From the comic
book creators in New Zealand comes a book crafted with a true love for comics.
Faction is a showcase of the best of New Zealand comics. Readership isn’t very
high in NZ, but there has been a huge renaissance as of late. Local comic
artists have been producing work for decades, and with the rise of the
internet, the number of artists and the quality of the work has risen rapidly.
This is a comic made by people who love comics for people who love them just as
much. Hit the jump for more!
Below is a short
paragraph written by Nevin and CeeJay for each story so that each of these
could get the perspective of two different people.
Faction # 1
“Migraine” by Ned Wenlock
CeeJay: I just… I
can’t… I mean… I just don’t understand, y’all. It’s like, I enjoy the artwork
and the dialogue is funny. The overall tone of the piece was interesting, but I didn’t get the significance of drunk driving dad or weird physically
manifested diamond dream lady, and it all just fell a little flat for me. Nevin
seemed to enjoy it more than I did.
Nevin: After
their drunk dad wrecks a car, two kids go on an adventure in the forest and
find a crystal brain migraine? “Migraine” hits the weird whimsy of Adventure Time with the same kind of
childlike animation. I can’t say I really knew what the heck was going on. It’s
fun. I laughed a lot. It’s the kind of thing that I’d love to read in bite
sized chunks.
“June + Bug” by Ant Sang
CeeJay: Nah son,
I can’t deal with that dead baby life, man. This story about neurologically
codependent conjoined twins is one of those that’s really sad but also really
beautiful things that sort of just kicks your emotions in the taint. Sang’s
crafted a pretty compelling, if concise, story of loss here and it’s well worth
checking out.
Nevin: Talk about
a punch in the feels. A two page story about twins and sadness. The art is nice
and the coloring in the dream panels is wonderful, but man, I just wanted a hug
after reading this. Props to Ant Sang
for hitting my emotions so hard with only two pages of panels.
“One Giant Leap” by Damon Keen
CeeJay: So, can
we agree that this is “Gravity” if “Gravity’s” reality was as incidentally
shitty as ours? This poor guy. I was actually sort of rooting for him but
obviously Keen had other plans. Sadist.
Nevin: This is
some “Gravity”-esque series of unfortunate events. I love the simplistic art
and the shading used for the colors, and I liked how even though the whole
incident is extremely unfortunate, the exclamatory gestures keep it somehow
lighthearted. I got a big laugh from the finish. Maybe that makes me twisted?
This is probably my favorite piece in the whole anthology.
“Has Beams” by Christian Pearce
CeeJay: “Has
Beams” was hilarious. The art’s fun and evocative of old-school newspaper
funnies and the whole narrative concept is too absurd not to love. I’m not
entirely sure why the delivery guy is talking like the possessed zombie college
students from the 2002 live-action “Scooby-Doo” film, but hey, whatever works.
Nice subtle gore detail as well.
Nevin: “Yeah nah.
The dizzy got stuck in the diff, mate.” That kind of sums up my feelings on
this comic. Hilarious dialogue, great detail on the carnage, and just all
around fun. Pearce does a wonderful job.
“Bookish” by Jonathan King
CeeJay: King’s
“Bookish” was a nice change of pace. A fun little mystery with a freaky twist
and an fittingly abrupt ending. My favorite of the bunch, most likely. One of
very few that I wished was a bit longer.
Nevin: This is
probably my second favorite in the anthology. It’s got a smart little detective
story with a supernatural twist to it. The amount of detail that King packs
into each panel is surprising. Every panel has a full background with no
shortcuts taken for the art. This is just a quality, succint detective story.
“Ricky & Lyle” by Ralphi
CeeJay: If you’ve
ever wondered what that girl who smokes pot gets up to when she’s not being
verbally chastised by her dog in those Truth commercials, here ya go. “Ricky
& Lyle” was sort of all over the place tonally and visually. I enjoyed the
minimalist character designs a lot, though. Sort of reminded me of the old
Brendan Smalls cartoons, like “Home Movies.”
Nevin: I have to
wonder if this comic is just spot-on stoner logic when pot heads watch Antique
Roadshow. “We have old shit!” I enjoyed the shenanigans throughout and the
catastrophe of an end. I didn’t find the basic art style exciting, but it
definitely fit with the vibe of the comic.
“Search for the Phoenix” by Nani Mahal
CeeJay: Yeah,
nope. The “Inuyasha” pixies, the magic McGuffin that the narrative name drops
continuously but never explains, the coloring… It was all a big mess, in my
opinion. There was a big block of text that was supposed to thrust you into the
story but all it did was make me mad. By the time I finished the opening crawl, I
didn’t care about anything else that was going on.
Nevin:The art is
my favorite part of this story. The character designs are just straight manga
and look great. The coloring has a painterly feel to it with deep greens and
blues, but comes off a little more slapdash and less deliberate than the lines.
I can’t really say too much on the story because it seems like an intro to a
much bigger adventure. Two girls seeking to cleanse themselves of a curse seems
like classic fodder for cool supernatural adventures. I’d read the rest of that
story.
“Zion//Eye” by Czepta
CeeJay: Selah.
Virtuous patience seems to be a tough nut to crack for our protagonist, but
after some wise word from his master, a shaman who looks like a cross between
Rafiki and Morgan Freeman, the young hero learns the power of meditation and
then it’s over. A short, succinct fable about the downside of hot-headedness.
Inoffensive and the art was expressive and colorful.
Nevin: An old man
and impatient boy travel to a forest to collect berries. The premise is simple,
but it’s one of those short stories meant to impart knowledge and teach you
something. The art has thick lines and bright colors. I especially like the
amount of expressions that Czepta used for the boy. A good short read that
leaves you with a smile.
“Do You Want To Talk About It?” by Matt
Emery
CeeJay: I didn’t
get it. I mean, I think I get where the narrative was headed but in pops this
twisty framing device that just throws a monkey wrench into the proceedings. I
assumed that the person the protagonist built a life with was female but he
wakes up in bed with a man. A blue man. After his makeshift woodsman home is
smashed to bits by a giant robot. My brain hurts.
Nevin: The story
seemed like a straightforward adventure of two people having only each other
and falling in love during the robot apocalypse, and then the frame story
perspective turns everything on its head. It appears that the antagonist is as
confused sexually as I am mentally with this story. With that being said, the
distinct art style is enjoyable, and reminds me of childlike imagination,
especially the towering, laser shooting robot.
“Connie Radar” by Karl Wills
CeeJay: I enjoyed
“Connie Radar.” I’d even go as far as to say that it’s probably the second best
segment of the entire anthology. One part “Tintin,” one part “Blondie” and one
part “The Thing” (at least in terms of setting), “Radar” was longer than a few of the others
but a swift read nonetheless. I liked her lo-fi cyborg sidekick as well.
Nevin: More than
any other piece in this anthology, “Connie Radar” has that Sunday comicstrip
feel to it. The art style and interactions also remind me of “Blondie” but
straight black and white with the coloring. This is one of the better additions
to the anthology, and I’d love to read more. On a last note, I would never
speak to that maniac at the end.
“The Aegean Era: Origins” by Mark Holland
CeeJay: I’m good.
Too many “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” feels and not nearly enough originality to
stick out among a fairly eclectic and engaging anthology of work. The
exposition page doesn’t help at all, we’re only introduced to one character and
the art leaves a lot to be desired. The first two pages are dominated by one
figure from two different angles and the last page is an actual ad for the
larger story that this snippet is trying to promote. No thanks.
Nevin: The
snippet format of Faction doesn’t do this comic any favors. It seems like
something that needs at least a full issue to help you gain interest. It’s a
story of gods and oceans with a big power struggle. It wants to build something
epic, but it doesn’t have the space here to establish that. As for the art, I
liked the creature designs. They reminded me of an aquatic Predator, but the
coloring and line work makes the art seem blurry and unclear in places. Doesn’t
seem like my cup of tea.
“Waves, Sea, Leaky, Moby Dick and Fish”
by Roger Langridge
CeeJay: I was actually pretty taken with this
small adventure from Fred the Whaler. I have a little issue with the rhyming.
It causes you to develop a rhythm in your head only to have the words trip that
rhythm up at nearly every turn. However, it was cute and fabley and the
character designs reminded me of Popeye and I loooooooooove Popeye.
Nevin: I love
rhyming! Maybe I’m still just a child heart, but you put art and entertaining
rhymes together, and I get a big grin on my face. The story of Fred and how he
lowered the ocean while hunting a whale is great. I also like the layout of the
panels and use of a green color scheme. It gave the comic a more unique look.
“Drawn from the Grave” by Mukpuddy
CeeJay: Forgetful
zombie, sassy bird. Win.
Nevin: Perfect,
just perfect zombie humor.
Faction # 2
“Awakening” by Allan Xia
CeeJay:
MMMMMMMMMMonkey! I dug “Awakening.” It’s completely “silent” but the artwork is
handled with such care and detail that it manages to build the world of its
narrative without the protagonist uttering a single word. The coloring just
sang of dystopia and the juxtaposition of the dark greys and blacks make the
oranges, greens and blues cool and effective. Great piece from Xia.
Nevin: Faction #2
starts off strong with “Awakening.” No words, just gorgeous art as a man
searches for a woman in a sci-fi, post apocalyptic world. The art establishes
the world without the need for dialogue and hooks you into the pages. I want
more of this, especially after the ending.
“Saurian Era” by Cory Mathis
CeeJay: Flying
raptors? I dig. “Saurian Era” seems woefully incomplete but what it lacks in
narrative and character development, it makes up for it with goddamn dinosaurs.
Nevin: A world
with humans and dinosaurs co-existing? Yes please! This is my kind of world.
With that being said, the narrative here doesn’t do much. You just get a kid
saving a dinosaur from other dinosaurs with his dinosaur. But the art and
detail put into the dinosaurs is wonderful and reminded me of how fascinating
these creatures are. Seriously, a flying raptor? If that isn’t one of your
wishes from a magic genie, than you’re doing life wrong.