Deep Black: Graphic Novel set in Ōtautahi CHC

Deep Black is my way of reimagining Ōtautahi Christchurch after living through the 2011 earthquakes… a story set in 2035 that blends art and storytelling. It’s about seeking belonging in a shaken city, while exploring memory, technology, and identity. With your support, I can bring it to life as both a graphic novel and an exhibition.

Ben Ning - Creator, Author and Artist

I’m a Christchurch-based storyteller and illustrator, creating comics and graphic novels that explore belonging and a sense of place. Drawing from my indigenous roots of Northeast India and the life of my adopted city, I weave narratives shaped by land, culture, and creativity.

I’m working alongside my wife, Mya - a fashion designer, visual artist, and dancer - who is co-managing the project with me and helping bring it to life.

The $5000 will help cover the following

• Book Printing (150 books)
• Book launch & Exhibition - Food, Drinks, Set-up, Venue Hire, Framing
• Marketing costs - social media ads, poster printing

Behind the Book

This book has been a long time in the making. The story began after the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011, when the seed for this whole world was planted — a city flattened, rebuilt, full of big promises but also deep tensions. I asked myself: what if a corporation took over that city, rebuilt it, and ran it as an experiment? That idea became the backbone of the series.

The journey started with an art show in 2013 and evolved into an ambitious trilogy, of which Deep Black is part 2.

In Deep Black, we enter that world in 2035, to Christchurch — now rebranded as Cathedral City. We follow Bri, a Branch Agent for the council. Branch Agents live in total anonymity; their memories are erased, and their only purpose is to serve the city. Bri’s mission is to watch over a citizen named Calix… all while living with her pet jaguar, Dolly.

The world is influenced by Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Arrival, Mirror’s Edge, and the music that shaped me during those years, like Grimes.

This is book two in the Deep series, but it also stands on its own. It’s a world of virtual reality, dreams, surveillance, and questions of what humanity truly means — where even the movers and shakers of the city aren’t always what they seem.
 

Book Launch & Exhibition

7PM 24 October 2025
25 Wilmer Street, Christchurch
 

This launch event features original art from the book, select feature pieces on display (and up for giveaway), and the chance to pick up your copy of Deep Black on release day.

Alongside the exhibition, enjoy curated music, a talk with creator Ben Ning, and a relaxed evening connecting with story, art, and city.

Deep Black is a graphic novel born from Ōtautahi Christchurch. I created it with roots planted in the city, drawing from both the struggles and imagination of this place. Christchurch may have inspired histories and documentaries, but speculative fiction from the city remains rare.

The book celebrates the city and the South Island, from rebuilt streets to the vast expanse of the Southern Alps, while exploring bigger questions: how technology seeps into our subconscious, how it shapes identity, and what it means for our humanity.

I worked on this project while holding a full-time job outside of storytelling, developing the story and art over several years. Supporting this book shows that ambitious, original stories can and should exist without institutional backing.

I hope Deep Black can give Ōtautahi Christchurch a story of its own… one shaped by this place, yet speaking to readers anywhere who grapple with belonging, change, and the impact of technology on our lives.