Michel Mulipola

Mangere based Comic book artist.

Fale-ship Home Residency 2020

Get an insight into Michel’s creative workspace and daily surroundings that inspire him. He also shares with us some awesome snapshots from his previous works as well as a sneak peek into the new works he created as part of his Fale-ship residency.


Meet Michel Mulipola

Michel is one of the very few professional Pasifika comic artists. With a growing international fanbase, he enjoys sharing his stories with people from all over the globe.

Michel Mulipola is a Sāmoan comic book artist/pro wrestler/semi-pro gamer born and raised on the mean streets of Māngere, South Auckland. His grandfather’s villages are Lefaga, Iva and Manono and his grandmother’s villages are Papa Sātaua, Faleasiu, Vaimoso and Sinamoga.

He has illustrated works for the WWE, Marvel Comics, 2K Games ANZ, SIS Show, Sky TV, Pasifika Heroes Books and NZ School Journals amongst many other things.

Michel’s art practice of illustrating comic stories is one that is popular amongst consumers but rarely practiced by Pasifika artists. In fact, he is one of the very few professional Pasifika comic artists and if you Google “Samoan comic artist,” he is featured in the top results. Pasifika people are naturally gifted storytellers telling their stories through different mediums, Michel’s medium happens to be comic books. Comics are often misunderstood as an art style, superheroes or a genre but in reality, it is a storytelling medium.

 
 

 “The opportunity to share my process of making comics and breaking down its nuances and intricacies is why I applied to take part in Tautai’s Fale-ship Home Residency programme.”

 
 

 Live Drawing Time Lapse

Check out Michel’s twitch time-lapse, depicting the creation of his comic he created for his Fale-ship, ‘O Le Aiga Samoa.’

 
 

 “In sharing my process so publicly on Twitch, I aimed to demystify the comics art form and make myself available to any artists or casual viewers who wish to pick my brain on the creative process.”

 
 

Q&A Talanoa with Michel and Leafa

Michel chats all about his experiences at Comicon in San Diego and what inspires him to be an illustrator.