COMICS
Comic book connoisseur and Open Book Comics
Fest coordinator, Moray Rhoda, gives the reason why
these three SA comic books are must-read stuff.
3
MUST-read
SA comics
SPARKO
NERO: GENESIS
DUNGEON QUEST
Karl Stephan
Published by Slave Labor
Sparkonaut.com and
karlstephan.co.uk
Luke Molver
Self-published
http://lukemolver.com
Joe Daly
Published by Fantagraphics
www.fantagraphics.com
Nero is an underweight, pigeon-chested,
club-footed, half-blind wetware engineer.
He’s also a hustler and genius living in a
future sci-fi version of Durban and content
with getting by and hanging out with his
friends, Skuif and Arani.
Dungeon Quest is a self-aware look at fantasy
roleplaying tropes that starts off in a strange,
off-kilter, almost-recognisable pseudo-SA
suburb. Our protagonist, Millennium Boy,
rebels against the mind-numbingly mundane
existence of his suburb and starts gathering a
band of would-be adventurers to accompany
him on an adventure quest. As the story
develops, the ridiculous nature of fantasy
role-playing is exposed, as the characters
level up and loot the corpses of their fallen
foes (while commenting on their feelings
about both).
Norman gets stabbed, thrown in the Thames
and ends up being chased through the
nightmare world underneath the skin of
everyday London by strange and somewhat
dead creatures, killer chihuahuas and slightly
emo goblins. Fortunately our hero meets Belle,
a young pickpocket who has the smarts to
guide him through the subterranean urban
jungle and put him on the path to facing the
truth about his girlfriend’s death.
That is until the day he decided to build a
super-computer using outlawed technology
that could destroy the human race. Now he
is on the run from the corporation killers
who want him dead and the technology for
themselves.
Why buy?
Not your regular warm and fuzzy feel-good
story, Sparko is an offbeat urban fantasy,
nightmarish ride through the collective
unconscious of the world’s glummest city,
sprinkled with moments of dark humour.
Karl Stephan, an old Bellville boy now living
in London, beautifully conceptualised a world
that is fully-realised, and an immersive, strange
and funny place, underpinned by a much
bigger mystery.
Available at:
bit.ly/sparkos R166 ; bit.ly/sparkot $1 (R10)
October 2013 | TechSmart
Why buy?
Why buy?
Nero’s world is a dystopian vision of a
future South African city, with plenty of
clever local references and language that
creates a grounded and grim reality one can
identify with. It’s a well-written, disturbing
and imaginative sci-fi tale brimming with
complex ideas and interesting characters and
some ultra-violence to move the plot along.
Dungeon Quest is a smartly-written,
well-paced story filled with laugh out loud
stoner humour and moments that make
you question your preconceived notions
of the predictability of fantasy stories. The
storytelling is elevated by grounded dialogue
that shines with authenticity in even the most
ridiculous moments, and readers will easily
identify with the characters.
Available at:
Available at:
Read ers Den specialty comic shop (R90) and
Clarke’s Bookshop.
bit.ly/dqjdaly $11. Also at Readers Den (R175) and
Outer Limits specialty comic shops.
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