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Review: Her Infernal Descent #1 Posted: 05 Jun 2018 05:38 AM PDT
Created by Lonnie Nadler, Zac Thompson and Kyle Charles. The story opens in a house where the air is thick with grief. The woman who lives there spends her days drinking deeply from the well of despair. The loss of her husband and family has washed away all trace of joy from her life. One day as she ascends to the attic, she is greeted by the ghost of William Blake who offers her the chance to be reunited with her family. But to do so she must travel through the various levels of Hell. With everything she loves already take from her, traveling through Hell doesn’t scare her. So she accepts the offer made by Blake. The art in the opening pages is all about conveying the prevailing sense of loss the woman carries through her days. The scene shows a person who has given up and is merely passing time. A combination of line art displaying a house that hasn’t been tidied or cleaned is quite some time. The choice of colours for these pages also help underscore the sorrow the woman is experiencing. As the duo begin their journey, there’s a page where the panels are connected by a labyrinth. A labyrinth that the reader could actually trace a path through that connects each of the panels on the page. It’s a nice design touch to the page to lead the readers eye through the page. An instant cue that indicates that reality is peeling back is the orange and yellow colour of the sky and the duo are moving every closer to the fires of Hell. I was curious about the lettering choice for Blake’s dialogue is the use of white text on a black speech bubble. Even amongst the dead, this is an anomaly and I did wonder if this was in part due to Blake’s ability to travel between Heaven and Hell. Her Infernal Descent shows the extremes to which someone will go to claw their way out from the crushing weight of grief for a chance to save those they love. A good start to what looks to be an interesting mini-series. About contributor.  |
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Comics out this week (6/Jun/18) Posted: 06 Jun 2018 01:00 AM PDT Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook. This weeks round-up will also include those that would have been in the NCBD posts that were missed due to hamster problems.
Crowded #1 Written by Chris Sebela.
Transformers – Requiem of the Wreckers Written by Nick Roche.
Where We Live Anthology Featuring contributions by Dee Cunniffe, Chris O’Halloran and Triona Farrell. ( For a more extensive list of contributiors, click here.)
Vampirella vs. Hack/Slash TP Written by Shawn Aldridge.
Zero Jumper #2 Written, illustrated and lettered by Patrick Mulholland.
Deep Roots #2 (Review for issue 1) Written by Dan Watters.
Lockjaw #4 Written by Daniel Kibblesmith.
Days of Hate #5 Written by Ales Kot.
Kiss / Army of Darkness #4 Written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims.
Sherlock Holmes : The Vanishing Man #2 Written by Leah Moore and John Reppion.
The Prisoner #2 Written by Peter Milligan.
Infinity Countdown #4 Written by Gerry Duggan. |
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook. |
Exiles #4 Written by Saladin Ahmed. |
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Letters by Joe Caramagna.
World of Tanks : Citadel #2 Written by Garth Ennis.
Xena #5 Written by Meredith Finch. |
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X-men: Blue #29 Written by Cullen Bunn.
Coda #2 Written by Simon Spurrier.
Analog #3 Written by Gerry Duggan.
Analog #3 Written by Gerry Duggan.
Nancy Drew #1 Written by Kelly Thompson. |
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Letters by Ariana Maher.
Marvel Two-In-One Annual #1 Written by Chip Zdarsky.
The Dead Hand #3 Written by Kyle Higgins.
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Posted: 18 Jun 2018 01:00 AM PDT
Script by Patrick Hammond. The great thing about Kickstarter these days is that it is providing a steady stream of comics these days. The latest being Out Of Sight #1. The story opens on a moon-lit roof of a museum. A shadowy figure stands alone looking through the skylight into the museum. The figure reveals himself to be Tom Taylor, and he has a spot of late night thievery planned. Rather than go with a smash’n’grab plan, Taylor takes the path of least resistance and pays off a security guard for access to the museum. But Taylor soon discovers that even the simplest plans are no guarantee of success. With the robbery ending in failure, Taylor must answer to those that bankrolled the robbery. And they make it clear that they aim to make the profit that Taylor promised them. The story has a nice tempo to it and it’s an enjoyable twist to a what is basically a heist story. The dialogue is fun, with Taylor having plenty to say. Even when it might have been better if he kept his mouth shut. The art is well drawn with a good flow to the panels throughout the comic. There are a number of locations in the comic, but at no stage do the backgrounds drown out what is happening in the panels. One small criticism is the transition between the first two panels on page twelve and how they relate to each other. The first panel sees Taylor (shown from the side) lying down looking up at one of his captors, with the second panel a side profile of the captor looking towards the first panel. Due to the art in each panel, the transition gives the initial impression the captor is kneeling down because the captors eyeline is level with Taylor. It’s not detrimental to the story in any way but a different choice of angles could make for a better transition. That said the line art is clean with no panel ever seeming busy even when there are a number of characters and props in a panel. The colour art is equally impressive. Much of the story happens at night, and even when a scene happens under moonlight, the colours manage to give the panels a clear readability. I did like how Taylor looks like mist taking on human form when he is invisible. The background behind him has the colour modified ever so slightly to give the sense that we are looking straight through him. Out of Sight #1 is an enjoyable heist story with a sci-fit twist. A big part of the appeal for me is the character of Taylor. He provides the comedic element to the story that rounds out the comic nicely. Issue one is a good start with some enjoyable characters and a cliffhanger that should have most readers looking out for the next instalment. |
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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2000AD Sci-Fi Special 2018 Written by Emma Beeby, Katy Rex, Alex De Campi, Tillie Walden, Leah Moore, Laura Bailey, Olivia Hicks and Maura McHugh.
The Bog Road Written by Barry Keegan. Launches Saturday at Celtic Con.
The Amazing Spider-man : Renew Your Vows #20 Written by Jody Houser.
Doctor Strange #2 (Shalvey and Farrell variant cover) Written by Mark Waid.
Ice Cream Man Volume 1 Written by W. Maxwell Prince. |
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Letters by Good Old Neon.
Doctor Strange volume 1 : God Of Magic Written by Donny Cates. |
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Letters by VC’s Cory Petit.
Planet of the Apes: Ursus #6 (Becca Carey variant cover) Written by David Walker.
2000AD Prog 2086 Written by Michael Carroll, James Peaty, Gordon Rennie, Emma Beeby, Kek-W and Alec Worley.
Mystik U Written by Alisa Kwitney. |
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Letters by Deron Bennett. |
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The Human Beings issue 6 campaign now live on KickStarter Posted: 25 Jun 2018 05:11 AM PDT
Stuart McCune has launched the KickStarter campaign for issue six of The Human Beings. (Review for issue one here). The campaign has digital and physical tiers, as well as tiers that included the first volume of The Human Beings which contains the previous five issues. It’s unlikely that you’ll easily find (if at all) a comic with such a distinctive look and story. The campaign is almost fully funded so get pledging to get it over the line and maybe get some stretch goals opened up. |
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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Blackwood #2 Written by Evan Dorkin.
The Prisoner #3 |
Written by Peter Milligan. |
Written by Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson. |
Kiss / Army of Darkness #5 |
Written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims.
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X-men Blue #30 Written by Cullen Bunn. |
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Letters by VC’s Joe Caramagna. |
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Posted: 29 Jun 2018 01:59 AM PDT Irish Comic Art Picks. Pages, commissions, doodles, works in progress and everything in between, this feature shows you some of the best work by Irish Comic Artists from around the web every month. Feel free to submit work and links through any ICN links on social media (Facebook or Twitter) or Stephen on Twitter or Instagram. Remember, support artists and follow their links.
Cian Tormey – The Mud King / Seven to Eternity fan art.
John McCrea – Dead Rabbit teaser
John Flynn – The Giants Causeway
Iuli Niculescu – Sailor Mars
Katie Fleming – Spider-man
Olly Cunningham – Skunk Ape teaser
Daniella Bella – ‘Exit Poll’
Matthew Shiell (line art) and Meghan Ryan (colour art) – Lorde’s Will ( read the rest here).
Ashwin Chacko – Hellboy
Cormac Hughes – The Thing
John McFarlane – background art for Olivia Wilde game.
Wayne Talbot – Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV Cowboy Bebop Commission
Eoin Marron – Rocket Racoon and Groot
James Seymour – Dracula fan art
PJ Holden – Judge Dredd WIP
Leonie O’Moore – Ewoks vs Predator
Karl O’Rowe – Deathsworn Chapter 2 teaser
Daniel Mawhinney – Judge Dredd
Moira Dineen – Cro Crú Chronicles: Auberon
Becca Carey – Planet of the Apes : Ursus #6 variant cover
Jack Allen – Baroz the Half Orc
Colm Griffin – Deadpool 2 fan art
Will Sliney – Spider-man and Mary Jane commission
Dee Cunniffe (colour art) – Punks Not Dead #5 teaser (line art by Martin Simmonds)
Chris O’Halloran (colour art) – Exiles #3 (line art by Javier Rodríguez and Álvaro López)
Stephen Mooney (line art) and Triona Farrell (colour art) – cover for Assassins Creed comic series
Nate Stockman (line art) – X-men Blue #29 teaser (colour art by Matt Milla)
John White – Th Unholy Trinity
Ruairí Coleman (line art) and Michael Doig (colour art) – Chun Li
Joseph McCafferty – page inspired by Enniskillen comic fest
Rapha Lobosco – Cable
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Can be found on Twitter @Stephen_C_Ward. |
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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Paradiso #5 Written by Ram V.
Mixtape Written by Gary Moloney. Launches at Small Press Day this Saturday.
Death of the Inhumans #1 Written by Don Cates. |
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Letters by Clayton Cowles.
Life & Death (cover 1) Written by Paul Carroll. Launches at Small Press Day this Saturday.
Life & Death (cover 2) Written by Paul Carroll. Launches at Small Press Day this Saturday.
Submerged #1 Written by Vita Ayala. About contributor. |
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Launch Party – The Webcomics Anthology campaign now live on KickStarter Posted: 06 Jul 2018 05:57 AM PDT  min christensen – illustrator An anthology put together by David Daneman featuring artists that have appeared on his podcast, The PodComics Webcast. Among the contributors is none other than John Cullen. So if you want to get some of his comics (and those of other talented creators) in print format then get over to the KickStarter page and get pledging. The campaign is keeping it simple with the tiers, you can just contribute any amount without a reward or pledge $27 (Canadian dollars, so about €18). About contributor. |
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Can be found on Twitter @Stephen_C_Ward. |
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To the artists featured (or wish to be featured) in Art Picks Posted: 06 Jul 2018 01:03 AM PDT
Greetings! Since it’s about two years since I took over the controls for the Art Picks feature, I figured it might be a good time to chat about the feature. For those checking this post out to see if you want to get your art into the Art Picks, the premise is pretty simple. Over the course of any given month, I go through art that has been shared online by each artist ( the current count of the artist pool currently exceeds 200) and pick a piece for inclusion in the monthly round-up. Up to now, it’s been an entirely curated feature with the occasional image swap requested by an artist. The aforementioned list is maintained by myself, and possibly gave the impression that the route to getting on the list was for me to add you. That isn’t the case, if you’re a line or colour artist then you can be on the list. If you’re not on the list and want to be, just let me know. Simple as. Over the course of the feature, it has been pointed out that no-one is asked about being featured. I.e. would they like to be in the list. I just presumed (possibly wrongly in some cases) that if you’re an artist sharing your art online, then you’d have no problem with the additional signal boost. So, in future any new additions that I’m considering will be asked before they are added to the list. Additionally, if any current artists on the list would like to be taken off the list then just let me know. You don’t have to offer any explanations and there’ll be no hard feelings on this end. I’ll also be trying something new with the Art Picks feature. I’ve set up a Gmail account purely for the Art Picks feature. What this means is that artists now have the option to submit a piece on any given month rather than leave it up to myself to choose. This may be for a reason like you’ve a book coming out that month and want an image used that could promote said book. This can be in the form of a Dropbox link or a link to a website/social media post. It’s an option for each artist to use if they feel the need. If nothing is received from an artist, then the selection reverts to the current system where I choose the piece. The email account also means that artists who don’t do social media can also get their art into the Art Picks feature. The email address is: stephenartpicks[at]gmail[dot]com So that’s where the feature is headed. If there is any other feedback on the feature, you can reach out over social media (either my personal accounts or via the Irish Comic News) accounts or comment on this post below. The feature is there to serve the artists, so I’m always receptive to ways it can be improved. About contributor. |
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Can be found on Twitter @Stephen_C_Ward. |
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Bubbles O’Seven in The Girl In The Golden Cage KickStarter campaign now live Posted: 10 Jul 2018 12:59 AM PDT
From the KickStarter page:
The Kickstarter is the fifth mission for Bubbles O’Seven. The campaign includes digital and printed pledge levels, as well as levels where you can get the previous missions.
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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Kiss / Army of Darkness #5 |
Written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims.
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James Bond: Case Files Vol. 1 HardcoverWritten by Declan Shalvey, Kieron Gillen, Jody Houser and Ibrahim Moustafa.
Black Science #37Written by Rick Rememder.
Nancy Drew #2 |
Written by Kelly Thompson.
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The Dead Hand #4 |
Written by Kyle Higgins. |
Colour art by Jordie Bellaire. |
Written by Simon Spurrier.
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Xena #6 |
Written by Meredith Finch.
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World of Tanks : Citadel #3 |
Written by Garth Ennis.
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Cover art by Gareth Luby (line art) and Paul Carroll (colour art) |
Mixtape is an anthology written and edited by Gary Moloney(who was good enough to shoot me over a review PDF). Mixtape is his debut collection featuring six stories with contributions from Irish and international comics talent. This anthology is also the first output I’ve read from a new small press publisher called Limit Break Comics. Story 1 – Weapons of Mech Destruction Written by Gary Moloney. Line art by Hendry Prasetya. Colour art by Chris O’Halloran. Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhauo. The first strip takes place in what looks to be the near future. The nature of war has changed with Mechs now being used in warfare. A mech pilot is called to action when an unidentified Mech unit enters the Korean neutral zone. It’s a four-pager that is slowly building to the surprise in the final panel. Dialogue gives the reader some hints about the shape of the world. The ending of the strip is such that it could be part of a larger story. The line art has a nice level of detail on the Mech, both internally and externally. Equally the colour art impresses, whether it’s the digital display inside the Mech or a busy battle panel. Dialogue and captions have a ‘brief and to the point’ flow to the team, and why wouldn’t they as it’s a military story after all? Placement of the text throughout the strip leads the readers eye through the pages nicely. First strip of Moloneys first anthology and it makes for a great impression. Story 2 – Lex Inuista Written by Gary Moloney. Line art by Mary Anne Mackey. Colour art by Ellie Wright. Letters by Julie Gravelle. This strip veers into legal-comedy territory with super-villains thrown in to spice things up. The focal character is a lawyer tasked with defending the super-villain who finds himself before the judge. The defence for the accused lay out how Mr McIntyre ended up in the life of super-villainy. The dialogue is fun and stops the proceedings from becoming dry to read. The art is in keeping with the lighter tone of this story. I did enjoy the panel where McIntyre is revealed to the reader. He certainly makes for an intimidating character. A mixture of the courtroom scene and flashbacks also give a bit of variety to proceedings. The art team do a good job on the visuals and lettering is easy to read with good positioning and flow through the pages. An enjoyable change of pace from the first story. And I did chuckle at the business card in the closing page of the strip. Story 3 – The Last Stop Written by Gary Moloney. Art by Clare Foley. Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. A lone soldier travels home by train while musing on the meaning of home. When his mind returns to the train carriage he occupies, things slowly take on a sinister air for the traveling soldier. The artwork, particularly the colours, give the strip the sensation of traveling through a bad dream. And when a new colour is introduced to the strip, you hope for the sake of the soldier that a bad dream is all it is. It’s also a good strip for getting a better understanding of what a good letterer brings to a strip. The style of lettering perfectly suits the art while being quite different to the style used in the previous strip Otsmane-Elhaou lettered. Another solid strip with some wonderfully realised pages that show Moloney can vary the type of stories he writes without dropping the ball. Story 4 – Fist of the Orc Star Written by Gary Moloney. Line art by Katie Fleming. Colour by Ellie Wright. Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Still on the fence about the anthology? How about Fight Club, but with Orcs thrown in for good measure! “Grant” is looking for the next thing in action thrill-seeking. Getting into the ring with an Orc is certainly one way to the adrenaline pumping. This strip is a good example of a story having the right art team involved. Fleming has a fun style that really gets the most out of the story. When the combatants touch gloves, all I could think was “nice knowing ya, “Grant”!”. I also liked that the scene had some good background characters to fill out the scene. Lots of bright colours compliment the line art and make for a fun fight club strip. Story 5 – The Interview Written by Gary Moloney. Pencils by Andrew Taylor. Inks by Lauren Tracey. Colours by Joseph Griffin. Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. This strip is another that feels like it could be part of a larger story. I got to the last panel and I wanted to know where things go from there. The strip sees a report meet a man who is making an unbelievable claim as to his true identity. It definitely falls into a type of story that I generally enjoy so it’s nice to see Moloney take a swing at it. That said, I really wanted this story to have more breathing room. There’s plenty of threads for the reporter to pick at but, to me, it’s over before it really gets going. There’s some really good looking art in the strip, both in terms of the line art and the colour art. Panels have a nice mix of angles to avoid the strip becoming somewhat dull to read. It is two characters chatting across a cafe table so it could happen all to easily. Colours give the scene a relaxed atmosphere which works well for when the interviewee reveals their identity. It gives the reveal a bit more impact. The story and artwork had me wishing for a longer strip, as it just really worked for me. Story 6 – Wishing You Were Here Written by Gary Moloney. Line art by Daniel Romero. Colour art by Joseph Griffin. Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. And we’ve arrived at the outro to the Mixtape. I quite liked how this strip was done. A young woman has moved from a small village to the city. In the strip, a letter to her parents serves as the only text in the strip. The reader is reading the letter while a scene featuring the woman in the city plays out in the panels. The two different threads of the story show how some adult children will sugarcoat their life outside the family home so that their parents won’t worry. The scene in the city is told through images only. I felt that this gave a stronger contrast between the letter and city scene that might have been lost if the city scene featured any dialogue. The art does a great job with the storytelling in the city scene. At no point did I feel lost as to what was happening even though there is no text to explain the scene. I also liked the colour palette that is used for the city at night. There’s a limited range used but nothing is lost at any point, be it props or the cast. It’s a solid closer to the anthology. For a first release from a small press creator, this is an impressive anthology. Moloney can clearly spin a story. When also consider the array of talented comic folk involved in the anthology, it was a surprise when I realised it a debut anthology from Moloney. There’s a variety of stories and art styles featured in the anthology which means that the should be something in there to appeal to most comic readers. You can pick up a copy of Mixtape at Dublin City Comics, Forbidden Planet Dublin or Big Bang Comics, Dundrum (with plans to have the comic also available in Comic Vault, Cork). There’s also the option of sending an email to limitbre...@gmail.com if you can’t make it to one of the comic stores. |
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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Sherlock Holmes : The Vanishing Man #3 |
Written by Leah Moore and John Reppion. |
Colour art by Ellie Wright. |
Deep Roots #3 |
Written by Dan Watters. |
Colour art by Triona Farrell. |
Letters by Aditya Bidikar.
Analog #4 |
Written by Gerry Duggan. |
Colour art by Jordie Bellaire. |
Letters by Joe Sabino. |
Michael Cray volume 1 Written by Bryan Hill.
Days of Hate – Book One |
Written by Ales Kot.
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Ice Cream Man #5 Written by M. Maxwell Prince. |
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Letters by Good Old Neon. |
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Posted: 24 Jul 2018 08:06 AM PDT
Cover by Gareth Luby (line + colour art) and Paul Carroll (Logo/Lettering) Life & Death is published by (and launched simultaneously with Mixtape) by Limit Break comics. It features four strips that all have some connection to the theme of life and death. The anthology also is a flip comic, meaning you have have a cover on each side (both covers by Gareth Luby (line + colour art) and Paul Carroll (Logo/Lettering)) of the comic to enjoy. Carroll writes all four stories with a different artist on each strip. 1. Death and Taxes Art by Katie Fleming. Written, coloured and lettered by Paul Carroll. A day at the office slowly goes from bad to worse for Harvey. It’s just one of those days that would have a person thinking they should have just stayed in bed. As the strip is set in an office, most of the strip features the cast chatting across the office or a table. The art does well in portraying Harvey being slowly worn down by the days events. By the end of the day, his body language just says it all. Colours give the office an air of a place lacking in much energy or excitement. In the closing panels the preceding pages seem to be given a different perspective as to what was actually happened during the day. I really liked the art in the strip and it’s a good start to the comic. 2. Wake The Dead Written, illustrated and lettered by Paul Carroll. The second strip follow Kenneth as he attempts to preform a resurrection spell. The strip builds up well to its horrifying conclusion. The room where the spell is taking place is pretty Spartan but some textures in the colours avoid the scene looking flat. One criticism I would have of the artwork is the use of colour instead of a black line (or darker colour to that used) on some of the art. It unfortunately gives the art a washed-out look. On a characters face for example the nose pretty much vanishes, the same with lines marking out individual fingers on a hand. It was a good horror short and I do enjoy seeing new artists artwork (it’s the first strip I’ve seen Carroll illustrate) which makes it a good addition to the anthology.
And now on to the second side of Life & Death. 3. Mourning Coffee Art by Gareth Luby. Written, coloured and lettered by Paul Carroll. This strip is a fun twist on the idea of not feeling human without having your daily coffee. The concept is something that could work in a longer story. The idea is that all humans are infected with a zombie virus and the only thing that stops the virus from taking hold is a daily dose of coffee infused with anti-toxins. This is another strip set in an office and the art has plenty of props and background details to give the sense of it being a working office. It also shifts gears nicely when the horror part of the story kicks in. It’s another strip where I really liked the combination of line and colour art. The strip is an interesting horror story that has some good moments of tension in it. 4. Blood Bounty Art by Clare Foley. Written and lettered by Paul Carroll. A lone vampire name Lee makes his way through the city streets, surviving on the animal blood he carries with him while attempting to avoid contact with any humans. Any kind of exertion will deplete any energy gained from the animal blood. Unfortunately for Lee, the city cares little for his plans. The artwork uses a limited colour range, which is something that works in its favour since it is a story set in alleyways at night. There’s a great control of colour to stop everything becoming indistinguishable from its component parts. I did enjoy this strip and am curious about the events that created the world that Lee the vampire finds himself trying to survive in. Life & Death is a good addition to the Limit Break catalogue. Four stories, each with their own distinct visuals means there’s plenty to appeal to potential readers. You can pick up a copy of Mixtape at Dublin City Comics, Forbidden Planet Dublin or Big Bang Comics, Dundrum. It will also be available at DCAF and Dublin Comic Con. It’s also available via Gumroad. |
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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Zero Jumper #3 Written, illustrated and lettered by Patrick Mulholland.
Redneck #13 Written by Donny Cates. |
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Letters by VC’s Joe Sabino.
Deep Roots #3(incorrectly included in last weeks NCBD list) |
Written by Dan Watters.
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2000AD Prog 2091 Written by Rory McConville, Kek-W, Laura Bailey and Dan Abnett. |
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Punks not dead #6 Written by David Barnett.
Fruit Ninja HC Written by Nate Cosby. |
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Irish Comic Art Picks. Pages, commissions, doodles, works in progress and everything in between, this feature shows you some of the best work by Irish Comic Artists from around the web every month. Feel free to submit work and links through any ICN links on social media (Facebook or Twitter) or Stephen on Twitter or Instagram. Remember, support artists and follow their links. |
FAO the current pool (and those looking to be included): Artists have the option to submit a piece on any given month rather than leave it up to myself to choose (via social media or email mentioned below). This may be for a reason like you’ve a book coming out that month and want an image used that could promote said book. This can be in the form of a Dropbox link or a link to a website/social media post. It’s an option for each artist to use if they feel the need. If nothing is received from an artist, then the selection reverts to the current system where I choose the piece. The email account also means that artists who don’t do social media can also get their art into the Art Picks feature. |
The email address is: stephenartpicks[at]gmail[dot]com |
Remi Noonan – friends portrait
Ruairi Coleman (line art) and Ellie Wright (colour art) – Daredevil
@Zeptodroll – Sex Swing meets Camp Camp fan comic WIP
Hugh Madden – teaser art for 4-page short
Eoin Coveney – iPad Pro sketch
@Supern0_va – The Story of Adeline teaser
Nathan Stockman (line art) – X-men Blue #30 teaser (colour art by Matt Milla)
John Cullen – 1294: they’re all masterworks, all
@VillainEdward – Noe and Vanitas from ‘the case study of vanitas’
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Mark Reihill – Off Girl #5 teaser |
Matthew Melis – Chocolat Noir WIP
Michael Doig – Hum from Coda comic sketch
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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The Prisoner #4 |
Written by Peter Milligan. |
Cover art by Colin Lorimer (line art) and Joana Lafuente (colour art).
Ben Reilly – The Scarlet Spider #22 Written by Peter David.
Death of the Inhumans #2 Written by Donny Cates. |
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Letters by Clayton Cowles.
The Raid #1 Written by Ollie Masters. |
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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Her Infernal Descent #4 Written by Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson. |
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Letters by Ryan Ferrier.
The Broker (Collector’s Edition) Line art by Ruairi Coleman and Brian Corcoran
Lucky Man #1 Written by Neil Gibson and Michael Gordon. |
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A Clockwork Universe (Rogue Edition) Written By Ciaran Marcantonio
Line art by Cormac Hughes
Colours by Cormac Hughes
Addtional Colours Darren Brown
Letters Miriam Abuin
Published by Rogue Comics
Editor – Gillian Dempsey
Xena #7 Written by Erica Schultz. |
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Cover by Vicente Cefuentes ( line art) and Triona Farrell (colour art).
Support Your Local Zine (launches at Dublin Comic Con) Contributions by Seán O’Reilly, Neev Brennan, Dee McDonnell, Aoife Duffy, Stefanie Reville, Ashwin Chacko, Joe Carroll, Aisling O’Reilly, Sarah Walsh, Katie Lions, Liadh Young and Jessica Patterson. All proceeds donated to Focus Ireland.
The Guards Written – Shane Ormond
The Guards II Written – Shane Ormond
World of Tanks : Citadel #4 |
Written by Garth Ennis. |
Ocean City #2 (launches at Dublin Comic Con) Written by Colm Griffin.
Highlander Commemorative Magazine (only available at Dublin Comic Con) Contributions by Kyle Fraser, Christopher Fagan, Austin McDonald, Niall Farrell, Lorraine Walsh, Robert Carey, Sean Hill, Marc Diamond and David Williams.
Blood Runs Cold (launches at Dublin Comic Con) Written by PJ Holden, JP Jordan, Gary Moloney and Paul Carroll.
The Dead Hand #5 |
Written by Kyle Higgins. |
Colour art by Jordie Bellaire. |
Written by Kelly Thompson. |
Colour art by Triona Farrell. |
Letters by Ariana Maher. |
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Editor-in-chief Ciaran Marcantonio. Dillon King returns in the latest installment of Ocean City. Issue two narrows the focus of the story and follows Dillon himself as he begins to suspect he has superpowers, much like “The Specials” of Mama’s stories. With issue two almost entirely dedicated to Dillon (aside from a brief interlude), this allows the story to flesh out the characters that populate his social circle. The dialogue between Dillon and his friends, Mia and Jeffrey, gave issue two some good character development with a fun back’n’forth in the dialogue that you would expect from a group of friends. Dillon is clearly excited at the prospect of having superpowers but his friends reaction indicate that Dillon may be prone to telling tall tales. The art is well suited to this tale of the beginnings of a young superhero. I did really like the page where Mia and Jeffrey react to Dillon announcing he believes he has superpowers. It’s a simple idea but works really well to convey how strong their reaction is to the announcement. The lettering handles the dialogue and captions well with some nice work done on sound effects, there’s a nice variety to the sound effects. I enjoyed issue one and was looking forward to issue two to see how Dillon’s adventures unfold. With the world-building taken care of in issue one, issue two starts to get into the core of the story as well as fleshing out the characters. It was also a good idea to include the interlude to remind the reader of things that are happening outside of Dillon’s social bubble. No doubt we’ll see the relevance of these events as the series progresses. As someone who is a big fan of the early adventures of young superheroes, issue two of Ocean City has made this a small press series that I’ll be following with interest. Ocean City 2 launches at Dublin Comic Con. |
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Neon Skies KickStarter campaign is now live Posted: 10 Aug 2018 01:01 AM PDT
Rogue Comics have launched their KickStarter campaign (already speeding towards 50% funded in less than 24 hours!) for the Neon Skies graphic novel. Pages have been teased in the run up to the launch of the campaign, and I have to say that they look amazing. For more information on the campaign, and the various pledge tiers, head on over to the campaign page. From the KickStarter page:
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The Complete Monologue KickStarter now live Posted: 14 Aug 2018 12:56 AM PDT
The Complete Monologue is the latest KickStarter from Stuart McCune. And like the most recent campaigns, it’s funded almost as soon as it’s launched. Which means if the campaign continues at the current pace, a free comic will be thrown into any pledges (digital initially but potentially a print copy). There is also the option to get volume one of the MBC Library for those who missed that campaign. You’ll be hard pressed to find anything like what McCune is making, small-press or otherwise, so it’s definitely something I’d be recommending for those who want something different. From the KickStarter page:
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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Coda #4 |
Written by Simon Spurrier.
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Terminator : Sector War #1 Written by Brian Wood. |
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Lost City Explorers #3 Written by Zack Kaplan. |
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Letters by Troy Peteri.
Ice Cream Man #6 |
Written by M. Maxwell Prince. |
Star Wars : Beckett #1 Written by Gerry Duggan.
Crowded #1 Written by Christopher Sebela. |
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Colour art by Triona Farrell. |
Letters by Cardinal Rae.
2000AD Prog 2092 Written by Rory McConville, Kek-W, Dan Abnett, Gordon Rennie and Lawrence Rennie.
Analog #5 |
Written by Gerry Duggan. |
Colour art by Mike Spicer. |
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Batgirl #25 Written by Marguerite Bennett, Mairghread Scott and Paul Dini.
Sherlock Holmes : The Vanishing Man #4 |
Written by Leah Moore and John Reppion. |
Colour art by Ellie Wright. |
Mysticons volume 1 Written by Kate Leth. |
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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Redneck #14 Written by Donny Cates. |
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Letters by VC’s Joe Sabino. |
Lockjaw – Who’s A Good Boy? TP Written by Daniel Kibblesmith. |
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Letters by VC’s Clayton Cowles.
West Coast Avengers #1 Written by Kelly Thompson. |
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Letters by Joe Caramagna.
Avengers : Back to Basics TP Written by Peter David. |
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Written by Ales Kot.
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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Edge of Spider-Geddon #2 Written by Gerard Way, Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson. |
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Letters by VC’s Cory Petit. |
Batgirl #26 Written by Mairghread Scott. |
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Submerged #2 |
Written by Vita Ayala. |
Colour art by Amy Stelladia. |
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Star Wars – Poe Dameron Annual #2 Written by Jody Houser. |
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Posted: 30 Aug 2018 03:15 AM PDT I have returned. Like a comic character who met his demise at the end of some crossover, I return with a shiny new costume, well a ring, after an event that I didn’t have anything to do with… let’s say DCC. Anyway, that’s my way of saying that life and a wedding got in the way so I’m going to come at you with things that have happened or I should have covered while I was away as well as some current stuff that’s in the news. Recent Events
I missed a lot of the more recent events including DCC and Wexworlds which leaves me in the position that I am a bit behind on some comics. Happily, Forbidden Planet is among the shops that is well stocked with Irish stuff so I was able to grab some of the stuff that I missed (living in Dublin again has its perks). Some others are on my list to grab at either Octocon or Comic City Fest (I will note all of this in the usual Now Reading section). I will note that some of the events I did attend including Celtic Con and Small Press Day (both really good shows btw) which did allow me to catch up with a number of folks to see how they are getting on and what is in the pipeline. Nothing that I can really go into here. I am glad that there seems to be an abundance of events countrywide now that are comic centric. ICN won’t be always able to get to all of them but we will be sure to highlight them if you @ us to remind us and we will RT any relevant posts on the Twitter feed. A more recent event saw the launch of the Neon Skies Kickstarter which was funded, reached its hardcover stretch goal and just keeps going. I was happy to see some Irish Comic Shops get in on the retail backer level. Neon Skies being released as a collection as opposed to single issues does highlight a move by many creators towards trades. I have been talking to a few creators that are moving in that direction as it an easier sell at conventions (people are less likely to buy an issue if you have an issue two but no issue one for example). One creator who has already done this is Ollie Cunningham who, instead of releasing the next issue of his story, released Skunk Ape as a collection (also available, signed, at Forbidden Planet). More on that book later. I must also note Nate Donnell’s announcement that he is moving away from comics (for now at least). I have always been a fan of his work and wish him well in his future endeavours. Here are some upcoming events: Omagh Comic Fest (September 8th) I should be doing a couple of comic centric panels at Octocon so that should be scary / fun. I will also be attending Comic City Festival. (@ me on Twitter if I am missing some)
Now Reading Pile
I haven’t really read any new Irish books recently apart from The Dead Hand which has Stephen Mooney on art. It is still wonderful and is on course to be my book of 2018 (although there are some upcoming books that may challenge for that title). Writing this, I am reminded that I did read Maura McHugh’s Judge Anderson story (which was a part of 2000AD’s Summer Special). An interesting idea that was very well executed and a story that shows that Maura really knows the character (some of us only picked up the nods to the character’s history having recently read the Judge Dredd Mega Collection volumes). I hope to see her return to the character in a longer story. As mentioned, I picked some books from Forbidden Planet Dublin so Ocean City issue 2, Blood Runs Cold and both issues of The Guards are on my read pile for this week. I have managed to get through all of those. Stephen Ward has already reviewed Ocean City issue 2 and I think I am going to get to a review of The Guards issue 2 this week. On my radar: Death Sworn issue 2 by Karl Rowe Dark Eyes
One book that I read a good while back but haven’t gotten to review is Skunk Ape by Olly Cunningham. I haven’t reviewed it largely because of being very busy but also because I am unsure what to make of it. It stands out amongst other Irish books as one of the few that delves into the darker side of life and reminds me of some Bob Byrne stuff only more twisted and part of much longer narrative. I had planned an interview with Olly (which got derailed, the fault being on my end) so I think I will go that route. Although difficult to categorise, I have previously compared it to Roddy Doyle for Olly’s use of realistic Dubliners and Irvine Welsh for the tone. Maybe if Roddy and Irvine were characters in a Hunter S Thompson novel. I think that’s it for August. Please @ me if you want me to include anything in particular in future posts or a separate one on the site. I don’t mind being tagged on social media if it is for a valid reason as I may miss some things.  |
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Irish Comic Art Picks. Pages, commissions, doodles, works in progress and everything in between, this feature shows you some of the best work by Irish Comic Artists from around the web every month. Feel free to submit work and links through any ICN links on social media (Facebook or Twitter) or Stephen on Twitter or Instagram. Remember, support artists and follow their links. FAO the current pool (and those looking to be included): |
Artists have the option to submit a piece on any given month rather than leave it up to myself to choose (via social media, or email mentioned below). This may be for a reason like you’ve a book coming out that month and want an image used that could promote said book. This can be in the form of a Dropbox link or a link to a website/social media post. It’s an option for each artist to use if they feel the need. If nothing is received from an artist, then the selection reverts to the current system where I choose the piece. The email account also means that artists who don’t do social media can also get their art into the Art Picks feature. |
The email address is: stephenartpicks[at]gmail[dot]com
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James Seymour – Rogue Trooper
Alan Ryan – sketch of the various characters he has drawn for the Beano
Isabella v.M – Klax princess from Darling in the Franxx
Mackinley Raftery – water-colour piece of @Oscar_N_art OCs Owl and Frog
John McFarlane – ‘Untitled Generic Space Comedy’ WIP
@neevok – Pokemon
Keith Kennedy – One Eyed Liar teaser
Kevin Keane – Avengers print
John McGuinness – Bride of Frankenstein
Fiona Boniwell – Deaths New Lease On Life character sketches
Alan Dunne – Ukulele Hooley poster
Matt Griffin – Laeko (from ‘The Ending’. Patreon to support the project)
Cormac Logan – recent background art
Becca Carey – unused designs for Planet of the Apes: Ursus #5
Rebecca Reynolds – Maharaja Gormoi feat. Miss Isobe (piece for What A Woman Zine)
Liadh Young – BTS fan art
Nathan Stockman – WIP
Sean O’Reilly – Support Your Local Zine cover art
Amanda Spitzner – High Fantasy teaser
Jason Browne – Dunnock
Naomi Bolger – Roomies teaser (launches at MCM Scotland )
Katie Fleming – Jak
Stephen Mooney (line art) and Jordie Bellaire (colour art) – Dead Hand #5 teaser
Conor Carroll – Up
Paul Carroll – Cosmic Ghost Rider fan art
John Cullen – 1310: mood
Leonie O’Moore – Medusa
Mark Reihill – teaser of Deaf Havanas Ritual album companion graphic novel
Luca Pizzari – Weapon X #24 promo (first issue of Weapon X that Pizzari provides art for)
Ellie Wright (colour art) – Bettie Page #1 cover art (line art by Julius Ohta)
Phil Dunne – ‘Big M’
Patrick Mulholland – Batman
Brian Burke – The Will and Lying Cat (Saga fan art)
Charlie Aabo – WIP
Dearbhla Kelly – print done for Untethered #2 Kickstarter campaign
@Thomothomthom (both pages of comic here)
Phil Murphy – Star Trek vs Transformers WIP
Eoin Marron ( line art) and Dee Cunniffe (colour art) – Mars Attacks #2 cover art |
Iuli Niculescu – BTS fan art |
Cian Tormey – Doctor Doom
Ben Hennessy – Rocket Raccoon and Groot commission
Rapha Lobosco – John Wick
Anthony O’Neill – Castle Grayskull WIP
Matthew Melis – rough pages of Chocolat Noir
Cat Byrne – Kelp, Moulfrit and Gravlax, aliens from planet Zquid
Dee McDonnell – piece for Support Your Local Zine
Sean Northridge – A Slave of the Lamp
Triona Farrell (colour art) – Terminator Sector Wars teaser (line art by Jeff Stokely)
John Flynn – Thin Lizzy
Barry O’Sullivan – Keeper of the Tower
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Alé Mercado – Aretha Franklin
Nick Roche (line art) – Transformers / Spider-man : Renew Your Vows mash-up (colour art by @dyemooch)
Jack Allen – Whitney Houston
Kimi Kurbanova – commission
@LugoMaster – FunHaus print
Ashwin Chacko – Deadpool
Danny Earls – Venom
Remi Noonan – Harley
Kasia Brzezinska – Bigby (Fables fan art)
Karl O’Rowe – Kali
Leann Hamilton – Countess Constance Markievicz booklet art (read online here)
Fiachra Hackett – The Teeth Cutters
Stefanie Reville – piece for Support Your Local Zine
Aoife Duffy – BTS fan art
Evan Clarke – warm up sketch
Stephen Byrne – Mulan, Wasp and She-Ra
Will Sliney (line art) – Star Wars: Beckett #1 teaser (colour art by Jordan Boyd)
Chris O’Halloran (colour art) – Friendo #1 variant cover (line art by André Lima Araújo)
Declan Shalvey (line art) and Triona Farrell (colour art) – Cosmic Ghost Rider #3 variant cover
Fran Johnston – Blizzard
Michael Doig – Spider-Gwen
Matthew Shiell – WIP
TwistedDoodles – Tormund from Game of Thrones as a barista
Ian Fay – DnD commission
Eoin Barclay – Spider-man
Colm Griffin – Captain Marvel
@blargberriess – Jiro
Gareth Luby – Daredevil
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Comics out this week (5/Sept/18) Posted: 05 Sep 2018 01:05 AM PDT |
Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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The Dead Hand #6 |
Written by Kyle Higgins. |
Colour art by Jordie Bellaire. |
Letters by Clayton Cowles. |
Paper Girls #24 Written by Brian K Vaughan. |
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Colour art by Matt Wilson.
Death of the Inhumans #3 Written by Donny Cates. |
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Letters by Clayton Cowles.
Silver Surfer Annual #1 Written by Ethan Sacks. |
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Letters by Travis Lanham. And if any of you are in the Dublin area, do try and make it to Big Bang Comics as they have a signing today featuring Dee Cunniffe!
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Posted: 07 Sep 2018 02:57 AM PDT
Art by Kevin Keane There is something to be said for consistency. That was my first thought on reading this issue (after having re-read issue one shortly before). Kevin Keane had a bit of a break between issues, having worked on a number of things including Neon Skies, but you wouldn’t notice it from the art. The characters have a consistent look and there is still the lovely balance between creating the realism of the everyday and the strangeness of the supernatural. Of course, Kevin Keane’s skills have improved but it is great that he was able to recapture the feel of the first issue. Shane Ormond is holding up his end of the deal as the story throws up some more interesting twist and turns with plenty of human drama mixed in with the supernatural. One of story points I enjoyed is the fact that only damaged people can see the supernatural, playing on the fact that people with mental health issues see the world a different way. Kate O’Sullivan continues her work in the PRU battling monsters but she can’t fully escape her old world as her partner, Matt, as seen at the conclusion of issue one, has fallen in with her old enemy, crime lord Vincent O’Doherty. If issue one was about Kate’s fall from grace, issue two sees her partner falling in his own way. Matt’s story is told in a compelling and believable way and is, as I said before, an interesting contrast to Kate’s. What I am intrigued to see, after reading this issue, is how these worlds may collide in future issues. I really enjoyed issue one and this is an excellent follow up. If you missed issue one, it has been rereleased with a cool softcover just like the one for this issue. I think I mentioned it in the review of the first issue but I’ll say it again: I love the design of this issue and the new cover treatment really shows this so kudos to Alice Coleman for her design contributions. It adds to the overall quality of the book and this is a quality book.  |
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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Iceman #1 Written by Sina Grace. |
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Colour art by Federico Blee. |
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Nancy Drew #4 Written by Kelly Thompson. |
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Letters by Ariana Maher.
World of Tanks : Citadel #5 |
Written by Garth Ennis.
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The Wicked & The Divine #39 (cover A) Written by Kieron Gillen. |
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Letters by Clayton Cowles.
The Wicked & The Divine #39 (cover B) Written by Kieron Gillen. |
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Letters by Clayton Cowles.
Crowded #2 Written by Christopher Sebela. |
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Letters by Cardinal Rae. |
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- Webcomic Wednesday: Ship Wrecked, Volume 3
- Premier Comic Con (Mini-Con)
- Comics out this week (19/Sept/18)
- Review: Roomies #1
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Webcomic Wednesday: Ship Wrecked, Volume 3 Posted: 19 Sep 2018 05:46 AM PDT
Art by Iuli Niculescu and Hayley Mulcahy It’s been quite a while since we looked at Shipwrecked, the sci-fi comedy detailing the exploits of the venerable Intergalactic Spaceship Bowie…’s Accounting Department. It’s business as usual on the ISB. Well, almost: in addition to a new hairdo the character Aloe has been transferred to the security department where she tries to earn the affections of fellow security officer Sunayana. Meanwhile the accounting department casts around for a new member to fill the void. As noted in the author’s comments below the page, these developments are biographical; between volumes two and three artist Katie Fleming departed for pastures new. Iuli Niculescu and Hayley Mulcahy have stepped up to the plate as artist and colourist respectively, and they acquaint themselves admirably. Niculescu’s linework is deft and lends the characters a sense of solidity, whether it be flesh, steel or a green liquid; the characters are all recognisable in silhouette, adding to this sense of grounded identity. Mulcahy’s use of colour meanwhile really makes panels “pop” from wide shots to smaller, more intimate scenes that employ savvy use of lighting and shading. Backgrounds will distort or shift colour to reflect the mood of a scene, as exhibited in the last two panels of this issue. Artistic decisions such as these elevate the comic to one worth keeping on top of every week. Shipwrecked’s quality is not only consistent with its past issues but also persists in finding new ways to excite, charm and make you laugh through the day-to-day life of its crew, who not only drive the ship but the webcomic as a whole.  |
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Posted: 19 Sep 2018 03:00 AM PDT
It looks like Tipp is being added to the list of counties have a comic convention as Premier Comic Con hits Clonmel Park Hotel on Sunday October 21st.
You can check out the Facebook Event Page here.  |
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Comics out this week (19/Sept/18) Posted: 19 Sep 2018 01:42 AM PDT |
Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook.
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Xena: Warrior Princess #3 Written by Erica Schultz. |
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PanelxPanel Volume 2 #15 Features Weapons of Mech Destruction (from Mixtape Anthology) Written by Gary Moloney. Line art by Hendry Prasetya. Colour art by Chris O’Halloran. Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhauo.
Ice Cream Man #7 |
Written by M. Maxwell Prince. |
Colour art by Chris O’Halloran. |
Letters by Good Old Neon.
Roomies #1 (launches at MCM Scotland) Story by Ryan O’Connor and Naomi Noodle.
Lost City Explorers #4 |
Written by Zack Kaplan. |
Colour art by Dee Cunniffe. |
Letters by Troy Peteri.
Terminator : Sector War #2 |
Written by Brian Wood. |
Colour art by Triona Farrell. |
Coda Volume One |
Written by Simon Spurrier. |
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Posted: 19 Sep 2018 01:00 AM PDT
Story: Ryan O’Connor and Naomi Noodle. Roomies is a new comic from O’Connor and Noodle which is launching at MCM Scotland. Sam likes to party. One night at a party, Sam takes part in a game with a Ouija board. Unbeknownst to her, the game successfully summons a demon. Before you can say “All Hail the Dark Lord”, Sam finds herself with a new roomie in the demonic form of Gazadriel (aka Gaz). Naturally as this is issue one, the comic introduces us to the main players of this piece as well as explaining how Sam and Gaz came to be roomies. The comic is described as ‘Remember “Friends”? Imagine it also dealt with demonic entities and other planes.’, which after a couple of readings is pretty accurate. In terms of moving the story along, the comic has a heavy focus on the characters and the (often bad) decisions they make. Dialogue is entertaining and the reader quickly has a feel for the characters. I did laugh at how it seems that Sam is going to be the loose cannon of the case rather than the demon Gaz. The art is bright and fun, just what the tone of the story of calls for. The flow through the pages is easy to follow, characters and props are clear to the reader even at a glance. I did appreciate the work on the backgrounds in the scene in the mall. It would have been easy to drop the backgrounds after a few panels but they are kept throughout the scene. It reminds the reader that the scene is playing out under the watchful eyes of other shoppers. The only thing I would pick at regarding the art is the first page in the bathroom. Left panel sees a rear view of Sam brushing her teeth. In the next panel Gaz is in the doorway behind Sam. Because Gaz is in the left of the panel and looking to the left, it initially didn’t read that clearly where one panel ended and the other began. It only took a few seconds to clarify it but it did mean momentarily taking me out of the story. But it’s a small thing that other readers probably won’t have the same issue with. It’s an enjoyable first issue that has a cast and sense of humour that really appeals to me. And the prospect of where the story can go for the Roomies is something that has me looking forward to the next installment.
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Posted: 20 Sep 2018 06:18 AM PDT
So I’m thinking of making a list of counties that haven’t had a comic convention as Waterford now gets one of its own. Coming to you from Tower Hotel & Leisure Centre Waterford on Sunday 25th November, you can check out its Facebook event page here.  |
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Posted: 20 Sep 2018 05:43 AM PDT
Written by Grainne McEntee. One of the things I really like about KickStarter is that when a comic series is a few issues in, they tend to have a tier for those that want catch up on the series so far. Which is great for when you missed the early issues of a series. Dr O is the first issue of the Bubbles O Seven series, a series that gives a simian twist to 007. Dr O introduces us to Bubbles O’ Seven and quickly dives into the world of espionage. Much like 007, every spy needs an enemy, in this case the villain is the titular Dr O. And because Bubbles and Dr. O have history, Bubbles is the obvious operative to investigate. Having grown up with Bond movies, this was a comic that was very easy to get into. A lot of groundwork has been done but it also allows the creative team to play with assumptions the reader may have made. The comic features a variety of locations and action that you would expect from the comic. The dialogue enjoyable with some good comedy moments. The art handles the variety of cast well, be they human or animal. The same can be said for the various locations that feature in the comic. The sequence of panels on any given page are easy to follow. The colour choices immediately inform the reader to time of day, or a change in location. There was one small issue with the comic at the halfway mark. There’s a scene playing out in a cave on the left page, and a new scene begins on the next page. The switch between scenes seemed a bit abrupt to me. The transition left events of the cave scene hanging in the air somewhat as well as requiring me to pause a moment to understand the change of time and location. Overall, as someone who has watched many hours of 007 movies, this was a comic that was pretty much guaranteed comic reading enjoyment for me. I’m happy to say it disappoint. So if you enjoy your Bond, then this may be a comic series to add to your reading list. Buy Dr.O via Bounce Comics online store
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Posted: 24 Sep 2018 01:00 AM PDT
River Lee Stories #2 Written by Keith Kennedy (‘Lost On The Water’ and ‘Cork 2072’) and Liam Hughes (‘One Eyed Liar’). Keith Kennedy has returned with the second installment of his ‘River Lee Stories’ series (review for issue one here). The comic features three stories, ‘Lost On The Water’, ‘One Eyed Liar’ (written by Liam Hughes) and ‘Cork 2072’. A quick note about the cover (which would also apply to issue one) before we get to the stories themselves. The series is titled ‘River Lee Stories’, yet on both issues the cover gives prominence to the interior story titles rather than the series title. Personally, I’d like to see the series title to be first text that grabs the reader. That way the audience that enjoyed issue one know at a glance this is the second issue in the series.  Page from ‘Lost On The Water’. First story is ‘Lost On The Water’ which is the focal story of issue two. A lone explorer travels down the Lee river searching for the secrets of the waters of the Gearagh. Locals fail to deter the explorer from traveling into the Gearagh when he stops for a brief respite in the last trading post before entering the Gearagh. The story follows the explorer as he attempts to make his way through the Gearagh. He doesn’t meet many people on his journey aside from another boat crewed by a group tracking outlaws hidden in the Gearagh. As part of the journey, some of the tales relating to the outlaw ‘Sean Rua na Gaoithe’ are shared with the reader through both memory and interaction with the crew of the other boat. At times it seems that the Gearagh is actively trying prevent the explorer from exiting its waters. It is only through luck that he manages to find a route out of the Gearagh. I enjoyed the story as at times it seemed to take on a magical air over the course of the explorers travels. The art is black and white (as are the other two stories) which does raise some problems for a story set in a forest with the lead traveling by boat. In some of the panels it’s initially difficult to quickly grasp the lay of the land (or river) that greets the explorer. In panel in particular, it’s unclear if the river arrives at a shore or that the forest has extended over the river thus blocking further travel along the river. In contrast on the fourth page, the forest in the second panel is much easier to read. There’s also some confusion at due to a variety of styles used to indicate both forest and river, there are times where the same effect is used for both at different points in the story. It means there are occasions where it’s not clear if it’s water, trees (or both) in a panel. Visually there’s nothing wrong with the inking, it’s the number of style changes that was the problem for me. It would have made for a better experience if the style was consistent for the duration of the story. One last note on the art is to watch for distance between actors in a series of panels. There’s one sequence where the explorer is talking to a woman on a bridge. The initial panel establishes the distance between the woman and the explorer on the river below. Four panels later and it looks like the river has lifted the boat 2-3 feet closer to the woman. Before we wrap up on opening story, I would like to take a moment to address the lettering. There are some instances of capitals being applied to the first letter of a word unnecessarily, as well as some punctuation errors. One page the patrons of the trading post are reciting some verses to the explorer. The in the last two panels, the explorer speaks what should be footnotes to the page. There’s also the issue of consistency with the speech balloons as with the inking. The change from standard balloons to something closer to rectangles and back again. There are some speech balloons that would be better on the page (based on the contained text) if split into multiple speech balloons. ‘Lost On The Water’ had some good moments in terms of both story and art but was let down a little by inconsistencies. Nothing that would ultimately ruin the reading experience but there is room for improvement. But I would say I really liked the closing page of the story.
Next story we have is ‘One Eyed Liar’, with the story by Liam Hughes and artwork by Keith Kennedy. This one concerns a young fella who is cursed by an angry wizard after vandalizing the wizards clock. The story is told via three dogs who are watching the liar carry out the work required by the curse. The curse itself is creatively cruel as only an angry wizard could be. It’s a good short story with some entertaining dialogue from the dogs watching from the street below the clock. The story is only four pages long but it makes the most of every panel and piece of dialogue. The art in this has no issues with consistency or figuring out what is happening in a panel. The liar in particular is well drawn in this story with some great expressions applied to onlooking dogs. The only issue I could pick at in this story is the lettering. The problem of the speech balloons is also present in this story. In addition, I’m not wild about the font used as it contains a mix of upper and lower case letters. Even in the same word at times. The problem also occurs at the start of sentences. Maybe it’s a feature of the font, but personally, mix of upper and lower case letters bugged me (but it may not be an issue for other readers). Overall, I was impressed with the story and art in ‘One Eyed Liar’.
 Rear cover for River Lee Stories #2 The final story is ‘Cork 2072’. This story sees a diver exploring a now submerged Cork city in the not too distant future. The four pages are an opening to a story that is to be continued in a later issue. As such the story is introducing the reader to the characters and the world they find themselves in. This is another well-drawn story that has no problem with readability or the art style chopping-and-changing. And with the exception of one speech balloon, the lettering has no consistency issues. In terms of the story, the concept is interesting and it’ll be down to how the story develops in future issues that’ll make or break this story for me. Issue two is a good addition to the ‘River Lee Stories’ series in terms of the stories and art. It’s my hope that future issues will iron out the problems with consistency in some of the art and lettering to deliver what could be an interesting series of stories tied to the river Lee. River Lee Stories #2 is available at: Comic Vault, Cork city. Gadai Dubh, Ballvourney. Waterstones, Cork city. Quinlans, Macroom. The farmers market, Skibbereen each Saturday (if the weather is good!). If you can’t make it to any of those, then you could try making contact via Facebook: |
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Here’s this weeks round-up of comics released featuring Irish comic people as part of the creative team. So check them out when you’re picking up comics this week. Also, if any creators have a comic released on any week, feel free to let us know so we can include it in that weeks round-up. You can contact us via Twitter or Facebook. |
Written by Mairghread Scott. |
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Letters by Deron Bennett.
Goosebumps: Download or Die hardcover Written by Jen Vaughan.
Friendo #1 Written by Alex Paknadel. |
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Letters by Taylor Esposito.
Friendo #1 (Big Bang Comics variant cover) Written by Alex Paknadel. |
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Letters by Taylor Esposito.
The Agony House (illustrated novel) Written by Cherie Priest.
Faith: Dreamside #1 Written by Jody Houser. |
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Letters by Dave Sharpe.
Exiles volume 1 : Test of Time Written by Saladin Admed. |
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Letters by Joe Caramagna.
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Star Trek vs Transformers #1 |
Written by John Barber and Mike Johnson.
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Star Trek vs Transformers #1 |
Written by John Barber and Mike Johnson.
Fearscape #1 (Big Bang Comics variant cover) Written by Ryan O’Sullivan. |
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Irish Comic News |
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Frankie’s Wild Years: An Interview With Gareth Luby and Paul Carroll Posted: 28 Sep 2018 02:56 AM PDT
Writer Paul Carroll and artist Gareth Luby has teamed together to bring Frankie the feline assassin to Irish comics. I ask them about working together and some of the other projects that they have going on. How did you come to start working together? Gareth: I concur, Paul and I got chatting at one of the first shows I did. He got a Flash commission off me and like he said we started organising the Geek Mart together. I needed a writer to help me with an idea that was knocking around my head, so I pitched the idea of Frankie the Assassin Cat to him, focusing on how nuts, violent and fun I envisioned it. I think it was right up his alley and after those and more subsequent brainstorming chats, Frankie was born in comic form. What was the inspiration behind Meouch? G: Frankie, as a kitten (in real life) was off the wall nuts. He was constantly up to all kinds of mischief, and he was vicious when playing around. He was a character from day one! I wanted to make a comic that was crazy, fun and violent! And as Frankie was yet again ripping his pound of flesh off my arm while playing, I had the idea, ‘What If you crossed Rocket Racoon and Deadpool and stuck them into this little guy’… Boom! Meouch! P: To me, the cover a good indication of the variety of story we can tell with the character, before we’d really considered his limits. The Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII is the first real indication that we could throw Frankie into the fantasy genre – which we then followed through on with A Knight’s Tail in One Comic to Rule Them All. The latest book is Frankie’s Big Book of Assassination. Any hints on what readers should expect? G: Any budding assassins can learn a thing or two from a master of the art. Everything from picking your vantage point to body disposal. It could soon be required reading at the Worldwide International Serial Killers Educational Reform School (W.I.S.K.E.R.S) Paul, you met the real Frankie recently. Is he anything like the comic character? G: He was just luring you into a false sense of security. Paul, you’re writing The Wren for Buttonpress. How did that come about and what is it like jumping into such a long running series? P: I think it started with Tomte the Warrior Elf, a short comic Jason Browne and I worked on for Christmas 2016. He needed someone to write a poem for the comic, and he knew I knew his style. I’d been collecting Buttonpress books for a few years before that. Jason wanted to take a small step back from the writing after that, to focus more on the art of the comics, and on other projects, so he asked me one day while I was talking to him at work. It was equal parts exciting and terrifying to jump into issue 13, but I was made to feel like part of the team at Dublin Comic Con when Jason greeted me with my own Wren t-shirt! Gareth, you’ve done some sketch card work for Marvel. How did that come about? One day out of the blue, I received an email asking if I would be interested in working on artist sketch cards for a Marvel run of trading cards, as my work suited the style of art they needed i.e. a lot of detail and colour on a small canvas. I didn’t know what to think; I instantly thought It was a joke, but a couple of more emails back and forth, it turned out to be a genuine offer and I accepted. I got the first batch done and they were well received. I have just completed a run for an X-Men line. That was awesome and a lot of fun. You’re both involved in the Geek Mart. Can you tell me about that? G: Like Paul said, the Geek Mart is all about Community. We started out not knowing what to expect, but we have been blown away over the last few years by the response and positive feedback the Mart gets. We pride ourselves in giving our Attendees and our vendors a great day out. There seems to be an increased in comic events around the country. What do you think about these events? You’ve attended a number of them. The Dublin events will always be easier for us to get to, but there’s a lot to be said for putting yourself out there and getting to at least a few shows around the country during the year.
You recently formed Limit Break Comics. Can you tell us a little about that? P: Limit Break Comics started when myself and Gary were looking to get started with publishing our own books. We’d already stumbled upon the name, and went with that and the idea to Gareth. It was a totally casual arrangement, to help us keep motivated and working. As we’re each developing styles and voices, it made sense to combine our efforts into one brand, which has generally been well received since the launch of the first books at Small Press Day – Life & Death, which I wrote, and Mixtape, which Gary wrote, both of which are short story anthologies. We have ideas for future books, both collaborative projects and other solo books, and we’ll be launching Meouch #1 under the label, too, which will be exciting.
At the end of the day, forming Limit Break was a way for us to turn one part of our friendship into something we can work together on. It’s an identity that travels with us, so when we attend events – either tabling, panelling or just as customers – we have a name to operate under. We’re still at the early stages of our overall plans, but it’s going to be a fun journey in making comics together – which should, at the point we’re at in our comic careers – be the point.
Paul Carroll on Twitter: https://twitter.com/writeranonymous
Gareth Luby on Twitter: https://twitter.com/garethluby The Geek Mart on Twitter: https://twitter.com/geekmartireland Limit Break Comics on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lb_comic
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