Jul 4, 2025
A Man of No Importance (Suri Krishnamma, 1994).
seen from South Korea
seen from Canada
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Indonesia
seen from China
seen from Estonia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Estonia
seen from Singapore
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Japan
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Germany
A Man of No Importance (Suri Krishnamma, 1994).
1980 - May Pang in "Jet Set Superstar with Ménage à Trois, including actor Gabriel Byrne (& pt 5).
In 1980 the actor Gabriel Byrne joined by New Yorkers May Pang and Pandora Moore release the single ‘Jet Set Superstar’ under the name Ménage à Trois.
‘Jet Set Superstar’ is written by Barry Devlin of Horslips fame and co-produced and arranged by his bandmate Jim Lockhart. Gabriel Byrne, best known for his role in the RTÉ television drama ’Bracken’ supplies the male vocals. May Pang and Pandora Moore do not sing on the record and the female vocals are recorded by Twink.
The song features in the short film ‘I Wish That I Could Boogie’. This funny spoof film looks at Barry Devlin’s song from the time of its conception until it is recorded onto disc. Casting Gabriel Byrne as a French jet-setter alongside May Pang and Pandora Moore, the film also involves choreographer Mavis Ascott and photographer Tony Higgins. ‘I Wish That I Could Boogie’ was broadcast on 29 September 1980. The producer and director is Michael Murphy.
You can watch the video here (youtube) or RTÉ Archives website (here).
As a Japanese person who is used to reading manga, I find comics outside Japan to be so different beyond size, color, reading direction, and language that I wish there was a book explaining comics of various kinds and how to approach them. For example, I have read The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag, Magical Boy by The Kao, Hound by Paul J. Bolger and Barry Devlin, An Táin by Colmán Ó Raghallaigh, and the excerpts of Franco-Belgian comics in the guide Invitation au monde de la Bande Dessinée (はじめての人のためのバンド・デシネ徹底ガイド, 2013).
Neither The Witch Boy nor Hound were divided by chapter to my surprise—especially Hound since it was first released in three volumes. Dialogue in Franco-Belgian comics are lengthy compared to what I see in manga, which the academic book Les échanges culturels entre Manga et Bande dessinée : Historie, Adaptation et Création (日仏マンガの交流 ヒストリー・アダプテーション・クリエーション, 2015) has commented on.
Hound was created by at least two Irish people and edited by one British person (Hugh Welchman) but I find this graphic novel to be similar to a certain kind of Franco-Belgian comics like the works of Jean "Mœbius" Giraud. These comics have impressive art and imagery—and I love how Hound portrays Cú Cullan's berserk state and uses dashes of red in an otherwise black and white setting—but they give me little or no idea about what's going on unlike, say, Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa. I have heard of the international popularity of manga—in France in particular—but I wonder why people outside Japan embrace manga so much when it's not like comics produced in their countries.
Thoughts?
Dark Horse Comics Announces “Hound” Based on Irish Myth
Paul J. Bolger, Barry Devlin, and Dee Cunniffe are adapting Irish myth “The Hound of Ulster,” titled Hound, at Dark Horse Comics.
“In 50 BCE, Morrigan, the goddess of war, has become restless as a long-lasting peace settles over Ireland. Deciding the time of peace must end, she chooses Setanta, the nephew of the king of the north, to become her ward. After a young Setanta slays the demon-hound of Cullan, he becomes known as Cú Cullan—The Hound of Cullan. As Cú Cullan grows older, it is apparent that an extraordinary power lies within him . . . and a great darkness. When he chooses the quiet life of a farmer over the sword, Morrigan, angry at the betrayal, instigates an invasion of his homeland and Cú Cullan must challenge fate itself to keep the goddess at bay.” (Dark Horse Comics)
Hound, a 488 page hardcover, will go on sale on March 9, 2022.
(Image via Dark Horse Comics)
Hound
The first part of my scholarly review of Paul J. Bolger's dark fantasy graphic novel "Hound"
Ethan Sabatella's reviews of Hound by Paul J. Bolger and Barry Devlin are invaluable since he writes from the perspective of someone who has studied Irish mythology.
The third part to my scholarly review of Paul J. Bolger's dark fantasy graphic novel "Hound"
The third part of my scholarly review of Paul J. Bolger's dark fantasy graphic novel "Hound"