Pikitia Press: 2014 Publishing Season

Taking a break from our 2013 in review surveys, here is a sampling of forthcoming comics from Pikitia Press for our publishing season during the first half of 2014.

Barry Linton's Lucky Aki - The first in a series of volumes featuring the stone age adventures of Lucky Aki.

 
Die Popular - Collection of new material and classic material from MVH's wonderful Die Popular.

The Art of Harry Bennett - Collecting the art and story of H. W. Bennett, a professional cartoonist in his teens who went on to create a one man publishing industry in New Zealand. Written and compiled by Tim Bollinger, Geoff Harrison, and Matt Emery.

 

James Davidson's Moa #4

 Tim Bollinger's Wellington Stories

 

Sarah Laing's Let Me Be Frank #5

Bob McMahon's Claire Melody - Bob's second Claire Melody book in the vein of DC Thomson and IPC adventure comics. Read about Bob's background in New Zealand comics here.

 

New Zealand Reprint Comics - A comprehensive survey and catalogue of comics published in New Zealand reprinting foreign material from the 1940's - 1970's. Written and Compiled by Geoff Harrison.

Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly Melbourne Visit

In Melbourne for a couple of speaking engagements during early October, Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly met up with a handful of local cartoonists at Squishface Studios to talk comics, art and publishing.

Sarah Gooding wrote about Françoise Mouly's career overview with Penny Hueston at the Wheelers Centre on Oct 9th.

Bernard Caleo wrote about Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly's Squishface visit at An Island Art.

pic by Bernard Caleo

 Art Spiegelman and Shaun Tan

Colin Wilson and Ben Hutchings

Jo Waite lunch sketch

Pic by Bernard Caleo

All pics by M.Emery unless credited otherwise

ACTIVE CITIZENS: Silent Army Storeroom

The Silent Army Storeroom at 110 Franklin st. Melbourne CBD (Down alleyway entrance at rear) is hosting a flurry of events this month including the creation of Active Citizens, a giant wooden comic book jam drawn during friday evenings over the course of the month. Contributing artists so far include Michael Hawkins, Merv Heers, Marc Pearson, David Mahler, Simon Hanselmann, Michael Fikaris, Matt Emery, James James, Clare Wilson, Sam Wallman with more to come.

The Silent Army Storeroom, open Fridays 12pm -8pm offers a fine range of weirdo comics, papers and ephemera.

Purchase fine paper goods online at the Silent Army online store.

More pics on Silent Army on instagram. 

Silent Army Storeroom site.

  

Pikitia Press News

 

I'm proud to announce the Pikitia Press Blog has been invited by the National Library of New Zealand to be added to the National Digital Heritage Archive which collects copies of New Zealand websites, plus sites relating to New Zealand, for the preservation of their historical and research value.

 

This Sunday 12 May Pikitia Press will be attending the Illustration and Comic Art Festival Chromacon from 9am – 5pm at the Air NZ Foyer, Aotea Centre, Auckland, New Zealand. Sunday will see the offical launch of some new releases from the publishing arm of Pikitia Press:

Toby Morris' Dreamboat Dreamboat.

Toby Morris is an illustrator, designer, art director and comic artist recently returned to New Zealand after 9 years of living and working in Melbourne and Amsterdam. He made his start by drawing and self publishing comics from the age of 13 and currently works as an advertising art director by day and an illustrator at night.Toby's style has roots in the clear line school of comics, but in more recent years has evolved into a looser and simpler but still very graphic look.

Sarah Laing's Let Me Be Frank #1 and #2

Sarah Laing is a novelist and graphic designer who lives in Auckland, New Zealand. She has had two books published, and a third, The Fall of Light, is due out in July. She began drawing comics seriously in 2003, when she read Persepolis and was reminded how much she loved the medium. She kept comics diaries of her life as a new mother. These graduated to the internet in 2010, when she was the Frank Sargeson writer in residence in Albert Park. Her blog, Let me be Frank, quickly gained a following and she began contributing to magazines such as Metro, Little Treasures and Booknotes. Sarah is now working on a graphic novel about Katherine Mansfield.

James Davidson's Moa Volume One.(Collecting the first three issues of Moa and extras.)

James Davidson, creator of Moa, a comic series set in a distant New Zealand where history and myth collide. An Art teacher by day, James has a passion for sequential art and plans to convert the children of New Zealand to the comic form. With his plucky heroes Possum von Tempsky and Kiwi Pukupuku, James hopes young people will be brought into the world of comics he so enjoyed as a child.

Another mini comic joint from the gutter by M.Emery.

 
These titles will all be available from the Pikitia Press Store next week.

We'll also have a limited selection of Steve Ditko's contemporary work from Robin Snyder and titles from Milk Shadow Books including Tim Molloy's It Shines It Shakes And Laughs and Mr Unpronounceable Adventures.

 

 

Click to enlarge the Chromacon floorplan below. Pikitia Press will be located at H2 and H3. James Davidson and Sarah Laing will be attending the Press tables most of the day, catch them and Toby Morris at Adrian Kinnaird's Best Of New Zealand Comics panel on Level 4 at 9:30am.

 

Paper Trail

I have a dickload of things to do this week so will try posting daily mini Paper Trails to offload my rapidly overflowing link pile.

Excerpt of  HTMLflowers’ comics from  š! #13 ‘Life Is Live’.

Dylan Horrocks talks Australian Comics with Bryan Crump on Radio New Zealand's Nights.

Jason Chatfield recaps and follows up on his horrific taxi experience from 2011.

New Squishfacers.
 

Roger Langridge interviewed on Where Monsters Dwell.

Tane Williams on tumblr.

Simon Hanselmann's Truth Zone is back at Comics Workbook and taking no prisoners. New installments #70, #71, #72, #73.

 
I made a new mini comic (Not for Young Folk). You can buy it from some place at some point.

Karl Wills has teased a Connie Radar short film currently in production. Shot from a script by Wills and Timothy Kidd.

Hey, here's a Connie Radar animation test from a little while back.

 Oh Gosh, it's the Connie Radar Dailies blog from a couple years back.

Have you ever thought about buying a Connie Radar t-shirt?

  

Paper Trail masthead courtesy of Toby Morris.

BA3 Melbourne Comic Book Launch

  

I have a couple Pikitia Press comics launching at this weeks BA3 launch.

From the press release: 

Melbourne, Australia - the Melbourne comics community is hosting its third annual Big Arse Book Launch. This year they will be launching fifteen (15) new works created by authors from around Australia and New Zealand.

Once again the launch will be conducted by the one and only Bernard Caleo.

Saturday, March 2nd from 2:00pm
Sentido Funf
243 - 245 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy
Victoria, Australia

  

Big Arse 3 is proudly sponsored by All Star Comics.

 

 DIGESTED #6 (Gestalt Comics)
The sixth issue of Bobby.N’s series, continuing the lead feature OXYGEN and a variety of other tidbits and goodies. http://www.bobbyn.com

 

YUCK! #7 (Milk Shadow Books)
The Universe's greasiest comix anthology returns with Yuck! #7. Original surreal black comedy from a plethora of low-lives, including Ben Hutchings, Tim Molloy, Bruce Mutard, the Phatsville crew, Gregory Mackay, J. Marc Schmidt, Michael Aushenker, Scarlette Baccini, David DeGrand, Kapreles, Frank Candiloro, James Andre, Ben John Smith, Andrew Fulton, Johandson Rezende and many more surprising sickos. Straight from the gutter into your hands. Cover by Ben Sea. Edited by Mr. Slime. www.milkshadowbooks.com

 
ADVERSARIES (Pikitia Press) 

Matt Emery's laughey comics from the comics ghetto. www.pikitiapress.com

AWAKENINGS #2
Awakenings 2 is a stand-alone book in a series of two volumes. It contains short stories written and illustrated by artist and animator Jesca Marisa. Awakenings is an intensely colourful and beautifully illustrated book composed of multiple interweaving stories of a surreal and fantastical nature. The book was inspired by the author's remembrance of dreams which she has woven into stories of journeys undertaken by the diverse cast of characters. http://be.net/jescamarisa

BALLANTYNE: THE FLAW IN THE JEWEL (Pikitia Press) The third volume of artist Peter Foster’s collaboration with writer James H. Kemsley, originally featured as an adventure strip in the Sydney Sunday Sun-Herald during the 1990s. Based on Kemsley’s vivid memories of working as a patrol officer in post World War Two New Guinea, Ballantyne is a classic adventure tale in the fine tradition of Lee Falk’s The Phantom and John Dixon’s Air Hawk. www.pikitiapress.com

BUDD & LUU - PART I (FrankenComics)
Budd & Luu are a lovable comedic duo who get into all sorts of random and crazy adventures. When some mysterious force starts to erase their world the pair escape through a strange portal, which lands them in a high-tech asylum located in an alternate dimension. Soon, they are subjected to painful experiments, and they discover the truth about their existence, as well as the real purpose of the asylum. By Frank Candiloro. www.frankcandiloro.com

 
A BRUSH WITH DARKNESS (Milk Shadow Books)
Before Da 'n' Dill... before Batrisha... Dillon Naylor was the defining artist of the 90s Melbourne underground/alternative music scene. Naylor created comics for Area 7 and The Fireballs and many other bands, as well as tour posters for The Beastie Boys, Powderfinger and the Pushover Festival. This material is collected in its entirety, along with Dillon's early horror comics, unseen pages, sketches, notes and Anecdotes. www.milkshadowbooks.com

 
GRAPHIC/NARRATIVE #1
Graphic/Narrative #1 presents 'Panic', an autobiographical tale about the author’s struggles with an anxiety and panic disorder. The book conveys the experience of a panic attack and discusses the progression of anxiety disorders. Follow Brendan Halyday as his life falls apart around him. www.brendanhalyday.com

 
KRANBURN #6 (FEC Comics)
Both Brand and Silvia are on their own personal rampages. While Silvia takes care of the Nong messenger in her own way, Brand continues levelling the playing field on the Nong home turf. Do not mess with the people of Kranburn. By Ben Michael Byrne. www.feccomics.com

 
LADY McBLACK #1 (Black House Comics) 

At the behest of her three sisters, McBlack investigates the murder of Lila Bodicker by the Wester Reapers, a mixed municipal soccer team. But whoever killed Lila does not want the Bodicker sisters to find out what really happened and before long McBlack himself is being hunted in the streets. Written and pencilled by Jason Franks. Inks by Dave Gutierrez. Cover by Rhys James. www.mcblack.com

 
MR UNPRONOUNCEABLE ADVENTURES (Milk Shadow Books)
Tim Molloy has finally bound the exploits of Mr Unpronounceable, the ultimate anti-hero madman, into a single volume. 213 pages of throat-tearing, void questioning, dimensional tripping, laughing, crying, laughing, questioning adventures through the city of the Ever Open Eye by the creator of It Shines and Shakes and Laughs. www.milkshadowbooks.com

 
SEVEN #2 (FEC Comics)
Book 2 of the Seven series follows Kat and Hans on their search for their brothers - and as they stumble on a plot of betrayal, murder and an innocent goose girl, they find that acceptance of your fate does not lead to happiness.  By Alisha Jade. www.feccomics.com

 
STRANGE BEHAVIOUR
The debut graphic novel by Melbourne illustrator Marijka Gooding. Retold through the eyes of a six-inch version of herself, these short stories emphasize the ridiculousness of the world and encourage others to appreciate the subtle ironies hidden in the mundane. http://www.marijkagooding.com/

UNGENRED (Black House Comics)
A collection of Jason Franks’ non-genre stories. Drama, comedy, travel, autobiography, social realism and sentient robots. Illustrated by Bruce Mutard, J. Marc Schmidt, Nic Hunter, Ed Siemienkowicz, Renan L’Hopsum, Joe Pimienta and others. Introduction by Bernard Caleo. www.blackhousecomics.com

 
VELOCITY #3
A fantasy and sci fi anthology by some of Australia and South Africa’s most best creators. Edited by Moray Rhoda and Neville Howard. www.gaining-velocity.com