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.
What is your average day like?
My days are always different. I teach in Digital Media at AUT, but am also engaged in academic research and creative projects. I still do freelance work (when I can manage it) and self-directed projects. My days are always busy! I try to fit in some exercise, and something creative where I can.
Can you tell us about a current or recent project you’ve worked on?
Ōtea is an ongoing comic project for kids, based in the world of Māori myth and legend. The story follows Kurutai, a nature sprite of mysterious origin, and Mokotawhito, an ancient tuatara, as they attempt to retrieve the fragmented life-force of the island, before calamity occurs. The comic series incorporates lots of native flora and fauna, and supernatural beings (or Patupaiarehe), with amazing abilities, magical histories, as powerful and appealing as modern superheroes. Ōtea: Rock of Ages Parts 1 & 2 are published, as well as lots of side material, including some downloadable resources, which you can access here at Tales from Ōtea. Or follow the Instagram.
Do you have any traditions or rituals that help you when you get to work?
A bad habit of mine is checking social media first thing, a better habit, when on deadlines, is to check my Google Calendar and Trello lists, if I have been organised enough to make them, and see what needs doing. I find music playing in the background, or a movie that doesn’t demand much attention, can be useful to keep me working. Podcasts with comics discussion have also become useful to listen to while drawing.
Who/what is your biggest influence or inspiration?
My father’s artwork growing up initially, and my Māori culture continues to inspire me. I was a big fan of X-men comics. Studio Ghibli films are also a favourite of mine. I find watching art process videos to be informative to my own practice.
What or who are your favourite NZ comics or creators?
There are almost too many to name, but I see a new wave of voices from diverse backgrounds enriching the medium of comics, cartoons and illustrations in this country.
What is your dream comic project?
This is a hard one, I have so many projects I want to tackle. Some small, some large. I would like to carve out some space to start completing and realising many of the projects sitting in my head or on my drawing table. I am working this year on the last two parts of Otea (but I’m quite slow at this!). I also completed a PhD that looked at comics and picture books and would like to take some of that material out into the world.
What are you excited to share with ComicFest attendees? Just a taster!
I’ve been asked to talk about and show some recent work, including a project that combines iwi history and both Māori and Western design using playing cards as a format.
If you were to enter our cosplay contest, who/what would you dress up as?
Some students have called me Tony Stark on occasion, but I think it is really only the facial hair and my tendency to wear Iron Man t-shirts! Although now that I have some greying temples, maybe I could pass for Doctor Strange.
You can catch Zak at the below events:
With Dylan Horrocks, Daniel Vernon and Zak Waipara. Hosted by Stephen Clothier.
As the audience for comics grows, so too does the medium itself expand into new universes of style, content and delivery. This panel explores the work of comic artists who are at the forefront of this expansion, breaking new ground with comics and cartooning, and finding new ways to tell stories using comic techniques.
Featuring Daniel Vernon’s inimitable take on political cartooning; Zak Waipara’s work traversing comic creation, teaching, kids’ books and games and Dylan Horrocks’ adventures into the complex world of tabletop gaming systems. This panel promises to expand your conception of what comics are now, and could become in the future.
Panel: Sharing Te Ao Māori and Mātauranga Māori through Pukawaituhi
With Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, Munro Te Whata and Daniel Vernon. Hosted by Zak Waipara.
“Throughout the journey to reclaim our reo, many have asked what it means to see a language thrive. We have statistics and data linking our wellbeing to our reo. We have passion, ignorance and a good deal of bigotry vying for a place at the centre of the argument, causing liberty and tension in unforeseeable ways. But always, in its own stream of this vast ocean of kōrero, is the visual language our Māori artists are using.” – Rangimarie Sophie Jolley
Learn how Māori artists are innovating the comics medium with visual languages grounded in mātauranga, pūrākau, and tikanga Māori. Join Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, Munro Te Whata, Daniel Vernon and Zak Waipara as they follow and nurture the whakapapa of waituhi whakakata me ngā pukawaituhi.
