comic – Page 2 – Comix Ireland

Incandescent Memories #1-3

December 11, 2016 Paul Carroll

Brian Burke, one of the creators of Incandescent Memories, sent me all three books for review. It’s been some time since I actually received them – and I already had a hardcopy of one, so I was able to see the sort of quality intended in the printing of them – but various complications got in the way of actually writing a review (including thinking I had already done so, and not realising for another few weeks. Life is difficult sometimes.) But here we are: three issues of a comic by Brian Burke and John Devlin. As per usual, I don’t get overly critical. (The Irish comic creator circles are quite small, and they’re all so lovely it’s difficult not to become friends with them. Being a voice of reasoned applause and pointing out things I like is easier for me on a personal and editorial level.)

Collected Comics

The first thing that one should know when picking up Incandescent Memories is that the book collects several stories in each issue. Each issue holds one thing in common, aside from its creators’ names on the cover: The Bandit King. Serialised across each issue, it’s the one continued narrative throughout each book.

Otherwise, the books present us with separate, fun stories from each of the two creators.

Taking turns in writing and illustrating each others’ work, Burke and Devlin give us a fun look at what each of them is capable of. Issue 1, the bumper four-story book, contains stories with each creator taking alternate roles, as well as providing solo stories where they act as writer and artist.

The first issue remains my favourite, but it has the benefit of containing more stories than the others. While readers can’t reasonably expect the same volume of work every issue from these two creators, it works as a great introduction into the sort of material the two Dublin creators like to make. The additional concept art in issues 1 and 2 also help to show off the drawing styles of each artist isolated from the actual stories within the books.

Overall, Incandescent Memories is an exciting comic to watch as new issues are released. With the continued tale of The Bandit King – a humorous fantasy story – written by Burke and drawn by Devlin, returning readers have something to look forward to, while new readers have additional stories to entice them into the potential of each creator.

Highly recommended, and a good sign of things to come from Dublin’s comic crowd.

Reviews

Review: Project Crossroads

November 3, 2016November 3, 2016 Paul Carroll

Seán Hogan, the mastermind behind Project Crossroads, sent me a copy of the book for review. For reasons I’ll describe at the end of this post, I lost so many proverbials when I read it. Combining the talents of eight of Ireland’s up-and-coming creators, this is a book I’ve been looking forward to ever since I was told about it at Dublin Comic Con. (Also, usual stuff for my reviews: I like to point out what I like, and whether you agree or not is entirely up to you. I’m completely conscious of any bias I might have towards projects, and you should be too.)

Those Lost at the Crossroads

Project Crossroads is an anthology of three stories, all illustrated by Seán Hogan, with colouring by Stef Reville and Dearbhla Kelly, assisted by Louise Fitzpatrick, and with letters by Kerrie Smith. The stories were written by Adlai McCook (Retired), JP Jordan (Shift), and Hugo Boylan (Ducksworth’s Last Stand).

Retired

Do you like Men in Black? Do you like cool alien designs? Retired tells the story of Britain’s only Man in Black, in a post-alien-attack world. It’s fast-paced, begins with a sense of dread, and makes a clear point about the successes and failures of heroes. There’s not much else one can say about the story without spoiling it, but you can expect: some amazing looking aliens, colours that pop off the page (you’ll love the aliens; not all at how Hollywood makes aliens look, and in the best way possible), spaceships, and a wicked shot of London.

Shift

For the fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer out there (that’s a lot of people, right?), Shift is the story of a house-party in Ireland, and its immediate aftermath. It has everything you can want in a YA Horror story: humour, believable characters, a twist (every story needs a twist), and something I’d only have to redact from this review before publishing it. Jordan’s print-comic debut sets a high bar for his future in the industry. With no disrespect to McCook and Boylan, Shift was my favourite story (of three awesome tales!) from the book. (I grew up with Buffy, even when I was probably too young for it, so there’s definitely a good genre fit.) Shout-out to Reville for the tonal change in colours to match the turning point in the story. (Also, look out for a few Easter Eggs in this one!)

Ducksworth’s Last Stand

Every tale has a twist, and I don’t want to spoil Ducksworth’s. What I can say is that, while there’s a big jump in the story, Boylan manages to maintain a continued narrative about the titular character. It’s clever and a little bit distressing (if you’ve read my other reviews of his books, or anything else he’s written, you know to expect that) and it caught me completely off guard. A little bird also told me that artist Hogan may have had some input into some of the more vile aspects of the story, with their combined efforts in writing and illustrating the tale making this a disturbing conclusion to the anthology. (Which, of course, is what we expect.)

Bonus concept art!

I’m a sucker for concept art, and Hogan has provided. All manner of monster are covered in the back of the book, part of the preparations for illustrating the stories as they exist now. From the aliens and the humans to a redaction and a furious Ducksworth, the concept art provides an interesting insight into the creation of Project Crossroads.

Project Crossroads will launch at Thought Bubble this weekend. For those of us unfortunate enough to not be able to attend the Leeds convention, there’s an Irish launch of the book in The Big Bang in Dundrum on November 9th. Somehow, all eight creators of the book will fit behind a table for a signing.

One More Thing

At the start of last month, I sent Seán a wee message of Facebook. I’ve been holding off talking about it in too much detail since then, but here we go: in a first for Comix Ireland, I’m working with the creative team of Project Crossroads to make a short documentary about the creation of the book. Production is still underway, but here’s a sample screenshot I sent to Seán as an idea of what he can expect visually:

I may have captured him talking while making that. Anyway, the documentary will be released later this year. (I am acutely aware that it is November already.) As well as exploring the creation process of Project Crossroads, interviews with the creators have so far provided a few gems for those interested in the comics industry in Ireland as a whole. With a bit of luck, a fair amount of effort, all the tea, and probably some weeping, I’ll be backed up when I say that you won’t want to miss it. Watch this space, and the ol’ social media. My excitement for this project knows no bounds.

Reviews

Review: Black, White & Grey

November 2, 2016November 1, 2016 Paul Carroll

Hugo Boylan – the twisted mind behind Malevolence – sent me on a review copy of his new book with Rapha Lobosco, Black, White & Grey. As with all my reviews, I have a tendency to focus on the positive – especially true when I know the creator. Consider this a ‘Why you should buy this comic’ post (because I know this is one I’d love to have a physical copy of!)

Black Lines, Grey Morals

Hugo Boylan is, in my mind, a horror writer. The first book of his that I read was a horror, so the genre sticks in my head. This new book contains five stories: Dreamweaver, Day Job, Murphy’s Day, Heavy Black, and Black Neptune. It’s hard to tell which one disturbs me most. Conceptually, they’re all different. As stories, they’re paced differently, and rely on different scare tactics. The twists, the intrigues, the Big Bads, they vary between each story. And while it’s true to say that Boylan writes horror, and that each story contains elements of horror, there’s a greater depth of genre available in this book, when one looks at the stories separately.

Heavy Black is certainly closer to science fiction in terms of its content, while Murphy’s Day relies on the expectation of an incident to keep the reader guessing, set in an otherwise contemporary world. The final story in the book, Black Neptune, is extracted from a larger story, but contains enough of the tale to raise the question that a good story ought to: just what is going on?

To complement Boylan’s writing, Rapha Lobosco fills in the pages with – you might guess from the book’s title – a blend of black, white and grey artwork. Artistically, it can appear as a choice between colouring the art, or telling a story in black and white line-work. Conceptually, especially in a collection, the use of black, white and grey creates different atmospheres for the stories. Those told in black-and-white only are the stories that rely on twists and contrasts; what appear to be simple stories take sharp turns in the opposite direction.

When grey is introduced, we’re given two different uses of the colour; Heavy Black makes use of grey to emphasise the darkness of space (the story taking place on-board a craft in space), whereas Murphy’s Day uses grey as a means of dropping us in the middle of the story wondering where we might be taken – there is no clear-cut jump, only a wait for the shift in the story, something we have to drift through, like searching in murky water for a prized jewel. (Analogy spoiler alert: we find the jewel.)

Added to the stories are an original script – which is a nice addition from Boylan – for Dreamweaver, and concept art from Lobosco – always something I like to see at the end of a book. With a dark and dreary design pulled together by the book’s letterer, Kerrie Smith, we’ve given an impressive collection of stories from two of the finest up-and-coming comic creators in Ireland.

Black, White & Grey launches at Thought Bubble 2016 (that’s this coming weekend, folks). It’s a clever collection of intriguing stories, definitely one for fans of horror, and receives an all-round recommendation from me. You can check out Heavy Black on Taptastic in its entirety if you want a taste of what the collection is like.

Reviews

Review: Solstice #1

October 10, 2016 Paul Carroll

I first met Nathan Donnell of Revolve Comics in 2015, at a cosplay convention in Dublin, back when he was working with another company. With Revolve, he’s produced Solstice, a fantasy comic that I picked up from him at Q-Con expecting, at the very least, some beautiful art.

Winter is Coming, and It’s Here to Stay

Solstice Chapter 1: Winter was my first time encountering the writing of Danny McLaughlin, the Derry-based publisher of Revolve Comics. I didn’t buy the comic with any expectations; after all, my purchase was to support an artist I knew. I was pleasantly surprised when, following a busy day at Q-Con in June, I found myself sucked into the incredible world McLaughlin had built within the pages of this first issue.

The world is stuck in an eternal winter. The comic’s hero, Finn, has the task ahead of her to become the new Herald. As the story unfolds, she must track down and kill the Winter God’s wolf totem. Until she can do that, winter will never end.

It was an interesting premise, one that kept me gripped the entire time, post-con exhaustion be damned.

Combined with the stunning art of Nathan Donnell, this is a story worth diving into. Coloured in a cold blue, Solstice is the epitome of winter, with dashes of other colours through the book used sparingly and for maximum impact. And it’s colour, used in this way, that really brings Donnell’s artwork to life. With a very green second issue on its way, it’ll be interesting to see how effective it’ll be as the series continues.

In the meantime, Revolve Comics have put out a free comic about type 1 diabetes. You can check it out on their website while we wait for Spring.

Reviews

Review: Ness #1

October 8, 2016 Paul Carroll

A few weeks ago (okay, more than a few weeks) Rob Carey put out a call for people to review Ness #1. Having been mostly absent from the Blogosphere since he sent me the digital copy of the comic, it has taken a considerable amount of time to produce a review – which, as with all of my reviews, functions best as a shopping guide for those with an interest in Irish comics.

Not the Nessie You Think You Know

As I set out to write this review, I asked my brother what was the first thing that came to mind when I saw ‘Ness’. His response: Nessie. As in, the dinosaur-monster from Loch Ness. And that’s the premise of Ness: there’s a monster in the lake. The difference is, this one is made of nightmares and tentacles, and any sightings you might have it are likely to be short-lived – like you. Drawing upon Lovecraftian horror to back up this Made of Nasty beastie with some Made-to-Feel-Genuine folklore, writer Chris Welsh gives us a fresh take on the myth of Loch Ness.

With a cast of four protagonists to guide us through the first issue, a believable excuse for their being there when they are, and an intriguing storyline filled with suspense from its dark beginnings, Welsh is definitely onto a winner with Ness.

Supported by deeply engaging art from Rob Carey, which perfectly captures an imagined Scotland and the nightmare that is their Nessie, and alluring colours from Dee Cunniffee, Ness is a comic worth checking out for fans of Fantasy, Horror or Adventure stories, but not for the feint-hearted. It’s gruesome and gory, and all things wonderful this time of the year.

Even better is that the second issue is on its way already! Following a successful Kickstarter campaign – and I’m not surprised in the slightest, given the first issue that Carey graced with me – we’ll be seeing the new issue pretty soon, with expected delivery dates for print copies in December this year. (It’s a horrifying Christmas present to mysellf, and I can’t wait!)