The Irish Times has a feature on the upcoming Angoulême International Comics Festival – fresh from the recesses of John Byrne’s cranium and complete with some bande dessinée reading suggestions:

• Lucky Luke (Cinebook) Created by Belgian cartoonist Morris (aka Maurice De Bevere) and written, during its golden years, by Asterix co-creator René Goscinny, this affectionate parody of the American West remains one of Europe’s most popular and enduring comics series.

• XIII by Jean Van Hamme (Cinebook) Played out over the course of 19 volumes and 25 years, Van Hamme’s best-selling thriller about an amnesiac’s long quest to reclaim his past is an engrossing experience – for those who can stay the pace.

• It Was the War of the Trenches by Jacques Tardi (Fantagraphics) Tardi is, simply put, one of the most important and influential French comic artists of the last 30 years. This welcome translation of his harrowing and haunting first World War narrative is as good a place as any to start.

• Epileptic by David B (Jonathan Cape) David B’s sprawling, multi-layered and bewitching childhood memoir is one of the most significant Francophone breakout hits of recent years. Its bold, woodcut visual style proved influential on Marjane Satrapi’s similarly acclaimed Persepolis.

CR Blog writes on B.ü.L.b ‘s tiny accordion Comix having reached up to set W since starting with set A back in 1997. Check them all out here.

The perfect antidote to the current snow induced blues is sipping a hot port and listening to the Christmas special edition of “Ireland’s No.1 comics podcast” THE COMIC CAST. Regular SCAMP contributors Liam & Craig lure us into their lair with a fantasticly sung duet intro and follow it up with some tasty reviews and recommendations from the world of comics, as well as the latest comics related news. Listen directly on their blog or subscribe via iTunes.

The blurb…

“Andy Williams had one. Cliff Richard too. And by golly we’re ten times better than Cliff Richard. So fall on your knees, hear the angels voices – it’s the Comic Cast Christmas Special! Where, from beside a roaring fire, we review Lint by Chris Ware, The Little Prince by Joann Sfar, My New New York Diary by Julie Doucet and Michel Gondry as well as the latest in Irish comics – Windells’ Supernatural Showcase by Gar Shanley and Cathal Duggan, Finn and Fish by Leeann Hamilton, Eclectic Micks Sketchbook Volume 2, Something Wonderful Eats Babies by Tommie Kelly and Other Work by John Cullen. After dinner we’ll be watching (and reviewing) A Town Called Panic on DVD and MegaMind 3D. And what would Christmas be without family? Cartoonist extraordinaire Bob Byrne joins us direct from his villa in Spain to talk about his latest book  Dr. Moku’s Hiragana Mnemonics and his current online comic saga Today we worship Michael Landon.”

Illustration by Stephen Byrne (who’s recent parody of RTE TV’s Fade Street please me no end)

Graphic illustrator Justin Van Genderen has created some superb minimalistic travel posters for some of the great comic book locales. See more after the link. Prints available here.

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IbBY Ireland are hosting a night of manga: stories and illustrations on Thursday 9 November with artists John Jennings, winner of the Cork International Youth Film and Video Award for Best Animation and Leeann Hamilton, author of the comic Finn and Fish.

Free Manga Books will be up for grabs, thanks to Walker Books and refreshments and nibbles from Yo! Sushi. Admission €5 (free to iBbY Ireland members)

Kicking off at Exchange (Exchange Street Upper, D2) doors open at 6.15pm. Click here for full details.

There is a black cloud over the country right now (what a massive understatement!) and it looks like people are finally getting angry at the performances of our so called leaders. Thankfully some people are channeling that anger into creative avenues such as cartoonist Alan Moloney. His series Wheel Spinning Hamster Dead is ripping round the interweb especially through his twitter account @wrathofkang. There is a massive appetite for home-based political cartooning at the moment so it’s great that, along with Martyn Turner, someone is filling that void.

Stephen Collins was announced last week as winner of the fourth Observer/Cape Graphic Short Story prize.

Check out the full story on the Guardian – and read the winning piece here.

‘Independents’ Day is a D.I.Y. fair of zines, records, comics and info stalls with workshops, screenings, performances and exhibitions. It takes place this Sunday 7th November at the Dublin Food Co-Op. The above poster (one of many made for the fair this year) is by Paddy Lynch and you can find more details about the event here.

The folks across the water have come up with a pretty nifty idea – namely the UK Comics Wiki.

The Wiki covers everything from artist listings and a comprehensive list of comic titles, comic strips, newspaper and magazine strips as well as wanted pages. The pages are growing slowly – with pics of comics and new entries added as people have time.

An interesting place to lose an hour or two! (Impressively, the  most visited page so far is the DFC entry)

UPDATE: Yes of course – I totally managed to miss that there is an Irish Comics Wiki that has been up and running for years! [Thanks Bren] So much for being productive today – I’m off to read this for the day. (d)

IGI Member, Eoin Coveney, share with us one of his last commissioned work. A very nice project indeed.
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