Burning ambition
ARTHUR WHELAN
Last updated 05:00 30/01/2011
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Photo: Michael Bradley
Author, cartoonist and animator Ant Sang at his drawing board.
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Ant Sang is best known for his work on bro'Town but his new graphic novel could not be more different, writes Arthur Whelan.
The body count is a dead giveaway – we're not in Morningside now.
Fans of bro'Town will recognise the distinctive art style, but Ant Sang's latest creation could not be further away from the world of Jeff Da Maori and his mates.
His 190-page graphic novel Shaolin Burning is an homage to the origins and traditions of kung fu in 17th-century China, a sweeping morality tale exploring themes of vengeance, freedom, self-expression and conflict ranging from inner turmoil to the clash of empires – and there's the odd local cameo appearance thrown in.
And yes, its production has been as exhausting as it sounds. The hours in the studio, says the Auckland 40-year-old, became "crazy" as his publishing deadline loomed, and his ambitions expanded with revisions and new ideas.
There were days when he would calculate how much ink had yet to flow, and "freak out". There was also a young family to feed without the bro'Town income.
But he did have a Creative New Zealand grant, a deadline, and a story to tell.
He's grateful that in those manic last months his wife, Delia, did far more than her share of looking after their two young daughters.
In the small hours, when the house was quiet, the world of Shaolin Burning would morph from sketchbook thumbnails into sketches and ink.
"There were a few difficult times early on. In my mind I had equations, calculating how many pages per day. But just knowing that the publishers wanted it was enough motivation."
At last though, the day came when there were no more pencils to ink and typos to correct.
Sang didn't have the energy for the planned celebratory dinner – "I'm still recovering!" – but the world of the Shaolin temple, Deadly Plum Blossom and her journey to the cave of the vengeful, cave-dwelling monk was created.
SANG'S OWN journey to this point began about three years ago, oddly enough prompted in part by an insight provided by The Contender, a late-night reality television show on boxing.
Each episode would provide glimpses into the sad lives of the down-on-their-luck, last-shot-at-the-title, wannabes. "By they time they made it into the ring, you wanted both to win."
Sang, looking for something different after six series of bro'Town, had a theme he could marry to his lifelong interest in kung fu (although he admits to only "dabbling" in martial arts himself).
The Hollywood version always culminated in an enormous fight scene, but Sang was determined to offer something different, and publisher HarperCollins responded to his pitch enthusiastically.
His sketchbook was less co-operative. The ghosts of bro'Town haunted his technique after so many years of stylised, cartoony drawing, and the effect can be seen in the early character designs.
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Sang needed something grittier, a loosely brushed look befitting a story he admits is far more violent than his earlier self-published comic-books, the Dharma Punks, a series following the dramas of Auckland anarchists targeting that corporate cliche, the fast-food chain.
"I think there was one punch thrown in 400 pages."
On the other hand, Shaolin Burning, featuring mass murder, infanticide and suicide, is not for the kids.
"The initial idea was of gangs of young people who never made it into the history books – with tats, piercings, an `industrial gothic' look.
"After I got the main characters figured out, I spent about four months trying to get it more detailed, with lots of historical research, which gave me more ideas."
That wasn't always a bonus. "With writing you can rewrite, but with comics you have to redraw."
Sang had every motivation to plan carefully, given the way he works. Each sheet he originally drew was A2 – the same size as the page you are reading. Once pencilled and inked, they had to be scanned in halves that were then digitally stitched together on a computer. Yes, the file sizes were huge.
However, his informal studies of screenwriting, through books and weekend courses, were a major asset in avoiding wasted time. Another massive resource was the research potential of the internet – he did not have to leave the country to find reference material for the landscapes, architecture and statues.
Still, it would have been a homecoming, of sorts. Sang is a fifth-generation Kiwi – "I'm such a westernised Chinese" – but traces his roots to southern China and has experienced more culture shock than most, having moved to Hong Kong with his family for 11 years in the 1980s, before returning to Auckland.
Hence the dialogue of Shaolin Burning ranges from dialogue such as "Bro, you'd waste us" to deliberately poetic and flowery chapter titles such as "Unversed Disciple of the White Crane Temple".
One such chapter, "The Legend of Ma Ti Fu Ken", is a tribute to a celebrated Auckland illustrator and tattoo artist, Martin Emond, who took his own life in 2004, aged 34.
This episode illustrates, literally, another theme Sang wants to explore: how talent can be a gift or a curse, and the options open to the talented.
Emond was an inspiration to many comic artists, and his death was a shock, Sang said.
It's not the only cameo.
The people involved "may or may not recognise themselves, I made them look Asian".
SO THE temple has burned down, the Killer Tongs have travelled to meet their destiny and an inspiration for a new style of kung fu is born.
Sang steps out of his cramped studio, leaving behind the world he has created and returning to a mundane reality of bills and attention-needy offspring.
He is pleased with his achievement and is gratified by the feedback so far, ahead of the formal book launch and exhibition opening at the Gifthorse gallery, central Auckland, on Thursday.
But no one makes fortunes out of graphic novels in this country. It's time to get some money in the bank, perhaps from storyboarding and illustration.
Another graphic novel is a possibility, this time about zombies.
And given Ant Sang's exhausting workload after the past few years, it sounds like he's already done a lot of the research.
