The front cover illustration from the new book by Wellington artist and illustrator Daniel Vernon.
Photo: Supplied/ Daniel Vernon
Wellington artist Daniel Vernon (YeeHawTheBoys) is back with a new book, Slices of Heaven: Uniquely Kiwi Comics about Aotearoa. Through detailed illustration and quirky narratives, the book depicts many shared experiences New Zealanders will know.
Vernon’s cartoons are frequently political, irreverent takes on New Zealand culture. But for this project he wanted to try a different approach, he told RNZ’s Susana Lei’ataua.
“It’s I guess – a bunch of nostalgic stories of growing up in New Zealand. So things about the dairy, the marae, the shed, and our advertising icons … the Briscoes lady, the ‘illuminous spheres’ lady, the Mitre 10 ‘big is good’ – the Bunnings guys … things like that.”
Photo: Daniel Vernon
Basically, it’s those moments that we’ll immediately recognise as distinctly New Zealand life, in 2024.
Vernon wanted to get away from the “depressing dark” aspects of politics and social issues.
Daniel Vernon is also the frontman of Wellington band Dartz
Photo: RNZ
“I kinda wanted to – for my own mental health, and I think maybe for everyone else – just focus on some things that I love about New Zealand, and things that I think make us who we are.
“And it’s been really great – the most fun I’ve had in the last four years, and the reception has been equally as warm.”
In The Marae he has transplanted the central New York chef from award-winning American TV show The Bear, into a New Zealand marae kitchen: “where he kind of learns about the importance of community, aunties and using food to bring people together and support each other, instead of just a cold way to make money.”
Another focuses of what having a small learners’ pool at the local school means for families in a rural community.
“That’s one from my past … it’s nostalgic, about trying to impress people when you’re coming of age by learning to do a manu bomb or flip into the pool. But also the power of having your mum sign up to have a key to access the pool during summertime – it’s a biiig deal.”
Online publishing platform Substack has been a key part of Vernon’s journey, he said, and helped him create cartoons Kiwis would recognise themselves in.
“I love Substack. I got in when it was just beginning to take off. It was a great way outside of social media to post my work and write more detailed explanations of my comics, and also it’s just a better way to read them, and it’s also a great way for people to support the artwork and what I do.
“And I think not being beholden to social media and their algorithms, and just being able to directly be in communication with people that like my work has really been a game-changer…
“It’s continued to grow in the past four years, and it’s something I enjoy doing immensely.”
His book will be released on 6 December, “if you want to get Christmas gifts”, he said.
Photo: Daniel Vernon
Photo: Supplied / Daniel Vernon
Photo: Supplied / Daniel Vernon
Photo: Supplied / Daniel Vernon