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recent round-up
I’ve been remiss at pointing toward reviews of issue 1 of RóisÃn Dubh and Jennifer Wilde, the two comic book series I’ve written. Liam Geraghty and Craig O’Connor, the men behind the Irish comic book podcast, The Comic Cast, gave both issues the thumbs up. Lee Grice at the British podcast Small Press Big Mouth gave Jennifer Wilde a glowing review. James Bacon reviewed Jennifer Wilde for the Forbidden Planet International blog, which includes a mini-interview with me New Irish comic book web site Cosmic Treadmill has reviewed both RóisÃn Dubh and Jennifer Wilde Hilary Lawler reviewed Jennifer Wilde for Irish Comic News I’ve also been interviewed on two web…
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The Shirley Jackson Awards 2011
I’m pleased to be able to announce that I’ve been asked to be a member of the jury for The Shirley Jackson Awards 2011. The Shirley Jackson Awards were established in 2007 to recognise outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic. Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) wrote such classic novels as The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, as well as one of the most famous short stories in the English language, “The Lottery.” My fellow jurors this year are: Laird Barron, Matthew Cheney, Kaaron Warren and Gary K. Wolfe. The administrator of the Awards is JoAnn Cox. The rules…
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Dessicated heart
A drop of love would make it beat again.
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an old call
Earlier in the year I snapped this photograph in Chapelizod in Dublin. It’s rare to get an image of the old Telecom Eireann phone box, and the rather decrepit building behind it makes this photo look like it could have been taken 30 years ago. Add a few filters, and hey presto, it really looks its age.
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where did the summer go?
This is one of my favourite flower photographs of the summer, taken on a rare hot day in Galway. There must be a miniature sun secreted in the folds of that rose to account for its Hollywood glow (no spray tan required). The image cheers me up as the days take on a duller, less L.A. sheen.
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look up
This is a picture of the Millennium Bridge in London during a recent trip, from the vantage point of a tour cruise on the River Thames. I visit London often, but rarely do the touristy stuff. This time I was showing relatives around who wanted the highlights, and as a result I saw more of the city than usual. The weather was temperamental throughout the holiday, but I lucked out with a short period of sunshine on our river journey as the tempestuous clouds gathered to rain upon us again. I love that one silhouette of a person who stared down at us as we floated underneath, waving to those…
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first shrooms
One of the events I look forward to in August is the return of the mushroom. I love taking photographs of fungi, so I was delighted to discover this large colony of shrooms on a fallen tree in the forest today. Alas the light was not the best, but this is a decent shot of one of the clusters. Hopefully it will be the start of a fruitful season of autumn photos.
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Jennifer Wilde issue 1 on sale
I was on the phone with Rob Curley in Dublin when he received delivery of the first issue of Jennifer Wilde to the door of SubCity Comics in Dublin. It was a lovely shared moment, even though I was across the country in Galway. The comic book will be winging its way to other venues in Ireland over the coming week, and will be available for sale via the Atomic Diner web site very soon. My thanks in particular to Stephen Downey, the artist on the project, whose fine artwork brings Jennifer and Oscar’s adventures together to life. I can’t wait to hold a copy of it in my hands.
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lucille
On the Forbidden Planet International blog today I have a review of Lucille, the graphic novel by the artist/writer/singer Ludovic Debeurme, which has recently been translated into English and published by Top Shelf Productions. It’s a complex and impressive book, and one that deals wtih serious themes. It’s very French, and by that I mean it’s deeply interested in the human condition in a way that is philosophical and meaningful. Plus, it’s drawn in a unorthadox comic book style, which just adds to its Frenchness. While reading the graphic novel I wondered how on earth you would pitch this story to an English/American publisher? I suspect it would be a…
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slanted
An old post, slanted deep in summer foliage, against the changable sky. Summer in Ireland.
