Kickstarting Echoes From the Drift

Above: Echoes From the Drift by Craig Petersen.

Echoes From the Drift is a new comic book series that expat NZ comics creator Craig Petersen is hoping to launch via a currently underway Kickstarter campaign. Petersen was a prominent local comics creator in the 1990s, producing the fondly remembered superhero series, Southern Tribe (1995-98), and more recently the horror/comedy strip, Close To Midnight (2008-09), for Rip It Up magazine.

Above: Jenni and Zayf, from Echoes From the Drift by Craig Petersen.

His proposed new series, Echoes From the Drift, follows two young adventurers - Jenni and Zayf, as they explore parallel worlds. Jenni is an impulsive, adventure-seeker from the 1980s. She totally loves using '80s slang and uses way too much hairspray. But when the chips are down, Jenni has one of the best hearts around and will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you in a fight. Zayf is from a far-flung future. He's driven and determined but has a habit of flying by the seat of his pants. However, Zayf has a strong sense of what's right and what's not and will act upon those feelings. In Echoes #1 you’ll discover how they first met and follow them on their adventures through the dimensions. 

Inspired by his love of TV shows from the late 1970s and 80s, Petersen hopes to infuse this comic series with the same spirit of fun and adventure, with a health dash of drama and tragedy on the side!

With this Kickstarter, Petersen is planning to create the first 22-page issue of a five issue story arc. As an added bonus, he'll be including the 10-page In Ruins prequel to the first issue.

The main goal of this Kickstarter campaign is to create a digital copy of the first issue, with exclusive artwork and prints as Rewards. If the first Stretch Goal is hit, then additional behind-the-scenes content will be added to the digital comics. If the second Stretch Goal is hit, then print copies of the comic will be created for 'Visionary Backers' (€20) and above.

To get an idea of what to expect, you can check out the 10-page prequel comic, In Ruins HERE.

Above: He's a breakdown of how the Kickstarter funding will be used.

There are some great rewards for this Kickstarter - including original pages of artwork from the completed comic! You can visit and support this Kickstarter HERE. It's almost halfway to its goal after one week, so support this project and grab an awesome page of artwork while you can!

- AK!

EVENT: A Change Comic Launch

Above: The cover for A Change, artwork by Ant Sang.

Launching this Tuesday at Graphic Comics, A Change is a comics collaboration between a group of young people from BGI (Wellington Boys' and Girls' Institute), the Victoria University's Youth Wellbeing Study and cartoonist Ant Sang (The Dharma Punks).

A Change tells the story of Ash, a young person who struggles with self-injury. Ash navigates through the experience of being misunderstood, judged and stereotyped, and the barriers created around seeking help - all common themes for those who self-injure. This graphic novel has been written by youth for youth, and illustrated by Ant Sang to promote awareness and conversation around this topic. The comic will be free for everyone.

The launch is taking place on Tuesday 22nd of March, at Graphic Comics, 106 Cuba Mall, Wellington, at 3.30pm. Come along to pick up a free copy and get it signed by the creators! For more information on the event, visit the Facebook event page HERE. You can also read/download a PDF version of the comic online HERE.

If you or anyone you know needs support or information relating to self-harm, please visit the Mental Health Foundation website HERE for information and links to support groups and help lines.

- AK!

Review: The Adventures of Kory: Flight of the Kiwi by Paul Martin

Above: The Adventures of Kory: Flight of the Kiwi by Paul Martin.

It seems like an obvious go-to for local comics, but there have been few examples of comic books or graphic novels starring our furry national icon - the Kiwi - as the main protagonist. One of the most recent and notable is The Adventures of Kory: Flight of the Kiwi (2013), the first graphic novel by Paul Martin. A former Rugby player for Waikato and the Chiefs, Martin has always been an avid cartoonist, and developed the idea for his graphic novel while on a Rugby sabbatical in France. 

Above: A page from The Adventures of Kory: Flight of the Kiwi by Paul Martin.

The story opens in Whale Bay, where Kory the Kiwi and his friend Bert the Gecko enjoy spending their afternoons surfing and basking in the sunshine. Meanwhile, a world away in the Swiss Alps, a game hunting wolf named Gregor is seeking new and exotic prey to hunt, and set his sites on the brown kiwis of New Zealand. Armed with a ship manned by a motley crew of dogs and stouts, Gregor sets sail for New Zealand, and in short order kidnaps Kory's family and returns to Europe where they await a gruesome fate unless Kory and Bert can use their 'kiwi ingenuity' to save them.

Above: A page from The Adventures of Kory: Flight of the Kiwi by Paul Martin.

Taking inspiration from other 'album style' graphic novels like Tintin or more locally, Kerr and Ballantyne's Terry Teo and the Gunrunners, this is a fairly straightforward adventure yarn, with plenty of colourful characters and a snowboarding finale in the Swiss Alps which will surely entertain the younger target audience. With the added experience of having lived in France, Martin is able to add enough authentic details in the story to make the shift in locations from New Zealand to Europe feel natural, and enrich proceedings. Older readers may find the flow of the dialogue a little stilted in places, but younger readers tackling this on their own shouldn't have any problems following this upbeat adventure.

Handsomely presented in full-colour hardback, this is a fun read for younger readers who are just discovering graphic novels and looking for something set closer to home.

The Adventures of Kory: Flight of the Kiwi HC

Paul Martin

$29.99NZ

ISBN: 9780473265113

For more information and to order a copy, you can visit the book's official website HERE.

- AK!

Event: Mariko Tamaki: Drawing on Life

Above: Canadian graphic novelist Mariko Tamaki. Image by Sorrell Scrutton.

The New Zealand Festival Writers Week 2016 is currently on in Wellington, with a variety of local and international writers descending on the capital for a full week of book launches, discussion, and literary goodness! One of the visiting authors happens to be award-winning Canadian graphic novelist Mariko Tamaki.

Above: This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki.

Tamaki's first graphic novel, Skim (2008), was a collaboration with her cousin, artist Jillian Tamaki. The story is about a teenage girl and her romantic feelings towards her female teacher, which went on to win an Ignatz Award, a Joe Shuster Award and a Doug Wright Award. In 2014 they reunited to collaborate on This One Summer, about two young girls on summer holiday who begin to navigate the complexities of teen love, and the unspoken secrets of the teens and adults in their lives.

In 2015, the American Library Association awarded This One Summer one of its highest recognitions for both illustration and young adult literature – a Caldecott Honor and Printz Honor. This marks the first time a Caldecott Honor has been awarded to a graphic novel.

Above: A page from This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki.

Mariko Tamaki will be discussing her books with children’s writer and critic Kate De Goldi at a one hour panel, Drawing on Life, this Sunday 13th of March at the Embassy Theatre at 12.30pm. Tickets are available from Ticketek HERE.

In addition to her writing, Tamaki is also a performance artist. As a multi-talented storyteller, she will be joining local multi-genre artists: Kerry Ann Lee, Sarah Laing and Courtney Sina Meredithon in Taking Form, a conversation about letting a story find its form. Should your story become a book, a song or a play? Is it a solo project or a collaboration? Listen in on this talk to find the answers that work for you. Taking Form takes place at the BATS Theatre, on Saturday 12th of March, at 12.30pm. Tickets are available from Ticketek HERE.

Above: Artwork from The Pencilsword #23 by Toby Morris.

And as an added bonus: in this month's edition of The Pencilsword, Toby Morris conducts a 'graphic' interview with Mariko, which you can read in full HERE.

- AK!

EVENT: Three Words Book Launch!

Above: Three Words Auckland book launch poster by Alie Mcpherson.

The long awaited, all-female NZ comics anthology Three Words: An Anthology of Aotearoa/NZ Women's Comics will launch this Saturday night, 5th of March at The Audio Foundation, 4 Poynton Tce, Auckland, from 7pm. Edited by Rae Joyce, Sarah Laing and Indira Neville and published by Beatnik, this anthology highlights the work of over 60 female cartoonists across a range of styles and content, from professional illustration to homemade zines, and everything in between. 

The launch will feature entertainment from some of the book's talented contributors: The Doll!, Rachel Shearer, Ducklingmonster, Ralph and poets Andra, Rachel Fenton, and Raewyn Alexander.

Above: Wellington Three Words book launch poster by Becca Hawkes.

If you can't make it to Auckland, there will also be a Three Words Wellington Launch! In association with the New Zealand Festival Writers Week, the Three Words Wellington launch will be taking place on Saturday 12th of March at Meow, 9 Edward Street, Wellington, from 3pm. So drop by to show your support for this history making publication!

Here's the official press release:

Women in Aotearoa New Zealand make comics. They make slick professional comics and homemade crafty ones. some are conventionally attractive and some are beautifully ugly. Some have logical linear narratives and some are cerebral visual leaping swirls. There are big proud comics and small humble ones, widely distributed comics and one-offs, comics that are deep and meaningful and some that are light and silly. There are physical, emotional and intellectual comics, intentional and accidental comics, happy, sad, funny, angry, scary, confusing and wondrous comics.

For some it may be a surprise to find so many comics by women cartoonists, since conventional wisdom would have us believe that the comics scene is a boys’ club. But it’s not a surprise to us. Although women’s comics haven’t been represented much in New Zealand history books, they have been found in zines and magazines, tumblrs, twitter feeds, shoe boxes, art galleries, painted on old tea trays and brochures, magneted to fridges, tattooed on forearms. And now they’re also here. In this book. A whole bunch of them, up front, visible, available and MAKING HISTORY.

With comics by: Adele Jackson, Alex McCrone, Alex Wild, Alice Tumblescribbleson, Alie Mcpherson, Anna Critchton, Andra Jenkin, Bek Coogan, Beth Duckingmonster, Beth Sometimes, Caroline Anderson, Celia Allison, Claire Harris, Dawn Tuffery, Demarnia Lloyd, Diane Rimmer, Elsie Jolliffe, Emma Blackett, Erin Fae, Debra Boyask, Giselle Clarkson, Indira Neville, The Rabbid, Jem Yoshioka, Jessica Dew, Jessica Hansell, Joanna Anderson, Judy Darragh, Kayla Oliver, Kerry Ann Lee, Margaret Silverwood, Olga Krause, Linda Lew, Lisa Noble, Liz Mathews, Loux McLellen, Lucy Meyle, Maiangi Waitai, Marina Williams, Mary Tamblyn, Mengzhu Fu, Mirranda Burton, Miriam Harris, Pritika Lal, Rachel Benefield, Rachel Shearer, Rae Joyce, Raewyn Alexander, Ralphi, Rebecca Hawkes, Renee Jones, Rosemary McLeod, Warsaw, Sally Bollinger, Sarah Laing, Sarah Lund, Sharon Murdoch, Sophie McMillan, Sophie Oiseau, Stella Corkery, Susan Rugg, Susan Te Kahurangi King, Suzanne Claessen and Zoe Colling.

And essays by Robyn Kenealy, Rae Joyce, Ruth Boyask, Jem Yoshioka and Miriam Sapphira.

TITLE:  Three Words: An Anthology of Aotearoa/NZ Women's Comics
EDITED BY: Rae Joyce, Sarah Laing, Indira Neville
SOFTCOVER: 264 pages
SIZE: 160mm x 210mm
PUBLISHER: Beatnik Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9941205-0-2

PRICE: $50.00NZ

And if you can't make it to either event, you can also order it online now through the Beatnik website HERE. For more information and updates, visit the Three Words blog HERE.

- AK!

Artwork for Sale: Own a Piece of Hicksville!

Above: Page 152 of Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen by Dylan Horrocks.

Dylan Horrocks, the acclaimed NZ cartoonist and author of Hicksville and Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen, currently has artwork from both of these books available for sale on his website. To quote one of his initial posts, Horrocks wrote, "I have been reluctant to sell original art from Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen, but more than a year after the book’s release, I think it’s time to tentatively let a few pages go".

You can check his new 'Buying Stuff' page HERE for original artwork from Hicksville, Magic Pen and other works, or his website front page for updates. They are selling fast, so if you want to own a piece of NZ comics history - get in quick!

- AK!

Weekend Reading: The Doctor Foxglove Show and The Pencilsword #20

Above: Artwork from The Doctor Foxglove Show by Rachel Smythe.

Rachel Smythe, the creator of The Maidan, which placed 3rd in last year's Chromacon Chroma Art Awards, has a new webcomic available for you to read, The Doctor Foxglove Show. Described as, 'surreal thriller that follows a young woman and her struggles adjusting to her place in between life and death'. The artwork has deliciously gothic texture to it, establishing a great sense of atmosphere in it's opening chapter. You can read the intro and first chapter HERE.

Above: Artwork from The Pencilsword #20: Holes by Toby Morris.

In this month's Pencilsword, Toby Morris considers the unseen: the gaps in our perception of the world, the uncomfortable truths that we'd rather not notice or pay attention to in our daily lives or society at large. Perhaps it's time we were more honest with ourselves, and took a closer look at the 'holes'. You can read the full animated strip HERE.

- AK!

Weekend Reading: My Father's Face and The Pencilsword

Above: My Father's Face by Jem Yoshioka.

If you happen to be kicking back and relaxing this weekend with a good book or tablet device, he's some new home-grown comics to enjoy! 

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of hosting a NZ comics panel at Chromacon in Auckland and got to interview the very talented Wellington cartoonist Jem Yoshioka. Her latest auto-biographic comic, My Father's Face, was inspired by her recent visit to Japan for the first time, as she continues to explore her Japanese heritage and themes relating to identity. Following on from her previous comic Folding Kimono, this is a thought provoking read and certainly has the potential to grow into a larger graphic novel project (which Jem has hinted at in her blog), so watch this space!

You can read the full comic of My Father's Face HERE and Jem's other comics at her website HERE.

Above: Panel from The Pencilsword #19: Twelve Days by Toby Morris.

Toby Morris wraps up another year of The Pencilsword with a sweet ode to the kiwi batch summer Christmas! You can read the full strip HERE.

- AK!

Classic Reissue: The Adventures of Hutu & Kawa

Above: The Adventures of Hutu & Kawa by Avis Acres.

Just in time for Christmas, Penguin Books NZ have reissued The Adventures of Hutu & Kawa, a classic picture book by one of our pioneering female cartoonists Avis Acres. Originally published by A.H. & A.W. Reed in 1955, this was the first in a series of picture books featuring the characters that had appeared in her 1950s comic strip, The Tale of Hutu & Kawa, published weekly in the New Zealand Herald. This was followed by two sequels, Hutu and Kawa meet Tuatara (1956) and Hutu and Kawa find an Island (1957).

In this adventure, Hutu and Kawa - also known as The Pohutukawa Babies - with some help from Grandpa Kiwi, build a canoe and set off up the river to explore the forest. On their way they make many new friends – and encounter the fearsome Bush Hawk.

This 60th-anniversary hardback edition captures all the charm of the original tale and brings these delightful characters to a new generation of children. Available now, this classic kiwiana read will make a great gift for the young or nostalgic at heart.

The Adventures of Hutu & Kawa by Avis Acres
RRP: $25.00NZ
ISBN: 9780143507055

- AK!

REVIEW: The Heading Dog Who Split in Half by Michael Brown & Mat Tait

Above: The cover for The Heading Dog Who Split in Half by Mat Tait.

It has been around 5 years in the making, having appeared in installments online and in various anthologies, but finally writer Michael Brown and artist Mat Tait's The Heading Dog Who Split in Half: Legends and Tall Tales from New Zealand is here!

As the title suggests, this is a collection of local folklore legends: accounts of extraordinary events that are believed to have happened, and tall tales: far-fetched and exaggerated yarns that are so well told and memorable that they have taken hold in the community imagination and been passed on in story or song.

Authors Mat Tait and Michael Brown first met at the Ilam School of Fine Arts at Christchurch University in the late 1980s. They stayed in touch, and after several years of researching and writing about New Zealand folklore, Brown approached Tait with the idea of adapting these tales into graphic form. Over the years Tait had quietly carved out a career as one of our most gifted comics illustrators. His artwork is an immaculate mix of razor-sharp line work and fluid inking. There’s an attention to detail that gives his work a haunting realism, combined with a cartoonist’s eye for composition and humour, that is perfect suited for this subject matter.

When it comes to tall tales you want to be drawn in and convinced that there’s a germ of truth in the telling, and that’s exactly what Brown and Tait have achieved here: these stories will entertain you, unnerve you, and haunt you – in the best possible way.

Above: A page from The Heading Dog Who Split in Half, artwork by Mat Tait.

There’s the title yarn, The Heading Dog Who Split in Half, a legend from the MacKenzie high country of Canterbury, about a heading dog that was so fast at mustering that one day it hit a half buried fencing standard at such speed that it was split in two. It’s owner puts the two halves back together and it speeds off and completes the job. Only once it returns does the owner see that it is grotesquely joined with one half the wrong way up! Captured in freakish detail by Tait's artwork, on paper it's a tale so vivid it leads you to wonder - what grain of truth could have given rise to this outlandish fantasy? 

And that's where the Additional Notes section at the back of the book comes in, providing the sources for the stories and comparisons to other well known legends from around the world. In this case, the Heading Dog comes from a rich vein of mythological carved dogs, that have appeared in Native American tales and similar animals like the reversible hare that appears in The Adventures of Baron Munchhassen. This added context greatly enhances the reading experience, inviting you to go deeper into each story if you wish to learn more about the origins if these fascinating yarns.

Above: A page from The Phantom Canoe, artwork by Mat Tait.

A book on local legends wouldn't be complete without a great ghost story, and this one contains a doozy in the form of The Phantom Canoe. It was sighted on Lake Tarawera in 1886, just a few weeks prior to the eruption of Mt Tarawera. A boat of tourists and local maori led by Te Paea Hinerangi (a well known local guide) who described the war canoe as been manned by warriors with the heads of dogs, and the illustration of them here is just chilling – a close encounter with spirits on the eve of apocalyptic destruction.

This story is significant as it is an example of a shared supernatural occurance witnessed by both Maori and Pakeha, suggesting that the spirit world of myth was not as far removed from their reality as the calonial settlers may have believed, and both cultures may still have something to fear from the mysterious and strange land of New Zealand.

Above: A page from A Tale of Old Waihi, artwork by Mat Tait.

Other yarns are more humourous, like A Tale of Old Waihi, a bragging story told to out-of-towners featuring their gargantuan Crayfish – and its many uses. For example, you can use it’s eyes for bowling balls, claws for pick axes, add wheels to it’s tale for a baby pram and the shell can be used for an outside dunny(!). There's also an illustrated sea shanty in the form of Ranzo, Boys, Ranzo!, and the darkly gothic tragedy of Dunedin's Legend of Tunnel Beach.

Published by Potton & Burton in an oversized format on thick unprocessed paper, it's a real treat to turn the page an enjoy the large lavish artwork in inky black & white as always intended. Combining their considerable storytelling skills, Brown and Tait have produced a truly essential New Zealand graphic novel - that deserves a spot on every local bookshelf, where it will haunt and entertain readers of all ages for years to come.

You can also listen to my audio review of The Heading Dog Who Split in Half on Radio NZ Nights HERE. For more information you can also visit their website, Old Weird New Zealand HERE.

The Heading Dog Who Split in Half: Legends and Tall Tales from New Zealand

Michael Brown & Mat Tait

ISBN: 9781927213575

$39.99 NZ

- AK!

Upcoming Release: Three Words: An Anthology of Aotearoa/NZ Women's Comics

Above: The cover of Three Words: An anthology of Aotearoa/New Zealand Woman's comics.

Three Words: An anthology of Aotearoa/New Zealand Woman's comics, edited by Sarah Laing, Indira Neville & Rae Joyce, will be published by the good folks at Beatnik Publishing this coming March. But right now you can pre-order it through their website for the special price of $45nz!

Here's the press release details:

Women in Aoteroa New Zealand make comics. They make slick professional comics and homemade crafty ones. some are conventionally attractive and some are beautifully ugly. Some have logical linear narratives and some are cerebral visual leaping swirls. There are big proud comics and small humble ones, widely distributed comics and one-offs, comics that are deep and meaningful and some that are light and silly. There are physical, emotional and intellectual comics, intentional and accidental comics, happy, sad, funny, angry, scary, confusing and wondrous comics.

For some it may be a surprise to find so many comics by women, since conventional wisdom would have us believe that the comics scene is a boys’ club. But it’s not a surprise to us. Although women’s comics haven’t been represented much in New Zealand history books, they have been found in zines and magazines, tumbles, twitter feeds, shoe boxes, art galleries, painted on old tea trays and brochures, magneted to fridges, tattooed on forearms. And now they’re also here. In this book. A whole bunch of them, up front, visible, available and making history.

With comics by: Adele Jackson, Alex McCrone, Alex Wild, Alice Tumblescribbleson, Alie Mcpherson, Anna Critchton, Andra Jenkin, Bek Coogan, Beth Duckingmonster, Beth Sometimes, Caroline Anderson, Celia Allison, Claire Harris, Dawn Tuffery, Demarnia Lloyd, Diane Rimmer, Elsie Jolliffe, Emma Blackett, Erin Fae, Debra Boyask, Giselle Clarkson, Indira Neville, The Rabbid, Jem Yoshioka, Jessica Dew, Jessica Hansell, Joanna Anderson, Judy Darragh, Kayla Oliver, Kerry Ann Lee, Margaret Silverwood, Olga Krause, Linda Lew, Lisa Noble, Liz Mathews, Loux McLellen, Lucy Meyle, Maiangi Waitai, Marina Williams, Mary Tamblyn, Mengzhu Fu, Mirranda Burton, Miriam Harris, Pritika Lal, Rachel Benefield, Rachel Shearer, Rae Joyce, Raewyn Alexander, Ralphi, Rebecca Hawkes, Renee Jones, Rosemary McLeod, Warsaw, Sally Bollinger, Sarah Laing, Sarah Lund, Sharon Murdoch, Sophie McMillan, Sophie Oiseau, Stella Corkery, Susan Rugg, Susan Te Kahurangi King, Suzanne Claessen and Zoe Colling.

Also featuring essays by: Robyn Kenealy, Rae Joyce, Ruth Boyask, Jem Yoshioka and Miriam Sapphira.

TITLE:  Three Words: An Anthology of Aotearoa / NZ Women's Comics
EDITED BY: Rae Joyce, Sarah Laing, Indira Neville
SOFTCOVER: 264 pages
SIZE: 160mm x 210mm
PUBLISHER: Beatnik Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9941205-0-2

So pre-order a copy today, from the Beatnik website HERE.

- AK!

Earth's End and Terry Teo at Auckland Armageddon 2015!

Above: The Earth's End Publishing team and cartoonist Mat Tait: (from left) Adrian Kinnaird, Damon Keen, Mat Tait and Kelly Sheehan. Photo by Ant Sang.

Things have been pretty hectic here at Earth's End Central in the last few weeks: we've moved premises, published our second book, Terry Teo and the Gunrunners (in bookstores now!), and launched it at Auckland Armageddon Expo over Labour Weekend. So hopefully I can now return this blog to its regularly scheduled programming!

Above: Terry Teo and the Gunrunners by Stephen Ballantyne & Bob Kerr.

So first up, Terry Teo and the Gunrunners: this new special edition of the kiwi kids classic by Stephen Ballantyne & Bob Kerr has been completely remastered from the original artwork, to present the story in vibrant watercolour for a whole new generation of reader to enjoy! It also includes a bonus essay written by me covering the history of this iconic character: featuring interviews with the creators of the graphic novel series, the makers of the 1986 TV adaptation, and a look behind the scenes of the new Terry Teo reboot to screen on TVNZ this summer - along with rare artwork and photographs. It's available at bookstores now for $24.99nz, for more information and updates you can visit our website HERE.

Above: The Earth's End Publishing booth at Auckland Armageddon Expo, just prior to opening.

We launched Terry Teo at the Auckland Armageddon Expo over Labour Weekend to a great public response. In addition to the book, we also screened the first trailer of the new Terry Teo TV series, written and directed by Gerard Johnstone (Housebound), from the footage it looks to capture the humour and adventure of the original, while giving the material a contemporary update.

Above: Myself, with Kelly Sheehan and Terry Teo co-creator Stephen Ballantyne.

Above: Mat Tait (The Heading Dog Who Split in Half) and Ant Sang (The Dharma Punks).

We had our authors Stephen Ballantyne and Ant Sang signing during the weekend, as well as our good friend Mat Tait - whose new graphic novel The Heading Dog Who Split in Half, written by Michael Brown, is in bookstores now.

Above: Mat Tait signing & sketching copies of The Heading Dog Who Split in Half for punters. Photo by Ant Sang.

Above: Terry Teo co-creator Stephen Ballantyne.

It was a great weekend, and really pleasing to hear from so many readers that Terry Teo was 'a part of their childhood' - one they can now revisit, and share with their own children. You can check out this recent review of the book at the Booksellers NZ blog HERE.

- AK!

Red Peak VS The Key by Jonathan King

Above: Red Peak as superhero - confronted by the cowardly villain, The Key! by Jonathan King.

As the debate over the NZ Flag Referendum continues, cartoonist/filmmaker Jonathan King took to Twitter with these cartoons illustrating Prime Minister John Key's dismissive attitude towards the increasingly popular 'Red Peak' flag design by Aaron Dustin - interpreted as a pitch perfect parody of a 1950s DC comics cover.

After 10,000 alternative NZ flag designs were submitted earlier this year, the Flag Consideration Panel narrowed down the list to a final four, which were revealed at the start of this month. Since the reveal there has been much debate over the final four designs and the lack of originality and diversity in the choices, with Aaron Dustin's 'Red Peak' design becoming a popular alternative, with growing public support on social media to add the flag as a fifth option to next month's referendum. With the deadline looming, its unclear if there is still time for new legislation to have the Red Peak flag added to the ballot as a fifth option, and defy the 'Key Master'...only time will tell. But I would definitely buy this comic!

You can follow Jonathan King on Twitter: @MrJonathanKing, and support the 'Red Peak' flag on Facebook HERE.

Above: You don't tug on Red Peak's cape (or ponytail!).