Losing my head in Turning Roads
Last week, my comic script for Turning Roads had been sent to the artist. Dusk and Dreaded Night is a four-page comic exploring a world in which a cybernetic Dullahan wreaks havoc on Ireland, with the insinuation that it’s only one nasty problem that the good folks of our wee country have to put up on the regular.
I’m delighted to be working with James Killian on the story, who in the last week has provided layouts and further concept art for the comic. I first met James a few years ago at a comic writing class, and became better acquainted with his work at a signing in Dublin where he showed off his portfolio in the queue. Having seen some of his comic work as part of pitches and competitions, he was the perfect choice when I was looking for an artist in a book that’s all about change.
(Side note for those who don’t know, the title comes from an Irish expression ‘It’s a long road that has no turning’, which roughly means that always doing the same thing is neither beneficial nor entertaining. It was that mindset that I followed when looking through pitches for the book!)
As we draw closer to the Kickstarter, I’ll unveil more of the participants in the book. At the time of sending, I’ve more or less locked down which pitches I’m accepting into the book, and I’ve secured a colourist to make James’s work shine. I can’t wait to tell people about that.
In the meantime, I’m honoured to have Michael Carroll (2000AD, no relation) writing the Foreword for the book. Michael is one of those wonderful characters in the Irish community who brings warmth and wit to every conversation he’s part of. I had the pleasure of sitting on a couple of panels with him at Octocon over the years. He has been a wonderful support from the day I met him; the Irish comic community are lucky to have him in our midst.
