D.I.C.E. 2014 Thanks!

I was lucky enough to be involved with the Dublin International Comic Expo this year. It was my first time working at an Irish convention, which is weird. I was very excited to experience doing panels and then actually going home to my own bed. It was a novelty I could really get used to!

Considering I've been on over 50 panels at conventions, the two I moderated at D.I.C.E. were the first I ever did about comics. This little tidbit made me a little worried about how they would go, just because it was a new thing, but I couldn't be happier with how they turned out.

The Writing Comics panel on Saturday was a lot of fun and I was super smug when Gerry Duggan commented afterwards that he thought it was a great panel for anyone who really had an interest in writing comics. That made my day.

The big highlight of the weekend, however, was the Comics Are For Everybody panel. I got to talk about diversity in comic books with Jamie McKelvie, Kieron Gillen, Maura McHugh, Jordie Bellaire (founder of the Comics Are For Everybody initiative), Kate Leth, Jeanine Schaefer, and Declan Shalvey. The photo below is of that powerhouse group just before Jamie joined us. It was a really motivating and energising talk and we've had nothing but amazing comments and reactions for it since. I'm really proud I got to moderate that talk as it's something I'm pretty passionate about so I couldn't be prouder that it seemed to go so well.

Photo courtesy of @theronster

I just have to thank all the guys at Big Bang Comics in Dundrum who organised the whole convention, Declan and Jordie for making sure I could be apart of it all, the wonderful volunteers who kept everything ticking with a smile on their faces, and the fantastic folks who attended the show who were all polite, engaged, smart, and just generally awesome.

Mars Needs Podcasts #280- Dragon Fringe

The lovely JJ Hawkins (who I host the Drive-In podcast with, if you weren't paying attention) once again invites me onto his own personal podcast to catch up on the past month of madness.

We discuss my struggles with acting, my love of conventions, and ultimately our love for each other which simmers under the surface of our heterosexuality. Or something like that anyway.

To listen to the podcast CLICK HERE or to download directly CLICK HERE.

League of DOOM - August Report

NOTE: This article was originally published by me on TheWebsiteofDOOM.com
The transfer deadline is over. Silly season has officially finished in English football (at least until the January transfer window opens). And the first three game weeks of DOOM's first official fantasy league have taken place. Only 9 more months to go before we crown a champion!

So lets get our bearings, shall we? As it stands, here is our league table (yes, my team is highlighted, I haven't figured out how to get rid of that yet).

As we speak, there are only two teams undefeated, and two teams without a win. Lets look at the positive and check out the top two.

D.I.C.E. 2014

I'm very excited to announce that I'll be moderating two panels at this year's Dublin International Comics Expo (or D.I.C.E. for short). It's quite frankly the best comic book convention in Ireland so I'm thrilled to be involved.

The two panels I'm hosting are:

Saturday 27th September @ 3pm - Writing Comics
Featuring: Gerry Duggan, Maura McHugh, Si Spurrier, Kate Leth, and Nick Roche.

Sunday 28th September @ 2pm - Comics Are For Everybody
Featuring: Jordie Bellaire, Kieron Gillen, Kate Leth, Maura McHugh, and Declan Shalvey.

That's some pretty serious comic power in those line-ups so I'm looking forward to chatting with them and all the other guests of the convention. Hopefully I might be able to swing some one-on-one interviews like I did last year too (see 1, 2, and 3).

I can't wait. Hope to see some of you there!

Thanks Dragon Con, you were just what I needed

As per usual, I had the time of my life at Dragon Con this year. For those looking for pictures check out my Instagram page or my Facebook album. Big thank you to Ken Plume, Molly Lewis, and Ben Soileau without whom it literally wouldn't have been possible for me to go this year. You are saints and scholars and mucky little devils all at once. I hope to get the footage from some of our shows and get them up online for you but just don't expect that any time soon!

I wanna thank all my friends who both look after me and hang out during the con. You're the whole reason why I enjoy going so much. Specific thanks to Hal Lublin, my hotel roomie, for being as lovely as I knew you would be; Joseph Scrimshaw for taking the lead and organising a great improv show that included me; Heather Mbaye for being our con mommy, Leigh and Widge for still having me around, Jon Boutelle for working his socks off as always; and Dana Swanson for repaying my faith by nailing it hard and generally being awesome. This list is getting unwieldy so I'll cut it there but know that I love each and every one of you with the power of a thousand Russias.