearly fans of the comic albums) are given free reign to reinterpret examples of Herge's artwork in a more realistic style as a starting point for the film's visual look. This results in some great takes on many of Herge's classic covers, and provides a hint of where things may go if the film warrants a sequel (Destination Moon looks to be a firm favourite of the art team).

Above: A look at the development of visualising Tintin. Copyright Paramount Pictures/HarpercollinsNZ/Weta Workshop 2011.

The process of conceptualizing the film's characters is a fascinating study. Transforming Herge's two dimensional characters into three dimensions is key to the film's look and success, and that's particularly true of the film's reporter hero Tintin, who simplistic appearance (his head is little more than a slightly developed smiley face) is iconographic symbolism personified. The visual exploration of this tricky design task is well examined, and includes the book's most curious out-take: photos of the original test for a live-action Tintin, with prosthetic applications used to enhance the actor's features to match the comic (see the sample page above). It's a tantalising glimpse into what could have been, and while it's hard to gauge whether the prosthetics would have been more or less creepy than the realistic CG the production has decided to go with, avoiding shades of 1990's Dick Tracy is probably for the best. There's a dedication to Herge's original character designs here that is impressive, while also taking into account muscle movement and the full range of expressions needed for filming.

Above: A look at developing Tintin's apartment. Copyright Paramount Pictures/HarpercollinsNZ/Weta Workshop 2011.

The film's many locations are also well covered, from Tintin's apartment to stately Marlinspike Hall. Again, no small detail is overlooked, with the design team puzzling over unique problems like the best way to construct Tintin's apartment, which wasn't consistent over the entire run of the comic series eg. his curtains are different colours in different books!((gasp!)).

Overall, this is a very well considered 'art of' collection, with plenty of details to please the legion of Tintin fans and film enthusiasts alike. Best of all, there's an abundance of material here which will be even more pleasing to revisit after seeing the finished film itself, which is really what makes this collection shine.

The Art Of The Adventures Of Tintin by Chris Guise, published by HarperCollins NZ & Weta Workshop. 

RRP $60.00 Hardcover ISBN:9781869509309

-AK!

Welcome to...A Brighter Future

Above: A panel from The Brighter Future by Jonathan King. Copyright Jonathan King 2011.

Following on from last Saturday's election in New Zealand, the National Party won the night with a clear majority to govern alone, much to the dismay of lefty leaning New Zealanders and most of the NZ arts community (despite John Key claiming he did us all a favour by bending over backwards to get Warner Bros to make The Hobbit films here...with negotiation skills that The Simpsons Mayor Quimby would be proud of!).

So now we have three more years of John Key's promised 'Brighter Future' to look forward to...and what exactly will that future look like? Bright and prosperous or doom and gloom? 
Filmmaker and cartoonist Jonathan King has some ideas, and you can find them at his new website The Brighter Future HERE. You're also welcome to contribute your own visions of life in 21st Century New Zealand to the website, by contacting Jonathan at: bf@indexfilm.com or via Twitter: @brightr_future.


-AK!

Election Day Rogues!

Above: New Zealand politicians reinterpreted as Batman's rogues gallery by Michel Mulipola. Copyright Michel Mulipola 2011.


Hi everyone, and welcome back to New Zealand's 85th most popular blog! (well according to this survey anyway...).
Apologies for the lack of content this month, I've been experiencing broadband difficulties...but now that everything is back up to speed, you can expect plenty of new updates and stories in the coming weeks!
In the meantime, it's Election Day here in NZ, and to celebrate it in comics style, local artist Michel Mulipola has reinterpreted some of our most recognised politicians as Batman villians! I'm particularly taken with Don Brash as Mr. Freeze...nicely played Michel. For a full explanation of his character choices, visit his deviantART page HERE.


Now lastly, if you're a NZ citizen, for the love of god get out there and VOTE!


-AK!

Road To Armageddon 2011 Part 2: New Zealand Comic Creators

Above: The NZ Comics booth from Armageddon 2010.

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.

-AK!

Road To Armageddon 2011 Part 1: International Comic Creators

Above: The Mighty Avengers as drawn by Frank Cho. Copyright Marvel Comics 2011.

The Armageddon Expo returns to Auckland this week, taking a week's grace to avoid competing with the Rugby World Cup final. But now that that's out of the way, you can expect the usual masses of pop culture fanatics to descend on the ASB Showgrounds this October 28th-31st. Yes, you read that right: it's four days of none-stop geek overloading to make up for missing Labour Weekend (so now would be the time to fill out those annual leave forms, or start planning for a sick-day!).

The Expo is jam-packed with guests this year, so let's take a look at what's on offer for comic fans. Making up the guest list of international cartoonist are: Fred Van Lente, Frank Cho and Rob Guillory.

Above: Action Philosophers! by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey. Copyright Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey 2011.

Fred Van Lente is currently one of Marvel's most prolific writers. He came to the attention of The House of Ideas with his self-published comic series Action Philosophers!, which won an American Library Association Award. His writing credits include: Marvel Zombies, Incredible Hercules (with Greg Pak), Odd Is On Our Side (with Dean R. Koontz), Taskmaster, X-Men Noir, Amazing Spider-Man, Alpha Flight (also with Pak) and Comic Book Comics with artist Ryan Dunlavey. He was also one of the writers for the Cowboys & Aliens graphic novel, which inspired the recent movie starring Daniel Craig. There will be a special writing panel with Fred Van Lente on Saturday 29th at noon.

Above: Liberty Meadows by Frank Cho. Copyright Frank Cho 2011.

Frank Cho is responsible for drawing some of the most attractive women in comics this side of Dave Stevens (check out his website if you don't believe me, va-va-voom!). He started drawing a comic strip called University2 while studying Nursing, before graduating to producing the syndicated comedy strip Liberty Meadows. Since then he has gone on to draw for Marvel on such titles as: Marvel Knights Spider-man, Shanna the She-Devil, Mighty Avengers, Hulk and Ultimate Comics New Ultimates. He's also written/drawn Jungle Girl and Savage Red Sonja for Dynamite Entertainment. His next creator owned project is Guns & Dinos from Image Comics.

Above: Chew, drawn by Rob Guillory and written by John Layman. Copyright John Layman and Rob Guillory 2011.

Rob Guillory began his comic art career during a four-year stint as cartoonist at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. From there, Guillory went on to work on several indie comic anthology projects, such as Teddy Scares from Ape Entertainment and Image Comics' Popgun Anthology.

In 2008, Guillory began working on his first major comics work, the New York Times Best-selling Chew, written by John Layman and published by Image Comics. The book has gone on to achieve much success, being nominated for two Harvey Awards (including Best New Talent for Guillory), two Eagle Awards and winning an Eisner Award for Best New Series in 2010. There will be a comics panel with Rob Guillory on Sunday at 1pm.

Check back tomorrow for a look at the local comic creators attending.

-AK!