ComicFest Profile: Ant Sang 101

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Famed NZ cartoonist and bro’Town designer, Ant Sang is attending ComicFest all the way from Auckland with the wise and generous assistance of the NZ Book Council!

He’ll be running a workshop for aspiring cartoonists and comics creators on  Friday the 2nd of May between 4.30 and 6 o’clock at the Central library. That same night we’ll be having an authors panel discussion with Ant, and fellow cartoonists Robyn Kenealy and Grant Buist from 7 till 8 o’clock.

Ant Sang, who lives and works in Auckland, is an award-winning cartoonist.

Author and illustrator of the celebrated The Dharma Punks comic book series, he has a cult following among graphic novel fans and comic art aficionados.

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Shaolin Burning (HarperCollins 2011) is his latest graphic novel and spent ten weeks in the top ten of the NZ Booksellers Bookchart.

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He was one of the original creatives on the successful bro’Town animated TV series, and won two Film & Television awards for his design work on the show.

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This is an excellent chance to watch and work with one of New Zealand’s best cartoonists and a great opportunity to work on those latent comic abilities and fuel your appetite for comic related talk and impressive illustration!

It’s free and it’s at the Central library on Friday the 2nd of May – good on ya ComicFest!

ComicFest Profile: Greg Broadmore 101

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Greg Broadmore will take part in a panel talk with fellow Weta Workshop artist, Paul Tobin on Saturday the 2nd of May, between 12 and 1pm at the Central library. Images from their brilliant film and comic works as well as items from the Weta Cave will be on display. It’s going to be a lot of fun and before the afternoon in question, here’s a quick profile accompanied by pictures from this multi-talented artists imagined worlds.

Best known in comic circles for his work on the thoroughly imagined and awesomely funny, Dr Grordbort series, Greg Broadmore has also worked as a children’s illustrator, as designer of public art works such as the Tripod sculpture in Courtney Place, but also as concept designer and sculpture on films such as King Kong, The Adventures of Tintin and District 9.

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Concept painiting from District 9 of the Exo suit. Greg Broadmore 2008

His Dr Grordbort comic series is a wonderfully exaggerated comic parody of ancient and violent colonial attitudes personified in the faux-British form and murderous swagger of one Lord Cockswain.

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Page from ‘Triumph : unnecessarily violent tales of science adventure for the simple and unfortunate.’

The steam-punk  influenced Science Fiction comicsDoctor Grordbort’s contrapulatronic dingus directory,’ Victory: Scientific adventure violence for young men and literate women and Triumph: Unnecessarily violent tales of scientific adventure’ for the simple and unfortunate,’ form the backbone of the Doctor Grordbort comic legend and narrative but this has now extended into intricate ray-gun and weapon replicas, and subsequently into an international touring show that swung through blustery ole Wellington in early 2013!

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Doctor Grordbort’s exceptional exhibition

Whilst we wait for the further lusty adventures of Dr Grordbort, Greg continues to work for Weta Workshop on the Dr Grordbort universe in its many guises, along with occasional film work and inspired illustrations!

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Girl and tyrant lizard friend

For more ComicFest information and an events timetable go here to our events calender or Facebook page, and check out the display items from Weta Cave on Central’s 1st floor from the 17th of April.

As the fearless Lord Cockswain would say, and quite about another issue all together, probably alien related – but let’s be clear, ah – definitely comic inspired…  “Quit Lolly-Gagging, man, off you go!”