An Irish comic is a periodical published in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

(either the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

) that contains

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

s. Ireland's comic book market has historically been very small, and closely linked to the

British market British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. In recent years, many comics have been released with themes drawn from

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...

and history. Most comics are in English, but some in the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

have also been produced. Authors have often portrayed Cúchulainn and the like as

superheroes A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

, and made explicit connection between them and

Irish revolutionaries The revolutionary period in Irish history was the period in the 1910s and early 1920s when Irish nationalist opinion shifted from the Home Rule-supporting Irish Parliamentary Party to the republican Sinn Féin movement. There were several wa ...

. Several Irish artists and writers have produced comic books for British publishers, most notably

P. J. Holden Paul Jason Holden (born 28 December 1969) is a Northern Irish comic artist based in Belfast. He has worked for '' 2000 AD'', ''Warhammer Monthly'', and ''Judge Dredd Megazine''. Among other stories for these publications, he has provided the ...

Malachy Coney Malachy Coney is a comics writer and cartoonist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He grew up in Ardoyne in the north of the city.''Fractured Visions'part oneanpart two video documentary, 2010 Biography Coney's first notable comics work was a two-e ...

, Jim Fitzpatrick,

Will Sliney Will Sliney is an Irish comic books artist. He is known as the co-creator of the ''Star Wars'' character Ren, and for his work on comic books such as the ''Marvel's Fearless Defenders'' series, the graphic novel ''Celtic Warrior: The Legend of C ...

, Will Simpson and

Davy Francis Davy Francis (born 14 March 1958) is a cartoonist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. As a child he drew comics influenced by ''The Beano'' and sold them to his family for an old penny each. He contributed to various Northern Ireland-based comics, inc ...

History

The

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...

published ''

Our Boys ''Our Boys'' is a comedy in three acts written by Henry James Byron, first performed in London on 16 January 1875 at the Vaudeville Theatre. Until it was surpassed by the run of ''Charley's Aunt'' in the 1890s, it was the world's longest-runn ...

'' between 1914 and 1990, a version of ''

Boys' Own ''Boys' Own'' or ''Boy's Own'' or ''Boys Own'', is the title of a varying series of similarly titled magazines, story papers, and newsletters published at various times and by various publishers, in the United Kingdom and the United States, fro ...

'' informed by

Irish nationalism Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

and

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. From 1937 to 1979 it included ''Tír na nÓg'' (" Land of the Young"), an Irish-language insert. An early example of Irish comics was ''Nuada of the Silver Arm'', a telling of the legend of

Nuada Airgetlám In Irish mythology, Nuada or Nuadu (modern spelling: Nuadha), known by the epithet Airgetlám (Airgeadlámh, meaning "silver hand/arm"), was the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is also called Nechtan, Nuadu Necht and Elcmar, and is the ...

by Jim Fitzpatrick that was serialised in the '' Sunday Independent'' in 1974–75; it was criticised for its violence and nudity by

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Irish readers. Sláine, an Irish hero created by

Pat Mills Patrick Eamon Mills (born 1949) is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfather o ...

, first appeared in 1983 in '' 2000AD''. Colmán Ó Raghallaigh was the first person to produce and publish a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

in Ireland, through his own publishing house, Cló Mhaigh Eo ("Mayo Press"): ''An Sclábhaí'' ("The Slave") told the early life of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

References

External links

The history of Irish comics part 1: before the 20th century
{{Comics-stub

Comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

Comic a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

History

See also

References

External links