Despite studying to become a dentist she has always had a passion for writing.
"As a company they tell New Zealand stories through media and design," she said. "I haven't written comic books before, so it's challenging but it's fun."
The first story she is working on is that of Tametekapua.
"It's a lot of stories that actually all come together," she said. "Because our Maori culture and stories are oratory, it's been hard to track down the details I need."
Concept artwork for the comic books, drawn by Maui Studios. Photo / Supplied
Tapsell had been working closely with the design team at Maui Studios to create the images for the comic and said that visual detail had been particularly difficult.
"I'm back in Dunedin now, which means I am restricted to literature and I am sure there are a lot of oral stories from certain hapu that I haven't even heard."
So Tapsell is putting out a call for help to the Te Arawa community.
"I want to recreate the stories we were told about or tupuna as kids, just in a more visual form.
"Te Arawa has such a rich history and this is a way to help rangatahi to visualise that in a more fun and unusual way."
The comic books would be published with te reo and English words.
"For young people who are struggling with their literacy or their reo, they can maybe benefit from reading stories like this which are based in a visual way."
She acknowledged that it would be a sensitive topic for people.
"These stories aren't just mine, they are all of ours, and so I want to involve as many people from Te Arawa as I possibly can.
