A Love Letter to the Dairy
A Look at the corner store stalwart - just don't call it a corner store.
It’s time for another comic from my new book, ‘Slices of Heaven: Uniquely Kiwi Comics about Aotearoa’ and this month it’s a look at the iconic New Zealand ‘Dairy’ - No, not a “corner store” or a “bodega” a Dairy.
This comic was the toughest nut to crack. I knew I wanted to make one about the Dairy, as it was a staple of growing up in Aotearoa, and I had already drawn the book cover (which also serves as the comic's first panel). I decided the best way to make it work was to make it more personal to me, rather than just listing things off - as that made the jokes and observations flow faster.
Just like ‘Man to Matua’ referenced a lot of my family members, so does this, as well as referencing me as a teenager, which I’ll dive deeper into after the comic (clock the emo kid as a clue)
But for now, walk in, hear that familiar buzz at the door, and read all about the humble Dairy:
Behind the Panels:
That is my actual mum holding those bottles of milk. She read this book and didn’t even click that it was her. Still, she did put it down for a second to defend 1. buying two bottles of milk a week—blaming me for going through them so fast as if I were some sort of milk fiend—and 2. putting one in the big freeze, although her argument was flawed: “to stop it going bad”—don’t buy more bottles than you need then!
And the receipt top-up was also a relic from my teenage past, getting Text200 or Best Mates, to stay in contact with your long-distance girlfriend (She doesn’t go to this school, you won’t know her!!) as was me buying two 500ml expired energy drinks every morning before school and struggling to find out why I couldn’t concentrate in any of my classes, a real medical mystery that one was.
One of the best experiences in making comics about this country is the research. As part of this comic, I investigated why only New Zealand calls “corner shops” a Dairy. I delved into some historical vaults to find pictures of Dairys of the past - that’s where I found all those cool old hand-painted signs. I also stumbled across a documentary that chronicles the rise of the Dairy and its connection to the immigrant experience in New Zealand. If you have an hour to spare, it’s well worth a watch.
For me the Dairy genuinely was a community hub, It was where I parked my bike and met up with friends, to buy comic books and KRASH Magazines, where my dad would get the weekend herald and lotto and treats for us, and where cheap pick and mix lollies were found (before the crackdown) and just seemed like a reliable staple in town where shop faces continually changed.
The last panel of this comic might be one of my favorite endings in the book, I can’t tell you how many times as a kid I’d lose patience waiting for my mum as she ran into everyone she knows while popping in to grab two bottles of milk, but that also really sums up the role of the dairy in small towns.
I’m not sure what will become of the dairy. It has evolved, losing magazine stands to distract kids on long journeys and replacing them with adjoining vape stores for edgy teens. But there’s comfort in knowing you can drive up to a more secluded part of the country, and despite how small the population of the next town is, there will most likely be a dairy to fill your needs.
Danz.
If you want to grab a copy of ‘Slices of Heaven: Uniquely Kiwi Comics about Aotearoa’ you can purchase it below from my store! It contains this comic, plus five other warm and witty comics about the DNA of Aotearoa, celebrating our quirks, institutions, identity, and shared experiences!
