Under the Rainbow QUEER AND TRANS COMIC ARTISTS + ILLUSTRATORS OF AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND Under the Rainbow QUEER AND TRANS COMIC ARTISTS + ILLUSTRATORS OF AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND Compiled by Sam Orchard All artwork in this zine is copyright to the respective artists and/ or copyright holders. Please contact the relevant artist/author for permission to reproduce any image. Published May 2019, Creative Fruit Ltd. Under the Rainbow Index Holly Aitchison 4 Sarah Lund 24 Raewyn Alexander 5 Liv Mehrtens 25 Cat Atkinson 6 Saturn Rose Murray 26 Hana Chatani 7 Sam Orchard 27 Don Chooi 8 Pepper Raccoon 29 Jack Remiel Cottrell 9 Stace Robertson 30 Ekkus 10 Laya Rose 31 Amy Eye 11 Ash Spittal 32 Erin Fae 12 Madshrew 33 Richard Fairgray 14 Nate Tamblyn 34 Kī Foster 15 Yaron Tana 35 Casper Gordon 16 Tempest 36 Sani Gregory-Moore 17 Kezia Tubbs 38 Hairbrushed 18 Maxwell Vex 39 Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho 20 Vincent 40 Sloane Kim 21 Jem Yoshioka 41 Winter Kneale 22 Lenny Zook 43 Casey Lucas 23 Holly Aitchison (she/her) Holly is a fine artist who uses comic creation/il- lustration to decompress from the pressures of life. Holly has self published a graphic novella called Potato and been involved with We Are Beneficiaries. Facebook: Holly Aitchison Instagram: @hollyhopop 4 Raewyn Alexander (she/her) - Comic Writer and Artist - Illustrator - Raewyn writes fiction, poetry, non-fiction, es- says, reviews, blogs and critique; is an editor, publisher and performer. Three novels so far, (Penguin and Bright Publishing), also a co-writer of guides for teens. Raewyn’s first comic, early ‘80s was TKO - given away to inner city wildlings, thanks Martian Way Press. Since then, Three Words Anthology in print; Nowhere and Nothing (but Love) - a 68 page hand-drawn ebook on Amazon world-wide, and Cooking Inventively soon. Twitter: @RaewynAlexnder Facebook: raewyn.alexander Patreon: RaewynAlexander 5 Cat Atkinson (they/them) Cat enjoys creating pieces that are relatable and make people smile! They draw personal work and commissions, and have also created some pieces for local queer non-for-profits. Website: www.heycaterina.com Instagram: @ softcorevoid 6 Hana Chatani (she/Her) Hana is a Japanese Kiwi artist living in New Zealand, trying hard to balance her creative life with the real world. She is a traditional painter and comic artist. Twitter: @hanpanmangaki Instagram: @hanachatani Patreon: hakobore 7 Don Chooi (he/him) - Comic Artist - Illustrator - Don Chooi is an illustrator, a graphic design- er and an aspiring academic. He has been contributing art to the gay bear community since 2005 as D.ChooiDoodles and complet- ed his first graphic novel ‘Homebound’ for his Master’s in 2017. Don’s work focuses on the cultural and sexual identity of the gay asian immigrant, and gay male hypermasculine per- formativity. Website: dchooidoodles.blogspot.com Facebook: dchooidoodles Instagram: @dchooidoodles 8 Jack Remiel Cottrell (he/him) - Comic Writer - Currently Jack writes very short stories and wistfully gazes at pieces which would be better as comics, were he not completely incapable of drawing. He specialises in sneaking genre pieces into lit-fic circles (often in a trench-coat with a fake ID). Always looking for artists to collaborate with. Twitter: @sportingcryptid Instagram: @JackRemi ‘What’s in my pocket?’ and other riddles that have no good answers “Guys, have you seen my ring?” Henry’s voice always slides up the octaves when he gets upset, “I can’t find it!” He sits amongst the detritus of his kitbag, shaking it out. I turn to dig through my own gear, just in time to miss the stifled hiccup behind me. I fell in love with that hitch in his throat. Sit next to him for the exquisite agony of the smell of his soap powder and his sunscreen and him. But he doesn’t care about me. Not like I need. Not enough to bring a hitch to his breath. There’s only so much masochism I can take, rifling through my belongings looking for the ring that marks him as hers, that shows he loves her and not me. I zip up my bag, then gently put one hand around Henry’s shoulder as I head towards the door, leaning into him for a moment. The outside of my leg presses against his arm and I can feel him trembling, just a little. He pauses from where he is rechecking pockets that he already knows are empty. “It’ll be okay mate, it’s gotta be around here somewhere.” My thumb slides up his shoul- der to fleetingly brush his neck. “Thanks,” he gives me a watery smile, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” His voice sounds as hollow as I felt when I realised, he’d never care. As the door closes behind me, I slip my hand into my own pocket, trace the warm metal with one fingertip, feel the scratches that mark years of wear. It’s not enough, but it’s something. At least it’s something. 9 Ekkus (she/her) - Illustrator - Website: 66sukke.weebly.com Instagram: @eksekseksekseks 10 Amy Eye (she/her) - Comic Writer and Artist - Illustrator - Amy is a trans illustrator and occasional comic writer from New Zealand. Most of her comic work was posted online under her previous identity, so she is starting all over again. Website: tapas.io/AmyEYE Twitter: @Kthranos Facebook: Amy Eye Instagram: @kthrano Patreon: AmyEYE 11 Erin Fae (she/her) - Comic Writer and Artist - Illustrator - Erin Fae is a nonbinary femme lesbian who makes mischief and works on paper in the shadow of a dormant volcano. She likes get- ting her fingers inky. Recent projects include a comic of witches, a souvenir of the desert, and a vending machine to help get more self-published works to people living in Tāma- ki-makau-rau. Website: erinfae.com Twitter: @miss_fae Instagram: @ _erinfae Patreon: erinfae 12 Richard Fairgray (he/him) - Comic Writer and Artist - Illustrator - Richard has created comics all his life, mostly all ages stuff. He does an ongoing series called Blastosaurus about a mutant dinosaur, a middle grade horror series called Black Sand Beach as well as a bunch of picture books that have won a bunch of awards. His last picture book was a feminist reimagining of the myriad of stories about boys being eaten by lions. Jill Sobule did a song for it, it’s called Sweet Pen- ny and the Lion. His more adult work includes a lot of short web comics, an ongoing memoir about his fear of becoming an octopus, and a handful of graphic novels. Website: richardsux.com Twitter: @blastosaurus Facebook: blastosaurus, richardsux, richardfairgray Instagram: @richardsuxcomics, @blastosaurus 13 14 - Ki Foster (they/them) - Illustrator - Kī is a goblin with a brain full of big words, simple doodles, css, and pastel working class aesthetics. work includes the suit and i are one, a fanzine/comic about ptsd and iron man; mixed-media art about sex work for fightback magazine; numerous published poems; and a number of illustrations, posters, sites and logos for leftist organisations in aotearoa. Website: goblins.download Twitter: @pastelprole 15 Casper Gordon (he/they) - Comic Writer and Artist - Illustrator - Casper writes zines and comics that talk about mental health, and does other illustrations about various bits n pieces. Website: caspergordon.tumblr.com Facebook: doomegg Instagram: @doomegg 16 Sani Gregory-Moore (they) - Comic Artist - A they/them creator chasing the feeling in the back of your eyeballs when colours are just that little bit too loud. Sani is passionate about making work that is entirely accessible for all, and using colour and humor to ease relatable and painful subjects. Website: sanidoesart.bigcartel.com Instagram: @sanidoes 17 Hairbrushed (she/they) - Illustrator - Hairbrushed makes art for people who take stairs two at a time. Website: hairbrushed.tumblr.com Instagram: @hairbrushed Patreon: hairbrushed 18 Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho (they) - Illustrator - Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho is a takatāpui artist of Ngai Tuhoe, Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Kahungungu descent based in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auck- land, they also whakapapa to Samoa, Tahiti, Ireland, Scotland and Denmark. Their work is primarily influenced by their Māori whakapapa, takatāpui identity and political beliefs. Twitter: maorimarxist Facebook: Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho Instagram: @hurianakt.a 19 20 Sloane Kim (they/them) - Comic Writer and Artist - Illustrator - Kim is a nonbinary artist, born in SoKo and grown on the sprawling, concrete, suburban pastures of Auckland, New Zealand. They are mostly focused on tattooing these days but have been known to do illustrations and com- ics too. instagram: @flaeshmachinetattoos twitter: @plaest2k patreon: plaest2k 21 Winter Kneale (they/them) - Illustrator - Winter creates illustrations inspired by tradi- tional tattoos, studio Ghibli movies and drugs Instagram: @pohutukawa.babi 22 Casey Lucas (she/her) - Comic Writer - Casey Lucas is a Queenstown-based novelist and sportswriter whose first comic,Where Trees Grow Tall, is upcoming in late 2019. A former professional ghostwriter, she has pub- lished sixteen books and finally released one in 2018 under her real name: the fantasy web se- rial Into the Mire. Casey loves big, genre-blur- ring stories that are full of heart where charac- ters can triumph over their losses and attain if not a happy ending at least a peaceful one. Website: intothemire.com Twitter: @caseylucasquaid Patreon: CaseyLucas They drag him beneath the sprawl of the Gallows Tree, the old gnarled presence that has lurked in the Square since history can remember. It’s ancient. It’s dead. Its twisted boughs throw writhing, tentacular shadows on the aged stone, but Calay isn’t scared of it. He grits his teeth into the rag that gags him, biding his time. As they haul him up onto a stool, some dignitary whose name he can’t remember bellows out his crimes.