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Patrick Brown

Patrick Brown (b. Belfast, 15 October 1969) is a writer/artist currently working on The Cattle Raid of Cooley, a webcomic adapting the ancient Irish epic Táin Bó Cúailnge. His influences include Eddie Campbell, Bryan Talbot, John Wagner, Hergé, Charles Keeping, Donna Barr and Eric Shanower. He attended the University of Ulster's College of Art and Design in Belfast, but failed his Foundation year.

1 Early work
2 Current work
3 Gallery
4 External links
- 4.1 Press
- 4.2 Online reference

Early workEdit

He began creating and self-publishing small press comics in 1994 with the first issue of A Virtual Circle, a six-part virtual reality thriller. A Virtual Circle was created in an improvisational style - unscripted and drawn directly in ink without pencilling, and was finally completed in 1998. Also created in this style was the romantic fantasy one-shot Under the Bed in 1995. Taking a more considered approach, he also created a short detective comic, Tamara Knight in The Liaison Affair (1995), and the satirical leaflet-comic Guilty As Charged (1996). In 1997 he was invited to contribute to Superstate Funnies, an anthology of European comics published by the Caption small press convention, and created "Communication", a wordless three page vignette about office life. He contributed to Andrew Luke's small press series Bob's, drawing a cover for issue 2 (1997) and a 5-page sequence for issue 6 (2002), and the 2000AD fanzine Zarjaz, writing and drawing a Sláine strip, "Cothraige's Ring", in issue 1 (2001), and drawing a Harmony story, "Steal Softly Through Snow", written by Roger Simian, in issue 2 (2002). He moved onto the web in 1999, publishing Communication and a colour edition of Tamara Knight online.

Current workEdit

Having maintained a website collecting stories from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology for several years, he made several false starts at an adaptation of the adventures of the legendary hero Cú Chulainn, and Táin Bó Cúailnge in particular, including one intended for the Scottish comics website scomics.com in 2000. In May 2007 he returned to the improvisational approach he had used on A Virtual Circle, and began a series of webcomics under the banner The Ulster Cycle. The first, Ness, the story of a princess who turns outlaw to track down a murderer, ran until July 2008, coming to 72 pages. A printed edition was launched at the 2008 Dublin City Comic Con, and is available to buy online from Brown's website.

The second Ulster Cycle serial, set two generations later, was The Cattle Raid of Cooley, adapting Táin Bó Cúailnge. Queen Medb of Connacht stages an invasion of Ulster to steal Ulster's prize stud bull, opposed only by rookie border guard Cú Chulainn. It began in August 2008 and updates every Wednesday. Five print issues are available, collecting the first 128 pages, are available. The latest online installment, page 101, was posted on 1 February 2012.

He took part in the Belfast 24 Hour Comics Day event in 2008, creating Something, the Dublin event in 2009, creating After the End, and the Belfast event in 2010, creating the full-colour Rise at Sundown. Along with Andrew Luke, he runs the monthly Black Panel stall, selling small press comics by Irish artists at the Black Box, Hill Street, Belfast.