James Davidson to appear on What Now!

We're excited to announce James Davidson will be appearing on children's TV show, What Now on TVNZ2 this weekend from 8am! He'll be talking about creating MOA and all things comics related, so make sure you tune in!

- AK!

Interview: Creating Cartoon Capers

Above: James Davidson. Photo credit: Grant Matthew/Fairfax NZ.

In this weekend's Sunday Star Times, James Davidson spoke with Arthur Whelan about the origins and years of hard work that went into creating his children's comic series Moa. You can read the full interview at the Stuff website HERE.

- AK!

Earth's End at Chromacon 2017 Report!

Above: Earth's End Publishing at Chromacon: from left: James Davidson, Kelly Sheehan and Adrian Kinnaird. Photo by Ant Sang.

The Earth's End Publishing team were proud to launch James Davidson's Moa at the recent Chromacon Indie Arts Festival held earlier this month at the Aotea Centre in Auckland. Our authors were in attendance, with James Davidson signing copies of Moa and sketching up a storm - including a portrait of Chopstick, the hero of Ant Sang's The Dharma Punks - and Ant Sang signing, sketching and acting as team photographer!

Above: James Davidson poses with his sketch of Chopstick from The Dharma Punks. Photo by Ant Sang.

It was great to see catch-up with so many great artists profiled at the event, and of coarse the art fans who make events like this so successful. A big thanks to everyone who came out and purchased a copy!

Moa is now available from leading bookstores, and from our website HERE.

Above: A close-up of James Davidson's sketch of Chopstick from The Dharma Punks. Photo by Ant Sang.

Earth's End at Chromacon 2017!

The Earth's End Publishing team will be featured guests at the Chromacon Arts Festival this weekend, April 8th -9th in Auckland! So what is Chromacon you ask? It is a FREE two day arts extravaganza, that celebrates the best homegrown independent creators of illustration, comics, 3D/scuplture, animation and videogames. This is your opportunity to meet these creators in person and support their work by buying directly from them: books, art prints and some much more!

Earth's End Publishing will be launching our collection of James Davidson's Moa at the event. So come down and get a signed copy from the artist himself, in Auckland for this festival only! Ant Sang will be joining us on the Saturday to sign and sketch in copies of his acclaimed graphic novel, The Dharma Punks. Editorial Director Adrian Kinnaird will also be at the booth all weekend signing copies of his seminal NZ comics anthology, From Earth's End: The Best of New Zealand Comics, and our re-release of the classic kids graphic novel, Terry Teo and the Gunrunners by Stephen Ballantyne & Bob Kerr.

There will be over 100 creators at the event, as well as a series of talks with international and local creatives at Chroma Connect (for ticket information for the Chroma Connect talks, check out the website HERE). This is a FREE event, taking place at the Aotea Centre, Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th of April, from 10am - 5pm. So come out of the wet and wild weather and celebrate creativity!

For more information, visit the Chromacon website HERE.

- AK!

Not My Day Job: James Davidson on his career as a Teacher, and a Cartoonist

Above: James Davidson creating comics at his home in Opunake.

In the lead up to next week's release of Moa, James Davidson talked to The Big Idea about balancing his career as Head of the Arts Faculty at Opunake High School (and currently acting Deputy Principal), with his growing career as a comics creator.

“Comics is what I do for myself and teaching is how I impact the community. If anything, I would love to be able to forge a better balance between my two passions. The reality is that young people are too valuable to have educators who are in it only halfway, so when it comes to time, my art will always come second.”

You can read the full article HERE.

Above: James Davidson at work as Head of the Arts Faculty at Opunake High School.

Announcing Moa by James Davidson!

Above: The cover for Moa by James Davidson. Copyright James Davidson 2017.

Earth's End Publishing is proud to announce our latest release, a collection of James Davidson's acclaimed children's comic book series, Moa. Set in colonial New Zealand, Moa chronicles the wild adventures of the Moa Rangers, Kiwi Pukupuku and Possum Von Tempsky, defenders of our native forests. Moa combines the fun and humour of classic Disney comic books with New Zealand's historical past and Maori mythology to create a classic adventure series sure to delight and entertain readers of all ages. This deluxe treasury collection contains the complete Moa story in a hardback edition that is destined to become a family favourite.

Above: Artwork from Moa by James Davidson. Copyright James Davidson 2017.

James Davidson is an educator, serving as the Head of the Arts Faculty at Opunake High School. Moa has been a way for him to explore the layered history and mythology of New Zealand through the medium of comics, and to create stories that can entertain and educate kiwi kids about the land they live in.

"Moa is hands-down my favourite New Zealand comic book, and being able to bring James' wonderful stories and characters to a wider audience of kiwi kids is exactly why we formed this publishing house," says Earth's End Editorial Director, Adrian Kinnaird. "As an educator James knows his audience and how to appeal to their sense of fun. It's going to be a real treat to see young readers discover the adventures of Kiwi and Possum, a comic series that could take place in their own backyard."

Moa will be released in April 2017, and will be debuting with an exclusive author signing at the Chromacon Arts Festival, held April 8-9th at the Aotea Centre, Auckland.

Above: Artwork from Moa by James Davidson. Copyright James Davidson 2017.

Synopsis:

When a sacred Maori treasure is stolen by the dastardly Otto, it's up to the Moa Rangers, Kiwi Pukupuku and Possum Von Tempsky, to return the taonga and save the day! Ride along with Kiwi and Possum on their side-splitting adventures battling mythical creatures and dangerous hunters in colonial New Zealand!

Ordering Information:

Copies of Moa are now available for order from Earths End Publishing. Email: earthsendpublishing@gmail.com. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or require further information. You can also follow us on Twitter: @EarthsEndComics and Facebook: www.facebook/EarthsEndPublishing.

Publishing Details:

Moa
James Davidson

Hardback
170mm x 235mm
Full Colour, 120 pages
RRP: $32.99
ISBN: 9780473386351
Ages: 5+

Release Date: April 1st, 2017

Praise for Moa:

"It's the type of book that ought to be in every single school library, every public library children's section and ideally in every bookshop in the country. I'm really excited by it, to me it's the first time we have had a good, all-ages, New Zealand comics series since the days of Terry and the Gunrunners in the 1980s."

- Dylan Horrocks, Radio NZ Nights

Above: Artwork from Moa by James Davidson. Copyright James Davidson 2017.