Road to Armageddon '09: Blastosaurus & I FIght Crime

Above: The cover of 'Blastosaurus Halloween Special'. Copyright Richard Fairgray 2009.

Richard Fairgray has been one of the most visible local creators at Armageddon over the last few years, promoting his monthly comic 'Blastosaurus' with his own booth and a well honed sense of showmanship.

This year will be no exception, with a new 'Blastosaurus Halloween Special'. This will be the last issue on the New Zealand run of the series before it moves to the US imprint 'Anerican Original', so this is definitely a must-have for fans looking to complete their collection of the original series before the overseas reprints make these editions hard to find.

There will also be four volumes of the collected comic-strip 'I Fight Crime', which runs daily over at the Blastosaurus website.

'I Fight Crime' follows the (mis)adventures of Ernest and Rob, two Comic-Shop employees who pass the time between reading their favourite comics by serving their bizarre (but uncomfortably familiar) regular customers, fending off comic-eating gremlins and arguing about all thing pop culture related. Each volume will contain 50 strips will be neatly designed in a cheque-book format.

For more updates on 'Blastosaurus' and to view the full 'I Fight Crime' archives, be sure to visit Richard's website.

-AK!

EVENT: Comics On K: A New Zealand Comics Weekend

Above: 'Comics On K: A New Zealand Comics Weekend', poster art by Darren Sheehan.

It's been a long time coming, but next weekend Auckland will be hosting it's first comics weekend in...well, ages: 'Comics on K'.

Comics weekends have been a regular fixture of the Wellington scene for some time, so it's great to see the Auckland scene finally coming together to showcase it's local comics creators! (plus some special out-of-towner!). Organiser Jerome Bihan (does this guy ever rest?) sent me this press-release with all the event details:

The Cross Street Carnival, Fleet FM, The High Seas and the K Rd Business Association are proud to present: 'COMICS ON K: A New Zealand Comics Weekend'.

This event will take place on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th of October, from 1pm to 7pm, a week before the Auckland Armageddon Expo.

COMICS ON K will showcase a group of invited artists, and include an exhibition of their art. All artists will attend both days of the convention to sell work and answer questions. The exhibition will be for the weekend only, and the art auctioned on the last day, Sunday 18th-around 5:30. Talks will be held on Saturday from 5pm by influential cartoonists Chris Slane (cartoonist for the New Zealand Listener), and Dylan Horrocks (respected author and artist of Hicksville).

For those unfamiliar with New Zealand comics and their creators, this is an opportunity to meet a variety of artists and sample their work. So far confirmed to attend are:

Dylan Horrocks the international pinup boy for New Zealand comix, Dylan has had a long, and varied career that has garnered much praise and recognition. He is best known for his graphic novel Hicksville, which has been published in the United States, France, Spain and Italy.

Stefan Neville a prolific, long time cartoonist with numerous titles to his credit including Dad and Tracey, New Dixon and City of Tales (with Clayton Noone). When not cartooning, Stefan performs music as Pumice, and has toured extensively-including trips to the US, Europe, Japan and Australia.

The Sheehan Bros authors of Go Gorillas, the Long Man and the just completed Inhabitants-a work 7 years in the making. They recently took part in a group exhibition at the Bath Gallery in Parnell with Dylan Horrocks, Barry Linton, Tim Bollinger and comics-influenced artists Mark Braunias, Dick Frizell, Robert McLeod and Denys Watkins.

Mat Tait author of Love Stories, a beautiful collection of short stories with a strong, spooky sense of New Zealand. Mat has been published internationally, having work featured in Kramer's Ergot, Comix 2000, and Studygroup 12, as well as local anthologies Loose, Pictozine and Radio as Paper.

Brent Willis an extremely prolific Wellingtonian, Brett has numerous comix projects under his belt and is currently the editor of Bristle, the Wellington Comix anthology.

Frank Gibson and Becky Dreistadt authors of Tiny Kitten Teeth, a web-comic updated daily. Frank and Becky have recently returned from San Diego Comic-con and Mocca (a New York based alternative comics convention) where they were promoting their work.

For more information, check out the Comics On K blog and The High Seas for updates.

-AK!

Daily Connie Radar!

Above: A colour panel from an upcoming 'Connie Radar' comic by Karl Wills. Copyright Karl Wills 2009.

If you read my report on Radio As Paper #3 there was an update on the work of Karl Wills, with some new comics expected next year. Well you don't have till then, 'cause Karl is producing a daily Connie Radar strip over on his blog The Comicbook Factory!

Above: A Sunday page of 'Connie Radar'. Copyright Karl Wills 2009.

Connie Radar revolves around the adventures of a sci-fi space babe and her robot sidekick, Julius.

Like 'Jessica of the Schoolyard' you can expect a health dose of Karl's twisted humour, with a helping of pulpy science fiction thrown in for good measure. There's going to be a full-colour Connie Radar strip in Hotwire #3 coming in January from Fantagraphics, and some Tijuana Bible format comics to follow later next year.

While you're waiting for those, you can enjoy the daily strip and a Sundays page every week!

-AK!

Above: The cover of Hotwire #3. Copyright Fantagraphics 2009.

Will the REAL Dennis The Menace please stand up?

Above: The UK version of 'Dennis The Menace' created by David Law. Copyright D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd 2009.

Above: The US version of 'Dennis The Menace' created by Hank Ketcham. Copyright King Features Syndicate 2009.

As many of you may have heard in the news this week, local Hawke's Bay resident Robert Fair was reported to be the real-life inspiration for the famous UK comic-strip character, Dennis The Menace.

Rosemary Moffat, daughter of famous british cartoonist David Law (1908-1971), revealed to the British Sunday Times over the weekend that her father had based the character on the antics of her childhood family friend. "Robert was a little brat when he was a boy and my father based Dennis's energy, movement and sense of mischief on him when he was doing his drawings," she said.

David Law had kept this secret to himself so as not to offend Fair's parents.

Robert Fair himself certainly took no offense to the revelation, and admitted to some mischief making back in the day, "I can remember reading the comic all those years ago, but I had no idea. I do remember getting up to a few little tricks. We used to wait for mum and dad to come in and we'd put books on top of the door and jump out the window. We were just getting up to mischief, it was nothing malicious."

The story was picked up by the NZ Herald on Tuesday and made the 6 'clock News on TV3, with an interview piece featuring Robert Fair followed on Campbell Live. I saw the Campbell Live interview and was kind of baffled. The interview was cut together with footage of the blond US version of Dennis The Menace, the cartoon and live-action movie. So what's going on here? Surly it can't be that heard to tell them apart, they certainly look different enough, right?

This question of which version came first has always bugged me growing up, so this seemed like the best time to get to the bottom of it.

I did some quick digging and found out some pretty interesting facts. It's not hard to see why these two versions are so often confused: they both debuted in the same year, and not only that, it was the same month! March, 1951. The US version created by Hank Ketcham (1920-2001), beat the UK version to the punch by only three days, appearing on March 12, 1951. The UK version debuted in 'The Beano' on March 15, 1951. Given the limited communications of the time period it's unlikely that either version was inspired by the other, which makes this a pretty amazing coincidence don't you think?

After the Campbell Live piece finished I posted this information under the video footage at the TV3 website and within minutes the interview disappeared into thin air...which is a pity, because it was the only report to feature Robert Fair in person. So I may have came late to the reporting party, but just in time to kill the story! (them's the breaks I guess..). In any case, if anyone can find a picture of him, email it through and I'll add it to this report.

Now for the really important question: who or what animal inspired Dennis' rat-like dog sidekick? That's one for the ages...

-AK!

Armageddon '09: Comics Guests Update

Above: Batman as illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz. Copyright DC Comics 2009.

Unfortunately due to pending work commitments, the previously announced DC Comics guests: Dan Didio, Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver will be unable to attend this years Armageddon Convention held in Auckland at the ASB Showgrounds (24th-26th of October).

But don't despair, some very decent comics guests have been quickly assembled to take their place, starting with legendary comics artist Bill Sienkiewicz!

Above: A cover from the series 'Electra: Assassin' by Bill Sienkiewicz. Copyright Marvel comics 2009.

Bill Sienkiewicz (pronounced sin-KEV-itch) took the comics world by storm in the eighties, with his evocative line art to his mixed media paintings. His two most revered works from this period would be his groundbreaking collaboration with Frank Miller, 'Electra Assassin', and 'Stray Toasters' which he wrote and illustrated. Both of which were published by Marvel's Epic Imprint and featured stunning fully painted mixed-media artwork which would set the standard of painted comics for the decades to follow.

He has produced artwork for film, videogames and advertising clients including: Rolling Stone, Warner Bros Pictures, MTV, Nike, Spin, Entertainment Weekly and many more. Despite been very much in demand in Hollywood, his passion for comics has never waned, and he has inked comics regularly his entire career with no signs of slowing down. His most recent assignment is providing covers for the mini-series 'Batman: The Widening Gyre', written by Kevin Smith.

Above: Batwoman by J.H. Williams III. Copyright DC Comics 2009.

Greg Rucka is currently one of DC Comics' most reliable and respected writers, having written defining runs on all three of DC's holy trinity: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

Rucka originally carved a career for himself as the fiction writer, with the successful 'Atticus Kodiak' crime/suspence novels. In 1999 he made the move into comics with the acclaimed series 'Whiteout' with artist Steve Lieber for Oni Press. 'Whiteout' was recently adapted into a movie starring Kate Beckinsale (which might be getting a late October release here, but is currently unconfirmed). His writing on 'Whiteout' got the attention of long-time Batman editor Dennis O'Neil, who gave him the writing assignment on 'Detective Comics' in 2000, and he's being working for DC on a regular basis ever since. He's also written across the street for Marvel, with controversial runs on both 'Wolverine' and 'Electra'.

Aside from bringing a gritty realism to superheroes, he's continued to produce independent comics more in line with his personal interests, including the espionage procedural thriller 'Queen & Country', and his forth-coming series 'Stumptown', a love letter to his favourite P.I. crime shows from the 80's.

Rucka is currently writing 'Action Comics' with artist Eddy Barrows and 'Detective Comics: Featuring Batwoman' with artist J.H. Williams III, with 'The Question' backup feature drawn by Cully Hamner.

Above: A cover from Peter David's run on 'The Incredible Hulk'. Copyright Marvel Comics 2009.

To call writer Peter David prolific would be something of an understatement.

He started his career in Marvel's Sales & Marketing Department before graduating to full-time writer with his award-winning 12 year run on 'The Incredible Hulk'. Since then he's written hundereds of comics for both Marvel and DC Comics including: Aquaman, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Fallen Angel, Supergirl, Young Justice, Soulsearchers and Company, X-Factor, Star Trek, Wolverine, The Phantom, Sachs & Violens, The Dark Tower and many more.

He's also infamous for killing off long-time Spider-man supporting character Jean De Wolff and cutting off Aquaman's hand and replacing it with a harpoon! (a change which stuck with the character for almost a decade).

Aside from writing comics, he's also well known for his outspoken views on the industry, related in his opinion column: “But I Digress...,” which has been running in 'The Comic Buyers’s Guide' for nearly a decade.

If all this wasn't enough to keep him busy, David is also a New York Times bestselling novelist and screenwriter. He has written over fifty novels, including novels for the Babylon 5 and Star Trek novel franchises, co-creating the Star Trek: New Frontier series for Pocket Books. As a screenwriter he has written the film sequels 'Trancers 4 & 5', and for television he's written episodes of 'Space Cases' , 'Babylon 5' and the sequel series 'Crusade'.

Above: 'The Doom Pertol' by Matthew Clark. Copyright DC Comics 2009.

Matthew Clark broke into the industry as an assistant, pencilling and inking backgrounds before he got his first assignment, a fill-in sequence for an issue of 'Wonder Woman'.

Since then he's gone on to illustrate many titles for DC Comics including: 'The Outsiders', 'The Adventures Of Superman', 'Teen Titans', 'Superman/Batman', 'Final Crisis: Submit' and 'The Question: Five Books of Blood' with writer Greg Rucka. He is currently drawing 'Doom Petrol', written by Keith Giffen.

Above: 'The Secret Six' by Nicola Scott. Copyright DC Comics 2009.

Oh, and the lovely Nicola Scott, artist of 'The Secret Six' is still reliable and attending!

So that's the new line-up, adjust you're buying habits and hunt down their books for those signatures! For more updates on the Armageddon comics guests (and the NZ comics guests of coarse!) I'll keep you posted, and you can always check out the Armageddon Expo website.

-AK!

Everything Ends In Tears: Comic Launch & Exhibition at The High Seas

Following hot on the heels of the recent Radio As Paper #3 launch/exhibition, cartoonist Matt Emery is unleashing his new comics collection 'Everything Ends In Tears' at High Seas on Friday the 9th of October, with an exhibition of his subversive (and hilarious) comics work.

Matt Emery (currently based in Australia) is something of a controversial figure in New Zealand comics, producing some of the most memorable, and possibly offensive x-rated comics titles the country has ever seen. Some of the best examples include: 'Let's Kill White People', 'Run! Faggot! Run!', 'Some Day I Will Kill You', and a new favourite of mine, the rather literal 'Choose Your Own Fucking Adventure'.

However, one of his titles in particular has reached almost cult status: 'Sally Fucks Horses'.

At Wellington Armageddon 2002 a copy of this title made it's way into the hands of a minor, prompting a review of the comics material sold at the convention and many heated online debates regarding comics censorship. While no official regulations were decided on, many of the NZ comics sold at Armageddon are now self-rated by the cartoonists to avoid confusion and legal issues.

So if you like your comics with a bit more bite (or a kick in the nuts), come to the show on Friday and be entertained, offended or both simultaneously! It kicks off at 6pm and will also feature musical performances from: 'Golden Axe', 'Space Cadet' and 'Megaheroes'.

For an early taste of Matt's work, check out his new website: Guzumo Comics. For more information and updates on the exhibition, visit The High Seas.

-AK!

Above: The cover of 'Everything Ends In Tears' by Matt Emery. Copyright Matt Emery 2009.

Fleet FM Radio As Paper #3 Launch & Exhibition at The High Seas

Above: Tintin VS Akira by Jerome Bihan. Copyright Jerome Bihan 2009.

The ongoing comics anthology edited by Jerome Bihan launched it's third issue in style on Friday night with an exhibition at Auckland's newest comics mecca The High Seas.

The quality of this series is growing by leaps and bounds, with some top-notch pieces from it's staple of regular contributors including: Mat Tait, Tim Danko, Frank & Becky, Sophie McMillian and others. The presentation of this issue is also an improvement, with nice clean reproduction that really showcases the artwork to optimal effect without showing any production seams the occasionally distracted in the previous issues.

The pieces in this issues are nicely diverse, a view into the ongoing interests and projects of each artist.

Frank & Becky's owl infatuation continues with a historical twist, while Melbourne artist Mandy Ord contributes a nice auto-bio strip chronicling a night out after a long week working.

Above: A page from 'Operations and Passages' by Chris Cudby. Copyright Chis Cudby 2009.

A except from Chis Cudby's 'Operations and Passages' shows a lot of promise, and Jerome's Tintin VS Akira is a fun discussion of the differences between these two great works and the joys of comics discovery in general (let's hope Jerome puts more solo work out there!).

Above: Robert Walser's Choice Walk by Tim Danko. Copyright Tim Danko 2009.

Tim Danko and Mat Tait both contribute very polished pieces that are clearly part of a larger body of work.

Tim Danko has been producing some very intriguing comics mash-ups of late, combining comics with found literature to interesting effect. This piece combines extracts from Robert Walser's prose with a comic featuring a pair of ghostly ciphers with a Dada-like effect. It's off-set by a narration strip that runs along the bottom of the pages before merging with the main comic in the final panel. It's layout is well realised and invites repeat reading and multiple interpretations. For more of Danko's unique work check out his website which also features animated comics utilising a similar approach.

Above: 25/07/09 by Mat Tait. Copyright Mat Tait 2009.

Mat Tait's piece is a moody rumination on the nature of memory and regret. As always his work is clinically clean, a crisp world of inky shadows and bright whites with style to burn (and a scary, full-stop of a dog!). It's an evocative, well developed style which leaves you hoping a longer work will be forth-coming from Mat sometime soon.

Matt Hunkin's comic as interview piece 'Evil Genius', about a Wellington cartoonist Ahzan (who produces comics that can be seen at his family's Curry Takeaway) is a great watercolour comic that really isn't done justice in black and white. It has a similar feeling to some of the watercolour comics Eddie Campbell has been doing recently, and you should really check out the colour reproduction at the exhibition to really appreciate it.

Above: Karl Wills with the original artwork from 'Anal Atrocities'.

This issue also features an interview with Karl Wills by Matt Emery, focusing on Wills' mid-nineties comic-strip 'Anal Atrocities'. Wills has been keeping a fairly low profile of late, so for many of fans it's a welcome update on what Karl is working on now, and when you can expect to see more of his work in print (apparently you can expect a complete box-set of 'Jessica of the Schoolyard' from Meltdown Comics next year, along with some new comics featuring 'Connie Radar').

Above: Prints of the artwork from Radio as Paper #3 on display at The Hight Seas.

Prints of the artwork from this issue will be on display at The High Seas till the 8th of October. This is easily the best comics culture gallery space to be based in Auckland for some time and deserves your support. There are more great exhibitions on the way, so if you're interested in New Zealand comics this is a vital hub of Auckland's comics activity. Stop by to see the artwork and be sure to pick up an issue of Radio as Paper #3 for only $3!

For more information on Radio as Paper check out it's blogspot, and for updates on The High Seas take a peak at their website.

-AK!

Below: Some photos from the Radio as Paper #3 launch.