Rick O'Shea: I wouldn't want to live in the world of Strumpet City but I keep going back there
I'm taking you to dark, less comfortable places this week, and with good reason. Every year I throw an eye over my reading list to see where the gaps have been, and to see if I'd like to nudge the balance a bit. Some years this meant adding in a few thrillers, or some older books that I'd always wanted to try; in recent years it has meant seeking out more writing in translation.
When I was growing up, everything I read was for escape – the Famous Five, Three Investigators, the Hardy Boys and a lot of science fiction. I graduated into graphic novels when I was a teenager. Watchmen, V For Vendetta and Alan Moore's Batman series The Dark Knight Returns scratched itches I didn't even know I had. When I was in college, the escape was to America – I tried Joseph Heller, Bret Easton Ellis, and Tom Wolfe. You could say the same about the films I went to, the music I listened to, the TV I watched.
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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
'Warner Brothers and Disney reach out to us': Meet the man who recreates famous Hollywood props
From the gun that killed Batman's mum and dad to the talking car in Knight Rider, Matt Hodge has dedicated his life to recreating some of Hollywood's most famous props. But the man behind Dublin-based group Reel Icons knows that with great power comes great responsibility. Since founding the organisation in 2018, he has travelled with his costumes and props to hospitals, hospices and charity events nationwide. Sara and Matt Hodge in the Reel Icons Ireland workshop. Since founding the organisation in 2018, Matt has travelled with his costumes and props to hospitals, hospices and charity events nationwide. Photo: Moya Nolan He does so free of charge and often under the radar. The idea is to replicate, not just the costumes and props of their favourite superheroes, but their propensity to help others as well. The team's approach, Matt tells the Irish Examiner, differs from cosplay in that costumes are almost indistinguishable from the original pieces used in the referenced films and television programmes. Reel Icons came about as a division of the 501st legion Ireland which creates and showcases screen-accurate Star Wars costumes. It now operates independently and has 25 members, six of whom are children. The group impersonates superheroes as well as other film and television favourites with the exception of Star Wars characters. Matt has gone to epic lengths to bring movies to life, even conjuring up mobile film sets to showcase at events. After his equipment and tools crept into his kitchen and living room, he relocated operations to a workshop in Rathcoole. The rented space is a cornucopia for artists with an array of tools and equipment including 3D printers, laser engravers as well as the traditional saws and hammers. Matt and Sara Hodge with their children. 'Sara wasn't sure about the costume thing at first but now she dresses up as Supergirl. The reaction she gets from little girls, who up to now, only met with princesses, is always lovely.' Photo: Moya Nolan 'We were able to recreate the whole Gotham Police Department from scratch right down to the mini television next to Commissioner Gordon's desk that plays Gotham news in the background," he said. "If you listen closely you will hear all about the stock market as well as crime news about The Joker. Reel icon members helped to make this as accurate as possible. "Holly even created suspect files, and scrutinised every part of what was written in them so that it's completely true to the movies. They work hard to make sure that whatever they have on display is exactly what people see on screen. "There's a replica of the gun that The Joker used in the bank robbery in the Dark Knight. We have Kryptonite being held as evidence in a bag. There's a cell where you can go and have your mug shot taken. "Movie fans can also see the string of pearls that came off Batman's mother's neck when she was killed and the gun that was used to shoot both parents.' Attention to detail has always been paramount for Matt. Matt Hodge: 'There is a difference between cosplay and professional costuming. With cosplay you can change it up and do whatever makes you happy.' Photo: Moya Nolan 'There is a difference between cosplay and professional costuming. With cosplay you can change it up and do whatever makes you happy. We get invited to attend events because of our professionalism and accuracy. "The club has a system that scrutinises the costumes. If someone makes a costume that is not up to a certain standard we will support them in pushing it to the next level and making it as accurate as possible." He says if people want to come and use their costume for good then the troupe has a lot of platforms they can operate on. "Sometimes the people who are responsible for the intellectual property such as the likes of Warner Brothers and Disney reach out to us because we are good at what we do. They will ask us to do the red carpets with them. "Last year we did Alien: Romulus and that was a great experience. We don't get paid for these events because the films are not our intellectual property but we are always very happy to do them.' The most rewarding aspect of Matt's volunteering is his visits to seriously ill children. 'We don't do birthday parties unless they are for Little Blue Heroes or LauraLynn, Ireland's Children's Hospice," he said. "Dressing up for Halloween is one thing but doing it to help a child is another. Parents often ask Spiderman to come in to visit their child who won't see the end of the week. When you enter the room and a child sits up who hasn't sat up in a week, then our work is complete. "Other children might not have spoken a word in days but are able to gather the strength to talk to their favourite superhero.' Modified cars also form part of Matt's coveted collection. 'I don't want to say how much I spent creating the car from Knight Rider but it was a lot. By trade I'm an auto electrician for cars and I've created sound systems for them in the past. "The car has everything down to the voice. Unfortunately, it's off the road at the moment but I'm hoping to get this sorted soon. "I also have the Jurassic Park jeep and the SHIELD SUV similar to the ones we see used in Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. When you are driving these vehicles on Irish roads everyone stops to look.' Matt's talent was evident from an early age. Matt and Sara Hodge with their children Matthew, Leroy, and Laila. 'Parents often ask Spiderman to come in to visit their child who won't see the end of the week. When you enter the room and a child sits up who hasn't sat up in a week, then our work is complete.' Photo: Moya Nolan 'Looking back, I was a sucker for watching cartoons. We had the best cartoons you have ever seen when I was a child. There were no agendas. These were old-fashioned cartoons with stories to tell and with a sense of adventure. "Like any young boy growing up I wanted to be a teenage mutant ninja turtle. I was always crafting and making my own toys. If something needed repairing, I never saw it as broken. Instead, I viewed it as an opportunity to be modified." He says "back then" they played with toys properly. Laila Hodge in the Reel Icons Ireland workshop. Photo: Moya Nolan "We made sure we all had different toys because this made more sense for us when we were playing together," he said. "When I got into costume on a grander scale I would repurpose things around the house. "I could be in the kitchen or the garage and spot something with the potential to be repurposed. As I got older I might be in Woodies and see something that would make a great plasma cannon.' Matt shares three children with his wife Sara, Laila (7), Leroy (10) and Matthew (13) 'They've all got on board for it,' he told the Irish Examiner. 'Sara wasn't sure about the costume thing at first but now she dresses up as Supergirl. The reaction she gets from little girls, who up to now, only met with princesses, is always lovely. Supergirl is a beacon of hope for any little girl.' Read More Watch: Tipperary taxidermist wants to save art form in danger of dying
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
Illustrated stories, comics and flights of imagination for the young and the still young at heart
As someone who drew almost as much as I wrote throughout childhood, I always had a fondness for comics and comic books, from younger-kid weeklies like The Beano and Roy of the Rovers, to teen-appropriate periodicals such as Batman or Judge Dredd to more adult fare (distinguished as 'graphic novels') including Watchmen, From Hell and Wild Palms.
Irish Examiner
20-06-2025
- Irish Examiner
Colm O'Regan: Enid Blyton may be outdated, but my kids are into the adventure
Enid Blyton – or Gnid Blitten as I used to pronounce it when I couldn't make out the cursive. The famous signature that's on the front of about 600 different books is back on a couple of charity shop Famous Five books that are in the house. The signature of a woman who has been given a fair bit of fairly fair criticism over the last 60 years. Time has not been kind to attitudes toward the Famous Five. For decades, they have got a lot of criticism for sexism, racism, classism, outdated stereotypes, and repetitive plots. Just like the Simpsons or Bosco or Rugrats or Glenroe's Dick Moran, none of the Famous Five seem to age. Ian Mander, a contributor to an Enid Blyton fansite, has worked out that by last book 'Five Are Together Again', Julian should be 23, Dick and George 22 and Anne 21. Yet still Anne seems nervous about life in general. But with all that, I'm still reading them to the children. Maybe it's nostalgia, recapturing how I felt. But also, they're still great for an escape. To a land of cycleable rural roads, cream buns and nothing resembling responsibilities. The first rule of many books for children is Kill the Parents so that the children can do some adventuring. But the Famous Five is not just escapism for children. It's also for parents. Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin's approach to childcare is refreshing in that they don't seem to do much of it at all. They, along with the childrens' parents, send the children off to boarding school, and then during the holidays, don't mind them at all. Often, the plot hinges on Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin allowing four preteen children to head off into the countryside by themselves. Gráinne Seoige digs into a Famous Five book in 2005. Pic: Fennells In Five Get Into Trouble, Uncle Quentin mixes up the date of Easter and attends a conference during the holidays despite all the children coming to visit. The solution? The children will just go cycling and camping for a week. Aunt Fanny is worried, but Quentin just says, 'Oh, Fanny, if Julian can't look after the others, he must be a pretty feeble specimen.' A reminder: Julian is 12. Dick gets kidnapped in this book. I'm not judging Quentin and Fanny, but you'd have to say the two facts are linked. The Famous Five are not exactly strong on DEI programmes. Anyone who is different: Roma, circus folk, foreigners, the working class, are all given short shrift and are really only welcomed into the circle of trust when they've saved their lives. And that's with some of the worst stuff edited out over the years. There is a lack of garda vetting. Both Jo, an orphan with a jailed thief for a father, and Nobby, an orphan with a thief for an uncle, are handed over to other families after the aforementioned blood relatives are jailed without a single bit of paperwork. And yet despite all this, my children like the books. They know the Famous Five, apart from Timmy (who has the best radar of any of them), are sometimes unpleasant children. And the attitudes were different then. But that's fine. Enid Blyton mightn't have noticed that her heroes can sometimes be little shitebags but sometimes very generous with doling out sandwiches. That level of nuance is good for children now. They can appreciate a flawed main character and how the past was a cold place if you were different. Their favourite bits are not always the characters anyway. It's the idyllic countryside, barrelling out the door to go adventuring, the wearing of ragged old shorts and patched up jumpers, placid horses, secret passageways in wood panelling, and swimming in clean rivers. That, at least, is timeless.
