Hero of his own story: Stephen Mooney star attraction of Cork Comic Expo

Irish artist Stephen Mooney is one of the main attractions at the Cork Comic Expo in Mahon Point tomorrow, writes

Don O’Mahony

STEPHEN Mooney had been working with American comics publisher IDW for a number of years, contributing art to a variety of spin-offs and licenced properties such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Angel, The A-Team, and The Mummy. Then he decided to pitch for a creator-owned title, one he would both write and illustrate.

Called Half Past Danger, it would mark Mooney’s writing debut. A terrifying prospect, but the Dubliner felt he had put in the hard yards, as he puts it, on the other titles to demonstrate his capability. On the surface the pitch for it was an outlandish one, a pulpy riff on Spielbergian thrills, it was an adventure story set on a pacific island during the Second World War that featured mysterious dames and dinosaurs.

Mooney decided to add an extra flourish to the tale by introducing some Irish to Half Past Danger’s hero, Tommy ‘Irish’ Flynn. He clearly has fun with the character, who it must be said, bears more than passing resemblance to his creator. Was this deliberate?

“Yeah, it is, and I hugely regret it,” says Mooney, laughing. “I was ‘ah, wouldn’t it be so funny if it’s me in there chasing dinosaurs and punching Hitler on the nose?’ Just as a wish fulfilment thing of being a kid loving all these pulpy stories.”

Mooney has mixed feelings about this decision and confides says it wouldn’t be something he would recommend to other cartoonists as it a created a lot of painstaking work in getting the expressions right.

“It turned into a bit of a yoke for my back because that meant as I went on I had to carefully make him look like me all the time which added a load of time to the project. Instead of just sketching out some random looking fellow’s face I had to do a load of references of myself from all the different angles and doing stupid things and leaping off whatever to make try to keep it consistent.

“I mean, it’s funny. I like that people think it’s cute and all but I did not think that through at all,” he says sheepishly. “I’ve cartooned him up a little bit more as we’ve gone on. I’m being facetious as well. It is funny and people do seem to dig it. But it’s certainly added more work.”

The work demands of comics has never fazed Mooney and it’s an attitude shared by his Irish comic creator peers: Stephen Thompson, Declan Shalvey, Nick Roche, Bob Byrne, Len O’Grady, PJ Holden, and Will Sliney. Back in the Noughties they created an online sketchblog under the name Eclectic Micks.

“That was a big boon because there was a little bit of friendly encouragement and competition at that stage,” says Mooney. “We pushed each other then to improve so it was a very worthwhile exercise.”

They also shared a work ethic that impressed their bosses in the top comics publishing companies.

“We have the whole hilarious Irish Catholic thing like we think if we don’t get up and do our job someone is going to take it from us. We’ve got that fear. We don’t miss deadlines but they all think we’re great because we do crazy hours and if they ask us to get something done it’ll always get done, which is an excellent reputation to have, but it also means working every hour God gives you. So it’s a double-edged sword.”

When Mooney and his peers were starting out there was perhaps just one or two people across the whole island of Ireland in professional employment in the comics industry. Now there’s about a dozen. But just as important as that, there is currently a lively and flourishing indie and DIY comics scene.

“I think people have seen that it’s viable. I think a few of the younger heads now have looked at us and seen that we’ve achieved some sort of modicum of success so they’ve realised it is a goer if they put the work in.

“Whereas before there were no real examples that they could go, well this guy’s doing it so we can do it. Now there’s a fair bit of that. And there’s some really good people and they’re really making moves.”

Mooney cites Cork’s Chris O’Halloran and Dublin’s Triona Farrell as two examples of young Irish artists making it in the industry. Cork Comic Expo offers an opportunity to meet both the established and up-and-coming Irish comics creators.

“There’s a real generation now behind us that are coming up and doing some sterling stuff, as good as any we were doing. So I think there’s a big future for Irish comics abroad and hopefully at home as well,” says Mooney, whose appearance at Cork Comic Expo coincides with the launch of The Dead Hand for Image Comics, a new project created by Mooney and American writer Kyle Higgins with colouring by Irish-based American Jordie Bellaire.

Conceived by Mooney and Higgins in 2015, at a time when the former was working for DC Comics on Batman offshoot Grayson, it’s a somewhat timely publication, a Cold War espionage tale concerning a Soviet Doomsday weapons system.

“It seems like the zeitgeist, right on the nose,” says Mooney. “Kyle brings the more realistic political aspect and I bring the action adventure side and it marries really well.”

Big Bang Comics & Will Sliney present Cork Comic Expo at Mahon Point tomorrow (Saturday) from 9.30am through the day