Oirish in comics

The Recliner

Hi

I am posting this on behalf of a friend and have ok'd it with a mod

Basically he is doing some research into sterotypical representations of the Irish and the use of Hiberno-English and Oirish accents in comics

He knows very little about comics but has recently gotten into them and is willing to learn (I am aware of the thread on the history of Irish comics and I will point him in the direction as there is a lot of useful information there)

Not being a fountain of knowledge myself I said I would ask you more knowledgeable people for help

So far we have come up with Cassidy in Preacher (which I am currently reading), Slaine originally from 2000AD and Banshee in X-Men (thanks Fysh)

Basically any Irish character you know of in comics would be helpful
Anyone have any other suggestions/opinions?

Fysh

There's Nigel Keane/Hellstrike (Stormwatch) and Kit Ryan (Garth Ennis' run on Hellblazer). Tommy Monaghan from Ennis' Hitman is another one. Finnigan Sinister from 2000AD's Sinister Dexter, too.

halite

I seem to recall that there is an Irish gang in the Punisher Max series

Xabs

There's a few Oirish gansters in Batman: The Long Halloween

The Recliner

Thanks guys

Much appreciated, I will look into these and forward it onto him

Any more suggestions would be fantastic

echosound

Another of Garth Ennis' series, "The Boys", has an Irish character going by the name of Blarney Cock (which will give you some idea of the tone of the character ).

Xabs

echosound wrote: »

Another of Garth Ennis' series, "The Boys", has an Irish character going by the name of Blarney Cock (which will give you some idea of the tone of the character ).

I'm not familiar with Garth Ennis' work, but isn't he from Northern Ireland?
That, to me, makes the poor stereotyping inexcusable.

Fysh

Xabs wrote: »

I'm not familiar with Garth Ennis' work, but isn't he from Northern Ireland?
That, to me, makes the poor stereotyping inexcusable.

He's from Belfast, which does make me wonder about some of the godawful nonsense he puts in to some of his comics when it comes to Irish characters. There again, we're talking about a man who admits to hating most superheroes and who thus continues his career as a writer by doing, amongst other things, superhero satires.

On the other end of the spectrum, he was on exceptional form when he was writing the Kit Ryan arcs in Hellblazer, particularly the Heartland special.

I also enjoyed Dicks greatly, because while it was very very silly it wasn't full of annoying clichéd stereotypes. The story of two idiots from Belfast by two idiots from Belfast, indeed.

The Recliner

Xabs wrote: »

I'm not familiar with Garth Ennis' work, but isn't he from Northern Ireland?
That, to me, makes the poor stereotyping inexcusable.

I am only a couple of books into the Preacher series but I don't think Cassidy is too much of a sterotype

Fair enough he drinks a lot and fights a lot but I don't think there is anything malicious in it, I think there is a lot of love in that character

Patrick Brown

I'll second Fysh's suggestion of Dicks - lowbrow Belfast stereotypes a-gogo. So much of the humour depends on recognition, it's a wonder it sells anywhere outside of Belfast.

There are some fairies with approximately Irish accents in some of Mike Mignola's Hellboy stories, but don't ask me to tell you which ones. If I remember rightly, the fairies Cluracan and Nuala in Sandman were also written with Irish accents.

Patrick Brown

Just remembered another one - Marie Kelly in From Hell, whose Irish accent is remarkably strong for someone who's supposed to have grown up in Wales. There's also a senior policeman - Anderson, I think his name is - who has a similar accent, although he's likely to have been a post West Brit type.

The Recliner

Patrick Brown wrote: »

I'll second Fysh's suggestion of Dicks - lowbrow Belfast stereotypes a-gogo. So much of the humour depends on recognition, it's a wonder it sells anywhere outside of Belfast.

There are some fairies with approximately Irish accents in some of Mike Mignola's Hellboy stories, but don't ask me to tell you which ones. If I remember rightly, the fairies Cluracan and Nuala in Sandman were also written with Irish accents.

Patrick Brown wrote: »

Just remembered another one - Marie Kelly in From Hell, whose Irish accent is remarkably strong for someone who's supposed to have grown up in Wales. There's also a senior policeman - Anderson, I think his name is - who has a similar accent, although he's likely to have been a post West Brit type.

Thanks

I have From Hell though yet to read it and I have some Hellboy stuff so I will have a read again and see if I can pick it out and forward them on

Thanks lads

Ridley

Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix has a pub full. On a cliff. Near Dublin...

Only a few pages though, and you can only get the issues new with the omnibus so it might not be worth the cost.

The Recliner

I ahve forwarded on all the suggestions here and they are very much appreciated

He is daunted by the amount of reading ahead

Thanks people

The Commander

There's also Theresa Cassidy aka Siryn in X-Factor. Possibly one of the least stereotyped characters written today. She's been great since Peter David started writing her.

filthymcnasty

can vaguely recall a judge dredd storyline in 2000ad where he teamed up with an irish judge: judge joyce! in dredds post apocalyptic world most of eastern ireland is a huge entertainment zone called emerald isle, the rest is a nuclear wasteland. dredd had to take a trip over to investigate some shady shenanaigans. think judge joyce may have appeared in some other dredd stories also. also in 2000ad slaine etc which i think was mentioned above.

Peterx

That Judge Dredd story in the Emerald Isle was an Oirish classic. loads of funny touches - spud guns, Saint Stephens green was a small shrub (Dredd drove over it), loads of good stuff.

The Recliner

Thanks Lads

I knew about that Dredd story set in Ireland but had forgotten it

Great stuff

Skerries

There is a character called Shamrock :rolleyes: with horrible shamrock covered green costume

Also Black Tom Cassidy who is a cousin of The Banshee

Also Irish Wofhound

other minor characters are Bloodwraith, Leir, Jack O' Lantern, Silver Banshee and those who remember the old Batman show Chief O'Hara