Some extracts from Distant Fields to be Published in 2012 by Abandoned Comics as part of a World war 1  anthology Called Gas and Wire

Some initial sketches for The Invisible Man series for Accent UK

 Two pages from Horror takes a Holiday: Artist: Joe Campbell: Writer Jennifer Eiss

Columba's Cross copyright © 2011 Joe Campbell All rights reserved

"Beautiful artwork, the colouring is particularly striking"

Mark Chiarello, Art Director, DC Comics, New York

"Joe Campbell is one of Ireland's most promising emerging comic book talents"

Steve White, Senior Editor, Titan Books, London"

Columba’s Cross is a new graphic novel from Joe Campbell. The project was supported by the Arts Council under the SIAP awards (support for individual artists.) Columba’s Cross is a short fantasy tale of retribution and redemption that uses the history of Derry as a backdrop. The story opens in the war zone of Derry’s Bogside in 1973. A bitter provisional IRA man, high above the bog, at the site of the old Long Tower, has a British army foot patrol in his sights. As he aims down his sights he notices a glint of gold at his feet and stops to pick up a gold cross with a gem at its centre… what follows is pure fantasy and a journey back to 6^th century Ireland complete with alien invaders and the long lost Amelia Earhart.

In the best traditions of writing Joe has taken the landscape and the history of his youth and has woven a tale around what he knows. This is the first Irish graphic novel to backdrop the troubles. Joe describes drawing British soldiers, an IRA man and the landscape of his youth as “cathartic” and a process within itself.

Extract from Columba's Cross

This splash panel just takes the idea of SFX and the comic book as 2D movie a little further. I was able to find a 3D model of the Lockheed Vega on Google Sketch-up. The 3D model was a fantastic way to get any view of the plane.

This is part of the conversation piece with Colm O neill and Amelia Earhart. Here I've played with real facts based on the premise that the best lie is a half truth. In real life, Earhart was the first woman to cross the Atlantic solo. She landed at Ballyarnett north of Derry on 21st May 1932. She later disappeared in mysterious circumstances somewhere over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 whilst trying to circumnavigate the world. Neither she nor her plane were ever found and her disappearance fuelled many subsequent conspiracy theories. I've just added to them! In my story this is where she ended up... back in time in 5th century Ireland...as you do...

I really enjoyed putting this page together. What struck me was the potential of digital art to create great cinematic effects on a 2D page. I trawled round Google images for explosions, smoke, sunsets etc and blended together about five or six images then brushed in transparent colour and added smoke effects. When you think of it, the sky's the limit on what you can do. Think in terms of a small "movie" Once you start thinking of special effects similar to those in film it opens up possibilities and forces you to use digital to its extent. Comic books are comic books but this is the 21st century and production technology has moved on. I always try to visualise the scene in cinematic terms and then use the technology available to make it happen.

One of the advantages of using yourself as a model for your artwork is that you can print out any bald spots on the back of your head. There is nothing less cool than being distracted by a bald spot when your hero is decimating alien hoards with a magical cross. On a more serious note Columba's Cross not only features Derry itself, it also plays with the city's rich history. In this case ancient Celtic history and Amelia Earhart. this page also features a modified Lockheed Vega, Amelia Earhart's plane, the one she crossed the Atlantic on May 21st 1932.

Extract from Columba's Cross

Of course what do you do once you have your "time travelling provo" back in 5th century Columban Ireland? You have him attacked by thran wee aliens! What else?