Incomplete Works is a selection of short comics drawn between 1986 and 2012. It’s published by Victoria University Press here in New Zealand.
This hand-picked selection of Dylan Horrocks’ short comics from 1986-2012 introduces a lively menagerie of melancholy cartoonists, mysterious men in top hats, levitating women and even a superhero or two.
Painstakingly unearthed from crumbling photocopied periodicals, obscure tomes in foreign tongues and the products of long-abandoned publishing enterprises, Incomplete Works journeys from Auckland cafes to imaginary worlds, documenting nearly three decades of daydreams, obsessions and fears.
Plus there’s at least one joke about willies.
Incomplete Works will be launched in Wellington at the New Zealand Festival Writers Week on Saturday 8 March at 7.30pm, alongside Caoilinn Hughes‘ book of poems, Gathering Evidence. The launch is free and open to all, so come along and join the party!
There will be an Auckland launch later in March – details to come soon.
Tags: Incomplete Works
How will I purchase it from Sydney?
(Actually I guess mailorder NZ -> Aus would hardly break the bank… can’t wait!)
Yes, your best bet will be to wait till after March 7th (official publication date) and then try VUP online, or an online retailer that handles NZ books.
Dylan, any chance this book will be available in the States? Or will VUP ship internationally?
I expect there will be a US edition eventually, but in the meantime, try VUP directly: http://vup.victoria.ac.nz/incomplete-works/
Don’t mean to be a pain, but when you “expect” there to be a US edition is there an actual plan for one? I’d love to have this now but the shipping cost is more than half the price of the book.
There’s no US edition currently planned, although I expect we’ll probably get one arranged at some point. Right now I’m so focused on getting Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen ready for a (US, NZ, UK, France etc) release later this year, I haven’t put much effort into other editions of Incomplete Works. My agent is on the case, but I doubt it would happen before next year.
If it’s any consolation, those shipping costs are a very familiar hassle for those of us who live in New Zealand. Shipping books from the US to NZ often costs several times the price of the book itself. So believe me, I sympathise.
Thanks for the response. Thinking about it, it struck me how weird my reaction was. I mean, if I saw this book at my local comics shop with a price of US$39.95 (which is what I’d pay book and shipping after conversion) I would think it a bit pricier than I would expect but I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it (Hicksville is one of my favorites). But knowing the proportion shipping takes up just makes me recoil somehow.
I really don’t know why I’m bothering you with all this since I’ve basically known all along I’m going to break down and order it.
You’re a good man, Mr T.