Irish Comics

So I met a couple of comicbook fans on Facebook. Turns out they’re from Ireland (Stephen Paul Coffey & Ger Hankey), and he self-produced a couple of comics. One was entitled Celtic Knights, and when I acquired that comic from them, the sent along another comic the produced together entitled Rosemary Herbb: The Return.

Well, I bought Celtic Knights figuring that I’d check out what an Irish Indie comic was like, and was treated to an entertaining superhero romp. Celtic Knights is an Irish superhero team comic written by Stephen Paul Coffey and drawn by Ger Hankey that explores the concept that all of the best heroes in the world were killed off and those that are left are all but useless. Sort of the Society of Inept Gentlemen.

The under-sized comic is entertaining enough (the art seems amateurish, but is serviceable enough, and the story carries it through).

What really surprised me was Rosemary Herb a fantasy comic written by Stephen Paul Coffey, illustrated in painted color by Barry McGowan and published in November 2008. Rosemary Herbb, a young girl with elemental powers who defends the earth from supernatural menaces. The Return sees her wake from a seven year coma and return to the battle against evil.

The writing is positively lyrical, while the art is nothing short of absolutely stunning. I was completely blown away by the soft mixture of B&W charcoal & duo-tone renderings and color wash. I highly recommend this comic, and hope that there is a follow-up issue, as I would love to see where it goes.