Presumably self published by Bodgie Print Co. in Auckland, 1979, Pacer Comics by Dennis Clarke is one of the most fascinating New Zealand comics I've found from this era. Drawn in a scratchy line that brings to mind European cartoonists like Sergio Toppi and some of the loose experimental work of Alberto Breccia, Pacer Comics features three stories, ELX, The Enchantment of Pentreath, and The Kiwi Once Did Fly. The printing in this comic is a bit poor in places, making some of the scratchy images and text hard to decipher, regardless this is a quite an interesting comic and accomplished production, possibly not Clarke's first? It doesn't seem to be influenced by any mainstream comics available in New Zealand at the time either and very different from anything else I'm aware of coming out of New Zealand in the 1970's. Does anyone know Dennis Clarke? Or is anyone out there familiar with his work?
ELX is an adventure story with the lead character exploring fantasy realms in a clash with Death. Vaguely an Antipodean Doctor Strange with science fiction elements?
The Enchantment of Pantreath is a six page wordless almost abstract in places comic. I'm not sure but it could be from the perspective of a psychiatric hospital patient experiencing nightmare visions.
The Kiwi Once Did Fly is subtitled From Maori Mythology and features the most straight forward story featuring the son of a Tohunga Aorangi and the Birdwoman.
