MCM Ireland

I was back on the RTÉ Radio 1 art’s show Arena last night, this time talking about the forthcoming MCM Ireland Comic Con, which is happening in Dublin this weekend for the first time.

You can listen to my contribution online now: I come in around the 30 minute mark.

I suspect MCM is going to be a popular event, especially as they have carpeted Dublin with posters, so everyone in the capital knows it’s going on. I’ll be there meeting friends and colleagues at the Comics Village, and generally checking out the event.

The arrival of the MCM ‘brand’ into Ireland heralds that traditionally geeky interests are now mainstream. The days of kids being bullied because they like anime or comic books are on the decline – although adults might still get a hard time if they admit to such prurient hobbies.

It’ll all pass. One day people won’t think it’s weird if you’re playing video games in your 60s or enjoying horror films in your 70s.

Our lives are becoming so science fictional that these pastimes now seem like a natural focus for entertainment. All acts of imagination are breaches of reality after all. Spaceships, zombies, and giant robots aren’t that big of a fantastic leap nowadays.

Perhaps the harder creative act in the future will be to imagine a smaller, quieter world…