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persistence and endurance
It’s the summer solstice, and the weather has proved diffident. But where is it written that on the longest day in Ireland we shall be gifted with sunshine? An island buffering the Atlantic’s whims is never granted predictability. Yet, towards the evening the continuous clouds thinned in places so I ventured into the woods, in search of beauty. I was not rewarded with a triumphant, sunny breakthrough, but there were dramatic skyscapes. Conventionally pretty? Perhaps not, but arresting nonetheless. The woods were dotted with one of my favourite summer flowers, which returns each year to a glad welcome by me: dactylorhiza fuchsii, the common spotted orchid. We tend to associate…
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Showcasing Shakespeare
On Wednesday evening I attended the Druid Theatre Company’s DruidShakespeare, directed by Garry Hynes, which was a wild tour-de-force experience. I’m still processing it a couple of days later. It consisted of the entire Henriad (Richard II, Henry IV Parts I & II, and Henry V), edited by Irish playwright Mark O’Rowe down to 6 1/2 hours or so. The atmosphere was set prior to our procession into the theatre, with a small burst of period-appropriate choral music. We filed in along a path that was bordered on either side by plots of fresh earth, with a gravedigger about his business. Death is coming, we were being warned. The Druid…
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non-spoiled day
Yesterday the last episode of Game of Thrones aired on this side of the Atlantic. When I woke up I remembered to be careful before I started my daily scan of my various feeds. The previous Monday I’d forgotten this precaution and had stumbled into a spoiler quite quickly. I noted on Twitter: Ah yes, Monday morning… i.e. I have to avoid reading anything on the Internet about Game of Thrones before tonight… — Maura McHugh (@splinister) June 15, 2015 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Within two minutes someone tweeted a spoiler directly to me. For a couple of moments a red mist descended… and then, I shook it off. I closed my social…
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ComicCity Festival in Derry/Londonderry
Irish Comic News has passed along the news that ComicCity, Derry/Londonderry’s new festival of comics, illustration, and storytelling will be taking place from 12 – 13 September, 2015 in the Millennium Forum. The event is being organised in partnership with CultureTech, The Millennium Forum, and The Nerve Centre. There will be a packed programme celebrating Comics and the Creative Arts, as well as showcasing some of the top UK and Irish talent working in the creative industries today, including: Declan Shalvey (Deadpool, Venom, Moon Knight, Injection) Jordie Bellaire (Eisner award-winning colourist with Marvel, Image, Valiant Comics, etc.) Stephen Mooney (Grayson, Half Past Danger, CSI, Teenwolf). Maura Mc Hugh (Witchfinder, Jennifer…
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Witchfinder trade out
Another lovely day in Ireland, and gosh don’t my contributor copies of the Witchfinder trade paperback collection glow in the sunlight. This is the collection of the five-issue Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder story, which I co-wrote with Kim, with art by Tyler Crook, coloured by Dave Stewart, with a cover by Mike Mignola, lettered by Clem Robins, and edited by Scott Allie, published by Dark Horse Comics. All set in the Hellboy universe created by Mike Mignola. As well as the five issues, the trade paperback also includes a Sketchbook section, and a small comic book short story, ‘Beware the Ape’, by Mike Mignola, Ben Stenbeck, Dave Stewart, and Clem Robins, which originally appeared in Dark…
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Reviewing Cell
Writer Mark West began a intriguing project in 2015, a blog called King For A Year, in which a reviewer discusses one of Stephen King‘s works each week. 52 Reviewers, 52 novels, 12 months. Mark asked me to participate, and today you can read my exploration of King’s 2006 novel Cell. There are extensive spoilers in the piece, just so you know…
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discussing Trigger Warning
I’ll be discussing Neil Gaiman‘s latest short story collection, Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances, on RTÉ Radio 1’s culture show, Arena, this Monday, 9 March, at some point between 7pm – 8pm.
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Signing in London for Witchfinder
I’m delighted to say that I’ll be signing copies of the trade paperback edition of Witchfinder: The Mysteries of Unland with Kim Newman at the Forbidden Planet in London on 15 April. This is the collection of the five-issue Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder story, which I co-wrote with Kim, with art by Tyler Crook, coloured by Dave Stewart, with a cover by Mike Mignola, lettered by Clem Robins, and edited by Scott Allie, published by Dark Horse Comics. All set in the Hellboy universe created by Mike Mignola. There will be some extras in the trade paperback, including early concept sketches by Tyler, and replicas of all the original covers by Julian Totino Tedesco.…
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a new road to an old house
The modern curve of asphalt brings new traffic to the castle – but will it be thankful for the company, or ponder methods to return to its solitary ways?
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keep flying
I took this picture in Galway city, down by the Spanish Arch and looking across the River Corrib, at the weekend. We’d been experiencing bouts of sleety downpours, but in between there were blasts of sunshine. I lucked out with this shot of a seagull frozen as it passes across my view of the sun. A moment of freedom, in between wintry squalls.
