The quickest bio version.

No, this is not a recent photo.

No, this is not a recent photo.

  • Drawing is cool.

  • Comics are awesome.

  • 'Real' jobs suck, but the money is nice.

  • You cannot paint with the contents of diapers.

  • Graphics tablets are god's gift to those who can't wait for the paint to dry.

  • Overall, life is fun.

 

The quick bio version

I was born in Ireland, moved to London aged 2 (this wasn't a 'Home Alone' thing, I was with my parents), moved back to Ireland aged 4 (ditto – still too young), moved to the USA (Bronx, NYC, aged 12, ditto again), moved back to Ireland (solo this time - bring on the girls and drink!), moved back to the USA (New Jersey, hello Shoprite!), moved back to Ireland – still here (waiting for the coffin to be finished).

 

The longest bio version

I remember there were three shops in Ardee in the 1960's that sold comics – Tommy Walsh's, Aidan Malone's, and Alice Kieran's. The comics on offer were sold alongside the newspapers, and were the usual English 'pulp' range popular at the time: humor-based ones like Beano, Dandy, Sparky, Beezer, and the football and war varieties like Valiant, Eagle, and Hornet. There were plenty more, but suffice to say I devoured them all.

Then Alice Kierans got one of those spinning comics carousels. The comics displayed here were totally alien to me – the covers were loud and garish, American and instantly irresistible. Marvel and DC. Hello Thor and X-Men, Batman and Spiderman! That's when my head exploded.

I plagued the poor, patient woman, with me dithering and unable to chose between Sgt. Fury and The Hulk, keeping her from closing the shop, and I remember her memory with a lot of fondness.

The family moved to New York City when I was 12. I drew and wrote and I went to Comics Conventions and met many of the main Marvel writers and artists dominant in the 1970's – Barry (Windsor) Smith, Bernie Wrightson, Mike Ploog, John Romita, and the canny Stan Lee himself.

That's it, I decided, I'm gonna be a comics artist. But it wasn't to be. Apart from a short trial inking Vaughan Bodé's stuff (anyone remember Cheech Wizard in the National Lampoon magazine?), a 'real' job arrived and the seduction of a regular cash income took sway. Money is nice.

Okay, this is more recent, and shows me consuming alcohol, so I must be all grown up.

Okay, this is more recent, and shows me consuming alcohol, so I must be all grown up.

I returned to art in 1989 when I came back to Ireland – starting a comics version interpretation of the Irish mythological saga The Tain, also known as the Brown Bull of Cooley. That didn't develop – kids did. They needed feeding and nappies changed, and a regular income.

I spent time with the North Louth Painters, exhibiting here and there with the group, working in ink and watercolours. Art was now a hobby, unfortunately. And even that came to an end as the regular job took up more and more of my time.

Meantime, back at the ranch, as they say, about two years ago I bought a Bamboo Graphics Tablet (upgraded recently to an Intuos Tablet), and it was like I was a kid again. Happy days! And most of what you see here is done without having to wait for the paint to dry.