Blackstar shoots up comic chart

CLARE comic book creators have reached the top of the charts with their latest publication. Blackstar Book One, a collaboration between Clare writer Mike Lynch and artists Dwayne Moloney and Trystan Mitchell, recently reached number one in the Top Paid Comics chart on iTunes.

 

The digital comic, telling the story of an Irish-based superhero, has been receiving rave reviews and now it has pipped some of the biggest names in comic publishing worldwide with its ranking in the charts.

Mike said, “It was great to get the ranking. I think we’re number three now but we were at the number one spot, which was great. It’s our first time doing something digital and we said we’d just give it a try and see how we got on.

“It was great to see the response that we got. Marvel and DC, all of the big ones like Spider-Man, would be on that list so it was nice to be on the list with them.”

He explained the idea behind Blackstar Book One.

“It’s a superhero story and it’s all set in the West of Ireland. It’s about this boy, who gets hit with a piece of a meteorite and gets superpowers. It’s a basic enough idea but we think it’s done funny enough and it’s got a great reaction. It’s something that appeals to all ages,” said Mike.

According to Mike, more and more comics are embracing the digital age, which is why they decided to try a digital publication for this comic.

“With the digital comic, you can watch it on your tablet or your phone rather than having it in the shops. It’s an easier way of getting it out there. It’s kind of going that way. Over the last couple of years, things have really changed. A lot of the big companies now release a digital version on the same day as a physical one.”

While still riding high on their latest success, Mike, who along with Martin Greene set up Abandoned Comics last year, is already planning the next comic.

“We have another one that we’re planning; it’s more of a horror comic. We have one or two other things that we’re working on in the pipeline. We might also do another one of Blackstar. The response has been really good, so hopefully we will do another one, maybe next year.”

Abandoned Comics’ first publication, Nestor, won a number of awards. The vampire comic was based on a story by Martin Greene, written by Mike and featuring art by Paul McCallan and Anthony O’Neill.

“It’s going well for us at Abandoned Comics. “We won two awards with Nestor at the Irish Comic News Awards and, of course, with the iTunes chart for Blackstar it’s all a boost. The last two or three years have seen a big surge in comics in Ireland, which is great to see.

“There’s a website called Irish Comic News and they’re doing a great job of promoting all Irish comics. Sure there’s Declan Shalvey from Clare, who is working for Marvel Comics at the moment. There’s a good range of people working in the industry here, which is great,” said Mike.