Rob Clough has written a Survey of International Small Press Comics on the Comics Journal website, and one of the comics he reviews is Romantic Mayhem, the Irish anthology I did a strip for recently. Not only is it the most prestigious organ to review anything I’ve been involved with, it’s a pretty glowing review as well, and describes my effort as “a spectacular Alex Toth approximation” (I was aiming for something along the lines of Jesús Redondo or Santiago Hernández, but if you’re going to compare me to Alex Toth I reserve the right to be seriously chuffed.

The article also covers comics from Germany, Poland, Latvia (with contributions from a cosmopolitan gang of international artists), Holland, Turkey and Britain – lots of interesting artists to learn about.

A new webcomic starts today: Tommie Kelly’s The Holy Numbers! It’s about a guy who wakes up with a vision of enlightenment and sets out to change the world. Is he a guru or a fraud? What happens when a movement overtakes its founder? The comic launches with six episodes in one go, and will update Monday to Friday from now on. You’ll want to follow this one. (If you’re at work or have a problem with that sort of thing, there’s some nudity and bad language.)

Cover art by Tommie Kelly

Romantic Mayhem, the new anthology from National Tragedy, is out! Edited by Gar Shanley, with a cover by Tommie Kelly, it’s full of fabulous satirical romance strips by the leading talents in Irish comics – including Alan Nolan, Deirdre de Barra, Archie Templar, Elida Maiques, John Robbins, Hilary Lawler, Davy Francis, Ian Pettitt – and me!

A detail from "What's Roy Thinking?", the first strip in the book, written by Gar Shanley and illustrated by meself. I've tried to imitate the style used by the great Spanish artists who drew British girls' comics in the 60s and 70s, people like Jesus Redondo, Purita Campos and Santiago Hernández.

The standard version was launched in Dublin last weekend and will be onsale at zine fairs and the like across the country, including Independents Day in Dublin this afternoon. There’s also a deluxe edition designed by Archie Templar, available in hardback and softcover from Blurb.com, including an 11-page online preview.

There’s also an interview with Gar about the book on Irish Comic News if you’d like to know more.

Ronantic Mayhem, a very funny and gorgeous new romance comic (that I have a strip in) has a launch party in Dublin the weekend after next (flier by Elida Maiques).

The Invisible Artist, a documentary film made by Andy Luke and Carl Boyle for NVTV on the history of comics in Belfast, which I appeared in and helped out on the research for last year, is now online. As well as Andy and myself, there are contributions from Davy Francis, PJ Holden, Stephen Downey, John Farrelly, John Killen of the Linenhall Library, and many others. Go watch, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

The Invisible Artist from Northern Visions/NvTv on Vimeo.

ComicBuzz have done a review of 2011 in Irish comics, in which I’m mentioned, in splendid company it must be said. Although they do seem to believe The Cattle Raid of Cooley “looks like it will soon come to its end”, which isn’t the case. I’m probably past the half-way stage, but there’s a way to go yet.

In other news, The Economist run an obituary of the great Ronald Searle, who died just before New Year, written by Molesworth himself.

Michael Cavna at the Washington Post is looking for nominations for the best webcomics of 2011. Please feel free to let him know about my award-winning efforts, and any others you feel deserve it, naturally. My own favourites of 2011 include:

• Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant – 19th century adventure serial by Tony Cliff
• Faraday the Blob – surreal humour by Alan Ryan
• Jesus and Mo – anonymous religious satire
• Girls With Slingshots – Danielle Corsetto’s sitcom strip
• Savage Chickens – observational and pop culture humour with chickens on post-it notes by Dan Savage
• Freakangels – Warren Ellis’s recently concluded post-apocalyptic serial

I’m afraid The Cattle Raid of Cooley is having to miss another week. But to keep you amused in the meantime, I thought I’d share something that’s recently been unearthed. Back at the beginning of the nineties Alan Perry and a few other artists in Belfast produced four issues of an anthology comic called NutScrewsWashers’n’Bolts, and this week Alan has scanned and put the first three online as downloadable pdfs. I had entirely forgotten that I had a couple of strips in issue three.

And here they are. Twenty-one whole years old.

And finally…

Nominations are closed for the inaugural Irish Comic News awards, and voting can now begin in earnest.

I’ve been nominated for Best Self-Published Irish Artist, and The Cattle Raid of Cooley has been nominated for Best Irish Webcomic. Although I contribute to ICN, I didn’t collate the votes and I didn’t nominate myself, so I’m chuffed that someone has. Please vote for whoever and whatever you think deserves it. Voting closes on Friday 28 October.

Warren Ellis, renowned comic writer and internet demi-deity, is running a series of three-panel comic strips by guest artists on his blog under the title “Three Panels Open”. PJ Holden‘s already done one, as have a load of other excellent artists – and now I have as well! Click to read my effort…