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While we look forward to ComicFest 2024, meet Zak Waipara is this “5 minutes with…” interview.
What first got you interested in comics?
My Dad would buy comics for me and my two brothers from petrol stations to entertain us on long car journeys. There was something incredibly engaging about comics. I was hooked from then on, always wanting to read them and then to try drawing my own.
Continue reading “ComicFest 2024: 5 minutes with Zak Waipara”
While we look forward to ComicFest 2024, meet Ned Wenlock in this “5 minutes with” interview.
What first got you interested in comics?
I couldn’t tell you, I’ve always been drawn to comics, something about their graphic nature really appeals.
Continue reading “ComicFest 2024: 5 minutes with Ned Wenlock”
While we look forward to ComicFest 2024, meet Giselle Clarkson in this “5 minutes with” interview.
What first got you interested in comics?
When I was a kid I loved Tintin, The Far Side and books by Raymond Briggs, but it wasn’t until I was at university and discovered webcomics that I realised how broad and accessible the medium was. Discovering stuff like Hark! A Vagrant, Hyperbole and a Half and xkcd gave me the idea that I could do it too.
Continue reading “ComicFest 2024: 5 minutes with Giselle Clarkson”
Fast approaching is the wonderful, unmissable celebration of all things comic and graphic that is ComicFest 2024.
Join us on Saturday 4 May to explore the world of cartoons and comics at the National Library of New Zealand in Thorndon (cnr Molesworth and Aitken Street). From 9am – 4:30pm, we will be hosting a festival of workshops, talks, comic giveaways, live drawing, and even a children’s cosplay competition. Find more full details of the jam packed programme here.
We recently interviewed Curator for the Cartoons and Comics Archive at Alexander Turnbull Library, Sam Orchard, to quiz him about his involvement with ComicFest 2024 and also touched on a whole host of other comic and graphic related topics.
Sam also writes comics and creates art that celebrates difference. His comics explore the themes of mental health, fat embodiment, nerd culture and trans lives. Sam’s comics and resources about sexuality, sex and gender have been used internationally by SOGI advocates. Sam is currently working on his first full-length graphic novel.
We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to Sam for doing this interview, which was done in conjunction with Radioactive FM’s Caffeine and Aspirin arts and entertainment review show. The interview was conducted by Neil Johnstone.
And below is the podcast of that interview for your enjoyment:
It’s the eve of ComicFest! Join us online all day tomorrow (Saturday 6 May) from 9am for this fantastic – and totally free – national celebration of all things comics-related in New Zealand!
ComicFest artists include Dylan Horrocks, Giselle Clarkson, Jem Yoshioka, Jonathan King, Kay O’Neill, Mary Guo, Michel Mulipola, Sarah Laing and Tara Black.
Although we won’t be together in person, we still want to give you the opportunity to ask our amazing artists questions!
This year, our Q&A sessions will be hosted via a moderating platform called Slido. To submit your questions on the day, go to slido.com and enter our participant code ComicFestNZ.
Or, scan the QR code below to enter the chat!
What would your life look like if it were happening on the pages of a comic book? Draw yourself as a comic book superhero, villain, or just an ordinary ‘comicified’ human, and be in to win a bevy of sweet prizes.
This competition is run as part of ComicFest 2022 and open to ages 5+. Category winners and runners-up will be announced on 7 May during the ComicFest livestream, and prizewinners will be contacted so they can collect their prizes from the library of their choice.
Here are some guidelines to help you:
Age brackets for entries are: