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women in comics at Thought Bubble
At Thought Bubble in Leeds last weekend there was a Women in Comics panel, which has been a regular feature of the event since the festival started five years ago. It was one of the panels I was very much looking forward to seeing, and guessing it would be a popular event I decided to get on line early. By the time the doors opened there was a huge queue making its way back almost to the door of the hall itself. While I didn’t attend every panel at Thought Bubble it was the longest line for a panel I saw that weekend. The line-up, from left to right is,…
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Nelson reflects the scene
Last weekend I was in Leeds for the Thought Bubble Sequential Art Festival, a mecca for comic book artists and writers in the UK and Ireland – with a number of well-known Americans attending as well. The event was extremely well-run with a friendly atmosphere. The range of talent on display was quite staggering, and after a while a certain level of guilt kicked in because it was impossible to support everyone. I did my best to visit as many stands as possible, spread around my cash and buy work that really caught my attention. I was lucky to know a few people at the event, and I quickly met…
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junior winners 2011
For the past few years I’ve been involved in judging for the Galway Junior Film Fleadh, which is a task I enjoy tremendously. I love witnessing the enthusism among young people for cinema. Previously I was part of the jury for the Script Pitching competition, which is a live event delivered in front of an audience – a feat that would make most adults nervous. This year I couldn’t be part of the jury due to a schedule clash, but I’m pleased to report that the 2011 winner is Amanda Honan Coyle from St Joseph’s Community College, Kilkee, Co Clare. Her project, titled “A World of Our Own”, wins her…
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thought bubble 2011
I’m heading out later today to travel to Leeds to attend Thought Bubble, the city’s Comic Art Festival – which runs in conjunction with its International Film Festival. The guest list is impressive, and I’m hugely excited at the propspect of meeting (however briefly) some of the great talents in the comic book industry at the moment. The unfortunatle timing of this convention means that I’m unable to be a judge for this year’s Script Pitching Contest at the Junior Galway Film Fleadh, which is taking place at the moment. Instead, I was asked to be one of the judges for the Short Film Competition in the Young Filmmaker category…
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hazelnut wings
There are red squirrels in my local woods. Sometimes I spot one of them running for a tree, and I’m always captivated by its fluid, rolling motion. Usually my dog skids through the damp leaves, whining with desperate hope, after the squirrel. It always ends with the squirrel far up the tree, watching my earthbound (leaping) dog with its bright, black eyes. Sometimes we only see signs of the squirrel’s existence, such as the outspread wings of the frilly hazelnut casing. The nut is now part of a stash, or maybe it was eaten on the spot: part of a picnic upon the moss, when the forest was free from…
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gothic galway
Evening arrives early these days, and I was knocking around the NUIG campus at dusk because I was attending the ComicsWest event. While the accompanying photograph might look like the spooky outline of a local Gothic castle, it’s actually the contours of the University’s Quadrangle, the oldest structure on the grounds. Later on in a much more modern part of the university – alas – the question and answer session went splendidly, with me, Michael Carroll, Paddy Brown and Andrew Luke discussing our various approaches to writing/drawing comics to the members of NUIG’s Comic Book Society. It was lovely being back at my old alma mater, and seeing such a…
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ComicsWest
ComicsWest is a one-day comic book fair going on in Bailey Allen Hall, Áras Na MacLéinn in the National University Of Ireland, Galway from noon until 10pm. It’s organised by NUIG’s Comic Book Society. There will be an all-day comic book fair as well as events and workshops featuring Irish comic book writers and artists. I’ll be participating in a Question and Answer session at 8pm. I’m looking forward to being able to discuss comic books with people who love the medium and to catch up with some friends.
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still shining
The last hour of light when you are shooting film is often referred to as ‘the magic hour’. This was taken during a recent magic hour, at the small graveyard at the back of St. Nicholas’ Church in Galway city. A place I have photographed often. Sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time and have a camera in hand…
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easter egg window
I took this picture while I was in Stockholm, Sweden over Easter. I’m always interested in the differences in detail from country to country. This is an image I could not have shot in Ireland. We don’t have that style of window combined with that wrought iron, and I’ve never seen an Easter decoration like that over here. I love the cartoon scene on the giant eggs. It has the sheen of cute nostalgia, yet the the rabbit is a touch too cheerful, and appears to be talking the duck out of one of her eggs. Maybe it’s a protection racket: one stripy egg for the rabbit, or else a…
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skeleton bread
This is the current window display in The Gourmet Tart in Galway city. I snapped it quickly this evening, grateful that the grotesque diorama had not been dismantled yet in favour of a cheery Yule decoration. I particularly like the skeletons bursting out of their bread coffins. This is one of the reasons why I like this season the best…
