From Earth's End - a New Zealand Comics Blog

GO READ: City Lights by Chad Taylor & Jonathan King

2012-01-26T15:11:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-18T14:35:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-23T00:54:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-12-05T00:10:00.001-08:00

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

2011-12-03T18:13:00.001-08:00

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

2011-12-01T13:04:00.001-08:00

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!

2011-11-25T13:45:00.001-08:00

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

2011-10-25T02:02:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-24T01:01:00.000-07:00

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!

The Return Of Blastosaurus And The Fall Of American Original

2011-10-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

Above: The new Blastosaurus series by Richard Fairgray & Terry Jones. Copyright Richard Fairgray 2011.

Back in 2008, local comics creator Richard Fairgray talked his way into the deal of a lifetime: one of his ideas for a comic-book series was to be picked up for American publication by rising media mogul/movie producer Jeff Katz.

Above: Richard Fairgray, with his Blastosaurus comics.

Katz and Fairgray met by chance through a mutual friend during the filming of X-Men Origins: Wolverine in Sydney, which Katz was over-seeing as a production executive for Twentieth Century Fox. Sharing a 'gift for the gab' they immediately hit it off, and Katz was impressed enough by Richard's diverse output of comics to offer him a development deal with his soon to be announced media company, the ironically titled American Original.

Above: Jeff Katz, head of American Original.

Katz had left his position at Fox to capitalise on what he saw as an opportunity to licence new characters and properties across a range of multi-media platforms: including comics, movies, animation and games. Fairgray's Blastosaurus - a high concept of a gun-toting mutant dinosaur, was a perfect fit for this business plan, with the promise of potential Ninja Turtles level licencing deals down the line. No stranger to marketing hype, Katz also had an angle on how to sell Fairgray's personal story too (referring to his legal blindness - Richard has 5% vision in one eye). As Katz told The NZ Herald in September 2008:

"Once people get to know Richard, his talent and his back-story - and that's an incredible human interest story - they'll find out just how unique he is. I'm just thrilled to hear he's getting some recognition. I've got plans for him, I'm going to take his work and grow them across a wide spectrum of media. You know, I told him a month ago that my goal was to make him into a local New Zealand hero, that'll really be fun to watch."

That same year at San Diego Comic Con, Katz made his presence known, announcing a comics publishing partnership with Marc Silvestri's Top Cow Comics (ever the calculating deal-maker, this was no doubt a payback for Katz securing Silvestri an executive producer credit on Fox's A-Team movie). While a raft of upcoming comics and film deals were announced at that convention for American Original's production slate, a year later product had yet to materialised. For his part however, Fairgray had never stopped producing. While Katz's other hollywood partners dragged their feet on producing their promised comics, Fairgray was grinding out Blastosaurus monthly in New Zealand for over two years, while also prepping the promised American comic edition.

Above: The American Original logo.

Back in 2009 I gave my own impression of how I saw the American Original deal playing out (you can read the full report HERE). Given Richard's indie approach and all-ages tone, I felt Blastosaurus would be an ill-fit at Top Cow, a company built primarily on comics featuring large breasted woman. Ultimately this was Katz's business plan, and Richard appeared to accommodate these strange bed-fellows as best he could: turning down a potentially lucrative first issue cover by Silvestri in favour of a more appropriate one by Transmetropolitan artist Darick Robertson (who Richard recruited himself). As for Katz, I made the following observation: '...I don't foresee him having the patience to nurture a comics line for the years it takes to successfully gather a loyal readership to create the 'pre-awareness' he values without giving into the temptation to develop the properties straight out the gate. I expect the recession and the continuing market shrinkage will cop the blame for the company's failure (to produce)..'.

Sure enough, in a video interview with Comic Book Resources from last September's Comic Con, Katz admits that the recession has temporarily delayed his publishing plans:

"..the economics of the business (has changed) entirely. I am not made of money ultimately, fundamentally. I've got a pretty finite amount that I can spend, and so you have to be able to pivot at a point in time to where I could go and spend all my money and publish, and let's be very honest, based on the economics..not get any of it back, and be out of business in a year.." He goes on to say: "At the end of the day, if you can spend the same amount of money on a four issue comic or a Facebook App game that has downloadable content, one is all 'out money', (and) one is money that you get back..".

You can view the full interview HERE, where Katz's talks about the delays of the American Original comics and Blastosaurus around the 7 minute mark. Blastosaurus finally made it's American debut at that same convention, but was ham-strung but printing issues, with the books arriving late to the convention and in limited quantities.

One year later, Richard has continued to produce seasonal Blastosaurus specials in New Zealand, while American Original's publishing progress continues to languish in 'development hell'. Speculation about the future of the American Blastosaurus material and rights was finally resolved this week, with Richard making the following announcement:

'The version of Blastosaurus released in New Zealand was never intended as a final version for worldwide release, the first issue was produced at ridiculous speed in order to secure copyright and ownership of key story elements just in case anything went wrong for me in the future.
Unfortunately what I didn't count on was that people would actually like the issue (most people felt the same way I did about it but some did really latch onto the underlying concept, I'm grateful for this because I think it is a strong concept despite the end result), forcing me to quickly rush out follow up issues that were not to the standard of writing or art that I would aspire had I had more than 6 days to complete each issue.
This new version is the version that was intended for release at SDCC last year. While the launch did sort of take place it was hamstrung by printing problems and delays beyond my personal control. While it's taken me a while to get things back in order I think the time has done the comic good and I think this version shows exactly what I always intended the story to look and feel like. While I'd still like to see the comic find a home in print (because printed comics are what I love, despite what the market is doing) I am more interested in having people read and (I hope) enjoy it.
My parting with American Original was not ideal but by no means was it nasty. Jeff and I have different approaches and I think both work for different reasons and I think we will hear more from him both in terms of comics and other works.'

You can visit the newly minted website HERE. I've had an advance look at the revised material, now in full-colour provided by Tara Black, and if you were a fan of Laird and Eastman's original TMNT stories, I think you'll get a kick out of this. Obviously if you're a fan of the original Blastosaurus, this will be well worth the wait. Here's a video preview:

Richard may have been offered the opportunity of a lifetime, but it's his perseverance and dedication to his work which has allowed him to make a living from comics, rather than gambling on the ultimately empty promises of American dreams. They may not be making him rich, but at least they exist to be read and enjoyed. After all, isn't that the point of creating comics?

Something for Jeff Katz and his hollywood friends to think about while they broker movie deals and celebrity endorsements for comics they have still yet to create, or making a single dime from.

-AK!

EXHIBITION: Oranges At Halftime: Rugby and the Kiwi Experience

2011-10-04T01:47:00.000-07:00

Above: A room recreation featuring Rugby memorabilia, including a rare Eric Resetar comic (pictured bottom left).

So unless you've been living under a rock lately (god know I've tried), there's a Rugby World Cup going on in these parts!

To coincide with the Rugby World Cup, there's a roadshow currently touring the country, Oranges At Halftime: Rugby and the Kiwi Experience celebrating the history of grassroots Rugby in New Zealand. The roadshow contains rare memorabilia from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Included in this treasure trove is a rare look at one on New Zealand's first comics, Crash O'Kane: All Blacks On Mars by Eric Resetar self-published in the 1950s.

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! Crash O'Kane: All Blacks On Mars is one of his many comics blending the sci-fi genre tropes of the comics and pulps he was trading with visiting US sailors with his own touch of kiwiana (All Blacks playing on Mars was clearly a winning idea!). His legacy lives on (as does the man himself, currently residing in Auckland) in the biannual Eric Awards, celebrating excellence in New Zealand Comics, named in his honour.

If you would like to take a closer look at this rare artifact, and others from the locker-rooms of Rugby history, the Oranges At Halftime roadshow will be in Auckland this month at the following locations: Mitre10 Mega carpark, Lincoln Road, Henderson, Oct 4-6th; Bairds Road carpark, Otara, Oct 7-9th; Queens Wharf, Oct 10-14th; and Town Centre Drive, Botany, Oct 15-16th.

For more information on the roadshow and it's other stops across the country, visit the website HERE.

-AK!

EXHIBITION: Monkey Shrine: New Works by Tim Molloy

2011-10-03T02:26:00.000-07:00

Above: The exhibition poster by Tim Molloy. Copyright Tim Molloy 2011.

If you're currently in Melbourne, Australia, tomorrow night you should make sure you're at this gallery opening! Featuring new artworks from Tim Molloy, creator of Mr. Unpronounceable and other mind-bending comics goodness! The exhibition opens at 6pm and is located upstairs at The Old Bar, 74-76 Johnston St, Fitzroy, Melbourne.

If you're geographically challenged and can't make it, you can see more of Tim's artwork at his blog HERE.

-AK!

COMIC STRIP: A Life With Comics #2: Into The Woods

2011-09-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

Above: A Life With Comics #2: Into The Woods (CLICK ON THE ART TO ENLARGE).

Welcome back for the latest chapter of my new comic strip, exploring my earliest experiences with comics!

This one is really my 'first contact' with the medium of comics and it's unique reading experience. It's interesting to note the similarities to Dylan Horrock's first comics experience as depicted in the introduction to the new edition of Hicksville.

It was a very personal experience for me, so it's nice to know I'm not the only one who had that kind of reaction. Scottish comics writer Grant Morrison has often talked at length (most recently in his excellent superhero exploration/memoir Supergods) about his relationship with comics been likened to visiting another dimension or plane of existence, and while that might sound a little far fetched, I think there's some truth to that.

There really is something very hypnotic (and almost seductive) about the juxtaposition of panels in comics, that's far more immersing than other forms of entertainment. Perhaps it's that feeling that you're engaging in an exchange with the media: it provides the information through words and images, but it's up to you as the reader to add the extra dimension of time and space, bringing the reading experience to life.

But this was just my first taste, a gentle primer in the language of comics. My next comic-book would grab me by the collar and throw me head-first into a world of imagination beyond the laws of physics and science. Anything would be possible...and it was all taking place on the other side of those four-colour windows.

-AK!

NEW NZ Graphic Novel: Kimble Bent: Malcontent

2011-09-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

Above: The cover of Kimble Bent: Malcontent by Chris Grosz. Copyright Chris Grosz/Random House 2011.

This week sees the release of the third locally published graphic novel this year, Kimble Bent: Malcontent by Chris Grosz.

An acclaimed editorial cartoonist and artist, Chris Grosz has created a striking 72 page graphic novel retelling of James Cohan's original 1911 biography The Adventures Of Kimble Bent. Following the life of Bent, an american who through a series of miss-adventures washes up on New Zealand shores in the 1860s as part of the British Army, before defecting to live among the Maori.

As one of the few Pakeha to be accepted into Maori tribal society during this period, he joined the Hauhau tribe and took part in key battles during the infamous Taranaki Land Wars. Bent's story of adapting to tribal life is equally fascinating and hair-raising, as he walks a thin line between acceptance and mistrust, with the threat of a scalping and cannibalism ever present. His reputation as the 'Pakeha Maori' and outlaw grew over time, with a price placed on his head by rival tribes and the Crown itself.

Above: A page from Kimble Bent: Malcontent by Chris Grosz. Copyright Chris Grosz/Random House 2011.

Remarkably, the entire book is illustrated using scraperboard, a technique involving removing a top layer of black ink to reveal white china clay underneath, giving the illustrations a stark rugged contrast, perfectly capturing the feel of colonial New Zealand and highlighting the tensions of the story.

It's available now from all major booksellers now for RRP $24.99, published by Random House (ISBN: 9781869795160).

Look for my review later in the week, in the meantime you can watch this Monty Python-like trailer for the book:

-AK!

COMIC STRIP: From Earth's End: A Life With Comics #1

2011-08-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

Above: My Life With Comics #1: Origins (CLICK ON THE ART TO ENLARGE).

Hi everyone, welcome to my new regular comic-strip feature! Some of you may not have been aware, but long before I was a blogger, I was first and foremost a cartoonist. I've continued to work on graphic novel projects alongside my blogging for the last few years, but due to the long-form nature of those projects and the ins-and-outs of publishing, I've shown very little of that work publicly. Now for a while I've had people needling me to put something new out there, and I've been keen to do that, but it was just a matter of finding the right project and format...

I've never done a full autobiographical comic before, so that idea was really appealing to me. Comics have always been a part of my life, both as an interest and a form of expression, informing my view of the world around me in quite unexpected but profound ways. The more I thought about it, framing my formative years growing up in New Zealand alongside my experiences relating to comics quickly gave way to an avalanche of story material. From the amusing stories of backyard superheroics to the teen years of DIY comics creation, it will all be covered here. After a week working on this project I've already uncovered surprising memories of the unexpected effects comics have had on my life and development as a person that I haven't seen covered elsewhere, so it should make for an interesting journey.

I chose the Sunday Comic Strip format as it seemed like a good fit for short chapters and allowed me to publish it in a regular fashion (and one day soon print it in a cool large newspaper format!).

Above: My script/Rough for A Life With Comics#1. Copyright Adrian Kinnaird 2011.

Now for some behind the scenes extras: above is my script/rough for chapter #1.

Usually if I'm writing for a comic or graphic novel I write a full script, but for comic strips I find the space is so limited it's best to start by sketching out the room you have to work with first (in this case, I went with an A4 page space of two tiers). This way you can sketch in the panels you know you'll need to tell the story, and figure out how best to use the remaining space to fill in the blanks. The same goes with the dialogue, the space is limited so if you can't fit it on the page in the sketch you've probably over-written.

Since this strip is charting my way through comics history, I had considered drawing it in different styles depending on the content eg. drawing this first 'origin story' in the style of Superman artist Joe Shuster etc. I ultimately decided against it, as I feel it will be more interesting to capture my likeness growing up over time, rather than adjusting to the style of different comic artists. But I will try to capture the feel of those comics in pacing and style; in this one I looked to early issues of Action and Detective Comics for the description boxes, flat colours and balloon tails, so keep your eyes peeled for subtle references!

Above: Some reference photos of me from the early 80s (yes kids, that's what telephones used to look like!).

And of course reference photos from the time period were also helpful to recapture the memories as close as possible to the way I remember them (and having them on the drawing board generally helps put me in the right head-space).

Ok, well I hope you enjoy this first one, and come back for more soon!

-AK!

Roger Langridge cleans up at the 2011 Harvey Awards!

2011-08-22T01:39:00.000-07:00

Above: The Muppets have a reason to celebrate, as drawn by Roger Langridge. Copyright Disney/The Jim Henson Studio 2011.

Last night saw the winners announced for the 2011 Harvey Awards, with two awards going to New Zealand cartoonist Roger Langridge. He came away with Best Writer for his work on Marvel's acclaimed all-ages series Thor: The Mighty Avenger, and the Special Award For Humour In Comics for his groundbreaking comics adaptation of The Muppet Show from Boom Studios.

Above: A tender moment from Thor: The Mighty Avenger, as written by Roger Langridge with art by Chris Samnee. Copyright Marvel 2011.

Roger's artistic collaborator on Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Chris Samnee, was also awarded Most Promising New Talent. This series was well received by critics and fans alike, but only lasted eight issues. Following the early adventures of Thor the god of thunder, it managed a fine balance of adventure, humour, and a beautifully handled romance. Basically this book has a hell of a lot of heart, and puts most of it's fellow 'mature' superhero comics to shame. It's available in two very affordable volumes now, so make sure you pick them up today and find out what all the fuss is about!

Also available now is the first issue of Roger's new comic series Snarked! #0, from Boom Studios. This zero issue only $1US, which given the strength of our NZ dollar at the moment makes it next to nothing, so grab a copy while it's cheap! For more in-depth information on the world of Snarked!, you can now visit the new website Snark Island for character information, preview art and lots of other goodies HERE.

So congratulations to Roger on some well deserved awards!

PS: If you're listening Marvel: now would be a good time to announce that complete Thor: The Mighty Avenger oversized hardcover;)

PPS: Word to the wise: If you don't already have a copy of The Muppet Show in paperpack, it's currently 60% OFF on Amazon HERE!

-AK!

REVIEW: Baltimore: The Plague Ships

2011-07-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

Above: A page from Baltimore: The Plague Ships by Ben Stenbeck. Copyright Mike Mignola/Dark Horse Comics.

Lord Baltimore is the latest victorian horror hero to emerge from the mind of comics master Mike Mignola and his collaborators Christopher Golden and New Zealand artist Ben Stenbeck.

The first installment in what will no doubt be an ongoing adventure, The Plague Ships introduces us to World War 1 veteran Lord Henry Baltimore, a soldier turned peg-legged vampire hunter cutting a bloody path across plague infested Europe in pursuit of a vampire leader known as Haigus.

After exterminating a nest of vampires on the coast of France, Baltimore finds temporary sanctuary with an elderly witch and her granddaughter Vanessa. They assist him in escaping the village locals, who are less than grateful for the presence of this suspicious looking stranger. The only catch is, Vanessa insists on accompanying Baltimore on his voyage to Livorno, so she can leave her death ridden village behind her.

During the voyage, Baltimore recounts to Venessa his harrowing encounter with vampire bats amongst the corpses of the dead on the battlefields of World War 1, which may have provided the catalyst for the original plague outbreak. Soon their trip takes a treacherous turn, as a vicious storm sinks their ship leaving them stranded on a deserted island, inhabited only by the wreckage of plague ships, victorian submarines and the corpses of the infected. Whether they'll stay dead long enough for Baltimore and his companion to survive the night is another matter entirely...

This is another solid entry into Mignola's growing library of victorian styled horror comics. The writing takes its cue from the likes of classic horror novelists like Bram Stoker, opting for slow-burn reveals and atmosphere rather than shock images, and is all the better for it.

Above: A page from Baltimore: The Plague Ships by Ben Stenbeck. Copyright Mike Mignola/Dark Horse Comics.

An equal amount of credit has to go to Stenbeck, who's carefully paced artwork expertly tells the story, keeping it atmospheric and grounded at all times. At first glance it would be easy to call Ben's artwork here a close approximation of Mignola's own, as they share a very similar stylistic approach (and it certainly doesn't hurt); but a careful study reveals Ben is bringing just as much of his own great touches to the series.

Stenbeck's artwork has a layer of vintage detail and texture that brings a lived in reality to the story and it's historical setting. It's subtile, but an essential element necessary to reinforces this story, one which I think would have been lost in the abstraction if Mignola had illustrated it himself. Ben's artwork doesn't contradict the visual language of Mignola's world, but expertly adds to it when called for, the sign of a true collaborator. The hardback also contains a bonus sketchbook of Ben's development drawings and sketches as well as brand new pin-ups!

Above: Baltimore: The Plague Ships cover by Mike Mignola. Copyright Mike Mignola/Dark Horse Comics.

This hardback collection has already landed on the prestigious New York Time Bestseller List, with a sequel mini-series Baltimore: The Curse Bells, beginning with issue #1 shipping August 10th from Dark Horse Comics.

If you're a fan of classic suspenseful horror from when vampires were vampires (and not socially awkward tweens) then this is essential reading! It's available from Dark Horse Comics and your local book store now, for $24.99US.

For more of Ben's artwork, check out his website HERE, and you may want to revisit this Studio Visit I conducted with Ben a few years ago for a look inside his working process HERE.

-AK!

EVENT: Overload 2011 NZ Comics & Manga Convention

2011-07-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of Manga, comics and Cosplay, then this weekend's Overload Convention is for you!

This two day event will be held July 23-24th at the Hotel Pullman (formerly the Hyatt Regency Hotel) Regatta Rooms in Auckland, from 10am-5pm. There's a $5 entry fee at the door, which buys you entrance to the NZ Comics and Manga Market, Cosplay and artwork competitions, special guest panels and more.

Special guests include: Ant Sang, designer of Bro' Town and creator of the recent graphic novel Shaolin Burning. Ant will be appearing all day Sunday and presenting a panel discussion on his work at 1pm.

Dylan Horrocks, author of Hicksville and currently producing the webcomic Sam Zabel And The Magic Pen at www.hicksvillecomics.com will be appearing both days at the New Zealand Comics booth, along with myself, Lee-Yan Marquez creator of The Impostor series, and Richard Fairgray of Blastosaurus.

Yuri Inaba, the Grand Champion of the World Cosplay Summit 2009 will also be appearing both days, shearing her passion for Cosplay and Anime with her NZ fans, as well as taking part in a Q&A session on Cosplay at 2pm on Sunday afternoon.

Above: A photo from Overload 2010.

If you're not familiar with the manga and cosplay movement in New Zealand, this convention will be a real eye-opener. After attending last year, I can tell you some of the artwork and comics available here are amazing, and I expect this year will be no different. For more information about Overload 2011 and a timetable of the weekend's events, check out the official website HERE.

-AK!

NZ Exclusive: New Karl Urban as Judge Dredd Picture

2011-07-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

He's the latest photo of Karl Urban from the upcoming movie reboot Dredd.

Based on the long-running British weekly comic, directed by Pete Travis from a script by Alex Garland, the film was due for release later this year, but since filming wrapped in South Africa some months back it's been pretty quiet on the announcement front. I'd say we can expect an update from next week's San Diego Comic Convention, with possibly a firm release date. In the meantime, if I see Karl at our local supermarket (it's happened before..) I'll ask him myself...

-AK!

Auckland Zinefest 2011: Comics Preview

2011-07-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Above: a page from Into The Dark Woods by the Sheehan Bros. Copyright Sheehan Bros 2011.

At this weekend's Auckland Zinefest there will be a number of new NZ comics making their debut.

Here's an exclusive art preview of issue #3 of the Sheehan Bros' graphic novella Into The Dark Woods. It's only $3 and if you've missed the earlier issues, you can pick them all up for just $8!

Above: Into The Dark Woods by the Sheehan Bros. Copyright Sheehan Bros 2011.

Marc Steeter will also be there with a new comics collection ActionMan Adam: First Impressions (based on his popular webcomic that you can view HERE). It follows the romantic misadventures of Adam, an outgoing Canadian guy making his way in Christchurch, New Zealand. It's a huge 44 pages and comes in a pack with a badge and stickers for only $10!

Above: A box of customised ActionMan Adam: First Impressions. Copyright Marc Streeter 2011.

The print run is strictly limited to 46 copies, and to make it extra special: each and EVERY cover has been personally customised by Marc! (yes, that's 46 separately hand drawn backgrounds, you can view them all HERE). So be in fast to get your favourite cover.

Above: A page from ActionMan Adam by Marc Streeter. Copyright Marc Streeter 2011.

Marc's ActionMan Adam webcomic has recently started a new story-line reflecting the effects of the Christchurch earthquakes on Adam and his friends; it's a bold move and definitely worth checking out. You can follow the latest updates HERE.

Above: Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch. Copyright Funtime Comics 2011.

Speaking of the Christchurch earthquake, the charity issue of Funtime Comics Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch, devoted to raising funds for the victims of the Christchurch earthquakes will also be on sale from the NZ Comic Creators table. It features an all-star line-up of NZ comic creators for only $10, with all proceeds after printing costs going directly to the Red Cross.

The Zinefest Market takes place tomorrow at St Kevins Arcade, 179 Karangahape Road, Newton, from 12 noon - 5pm; so set aside some of your zine buying budget for these essential NZ comics!

-AK!

VIDEO: Auckland Writers & Readers Festival: Graphic Novels, Comics & Cartoons

2011-07-13T00:13:00.001-07:00

Above: Dylan Horrocks talking comics.

A few months back I chaired a panel Graphic Novels, Comics and Cartoons, for the annual Auckland Writers & Readers Festival. Featuring some of the best and brightest minds in New Zealand comics and literature, I was joined by cartoonists Dylan Horrocks, Ant Sang, Chris Slane and YA author Karen Healey to discuss our love of the medium and the creative process.

If you weren't able to make on the day, the panel was filmed and is now available to view online!

Unfortunately the slides we're discussing aren't visible in the video, but as an exclusive bonus I'm happy to present them as a Slideshow below, so you'll be able to follow the conversation as we go.

Highlights: Ant reveals his in depth writing process and it's relation to screenwriting; Chris discusses how using google earth and historical research informs his work; Karen talks about the mistreatment of female characters in superhero comics, specifically the death of Spoiler from DC's Batman: War Games event; and Dylan dishes the dirt on working for DC Comics on that same event! (possibly with a Dan DiDio impersonation..?) But more to the point, he talks us through the creation of his latest serialised web-comic Sam Zabel And The Magic Pen.

Enjoy!

AWRF2011: Graphic Novels, Comics and Cartoons from Auckland Writers & Readers Fest on Vimeo.

*All Slideshow art and content is copyright it's respective rights holders.

PS: For our foreign viewers, yes that's a New Zealand accent...(Yikes...I know, go ask Anna Paquin if you don't believe me!).

-AK!

Above: Chris Slane waxing lyrical on comics and how easy it is to draw Don Brash as a zombie...

EVENT: Auckland Zinefest 2011

2011-07-11T01:27:00.001-07:00

Auckland Zinefest is already well under way, with plenty of events for fans of traditional DIY self-publishing in all it's forms; from magazines to comics and everything in between. The featured centerpiece of the event will be this Saturday's Zinefest Market, held at St Kevins Arcade, 179 Karangahape Road, Newton. From 12 noon - 5pm you'll be able to buy and browse a wide variety of zines and comics, as well as take part in special talks and activities.

Above and below: Photos from Auckland Zinefest 2010.

Featured events include: a talk by cartoonist Sam Orchard of Rooster Tails on 'Trans and Queer Web Comics'; a panel discussion 'Zines as a Tool for Resistance' organised by Rebel Press; and a binding workshop 'Inside Out' by David Merritt from Landrover Farm Press on how to recycle hardback covers, scavenged cardboard and flour sacks.

The New Zealand Comics Creators store will be there on the day, distributing the best of NZ comics from across the land. Web-cartoonist Marc Streeter will be on hand with a new comic-book from his popular web-comic ActionMan Adam, and the Sheehan Bros will have the latest issue of their immaculately presented graphic novella, Into The Dark Woods (return here for a special preview later this week!).

After a long day of Zine purchasing, you can unwind at the official Zinefest After Party held downstairs at The Wine Cellar from 8pm, featuring live band, karaoke and punch specials all night long.

There are plenty of other Zinefest events taking place this month, so visit the website HERE for more information and details.

-AK!

Beyond Reality Media: The House That Bill Built

2011-06-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

For the last 15 years, William Geradts (or 'Bill' as he's more commonly known) has been the mastermind behind New Zealand's biggest popular culture convention, the Armageddon Expo.

From a humble beginning as a comics swap meet in a suburban meeting hall, the Armageddon Expo has grown to accommodate a wide variety of popular culture interests over the years, from comics and manga, gaming and sci-fi film and television guests. As it's grown in popularity, it's also increased in size to match; from a floor of Auckland's Aotea Centre to the entire building, it's now so large the ASB Showgrounds is the only venue in Auckland with enough room to contain it. The Expo now hosts up to six events a year, held across New Zealand and Australia in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Melbourne and Adelaide.

Above: William 'Bill' Geradts.

You would think organising this rotating line-up of events would be enough to keep Geradts busy, but over the last year or so he's being dropping curious hints on his Twitter account about plans to broaden his media empire in a more creative direction...and he's now ready to share the results.

From this Friday he'll be making the move from promoter to publisher, with his new online comics company, Beyond Reality Media. Launching with four new comics (and one reprinted), they will be available to read online for FREE with daily updates of two new pages from each title every week. To produce these titles, Geradts has recruited local and international talent to bring these concepts to life.

He's a breakdown of the titles on offer:

Attica: Launching July 1st

Written by William Geradts & Christian Gossett

Art by Darick Robertson & Richard Clark

Synopsis: What if the ancient world’s bloodiest conqueror walked the modern world as its greatest prophet?

Warden: Launching July 4th

Written by William Geradts & Christian Gossett

Art by Alan Robinson, colours by Cristian Gonzalez

Synopsis: What if the world’s greatest superhero is actually something else entirely?

The Inspiration Duncans: Launching July 5th

Written by William Geradts & Richard Fairgray

Art by Michel Mulipola & Gonzalo Mertinez

Synopsis: Patrick discovered the missing link…then killed it. He’s REALLY sorry.

The Red Star: Launching July 6th (previously published by Image Comics)

Created, written & drawn by Christian Gossett, produced with Team Red Star

Synopsis: One of the most celebrated graphic novel series of the decade is an epic mythology inspired by the art and history of the Soviet Union.

Robert Rankin's Empires: Launching July 7th

Written & drawn by Robert Rankin

Colours by Coleen Littleford-Allen

Synopsis: A girl adventurer, a monkey butler, alien invaders and the darkest magic on Earth. The year is 1895 and the world is coming to an end.

It's certainly an interesting and varied line-up of titles, and he's what we know about the creators:

Christian Gossett (co-writer of Attica & Warden, creator of The Red Star): This artist & writer came up through the film industry as a concept artist for Lucas Film, his main claim to fame was his design for Darth Maul's double-sided lightsabre. His comic series The Red Star was originally published through Image Comics in 2001. After several appearances at Armageddon Expo in the early 2000s, I believe he caught the eye of Weta Workshop's Richard Taylor, and was soon providing concept art for King Kong and other film projects for the effects company. The most recent project he contributed to was Alice In Wonderland for Disney.

Robert Rankin (creator of Empires): Is a cult British fantasy/humour author of 33 novels, including Necrophenia (2008) and Retromancer (2009). He originally trained as an illustrator before becoming a full-time writer, so this will be the first project he's fully illustrated himself in over thirty years. The results should prove interesting...

Richard Fairgray (co-writer of The Inspiration Duncans): Richard is best know as the local creator of Blastosaurus, which was published monthly in New Zealand before catching the attention of film producer Jeff Katz, who enlisted Richard and his comic for his American Original publishing company. While Katz has proved to be 'all talk, no walk', Richard has continued to produce his own comics and animation projects, including this new collaboration.

Michel Mulipola (artist of The Inspiration Duncans): Joining Richard on The Inspiration Duncans is Michel Mulipola, a local up and coming Samoan comic book artist. By day he is a comic store clerk at Gotham Comics in Onehunga, and by night he is living the dream as a wrestler AND comic artist (a deadly combination of creativity!).

Alan Robinson (artist of Warden): Alan Robinson is a Chilean artist, responsible for the Weekly World News comic series for IDW. His work can also be found on the Terminator: Salvation Prequel, some Star Wars books, and as co-creator of Lost Squad.

Darick Robertson (artist of Attica issue 1): An A-List talent, Darick is best known for his artwork on such best-selling comics titles as The Boys, Transmetropolitan and Punisher. Taking time out from his busy schedule to provide the artwork for issue one of Attica is a real win for Bill and his team, a move that's guaranteed to turn industry heads.

Richard Clark (artist of Attica issue 3 onwards): Richard Clark has worked for a wide variety of entertainment clients, including: HBO, Playboy, The Wall Street Journal and Marvel & DC Comics. He recently providing finishes over Darick Robertson's breakdowns for The Guild:Vork for Dark Horse.

I think Bill's making a very savvy, smart move here by providing the comics free online before collecting them together as print collections. I've talked about this before, but New Zealand has never had the population to support a print network for comic books they way the US has, despite some noble efforts in the past. As it stands today, it can barely support local magazines and newspapers as the real move towards digital media has truly begun in earnest.

I was curious to see if Bill would attempt a print run, as he does in fact have a very strong and potentially profitable network of distribution set-up through his convention circuit. It would have been an interesting experiment, but the smart money is really online, where his books will be able to reach a much larger audience than our limited print population. Plus his network will still be in place to distribute the online material in collected editions, with the first paperback of Attica due in time for the Auckland Armageddon Expo in October.

So for the first look at these books, visit the Beyond Reality Media website HERE on Friday for the launch of Attica, and witness one of the biggest moves in New Zealand comics for some time. It will be interesting to see how this develops, check back here for creator interviews in the coming months ahead.

-AK!

All images and logos in this story are copyright Beyond Reality Media 2011, except for The Red Star copyright Christian Gossett 2011.

A Glow in the Dark: Green Lantern Movie Review

2011-06-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

Above: Ryan Reynolds as Hel Jordan. Copyright Warner Bros/DC Comics 2011.

I have an old beaten-up copy of a Green Lantern comic from my childhood featuring a letter column in which a reader fantasised about what it would be like to see a Green Lantern movie in theatres; to see the green constructs of the ring-slinger's will power brought to life on the big screen, to hear the lantern's sacred oath spoken in surround sound, "wouldn't that be something?", he wondered.

Almost 20 years later, I was thinking much the same thing at last weekend's movie premiere. Talking with fellow GL comics fans, artist Michel Mulipola and TV personality Colin Mathura-Jeffree, we couldn't help but pinch ourselves: are we really about to see a movie starring Green Lantern?

Much like Marvel's Ironman, Green Lantern has always been considered a second-tier comics character without the brand recognition of Batman or Superman. But never the less, he's had a loyal fan-base since his re-introduction in Showcase Presents #22 from 1959 (an earlier namesake of the character existed in the 1940s). Re-imagined as the first human recruit in an intergalactic police force by writer John Broome, test pilot Hal Jordan was an immediate hit with fans. It didn't hurt that his adventures were drawn with dynamic action by the legendary artist Gil Kane, who fashioned one of comics' most iconic costume designs for the character, one which is still used in comics today and the basis for the film design.

Above: Ryan Reynolds on set with kiwi director Martin Campbell. Copyright Warner Bros/DC Comics 2011.

Bringing a sci-fi comics character like Green Lantern to the silver screen is no easy task, one that was entrusted to kiwi director Martin Campbell. Known more for his gritty hands-on action films like Casino Royale, Edge of Darkness and The Mask of Zorro, Campbell certainly had his work cut out for him here; juggling an origin story, explaining the mythology of the Green Lantern Corp, and still trying to find time for humour and romance, while processing all of this in 3D. He may have bitten off more than he can chew, but for the most part he gets it right.

The movie opens with the introduction of the fear-infused entity Parallax, whose appetite for fear and destruction sets events in motion, as he escapes from his imprisonment in a distant sector of space, fatally injuring Green Lantern Abin Sur (an unrecognisable Tem Morrison) in the process. Making a bee-line for earth, Sur's power ring is seeking a worthy replacement, which it finds in the unlikely form of impulsive hot-shot pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds).

Above: Temuera Morrison as Green Lantern Abin Sur. Copyright Warner Bros/DC Comics 2011.

This opportunity to get waaay out of dodge comes at the right time for a restless Jordan, facing disciplinary action for his cocky pilot antics and generally written-off off by everyone bar his ex-girlfriend/boss Carol Farris (Blake Lively) and tech supporter Thomas (Taika Waititi). Once in possession of the ring, he's soon whisked away to the planet Oa, the home of the Green Lantern Corp, for alien boot-camp 101 with instructors Sinestro (a suitable arrogant Mark Strong), Tomar-Re (voiced by Geoffrey Rush) and Kilowog (voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan), and as much plot exposition as he can handle.

Meanwhile back on earth, nerdy scientist Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) is brought in by the government to study the remains of Abin Sur. The autopsy results in a different gift for Hammond: an infection of Parallax's yellow energy, which grants him with telepathic powers and an unsightly enlarged forehead. With their new found powers, Jordan and Hammond are soon on a collision course which inevitably leads to a final showdown with Parallax making a pit-stop to snack on Earth before his final destination, Oa.

Above: A scene set on the planet Oa. Copyright Warner Bros/DC Comics 2011.

As a film, Green Lantern visually stands apart from the crowd with it's unique look and eye-popping visuals, thanks in large part to a couple of Oscar winning kiwis: production designer Grant Major and costume designer Ngila Dickson.

Major's conception of Oa is a joy to behold and sets a new bar for digital environments; it's believably alien, with realistic textures and lighting effects that are only enhanced by the 3D processing. Dickson's decision to go with all CG costumes for the Green Lantern actors is probably the film's biggest gamble, and it pays off. As pure energy constructs themselves, the costumes neatly reinforce the story while making the human actors seamlessly blend in with the legion of CG created creatures. The fact this separation doesn't occur to you immediately only signals just how much of an achievement this really is. It's a true credit to both of them that this film is at it's best during it's cosmic sequences.

Above: Hel Jordan on the Planet Oa, with the rest of the diverse Green Lantern Corp. Copyright Warner Bros/DC Comics 2011.

The film soars in outer-space, it's only when it comes back down to earth that it looses it's momentum on several fronts.

Written by TV veterans Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Goldenberg (who between them have written for Everwood, Smallville, Flash Forward, No Ordinary Family as well as comics for DC and Marvel), are no strangers to this kind of material, yet they still struggle with a larger canvas. The story manages to feel both exposition heavy in places and too light in others. To be fair, there is a lot of material to explain in it's two hour running time, but that comes at the expense of characterization. Many of the leads are sketched out with the thinnest of personalities, leaving the actors with some serious heavy lifting. Lively and Waititi particularly have to work hard not to blend in to the background; and Strong as Sinestro does his best, even though in plot terms he has precious little to do.

Above: Hel Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) with Carol Farris (Blake Lively) share a brief emotional moment. Copyright Warner Bros/DC Comics 2011.

A back-story tying Hal, Hector and Carrol together as old friends is alluded to, but is frustratingly underplayed (maybe even cut for pace?), which would have helped give crucial scenes the emotional weight they desperately need. This becomes even more of an issue when the central theme should be 'strength of will can overcome fear'; and apart from a late rally from Reynolds, few of the other characters get the chance to show much of an emotional response at all. The humour and romance is wedged in between all these other moving parts, and comes across as a bit forced. Thankfully Reynolds' natural star-power and easy-going delivery sells the humour, and if he had more than a handful of scenes with Lively perhaps the romance would have felt more natural too (although female viewers may disagree, as apparently a little Reynolds goes a long way!). Drawbacks in the scripting aside, Chambell along with team of effects expects, still manages to elevate this material and give it the grand space opera treatment it deserves.

As is customary with comic films these days, there's a fun after credits teaser; although DC should take note: a teaser scene shouldn't be a plot point that appears to be forgotten from the main feature, as it looks more like a plot-hole and less like a extra treat.

Above: Hel Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) summons his will power. Copyright Warner Bros/DC Comics 2011.

Overall, Green Lantern is a promising addition to Warner Bros/DC Comics franchise of comic-based movies, and will hopefully get a the chance to fly again in a sequel free of it's origin story restraints. Best of all, it's easily the most accomplished 3D film to come along since Avatar, which along makes it well worth the ride across the universe.

For more information on the movie, you can visit the official site HERE.

-AK!

Above: I took some time out from blogging to join the Green Lantern Corp!

New Comics: DUD: The Dunedin Comics Revue #2

2011-06-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

Above: The cover of DUD#2, by Tony Scharer. Copyright Tony Scharer 2011.

The second issue from the Dunedin Comics Collective is out now, with a fantastic line-up on comics and tunes!

The comics section contains contributions from: Mat Tait, Robert Scott, Barry Linton, Tim Cornelius, Tokerau Wilson, Ary Jenson, Tom Garden, Garry McLachlan, Chris Stapp, Don Ferns, Scott Savage, Stu Medley, Corn Stone, Dylan Horrocks, Dan Brader & Yi Lang Chen, Alex Gilks, Spencer Hall, Ben Carroll, Roger Langridge, Sam Orchard, Glen Ross, Maria Brett, Barry Linton, Chris Stapp, and 'A History of Dunedin Comics' by Wellington comics historian Tim Bollinger.

The tunes section features songs from: Psychic Maps, Opposite Sex, Sonic Smith, Swampy, Left Or Right, Silo, Thundercub, Mr. Biscuits, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Robert Scott, John White, The Dark Beaks, Shakes and the Swell Guys, Brown, The Communist Rainbow Relationship, The Doyleys, Onesie, The Old Psychiatrists Club, Physicks, Idiot Prayer, TFF, Sewage, Crude, Black Yoghurt, Tim Cornelius, Glasgow, We Aeronauts of the Spirit, $noregazZzm feat Tha Sick Sensei, Mental Health Triangle, Lontalius and The Puddle.

DUD#2 is $20NZ and can be ordered online HERE or you can look for it at these select comic stores around the country: Heroes 4 Sale & Gotham Comics (Auckland), Mark One Comics (Hamilton), Graphic (Wellington) and Comics Compulsion (Christchurch).

If you're an aspiring cartoonist and would like to feature in a future issue (issue #3 is coming together as we speak), check out the Dunedin Comic Collective Blog HERE to find out how you can be involved!

-AK!

Marvel sends Roger Langridge to Mars!

2011-06-09T01:08:00.000-07:00

Above: The cover for John Carter: A Princess of Mars, by Skottie Young. Copyright Marvel/Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc 2011.

As if he didn't already have a full plate with the announcement of his upcoming series Snarked!, man of the moment Roger Langridge has been tapped by Marvel to write a series of new comic adaptations based on the John Carter of Mars novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. What's special about this project is it's being produced in collaboration with the Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate and will be considered part of the official canon, adding to the mythology of this legendary character.

With a big budget John Carter movie on the horizon from Marvel's corporate owner Disney next year, this is certainly an important book for Marvel, and needed to be match up with the right creator. No stranger to licenced properties after working with Disney and the Jim Henson Company on The Muppet Show comics, and writing rip-roaring adventures in Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Roger Langridge was clearly the perfect fit for this project. He'll be collaborating on the series with artist Filipe Andrade, with covers provided by Skottie Young.

Here's the synopsis from the official press release:

Transported to the dying planet of Mars, Captain John Carter must now fight for his life against creatures unlike any ever seen by mankind. But as he finds himself enveloped by an alien civil war, he meets the proud and beautiful Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, who will change his life forever!

“With our new partnership with Marvel Entertainment, we believe we have found the best creative force to revive the thrills and adventures in the 21st Century of the legendary John Carter of Mars. We are looking forward to introducing this original interplanetary adventurer to a new generation of fans and await the first issue with great anticipation,” said James Sullos, President of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.

“Edgar Rice Burroughs created one of the great action heroes in John Carter and we’re excited to bring his novels to comics for a new generation,” said Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor-In-Chief. “Roger and Filipe are going to blow everyone away with their take on the John Carter novels, keeping fans new and old on the edge of their seats.”

JOHN CARTER: A PRINCESS OF MARS #1 (of 5)

Based on the Novel by EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

Adaptation by ROGER LANGRIDGE

Art and Variant Cover by FILIPE ANDRADE

Cover by SKOTTIE YOUNG

The first issue of the five part mini-series John Carter: A Princess Of Mars, goes on sale in September for $2.99US. For more details and updates check out Roger's website HERE and of coarse MARVEL.COM.

-AK!

New Comics: Threat Level by Jonathan King

2011-06-08T01:12:00.000-07:00

Above: The cover of Threat Level by Jonathan King.

He's better known for his inventive films, but Jonathan King, director of New Zealand films Black Sheep & Under The Mountain, is also a very active web cartoonist. He's been producing comic strips via his Tumblr page Eel Noir for over a year, including some fun riffs on Sci-Fi classics like Day Of The Triffids, War Of The Worlds and Doctor Who.

His latest and most accomplished comic Threat Level, a short adventure set in a world where surrealism is a new form of terrorism. King's controlled clear-line art style reminiscent of Tintin creator Hergé is a real treat, especially when things take a turn for the surreal! (a close inspection of the artwork rewards readers with some great details and references). You can read the complete webcomic for free HERE at issuu.com or inspect it page by page on his Tumblr page HERE.

Above: A page from Threat Level by Jonathan King. This story is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonComercial-NoDerivs 3.0 New Zealand Licence.

For more of Jonathan's comics, visit his Tumblr page for future updates and while you're there enjoy some of his earlier strips!

-AK!

PREVIEW: Roger Langridge's SNARKED!

2011-06-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Above: The cover of Snarked! #0 by Roger Langridge. Copyright Roger Langridge 2011.

The details are finally out on Roger Langridge's new comics series Snarked!, to be published in October from KABOOM, the new kids comics imprint from BOOM Studios. Here's the official press release with the details:

June 2, 2011 – Los Angeles, CA – This August, KABOOM! and Roger Langridge want to give you a taste of the all-new All-Ages ongoing series SNARKED with the $1US SNARKED #0 prelude leading into this October’s exciting SNARKED #1! Written and drawn by Roger Langridge, the artistic mastermind behind the fan-favorite MUPPET SHOW COMIC BOOK and THOR: THE MIGHTY AVENGER, SNARKED is a bold re-imagining of Lewis Caroll’s topsy-turvy world! Also shipping this August, for the adult fans of Roger’s work, an all-new trade paperback featuring Langridge’s previously uncollected alt-comix material THE SHOW MUST GO ON, making August a month of Roger Langridge goodness you won’t want to miss!

“Very few cartoonists can combine all-ages fun with exciting adventure, but Roger Langridge pulls it off and makes it look easy!” says BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. “Roger’s masterful art along with with his impeccable comedic timing and knack for storytelling will make SNARKED a new classic for comics and literature fans alike.”

“Roger Langridge has another hit on his hands with SNARKED!” says BOOM! Studios Marketing Director Chip Mosher. “Equal parts wonder, action, and hilarity, Roger Langridge has created a stunning world perfect for young and old readers alike! Fans of fantastic tales only have great things to look forward to in ROGER LANGRIDGE’S SNARKED!”

ROGER LANGRIDGE’S SNARKED #0 brings Lewis Carroll’s imaginative world to new heights in a side-splitting adventure that can only be explained as… SNARKED! Presenting a fresh and incredibly modern “Langridge” spin on an already-warped classic, the SNARKED adventure starts here with a self-contained 8-page story featuring The Walrus and The Carpenter from THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS – that’s right, the same Walrus that inspired the Beatles song “I Am the Walrus” is now in Roger Langridge’s merry, mad hands for new all-ages adventures at KABOOM! This $1 all-new original 8-page complete story also contains a full issue’s worth of back matter and dives deep into the world of SNARKED with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the new series. Don’t miss this comic book industry event! Buy the $1US issue now, pick up the series in October!

THE SHOW MUST GO ON TPB is a volume of previously uncollected cartoon strips written and drawn by Roger Langridge. This title, published under the alt-comix imprint BOOM! Town, is suggested for more mature readers and ships in August with a price point of $14.99US.

What follows is a four page preview of Snarked! #0 to give you a free taste of what's to come:

The welcome announcement of The Show Must Go TPB should be of particular interest to long-time fans of Roger's work. Always a keen contributor to various comics community anthologies and jams, this collection will provide a great showcase for many of these rarely seen gems that Roger has produced over the years.

Above: The cover for The Show Must Go On Trade Paperback by Roger Langridge. Copyright Roger Langridge 2011.

So head down to your nearest comic shop and give Snarked! #0 a try in August for the special price of only $1US dollar! The Show Must Go will also be available that month for $14.99US. With the NZ dollar hitting record highs at the moment, you should be able to pick up these books for a song! (which in this case, it's likely to be "I am the Walrus";)

-AK! Coo Coo Ka-choo!

Nice Art Friday: Colin Wilson

2011-05-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

Above: A variant 'I am Captain America' cover for Moon Knight #3, Colin Wilson. Copyright Marvel 2011.

This vision of the 'great american frontier' is Colin Wilson's contribution to Marvel's 'I am Captain America' month, celebrating the star-spangled Avenger (click the art to view at full size). No stranger to depicting the western lifestyle in comics, ex-pat Colin (currently based in Australia) is probably best know for his acclaimed run on the european produced western series Blueberry.

You can see more of Colin's eye-catching artwork at his official website HERE.

-AK!

Talking Comics with Karen Healey

2011-05-10T01:32:00.001-07:00

Above: Author Karen Healey.

Today I'm talking comics with Karen Healey, author of the highly acclaimed debut YA novel Guardian Of The Dead.

A fantastic supernatural thriller, Guardian Of The Dead takes place in a pre-earthquake Christchurch, where the boundaries between modern life and Maori mythology blur, as an ancient race of spirits prey on a group of boarding school students. Fast-paced with plenty of character, it's highly recommended for any teen reader who's after something local and original (and that doesn't feature those tiresome vampires!).

Karen is also the co-founder of the feminist comics website Girl-Wonder.org, and is currently working on her PhD, writing her thesis on american superhero comics. She'll be in town this week for the Auckland Writer's & Readers Festival 2011, taking part in several talks: The Listener Gala Night, The Wordy Day Out and Graphic Novels, Comics & Cartoons - where she'll be joined by Dylan Horrocks, Ant Sang and Chris Slane to talk with me about all things comics related.

As a warm-up for the panel on Sunday (buy your tickets HERE!), I wanted to find out a bit more about Karen's interest in comics, particularly the appeal of superhero comics, and talk a bit about the role of sex and gender equality in the spandex set.

AK: What was your first exposure to comics and what was it about the medium that really appealed to you?

Karen Healey: I was about five, I think, and it was a Daffy Duck comic, and I loved it. Then it was Asterix and Tintin and Footrot Flats collections. I was mostly interested in the stories, I think; I've always been a voracious reader, and I liked exotic adventures and mysteries and jokes I could understand (not that there were plenty I didn't get, like what the Dog had against Cheeky). After I started high school comics pretty much dropped out of my life. There wasn't a comics shop in my town, and there definitely weren't any collections on library shelves. So I read fantasy and science fiction and my Dad's Westerns - anything with magic or explosions or excitement. In retrospect, it was great training for both my career as a novelist and for my later superhero appreciation.

I picked up comics again in university, when a friend gave me Kingdom Come for my birthday, another friend introduced me to Ultimate Spider-Man, and then I ended up flatting with Isaac Freeman, who's a Christchurch comics scene mainstay and placed huge shelves at my disposal, bless him.

AK: I was curious: as a prose writer, have comics had any effect on the way you approach writing fiction? Obviously they are completely different beasts, but perhaps in terms of how you picture imagery in your head etc. I know when I was reading Guardian of the Dead there were certain passages where I thought "that would make a good comic sequence" (particularly the supernatural scenes).

KH: Hah! Well, thank you. And should someone want to turn it into a comic, I believe the rights are available.

But I don't think comics have much effect on my methods of writing; certainly not in terms of visual sense or action writing, because I really don't have a good grasp on either. Dialogue comes naturally to me; making a scene kinetically or visually strong doesn't, and I have to work at it. However in terms of thematic resonance and ideas, some comics have had a huge influence on my writing. Dylan Horrocks' Hicksville is cited in my Acknowledgements for Guardian of the Dead for a reason, and there are numerous references to superhero comics in the book, which provide the protagonist with a neat way to reach friendship with her romantic interest.

AK: You're currently writing your PhD on Superhero comics. What is it about that particular genre that appealed to you?

KH: Oh, pretty much the same thing that appeals to me about prose about supernatural or science fictional events. Something exciting is generally happening, set in motion and responded to by exciting people. The big superhero comics titles have the additional advantage of huge, elaborately complex multiverses that have been created by generations of people. Layers and lawyers of content to dig into, very exciting!

AK: You co-founded the feminist comics organisation Girl-Wonder.org and wrote the column 'Girls Read Comics (and They're Pissed), where you discussed among other topics, current examples of sexism and gender equality issues in modern superhero comics. What inspired you to start your blog, and was there a particular example that made you decide "I really have to speak out about this"?

KH: What inspired me to start GRC was that Mary Borsellino said, "I'm putting together a feminist comics website, are you in?" Mary started Girl-Wonder.org in response to the death of Robin IV, Stephanie Brown, who didn't get the memorial case accorded to dead Robin II, Jason Todd. But I wasn't reading Batman titles at the time, and I didn't know much about Stephanie, so that wasn't my impetus, and I didn't really have a single final straw to motivate me. I was just so sick of seeing sexist bullshit on the pages and in comics discussion groups. The idea of a feminist space to talk about comics was incredibly exciting, so I got involved immediately.

Above: From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women’s Comics from Teens to Zines by Trina Robbins. Copyright Trina Robbins 2011.

AK: Historically there's always been a bit of an imbalance in gender equality in comics in both readers and creators, particularly in superhero comics which is largely male dominated. However, there has been a rapid increase in female readers and creators in the last 15 years; do you think this is helping to providing a more balanced portrayal of female characters?

KH: Well, you know, historically there really hasn't been a huge imbalance. In the Golden Age of comics, there were a hell of a lot of little girls tossing their pennies on the counter to get comics, many of which were drawn or scripted by women - Trina Robbins talks about this in her comics research. The alienation of female readers is relatively recent, but the imbalance is definitely there now.

While I don't think female creators are guaranteed to provide a more balanced portrayal of women, I do think that making a concerted effort to include more women in the industry can make a big difference to other potential female creators. So many talented, driven women are just not interested in superhero comics because there's this metaphorical Boys' Club sign on the cubhouse door. And since I mostly read superhero comics, I think alienating so many creators of merit right off the bat is a huge shame.

Above: Part of a shocking sequence which leads to a rape taking place in the superhero series, Identity Crisis. Copyright DC Comics 2011.

AK: The portrayal of sexuality in superhero comics is another topic that comes up repeatedly in you blog, and it's certainly been a controversial issue in the genre since it's inception (although in the 1940s was more in the subtext; bondage particularly featured strongly: the tied-up damsel in distress, or in the case of Wonder Woman, shades of straight out slavery). Not to get bogged down in the issues of gender equality over time, but the relationship between violence and sex has always been an uneasy one in superhero comics; coming to the forefront in the 1980s when the readership migrated from children to adults with examples like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. It's often being argued since that superhero comics read by a largely teenage audience really aren't the place to discuss issues related to sex and sexuality. Do you think there's some validity to this argument, or is it overly simplistic?

KH: I write fiction for and about teenagers, and I have very firm views on sex and sexuality in young adult literature. Those views are discussed in more detail in this blog post HERE. But in short, I think that sex and sexuality are absolutely valid topics for young adult literature, and that certainly includes superhero comics aimed at a teenage audience.

My problem with many superhero comics is not that they include depictions of sex or sexuality, but that they do it so *badly*. Rape as the best possible motivation for a woman becoming a hero or a villain, for example, or numerous depictions of female sexuality as titillating, rather than as an honest depiction of a character's sexual desires. And then you get things like comics editors being squeamish about showing a gay male couple kissing on-page, where a straight couple can totally go for it, bonus points for female partial nudity. Sex is awesome. Sexism and homophobia are gross.

Above: A scene from the webcomic FreakAngels by Warren Ellis & Paul Duffield. Copyright Warren Ellis & Paul Duffield 2011.

AK: What comics are you currently reading, and what would you recommend for female readers who are interested in superhero comics but aren't sure where to start?

KH: I'm currently reading Secret Six, Batgirl, Birds of Prey, and Black Widow and I'm eagerly waiting on a ton of trades to see if I want to get back into the Avengers and Iron Man and a ton of X-Men titles. Online, I'm reading Oglaf (warning: definitely adult content), The Non-Adventures of Wonderella, The Adventures of Superhero Girl, Bad Machinery , Penny Arcade, FreakAngels, Subnormality and Hark! A Vagrant.

As for recommendations, I really don't know what to recommend for women who don't know where to start unless I know more about the women in question. Readers are really individual. Do they like action? Romance? Intrigue? Mysticism? Do they like comics with a more left-wing, right-wing or centrist slant? Do they like humour? Black humour or slapstick?

I think the best thing for people who want to learn more about superhero comics is to hit the library, (if they have a good selection), or a local comic book store, (if it's decent), or a comics-reading friend's bookshelf (if you trust their taste) and browse, and maybe pick out a few things that suit your tastes. Or hit the internet. There are a ton of "how to get your girlfriend to read comics" lists which may be safely ignored, but review sites that go "Here's a comic I really like because X, Y, Z" can be really handy if X, Y and Z are what you're looking for.

Thanks to Karen for answering my questions, and for more of her thoughts on comics (there was plenty more to talk about that didn't make it into this interview), make sure you get a ticket for the Graphic Novels, Comics & Cartoons panel this Sunday at 11.15am at the Aotea Centre! Visit the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival website for details. For more information on Karen and her writing, you can visit her official website HERE.

-AK!

NZ Comic to Film: Last Flight

2011-05-09T02:09:00.000-07:00

Above: a page from The Sparrow by Damon Keen. Copyright Damon Keen 2011.

Originally published in local NZ comics anthology New Ground in 2008, The Sparrow is now the basis for the short film Last Flight by it's creator Damon Keen. You can read the original comic HERE, and get a first look at the impressively visual trailer HERE.

Above: Page 9 from The Sparrow by Damon Keen. Copyright Damon Keen 2011.

Damon is currently submitting it to several film festivals, so keep an eye out for it and check out the official website for more details and updates HERE.

-AK!

Free Comic Book Day 2011!

2011-05-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

Free Comic Book Day is back once again for 2011! This worldwide comics initiative takes place on the first Saturday of May each year; with the initial aim of promoting public awareness of comics, it is now more firmly focused on promoting reading and creating a fun event where both parents and children can share their mutual love of the comics medium. There's a great variety of Free Comic Books on offer this year, from the standard superhero fare of Batman, Thor and Green Lantern, through to The Dark Crystal, Archie, The Simpsons and even 10 Deadliest Sharks(!). For a complete list of the titles, visit the official Free Comic Book Day website HERE.

Above: Baltimore, by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden and Ben Stenbeck. Copyright Dark Horse Comics 2011.

There are two titles I'd like to draw attention to this year, which have been produced by New Zealand cartoonists.

The first is Baltimore from Dark Horse Comics, written by Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden with art by local cartoonist Ben Stenbeck. This supernatural horror comic is fresh from it's Eisner nomination for Best Limited Series last month, so check it out for free this weekend and see what all the fuss is about! (as you can see from Ben's sample art here, this one's more for the older kids;)

Above: Captain America/Thor, written by Roger Langridge with art by Chris Samnee. Copyright Marvel Comics 2011.

The second title is Captain America/Thor, starring this year's big screen heroes from Marvel Comics, written by ex-pat Roger Langridge with art by Chris Samnee. This issue acts an a encore to the much praised all-ages series Thor: The Mighty Avenger from Roger and Chris, which came to an untimely conclusion after just eight issues. With it's winning mix of lighthearted adventures and emotive characterization, this series continues to reach new readers in it's two collected volumes, and just last week it was nominated for an American Library Award for Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

Above: Art from Captain America/Thor, by Chris Samnee. Copyright Marvel Comics 2011.

This Free Comic is a perfect primer for younger readers who need encouragement in reading, featuring a great adventure with two of Marvel's most recognisable characters that is sure to please (and parents will get a kick out of the great art too!).

So here's a rundown of the Comic Stores across New Zealand that are celebrating Free Comic Book Day this Saturday, and additional details on special events to celebrate the day!

AUCKLAND:

Gotham Comics: 264 The Mall, Onehunga, Auckland. Ph/Fax: +64 9 634 4399

Open from: 10am - the comics run out!!!

*2 FREE comics for walking in.
*2 FREE comics for coming in COSTUME!!! (Hero or Villian).
*2 FREE for a GOLD Donation to Onehunga Primary School.

In-store Specials:

25% off ALL Trade Paperbacks/ Graphic Novels in-store* 25% off ALL Comic Set Packs* 25% off ALL T-shirts....* 25% off ALL Back Issues in the BLUE BINS (excludes any material being held aside & items already on SPECIAL).

All NEW Comics on the BLUE & YELLOW shelves... NZ$5.00ea!!!

So come on in and grab some FREE Comics... bring family & friends and get more FREE comics.
Also a good chance to show Friends & Family the World of Gotham :)

HAMILTON:

MK1: Mark One Comics: 551 Victoria Street, Hamilton. PH: 07 8393728

Open: 9am – 5 pm

Free Comic Book Day is the best day to check Mark One out for the first time, and a fantastic way for Mark One to say thanks to all the people that have kept us in business these past 22 years!

Free Comics – plus bonus extras! - what’s the catch? No catch – all you have to do is turn up.. well there is the small matter of deciding which three free comics from the above awesome list (sorry we strictly enforce this limit in order to make sure we offer a good choice throughout the day). Sorry no Preorders are accepted ahead of the big day – but don’t worry we’ve purchased heaps (over 2000 comics this year!) – so long as you turn up in store on the day there will be free comics to grab (and extra freebies and a big sale and a general awesome happy Mk1 buzz – oh and balloons!)

Email shop@mk1.co.nz with the subject FCBD and we will send that email address a Free Comic Book Day reminder email the day before! Text the word FCBD to 0273405967 and we will send a Free Comic Book Day text reminder the day before our big day in May!

CHRISTCHURCH:

Comics Compulsion: Christchurch 12 Penelope Place, Casebrook. PH: 3797866 or email: comics@xtra.co.nz for details.

Comics Compulsion are celebrating at their new temporary location with Free Comics and a BBQ! So if you're in the south, make sure you head on down to show your support for a great comic book store that continues to get the books through to readers in the face of such adversity!

PALMERSTON NORTH:

The Badcave (previously Heroes For Sale Palmerston North): 35 King Street, Palmerston North. PH: 06 3566779

I couldn't find specific event details, but they have celebrated Free Comic Book Day in the past, so perhaps shoot them and email or phone call, and I'm sure they'll let you know what's happening on the day:)

WELLINGTON:

Graphic: 106 Cuba Mall PH: 04 3842 691

Ditto for Graphic, there wasn't any mention at their website, but I'm sure they'll have some plans if you give them a call.

So this Saturday take a trip out to your nearest Comic Store with the family and enjoy some great FREE comics!

-AK!

Headshot by Matz & Colin Wilson heading to the screen with Stallone

2011-04-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

Above: Characters from Bullet To The Head, as drawn by Colin Wilson and their actor counterparts: Sylvester Stallone & Thomas Jane.

Australian based NZ cartoonist Colin Wilson will soon see one of his comics come to life on the silver screen as Headshot, starring Sylvester Stallone.

Above: Colin Wilson artwork from Bullet To The Head. Copyright Dynamite Entertainment 2011.

Originally published in France as Du Plomb Dans La Tete, this crime noir has been recently translated to english by Dynamite Entertainment as Bullet to the Head. In February Wilson announced that Stallone was attached to the film adaptation via his blog, and since then the project appears be picking up stream, with principle photography due to start filming in Louisiana in July under the direction of legendary tough guy film-maker Walter Hill (The Warriors, Last Man Standing).

Above: Colin Wilson artwork from Bullet To The Head. Copyright Dynamite Entertainment 2011.

Colin shared more information recently with his fellow NZ cartoonists via the BRD Yahoo Group: "Yep, after a two year tortuous journey through developer hell, it looks like this one might actually go ahead. Stallone was linked to Headshot back in February, and the latest news I have is that Walter Hill is now onboard to direct. Although I haven't seen any of the films Hill has directed in the last few years, I couldn't be happier as The Long Riders was one of my favourite westerns back in the day. 48 Hours and The Warriors weren't too bad either..."

Above: The cover of the french edition of Du Plomb Dans La Tete. Copyright Casterman 2011.

"None of the various comic sites I visit these days seem to have picked up that Headshot is based on Du Plomb Dans La Tete, a three book series Matz and I did for Casterman in France a few years ago. I guess we didn't make it easy, as an English translation was published earlier this year by Dynamite in the States as a six-issue mini-series - oddly titled Bullet To The Head (close to the French title, but Matz and I always preferred Headshot) - but the IMDb page for Headshot does credit Matz as the writer of the original graphic novels (using has real name). Co-writer of the excellent The Messenger (2009) Alessandro Camon is currently writing the screenplay, so I'm looking forward to seeing where this one goes."

Above: Colin Wilson artwork from Bullet To The Head. Copyright Dynamite Entertainment 2011.

I would say the fact the film has already locked down a director and start date for shooting is very positive news; and in the last week Stallone personally let slip to Ain't It Cool News that Thomas Jane (The Punisher and HBO's Hung) will be joining the cast. If all goes well we can hope to see this in cinemas sometime in 2012. Until then, make sure you check out Colin's excellent artwork in the Bullet To The Head collection available now before the movie hits!

-AK!

Above: The cover of the english translation: Bullet To The Head. Copyright Dynamite Entertainment 2011.

Ben Stenbeck nominated for Eisner Award!

2011-04-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

Above: Art from Baltimore: The Plague Ships, by Ben Stenbeck. Copyright Mike Mignola/Dark Horse Comics 2011.

This year's Eisner Award nominations were announced recently, and local comic artist Ben Stenbeck is up for an award for his work collaborating with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. The comic series, Baltimore: The Plague Ships, written by Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden with art by Ben Stenbeck, is nominated for Best Limited Series.
Above: More Ben Stenbeck art from Baltimore: The Plague Ships. Copyright Mike Mignola/Dark Horse Comics 2011.

For the uninitiated, the Eisner Awards are basically the Oscars of the comics world, named after legendary cartoonist Will Eisner. Eisner created The Spirit comic series and originated the graphic novel format with his landmark 1978 publication A Contract With God. Established in 1987, the Eisner Awards are presented annually at a ceremony as a part of the Comic-Con International Convention held in San Diego, California. To date, the only New Zealander to win an Eisner Award is Dylan Horrocks, for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition in 2002. Roger Langridge has also been nominated for two Eisner Awards in the past for his outstanding work on Fred The Clown.

News of the series nomination had taken Stenbeck by surprise. "It was totally unexpected and its a huge honour just to be nominated. As cliche as that might sound, its the honest truth."

Ben had nothing but praise for his collaborators; "Working with Mike and Chris is great. I'm into my third book with Mike and I still get nervous whenever I talk to him over the phone. There's still a little voice in the back of my head yelling 'holy fuck it's Mike Mignola!' over and over. Chris is great to work with, he's very tolerant of me taking liberties with his scripts. And he's writing some fantastic lunatic stuff. I'm half way through the next series Baltimore the Curse Bells that I think comes out in august. And then there's at least a few more (projects) lined up after that. I love doing this stuff, there isn't any other character around that Id rather draw. And I suck at drawing super heroes."

This winners will be announced at the Eisner Awards ceremony taking place on Friday July 22nd, at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. Baltimore: The Plague Ships will be collected in hardcover from Dark Horse Comics on June 21st.

Here at Earth's End we wish Ben the best of luck! For more on Ben Stenbeck's artwork and past projects, check out his official website HERE.

-AK!
Above: The cover for the forthcoming hardcover collection of Baltimore: The Plague Ships by Mike Mignola. Copyright Mike Mignola/Dark Horse Comics 2011.

EVENT: Auckland Writers & Readers Festival 2011: Graphic Novels, Comics & Cartoons

2011-04-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

Above: The panel lineup from the left: Chris Slane, Dylan Horrocks, Ant Sang, Karen Healey and myself.

2011 has already proven itself to be a landmark year in New Zealand Comics publishing, with two graphic novels achieving wide release in bookstores and a growing host of great self-published comics becoming increasingly available through festival and expo distribution. With such a wealth of new material and increasing public interest in the graphic novel medium, it seemed only natural that a discussion on the subject would make a great addition to any literary celebration, and that's exactly what will be taking place next month at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival 2011!

On Sunday 15th of May, I'll be hosting event #47 of the Festival: Graphic Novels, Comics & Cartoons, in which I'll be moderating a panel featuring some of the best cartoonist and writing minds in New Zealand: Dylan Horrocks, Chris Slane, Ant Sang and Karen Healey. We'll be discussing our love of this special medium, plus an exclusive illustrated look inside the process of comics creation and graphic novel writing, invaluable information for the aspiring cartoonist that you won't find anywhere else!

Tickets for this event are on sale now from THE EDGE Box Office on level 3 of the Aotea Centre in Auckland, or online at www.buytickets.co.nz. It's $20.00* for Earlybird pre-sales, or $25.00* after May 11th (*booking fees may also apply). For more information on this event, you can visit the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival page HERE.

Now for a brief biography of the featured writers:

Dylan Horrocks

He really needs no introduction at this point, Dylan 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, insuring it's place as a contemporary classic of New Zealand literature.

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.

Ant Sang

Ant 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 for his dedicated work. 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

Chris 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. In the mid-nineties he produced arguably New Zealand's first original graphic novel Maui: Legends of the Outcast, with writer Robert Sullivan. Last month 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.

Karen Healey

Karen is the author of the highly acclaimed novel Guardian of the Dead, a paranormal thriller heavily influenced by Māori mythology, which takes place in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her well received debut novel is a finalist for the American Library Association's prestigious William C. Morris Award. She is also the co-founder of the feminist comics website Girl-Wonder.org, and is currently writing a PhD on american superhero comics. Her next novel The Shattering, is due to be published by Allen & Unwin later this year.

Adrian Kinnaird

Well, if you are reading this, you know who I am ('Nuff said!).

The panel will run for 45 minutes of comics goodness, so don't delay and book your tickets today! It's probably also a good idea to read up on the main books which will be discussed at the panel, which are all available now from bookstores everywhere: Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks, Shaolin Burning by Ant Sang, Nice Day for a War by Chris Slane & Matt Elliott, and Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey. All the authors will be available to sign copies at the conclusion of the panel. I look forward to seeing you all there on the day!

-AK!

Photorama: Armageddon Expo Wellington 2011

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Above: The New Zealand Comics Creators stall, complete with new stock! Photo by Gijs Priegel. Copyright Gijs Priegel 2011.

Last weekend saw Wellington hosting it's annual Armageddon Expo, a week earlier than usual to fill the gap left by the cancelled Christchurch event. The Expo proved as popular as ever with a huge public showing of 15,000, filling the TSB Arena to capacity and causing the door sales to be closed over lunchtime to accommodate the massive crowd.

Above: The cover of Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch. Copyright Funtime Comics 2011.

The New Zealand Comics Creators stand was certainly busy this year, boosted by the release of Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch the Funtime anthology issue created to raise funds for the Christchurch Earthquake, with ALL proceeds going to the Red Cross. Signed copies of Ant Sang's recently released Shaolin Burning were also popular on the day. The final issue of Lee Yan Marquez's The Impostor series was also available and newcomer

Brendon Bennetts' The Tower graphic novel.

Here's some photos of the stand on the day, courtesy of Gijs Priegel:

Above: The set-up: from left to right: Lee Yan Marquez, Isaac Freeman and Brent Willis.

Above: Bristle editor Brent Willis in a pitch perfect cosplay as Tintin's Captain Haddock! (paging Peter Jackson!).

Above: From left to right: Isaac Freeman, Lee Yan Marquez, Brendon Bennetts and Brent Willis.

Remember, if you would like to get hold of a copy of Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch for yourself, you can order it directly online HERE from the Funtime website.

-AK!

New NZ Comics Autumn Edition 2011

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Out just in time for Wellington Armageddon Expo this weekend, are three new titles from some of our most reliable and hardworking cartoonists!

Lee Yan Marquez has completed the final part of her comic trilogy The Impostor, with #3 debuting at Armageddon. Sharply written and beautifully drafted, this thriller set in a totalitarian state comes to a riveting conclusion not to be missed! It's available from Wellington Armageddon Expo this weekend, but you can expect it to appear at Auckland comic shops soon after.

The great Wellington anthology Bristle is back again for it's ninth issue, featuring stories by Renee Lyons, Brent Willis, Robyn E Kenally & Richard Whyte, Sarah Laing, Ari Freeman, Claire Harris, W-S C, Draw, Clive Townsend, Grant Buist and a various artists jam. Covered by Matt Kelly and a back cover is by M. Emery. You can pick it up at Armageddon this weekend, or you can also mail order it for $5 +postage from series editor Brent Willis at PO Box 27-258, Wellington.

And no Armageddon Expo would be complete without another Blastosaurus Special by Richard Fairgray and Terry Jones. This year it's an April Fools Special, complete with a misleading cover edition (and a thankfully 98% less Lloyd promise!). Richard tends to sell out of these at the Expo, so either pick one up from him this weekend or drop his website a line for inquiries about back issues.

And don't forget the newest issue of Funtime, Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch. It's available now through Pay Pal at the Funtime website HERE. It's for a fantastic cause and is super-simple to purchase, so don't delay!

I'd suggest getting your hands on these new comics now while the sun is out, so you've got plenty of reading material to get you through those cold winter months.

-AK!

Darkest Day: Comics For Christchurch

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Above: The cover of 'Darkest Day: Comics For Christchurch'. Copyright Funtime Comics 2011.

On 22 February of this year, Christchurch was devastated by a massive earthquake, distorting the visage of this beloved New Zealand city forever. Close to two hundred people were killed, many CBD buildings were either destroyed or wreaked beyond repair, while outer suburbs were left without power, drinking water and sewerage systems. Over the last month the recovery process has begun, but progress is still slow and any extra assistance is still greatly appreciated.

Isaac Freeman, editor of the long-running Christchurch Comics Collective, Funtime, has lived through both quakes and wasted no time in assembling some of New Zealand comics' greatest talents to produce a special issue of Funtime Comics: Darkest Day: Comics For Christchurch, with ALL proceeds after printing going straight to the Red Cross!

The talent line-up includes: Dylan Horrocks, Sarah Laing, Tom Taylor & Colin Wilson, Jonathan King, Jared Lane, Chris Slane, Lee-Yan Marquez, Jason Brice, Ari Freeman, Terry Jones & Richard Fairgray, Claire Harris, Hannah Groff, Kieran Simpson, Robin Hotter, Brent Willis, David Tulloch, Craig Gillman, Ruth Boyask, Polka Ricefield, Danny Sugar, Gary McLanachan, Bob Gibbons, Sheika Lugtu, Gina Hubert, Darren Schroeder, Edwina Ting, Dean Rankine, Erin Harrington, Andrew Kepple, Russ Kale, Cally Bennett, Rowan French, Cameron Davis, Sam Orchard, Steve Saville, John Weeks, M P Fikaris and editor Isaac Freeman.

It will be officially launching tomorrow at the Wellington Armageddon Expo, available from the New Zealand Comic Creators table for $10. You can also purchase it online from the Funtime Comics website for $10 including postage! ($13 for the rest of the world).

This is a great way to support those effected by the Christchurch earthquake and in return enjoy some great comics that celebrate the Garden City and reflect on the effects of that dark February day.

-AK!