In the frame

By MAGGIE WICKS

Half way down K Rd, at the back of an unassuming op shop, up a series of makeshift plywood stairs, is surely New Zealand's most claustrophobic pop culture collection.

Its three small rooms are covered in Led Zeppelin posters, glittery images of the Virgin Mary, original sketches of well-known comic characters (including Los Angeles-based Kiwi Martin Emond's Switchblade, purchased by Disney a few years back) and a shrine dedicated to Guns'n'Roses frontman Axl Rose.

These are the living and working arrangements of one of New Zealand's most up-and- coming comic artists. Virtually unknown in these parts, Simon Morse has forged himself a successful career in America and a cult following in Japan.

Morse, 33, is the creator of staunch comic book heroines Toolbox and Chopper Chick (written by Martin Emond). In 1992 he was in Wellington producing a comic called Pistake, a photocopied and stapled collection of comic strips put together by a group of mates. It sold well in the capital, and then around New Zealand. It was time to go international.

In 1995 Morse packed his bags and headed to Massachusetts, to the home of his comic artist hero, Kevin Eastman (Doesn't sound familiar? Think Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).

"Back then I was doing this comic called Straightjacket Ninja, about a ninja in a straightjacket - obviously a parody of Eastman's work. So with this ninja theme in mind, I thought I'd go show him.

"I got off the plane and slept under a tree outside the airport. I woke up in the morning and took a bus up north right to Kevin Eastman's studio. This guy's a mega-millionaire after his Turtles fame and I'm like, 'Oh, I'm just showing you my artwork', blah blah blah. And he was all choiced-out that I'd come all the way from New Zealand."

Eastman hired him that day.

New Zealand's comic art scene has been generating underground artists since the 1970s. We have produced local heroes with an international audience.

Dylan Horrocks is the creator of the Listener's long-running cartoon series Milo's Week and the international award-winning graphic novel Hicksville, the story of a small East Cape town inhabited only by comic artists and critics. As one of New Zealand's most prolific graphic artists, Horrocks is something of a comic guru.

"The local scene - really it's a joke when people talk about an industry - has always been mostly underground," says. "But now there are more and more local cartoonists doing more mainstream or commercial stuff and you can attribute that to the influx of manga."

Horrocks says manga - Japanese graphic novels - are colonising the cartooning world, and Morse and Emond are at the forefront of this movement.

"Young cartoonists are now on a new wave coming out of America and Japan. Before that, the generation like myself was focused on a more alternative scene. Simon and Martin are rock'n'roll to our indie."

Horrocks says New Zealand comic artists simply could not survive without the American markets.

"The idea of making a living off one cartoon in New Zealand is almost inconceivable. America is where the sales are."

But now Morse is back home and he is making comic art pay. He supplements his income by creating artwork for the Auckland-based clothing label Illicit Streetwear, commercials for television, animation (he's designing characters for a film being produced in India), and a bit of comic porn on the side.

"Financially, comic work is very up and down. Sometimes you're raking in the dough and sometimes you've got a bit of a dry patch. It purely depends on who you're working for," he says.

While still in the States, Morse met 80s rocker Glenn Danzig at a comic convention in San Diego. Danzig invited him to work for his horror-oriented soft porn business, Verotika, where Morse produced such charmers as Grub Girl the Zombie Hooker. The content was so lewd his originals were confiscated by Customs on his way back into New Zealand.

Since returning home Morse has taken on more local projects, such as characters for NZX, the magazine published by local porn magnate Steve Crow.

"I have done a lot of porno. Steve Crow had his character already, and just wanted me to bring her to life. It's all sort of cheesecake, slap and tickle stuff. But the stuff in LA is completely different, real satanic pornographic. I nearly lost my job before it even began. I pulled up the editor and told her I couldn't draw anything like what I'd been given. The next day I get this call from old Glenn Danzig and he says, 'Is that too sick for you, man?' and I said uh, 'Yeah'.

"Eventually I did lose my job at Verotika but I didn't care - the satanic side of things is all very cheesy, plus mixing sex and violence isn't good. A comic like that is too simple for adults to be reading it. It'd be more teenage boys. And I reckon office workers.

"But the thing is, everything's got its place. There's nothing I get upset about, I just don't pick it up if I don't like it. I don't look at it, I don't read it."

Until now this pop industry didn't get much recognition at home, but suddenly there's a bit of a stir - a fashion shoot in Pulp magazine, an upcoming documentary on comic artists, a slot on TV One's Breakfast show. Finally, there are players dragging comics into the mainstream.

Horrocks says the hype surrounding comic art has been building since the 80s, when the media woke up to the existence of comics for adults. "In the mid to late 80s there was a huge amount of hype when the media discovered the idea of the graphic novel. The initial hype collapsed in the 90s, but something similar is happening now and this time it seems a bit more solid."

One local comic having a major impact is Ant Sang's eight-part series, Dharma Punks. Described as "a hip metaphysical exploration of life, love, friendship, punk rock and blowing things up", it has a professional format, full colour, beautiful artwork and is a good read.

Jeremy Bishop, manager of Onehunga comic store Gotham Comics, says when issues 1 and 2 were released they outsold the mainstream comics such as X-Men. Most significantly, the comics' success has come before they were released overseas.

"That's the other thing about local comics," says Morse. "People just don't know there's really good stuff out there. They think comics are about some superhero guy in tights saving the world, again."

Horrocks believes Dharma Punks will have an enormous impact on New Zealand's comic scene.

"Right now advertising is what pays the most. I make a living by scripting superhero comics, but Ant Sang has really changed things, and Simon and Martin are making a huge name overseas. It'll be interesting to see if people can build on that. With so many things happening locally, I feel there are a lot of opportunities opening up."