An Cosantóir

18 | Part 2 F by Aidan Courtney All images are copyrighted by their respective owners ollowing on from our 'Comics at War' feature in last month's issue, Aidan continues the story by looking at comics with an Irish artist or connection. Comics in Ireland have been influenced by international comics that have been available in Ireland for decades. British comics like 'Victor' were found regularly in newsagents across the island, while American comics were often sent home by emigrants even before US publishers started distributing here. Ireland has produced many highly talented people who have worked in comics in the US and the UK. Dubliner Paddy Brennan worked for the 'Beano' on a comic strip called 'General Jumbo'. The title character was a boy who controlled an army of toy soldiers by remote control and used them to defeat criminals and help people in his community. Although this strip, which first appeared in 1953, was not strictly 'military' it used many military vehicles, aircraft and personnel at a time that many children were fanatical about Airfix military models or toy soldiers. Brennan later moved on to other comic strips while 'General Jumbo' was continued by other artists. Garth Ennis is a comic writer from Northern Ireland who has written for many publishers over the years. He first wrote for Fleetway, a UK publisher, before moving to the US. Ennis, who created many critically acclaimed titles, including 'Preacher', 'The Boys' and 'Battlefields', has said that he is a military history enthusiast, citing his love of Second World War history in particular. He also wrote a few military related comics for Vertigo Comics, like 'Unknown Soldier', 'Adventures of the Rifle Brigade' and 'Garth Ennis's War Stories'. More recently, he has explored aspects of action and warfare with Dynamite Entertainment, a comic publishing company based in the US. Ennis's best known title is probably 'Battlefields'. His first story in the series, 'The Night Witches', was about a female pilot with the all-female 599th Bomber Regiment of the Soviet An Cosantóir October 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie Air Forces. While this is a fictional tale the Night Witches was the nickname of a real all-female regiment formed by the Soviets when German forces were pushing forward on the Eastern Front. 'Tankies' was about a crew of inexperienced men in a tank being led by a seasoned veteran as they try to survive the Battle of Normandy. 'Dear Billy' focused on a nurse in Singapore during the Japanese invasion. The 'Battlefields' series is still running, with more tales from World War II and beyond. While there are many other Irish creators working in comics worldwide, there has been a growth in domestic comic publishing in both Northern Ireland and the Republic over the past few years. Irish comics and graphic novels on several themes including the military are now being produced by Irish based creators and publishers. O'Brien Press ventured into the publishing of graphic novels with the non-fiction 'Blood Upon the Rose' by Gerry Hunt, a historical tale of the 1916 Rising. Hunt followed this up with 'At War with the Empire: Ireland's Fight for Independence', which highlights the Irish War of Independence. In 2013 O'Brien Press also brought out 'Celtic Warrior: The Legend of Cú Chulainn' by Irish comic artist Will Sliney. However, this is not the only comic about Ireland's greatest warrior as Patrick Brown in Belfast has been drawing and posting pages from his comic 'The Battle Raid of Cooley' since 2008 on his website paddybrown.co.uk. Brown's comic features tales from the Irish epic Táin Bó Cúailnge, starting with Medb invading Ulster and meeting a young border guard, Cú Chulainn, who opposes her oncoming army. The comics have also been made available in print editions. Irish language graphic novel publisher Cló Mhaigh Eo has also published comics that focus on Cú Chulainn and Ancient Ireland's military through the myths and legends of An Táin, An Toraíocht and Deirdre agus Mic Uisnigh. Cú Chulainn has featured in many comics made by Irish creators over the years. Moccu Press has focused on graphic novels that deal with different periods of conflict in Irish history. Writer

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