Montreal publisher Pow Pow Press is expanding their global presence with the upcoming release of Tsunami, the debut graphic novel by award-winning animator and director Ned Wenlock, who is based in New Zealand. The publication of Tsunami on May 8, 2025 will mark the first time Pow Pow Press will publish a creator from outside of Quebec.
Tsunami by Ned Wenlock
Tsunami is the story of Peter, an awkward, painfully upright 12-year-old misfit who’s mercilessly bullied in school and quietly ignored at home by his parents, who are too busy bickering with each other to bother with their son. Peter’s lonely life in small-town New Zealand is upended by the arrival of Charlie, a badass girl from England who might just be the friend Peter has unknowingly been in need of. But when Peter’s bull-headed commitment to the truth brings him into conflict with Gus, an equally troubled and often violent classmate, things quickly spiral out of control and the two boys find themselves in a terrifying situation neither of them could have ever imagined in what author Ned Wenlock calls “a suitably dark story for a dark time.”
“For some reason I got to thinking about what a self-righteous twerp I was aged twelve,” recounts Wenlock, who was born in the UK and moved to New Zealand on his thirteenth birthday. “Peter in Tsunami was born out of that, an interesting character to write about who, in his earnestness, comes off as both funny and tragic at the same time.” Originally published in 2023 in New Zealand by Earth’s End Publishing, Tsunami is Wenlock’s first full-length graphic novel and won the NZ Book Award for Children and Young Adults for Best First Book. Wenlock’s short films and videos have played in festivals around the world, and he has worked with clients such as the band MGMT. His short comics have appeared in anthologies including Faction and Bristle, and he was a featured artist in From Earth’s End: The Best New Zealand Comics.
Ned Wenlock at the NZ Book Awards
“When I received the submission for Tsunami in my inbox, just from seeing the cover, I wanted to read it right away” says Pow Pow publisher Luc Bossé. “When I got to read the book, with Ned’s unique art style and his sense of humor, I was convinced that Tsunami was a perfect fit for Pow Pow.” Pow Pow Press, the English-language imprint of Éditions Pow Pow, has to date focused on translating and publishing works from Quebec creators. “We’ve published international creators like Lewis Trondheim, Sophie Yanow, and Joana Mosi, but that was always in French. Putting out a book in English by a New Zealand creator was something totally new for us,” notes Bossé “but it just felt right.” In recent years Pow Pow Press has had a growing presence in the American publishing market, with their most recent release The Jellyfish by Boum landing on multiple “best of 2024” lists including the American Library Association Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table’s Top 10 Graphic Novels for Adults.
While Tsunami is a coming-of-age age story that, despite some mature themes, would be appropriate for an adolescent audience, Wenlock notes that “[Tsunami] is written for adults” and addresses complex social issues such as bullying from a nuanced perspective. “I’ve really tried to explore the gray areas between perceived right and wrong for all the characters involved, it’s a snapshot of the community around a 12-year-old boy.” When asked about his book’s relevance, Wenlock observes that “we are currently experiencing a time where people seem to have very rigid, inflexible, hard-line points of view. There’s a lot of shouting going on and not a lot of listening. Tsunami attempts to explore this.” Wenlock says that the ideal reader for the book in his opinion would be “someone with a dark sense of humor.”
The Beat is delighted to unveil a look at an exclusive excerpt from Tsunami.
Pow Pow Press will publish Tsunami on May 6, 2025. Tsunami is currently available for preorder via Lunar Distribution and it will be available in bookstores and comic book shops throughout the world.
