The Dharma Punks Book / Publication / Landmark Writing

INFO

Name	The Dharma Punks
Year	2014
Publisher	Earth’s End
Type of Text	Graphic novel
Artform	Literature, Visual arts

ABOUT

The Dharma Punks (Earth’s End, 2014) is a full-length graphic novel by critically acclaimed Chinese-New Zealand cartoonist and illustrator, Ant Sang. The 384-page text is set in ‘90s Tāmaki Makaurau and follows Chopstick, a Buddhist punk who is involved with an anarchist plot to blow up a multinational fast-food chain. Described by Dylan Horrocks as "unmatched by almost any other locally produced graphic novel", The Dharma Punks is considered a cult classic in the New Zealand comics scene.

In 1994, Sang began to self-publish a series of underground mini-comics called Filth. While the series was more overtly concerned with Sang's experience witnessing a traumatic hit-and-run accident, Filth is often credited as being the initial genesis of The Dharma Punks. Most notably, the mini-comic series features Chopstick — a character that would later inspire, and become the protagonist in, The Dharma Punks. After completing Filth in 1997, Sang spent a four-year “gestation period” working on The Dharma Punks, explaining that he wanted his first long-form graphic novel to be more than “just a continuation of Filth”.

From 2001 to 2003, Sang released The Dharma Punks as a self-published eight-issue comic book series. Totalling just under 400 pages, the series developed the style, storytelling and marketing of Filth. While Sang maintained his signature raw illustration style and 80s comix (and punk) sensibilities, the initial release built on the production quality and standard publicity practices of local underground comics: “My plan with The Dharma Punks was to try to package it differently and to promote the hell out of it, so that people would know about it. This wasn't the done thing at the time”. The first run of The Dharma Punks featured colour-printed covers on thicker paper stock, and was featured in a variety of media outlets across the country. Coupled with the cult status Sang had already cultivated from Filth, the release of The Dharma Punks #1 was met with widespread popularity — it was described as a “sales sensation at comics stores” and reportedly outsold American comics bestsellers such as Uncanny X-Men.

The Dharma Punks won Best Comic two years running at the New Zealand Comics Eric Awards, solidifying both Sang’s career and comics style in the local arts scene. New Zealand cartoonist and author Sarah Laing described Sang’s use of ink and brushstroke in The Dharma punks as having a “dramatic effect”, applauding his ability to layer fast-paced action with philosophical provocations.

In 2014 — over a decade on from the self-published series — The Dharma Punks was compiled and commercially re-printed in trade paperback format by New Zealand comics publisher, Earth’s End. The production costs were funded via a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign that hit a target goal of $8500 in just five days. The campaign attracted international attention, and the text was subsequently re-released in the US, UK and France in 2015 to critical acclaim.