2007 Episode 6: The Comics Show
The Comics Show
The writing and drawing of comic books has remained a little-known
and under-rated area of New Zealand culture. Director Shirley
Horrocks reveals it to us as a highly creative subculture with a
rich local history.
Despite a moral panic about comics in the 1940s and 50s (recalled
here by Eric Resetar, the grand old man of local comics), later
decades brought us the exciting counter-culture work of Barry
Linton and the other artists of Strips magazine (such as Dick
Frizzell and Grant Major), the new directions taken by women
artists such as Coco and Pritika, and the publication of long-form
'graphic novels' such as Ant Sang's Dharma Punks and Dylan
Horrocks's Hicksville.
There are now comics for all ages and interests. Comics have links
with animation and with music (as Chris Knox demonstrates). This
highly entertaining and visually inventive film takes us from
Auckland street culture, to Wellington's 'Eric Awards', to a
do-it-yourself comic collective ('Funtime' in Christchurch). This
is an unexpected, eye-opening arts documentary with broad
appeal.
Producer/director Shirley Horrocks comments: "I find this a fascinating area of local work that seldom receives serious attention. Some people are only aware of the kinds of comics they encountered as kids, but the genre has hugely expanded. It's a lively sub-culture, buzzing with creative activity. Like our musicians, some New Zealand comic artists have gained a cult reputation internationally.
"I really like the do-it-yourself spirit of local comics. The advent of cheap photo-copying made it possible for anyone to publish their own. Their comics have been characterized by a strong spirit of independence. Local artists and writers know there's not much status and even less money in it, so they might as well enjoy their freedom. Barry Linton (the doyen of New Zealand comics, who ought to be a household name by now) points out that local artists tend to be bored by the overseas style of superheroes - they're more interested in creating anti-heroes.
"Public interest in the announcement by Peter Jackson that he will be filming some of the Tintin comic books by Belgian artist Hergé provides a great opportunity to draw attention to the existence of New Zealand's own talented comic book artists and writers. Not surprisingly, there's a Tintin connection in my documentary as Tim Bollinger relates the story of how he once made a pilgrimage to Hergé's studio, where he was welcomed but also told that New Zealanders needed to make their own local comics, to try to match what Belgium had achieved in this field. Since then New Zealand comic artists have made a lot of progress towards meeting that challenge.
"If there are young people not yet familiar with local comics, I'm sure that once they see the energy of the work represented in the documentary, they'll be hooked and want to get involved themselves!"
