The Lost City and the Adventures of Russ Denver - Conquest May 1947

 
A New Zealand adventure comic from the 1940's, The Lost City and Russ Denver featured in the second volume of the short lived AW Reed magazine Conquest. Conquest was published monthly for two years with the second volume serialising the Russ Denver adventure strip.

Conquest also featured work by illustrator Conrad Freiboe and Christchurch cartoonist and animator Leith McCunn with his Daffy strip.

Leith McCunn's Daffy

Page numbers in Conquest would continue consecutively from issue to issue which would indicate they may have existed as bound volumes collecting the monthly issues.

Further information on Conquest magazine and The Lost City and Russ Denver here.

Chuckler's Weekly - Monty Wedd

 Montague Thomas Archibald Wedd (1921 – 2012)

The Bunker Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour are currently hosting an exhibition of the works of prolific Australian comic artist Monty Wedd until March. Cartoon Gallery director/curator Dr Leigh Summers said exhibiting the work of Monty Wedd is particularly poignant,

 "Award-winning cartoonist and historian Monty Wedd passed away last year and we are taking this opportunity to celebrate his life and work with 'Man of Legends', a showing of his works from the Coffs Cartoon Collection."

more details here.

History of the Cartoon Bunker gallery here.

Comicoz publisher Nat Karmichael has commenced production on a collected volume of Wedd's Ned Kelly strips as originally published in the Sunday Mirror. Details here.

 

From the estate of Monty Wedd a selection of Wedd illustrated covers for The Australian Chucklers Weekly.

  

 Images © 2013 Estate of Monty Wedd

Philp Belbin Film Adaption - Out Of The Past

For a brief period during 1948 and 1949 Phil Belbin produced comic adaptions of RKO Radio pictures for Murray magazine Cavalcade. Adaptions included Return of the Badman, Fort Apache, Magic Town, Night Song, Rachel and the Stranger, The Bishop's Wife,The Velvet Touch, If You Knew Suzie, The Miracle of the Bells and Out of the Past. The film adaptions were replaced in late 1949 with original comics featuring Flash Cain, Private Detective, illustrated by Belbin and written by Ray Heath. These were subsequently replaced by Kath King of Kismet Cove, the adventures of a female reporter, illustrated by Belbin and scripted by Sydney Ockenden.

Samples of Belbin illustration work and cartoons here.

Read Kath King - Diamonds of Death here.

Read a biography of Belbin by Greg Ray here.

  

 

Graphic Novels @ Fed Square

Happening: Federation Square Book Fair
When: Tomorrow ( 16 February 2013)
Where: The Atrium, Federation Square Melbourne.
Time: 11am - 5 pm

Graphic Novels @ Fed Square is a recent initative from Second Shore Publisher Phil Bentley and Melbourne cartoonist Bruce Mutard, once a month they will be tabling at the Fed Square Book Fair alongside numerous book dealers and other authors. Bruce will have a selection of his back catalogue, The Sacrifice, Stripshow, The Silence and his last few copies of The Bunker as well as a selection of prints. Phil will have a selection of Second Shore publications and assorted works by local cartoonists. Phil and Bruce expect to rotate in other publishers and cartoonists in forthcoming months with Hidden Author Mirranda Burton in attendance tomorrow with copies of her book and prints.

Nga Pakiwaituhi: New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels Exhibition

New Zealand cartoonists are represented in the Auckland Arts Festival during March 2013 with an exhibition, Nga Pakiwaituhi: New Zealand Comics and Graphic Novels. Nga Pakiwaituhi is curated by Dylan Horrocks and will be displayed in Gallery Two from 1 March - 12 March at The St Paul Street Gallery, 40 Paul St, Auckland City. 

Artist's featured: Akira Atsushi, Tim Bollinger, Greg Broadmore, Andrew Burdan, Tim Danko, Rufus Dayglo, Draw, Richard Fairgray, Chris Grosz, Dylan Horrocks, Mat Hunkin, Robyn Kenealy, Timothy Kidd, Adrian Kinnaird, Sarah Laing, Jared Lane, Roger Langridge, Barry Linton, Tim Molloy, Toby Morris, Stefan Neville & Clayton Noone, Sam Orchard, Ant Sang, Darren & Kelly Sheehan, Chris Slane, Ben Stenbeck, Mat Tait, Karl Wills, Colin Wilson. Curated by Dylan Horrocks.

 

Running concurrently with the Nga Pakiwaituhi  exhibition, St Pauls Gallery two will feature Comics, Manga & Co – Germany's New Comic Culture.

From St Paul's Gallery,

Conceived by Matthias Schneider, a Berlin based curator and comic expert and the Goethe-Institut, this travelling exhibition presents two generations of German comics artists: the 1990s post reunification avant-garde that paved the way for the emergence of an independent culture of German comics, and a generation of younger comics artists, whose work embraces a newer aesthetic and narrative aspect.

Artists include: Arne Bellstorf, Martin Tom Dieck, Anke Feuchtenberger, Flix, Jens Harder, Sascha Hommer, Line Hoven, Ulf K., Reinhard Kleist, Isabel Kreitz, Mawil, Christina Plaka, Henning Wagenbreth.

The St PAUL St Gallery in conjunction with the School of Art and Design, and the Goethe-Institut New Zealand will also host two free workshops with visiting artists Line Hoven and Mawil during the Auckland Arts festival.
 
Thursday 7 March 9:30 am - 4 pm Line Hoven will be running a scraperboard workshop where she will share her techniques.

Friday 8 March 9:30 am - 4 pm Mawil will introduce the basics of storytelling through comic strips. Both workshops are aimed at participants who have skill and experience in drawing.

Further information here.

Nga Pakiwaituhi and Comics, Manga & Co – Germany's New Comic Culture are presented in association with the Auckland Arts Festival 2013 and the Goethe-Institut New Zealand.

http://www.stpaulst.aut.ac.nz/

http://www.aucklandfestival.co.nz/events/nga-pakiwaituhi-new-zealand-comics.aspx

Maude Farrugia Mini Comics

 
I'll be stocking up the Pikitia Press store over the next few days. First up are a couple of mini-comics from Melbourne cartoonist Maude Farrugia. Maude seems to surface from her country dwelling every once and a while with new work at annual zine fairs. Maude's comics feature an array of cute bendy people, autobio comics, and occasional depictions of some of the worst aspects of Australian culture. Her personal interests like eco-concerns and protest movements also feature.

Maude Farrugia's blog.

Rags and Spirit Fingers are available now in the PP Store.