By Salgood Sam: This got buried in my poor inbox and almost missed!
Coming September 2015 from Conundrum’s International line, the North American & UK release of a cult epic from New Zealand, The Dharma Punks by Ant Sang! With and introduction by Dylan Horrocks, the story is set over one long night in Auckland New Zealand, in 1994.
A group of anarchist punks hatch a plan to sabotage the opening of a multi-national fast-food restaurant by blowing it up. Chopstick has been given the unenviable task of setting the bomb before the opening, but he’s separated from his accomplices and instead chance encounters and events from his past force Chopstick to deal with more than just the mission at hand.
Still reeling after the death of a close friend, and struggling to reconcile his spiritual path with his political actions, Chopstick’s journey is a meditation on life, love, friendship and the ghost of Kurt Cobain.
The Dharma Punks was originally published as a series of alternative comics which, at the height of its popularity, was outselling Spider-man and X-Men on some New Zealand comic racks. Last year there was a Kickstarter to help Ant and friends republish the series after having been out of print for about two decades. The Dharma Punks collected edition successfully reached its target in just under 5 days and wen’t on to raise 13+k, allowing Ant to rescan the art and add some new bits to create this collection. It’s the first born of new NZ publishing concern, Earth’s End. The book clocks in at 400 pages, and gets high praise.
“Sang is part of a new generation of sequential artists who challenge the tired misconception that comics are juvenile and lacking in literary merit. His comics are intelligently conceived works dealing with personal and political issues… Sang’s artwork is superb, pared down, always punchy, with some nice characterization reminiscent of Love and Rockets.” — Nick Hanson (Pavement, 1994)
Conundrum is publishing the collected series for the first time for the english international audience. And a French language edition appears to be in the works from Presque Lune.
The Dharma Punks by Ant Sang!
Indroduction by Dylan Horrocks
Rights negotiated by Nicolas Grivel Agency
September 2015
Conundrum International
ISBN 1-894994-96-5
978-1-894994-96-5
6 x 8.25 inches, b/w, 400 pages
trade paperback, $25