The South African comic book industry is growing at a fast rate. Local writers and artists like Lauren Beukes, Dale Halvorsen and Jason Masters have all had their talent headhunted by major American publishers. These creators all appeared at the recent FanCon event in Cape Town, alongside international stars like the US writer Jason Aaron and British illustrator Jamie McKelvie. The event also showcased lots of independent South African work, the most visually striking and conceptually interesting of which is the anthology book SECTOR.
Already on its Sixth Issue, SECTOR provides a platform for mature sci-fi and fantasy, drawn in detailed and gritty black and white. Its current series include Red Air, a deranged tale set on Mars and the freebooting pirate fantasy Uncharted Waters. The anthology format works really well as it allows the creators to develop long form stories in short bursts, and to constantly ramp up their narrative and artistic ambition. Published on a bi-monthly basis, SECTOR takes clear inspiration from iconic international anthology books like Heavy Metal and 2000AD. Such magazines have historically given an opportunity for new creative voices to experiment with graphic storytelling. 2000AD famously was the testing ground for British writers like Alan Moore and Grant Morrison, who would later revolutionise the American comic book scene in the late ‘80s. The anthology format still holds up. Last year Image, the publishing house which is currently setting the standard for comic book excellence, began to release Island, while Heavy Metal is being relaunched.
SECTOR’s current contributors include Daniël Hugo, Karl Mostert , Moray Rhoda, Diorgo Jonkers , Ben Rausch, Nas Who and Michael Smith. By pooling their collective talents, they are pushing South African comics into a bold new direction. It will definitely be worth keeping an eye on where they choose to go next. SECTOR 6, and the back issues, can all be purchased online at indiecomics.co.za. The site is a great platform to further explore self-published local work.