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laydeez first
Laydeez do Comics – Dublin had its first meeting last night, and it was a blast. Our guests – Sarah McIntyre, Maeve Clancy, and Alan Nolan – were fun, witty, and full of smart insights and tips about the business of comic books. We had an attentive audience, and a good question and answer session afterwards. Dublin writer Catie Murphy brought along ginger snap cookies (recipe here), which were a big hit will all the attendees. Lynda and I were touched by Catie’s generosity and thoughtfulness. Galwegian artist RóisÃn Curé travelled a long distance for the meeting, and also did the honours of documenting the event through a cartoon. She laboured away for…
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laydeez in Dublin tonight
This evening, from 7pm – 9.30pm, in the Odessa Club in Dublin, will see the first meeting of Laydeez do Comics – Dublin. Our guests speakers will be the multi-talented writers/artists Sarah McIntyre, Alan Nolan, and Maeve Clancy. It’s the perfect event for anyone who loves comics or enjoys hearing creative professionals discuss their craft. All welcome! Laydeez do Comics is an international network of meetings celebrating the diverse expressions of the comic book medium. Started in 2009 in London, it now has groups across the UK, America, and now Ireland. It should be a fun and informative meeting tonight, so I hope many of you can make it along.
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the world will open if you wait
There are times when I go into the woods and it seems to open up and show me vistas of ethereal beauty. Those heart-stopping moments don’t always translate well to photographs. Photographing inside of woods is difficult. It tends to come out as one undifferentiated blob. Plus, there is the constant problem of the shade from the canopy (as a rule I never use a flash). Every now and again the mystery combines with good light and gives me a decent image. Of course, like all images this is just an approximate, but it is close enough to make me smile. Today I found entire sections of Coole Park carpeted in bluebells.…
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great and small
I recently had a few encounters with creatures, both in my house and about. I try to get to a camera to capture these instances if I can. For instance there was the spider in my sink. It spent a lot of time trying to escape, and I checked on its progress on a couple of occasions. Clearly it was not going to make the vertical climb. It stopped, probably exhausted by its failures. Eventually I encouraged it onto the silicon spoon holder that I keep beside my cooking hob – hence the science fiction landscape. That’s a scary looking creature up close. Yet, I appreciate the fact that spiders…
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2D 2013
I’m delighted to announce I’ve been asked to be a guest at 2D, the Northern Ireland Comics Festival, which is happening from 30 May – 2 June in Derry. It will be my third year attending and my second year as a guest. There is a fantastic list of talented artists and writers attending (including Rob Curley – so Atomic Diner will be well represented). Since this year Derry is Europe’s City of Culture the festival has been extended, and Saturday and Sunday the comic book fair will be in the Millennium Forum (free entry!), along with the Heroes & Legends show. As usual on Friday and Saturday evening there…
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at home
I visited my parents for a couple of days recently. They have a lovely home and a beautiful garden, thanks to the hard work of both my parents. My mother had a small arrangement in a little vase by the kitchen window, which looked amazing in the sunlight. The weather is completely bipolar at the moment – one minute happy, glorious sunshine, and the next moment despairing grey skies and hailstones! All aided by gusting wind. But, whenever we had sun I tired to take advantage and snap some images. The close up of that flower display was magical when the light hit it right. When I had a small…
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brewing
The other morning I was brewing my first herbal tea of the day. I was using a small steel infuser ball, and it was sitting in a glass cup. Just at that moment the sun streamed through a temporary gap in the clouds, and bathed everything in warm light. I picked the cup up ready to leave for my computer, and about a second later my brain issued a stop notice. I had seen a particularly lovely reflection from the light going through the cup and onto the counter. I was going to ignore it, and get on with work, but instead, I quickly found my camera, replaced the cup…
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Minnie photobomb
My dog Minnie doesn’t like being photographed. Mainly I take to take images of her when she’s not looking – when she’s occupied sniffing at something in the woods she doesn’t care if I snap some images of her. Otherwise I have to pester her to get a good shot. Yesterday I was delighted to see bluebells in a spot in my local woods where I’ve never seen them grow before. I stopped to take some photos and Minnie sat further up the hill and got into the shot. Minnie gets very impatient when I pause to take photos on our walks together. After all, in her opinion it’s a…
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Jennifer Wilde issue 3
It’s another entry about comics today, with the newly-released cover of Jennifer Wilde, issue 3, which was drawn by the wonderfully-talented Stephen Downey. This concludes the three-issue arc I’ve written, which is called ‘Unlikely Revolutionaries’. I’ve had a blast writing the fabulous pairing of Jennifer Chevalier – artist, ghost speaker, and amateur detective – and Oscar Wilde – poet, playwright, and fashionista. This issue sees them finish their three-nation tour and land in Ireland in 1921. All going well the comic should be published by Atomic Diner Comics in the coming weeks. The art and lettering is by Stephen Downey, the script is by me, and it was created by…
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RóisÃn Dubh issue 3
Here’s something to cheer my heart, the cover of RóisÃn Dubh, issue 3, drawn by Stephen Byrne. This issue should be released by Atomic Diner in the next month or so. It will be great to have all three issues out.
