The life and comics of a Waipā artist who suffered a debilitating disease are being celebrated in two volumes of his work.
Dean Ballinger, who died at age 48 in 2022 after enduring Motor Neuron Disease, produced cartoon strips and comic zines for more than two decades.
They ranged in style from new mythology and sci-fi, to conceptual art jokes and toilet humour.
Ballinger, from Te Awamutu. was credited with coining the title ‘Hamiltron’ and ‘The Tron’ to describe Hamilton in the late 1990s alongside fellow radio DJ Greg Page and “call-in-listener Brian”.
A group of his friends are publishing two books of his comics.
Mark Servian, editor and project manager, says the two volumes present three artistic genres.
“OHU is the never-before-seen graphic novel written and pencilled by Dean, and then inked and coloured to completion by Aaron Christiansen. It is a fun story that will appeal to adults and kids alike.
“The other volume is actually two books in one – the Dean Ballinger Anthology is two collections back-to-back, reflecting Dean’s two very different bodies of work, the art and the comedy” Servian said.
OHU is a 116-page graphic novel about three friends on a quest across a psychedelic Waikato.
“Think of it as a Yellow Submarine in the Waikato, in the format of an Asterix book,” Servian said.
Ballinger began working on OHU in 2014, with Aaron Christiansen then working with him on the art over the last year of his life.
“I got to know Dean over a few years through us both contributing comics to Waikato student mag Nexus, and zines Bristle, Sonic Comic and Dean’s group anthology Hamiltron: City of the Future,” said Christiansen.
Dean Ballinger
