FL A N N O’BR I E N ’ S T H E T HIR D POL ICE M A N
A Graphic Novel by Dara deFaoite, David Thorpe and Alé Mercado
2 - Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman - Adapted by Dara deFaoite, David Thorpe and Alé Mercado
The Project Our challenge is to adapt Flann O’Brien’s surreal comic masterpiece The Third Policeman for graphic novel media. To this end, author and journalist Dara deFaoite, illustrator Ale Mercado and editor David Thorpe have produced a unique screenplay of the novel, capturing O’Brien’s celebrated wit and narrative style while vividly illustrating the book’s pantheon of outlandish characters, conveying the tone, theme, landscape and madness of the original work. O’Brien’s chilling comic satire of an archetypal village police force and of one man coming to terms with his eternal damnation is relayed through beautifully illustrated, classic comic-frame drawings and concise narrative. It is an innovative way to appreciate the narrative of one of the 20th century’s greatest comic novels by one of Ireland’s most important writers.
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The Novel The Third Policeman centres on our unnamed hero who carries out a most gruesome murder to fund the publication of his work on the barmy philosopher de Selby. His crime committed, our hero descends into a nightmare world of surreal characters and bizarre concepts, where men and their bicycles become one and the same thing and where “the fundamental essence of everything” is captured in a substance known as “omnium”. Our hero is sentenced to death by an illogical village police force. He manages to escape, only to realise that he himself has been murdered and must start his hellish journey over again for all eternity.
Pencils developed for one of the panels of The Third Policeman
4 - Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman - Adapted by Dara deFaoite, David Thorpe and Alé Mercado
The Team Author and journalist Dara deFaoite has worked at the forefront of Irish media and publishing for more than 12-years. A widely published, proactive and imaginative writer, Dara has written extensively for the national press in Ireland and abroad. Dara’s best-selling non-fiction book Paranormal Ireland was published in the United States by Barnes and Noble in 2006. Dara lives and works in London. He has been an ardent fan of Flann O’Brien since he first read The Third Policeman at the tender age of 15 (some time ago).
Alé Mercado is a frantic producer of visual imagery. You could find him in the successful Illustrating Illustration exhibition (co-curated and co-directed with Mary Butler), developing Corporate Identities for the private sector or illustrating the main image of the Kilkenny Arts Festival. His passion for comic-book narrative is what brought him to the illustration world. Now he feels it is time to pay back with this tribute to the media he loves the most. Many hours have already gone into research on comic narrative. You might see some of its results in Issue #4 of the Rhyme Rag (Arts Office Kilkenny County Council November 2008) in which each poem was accompanied by a comic that respected both theme and musicality. More recently, he has published his first collaboration with author Kevin Barry: Decimator, an 8-page comic published in The Stinging Fly (November 2010).
David Thorpe has edited comics and graphic novels for Marvel Comics, Titan Books, McDonald-Futura and HarperCollins (Doris Lessing’s Playing the Game), as well as writing many, including Marvel’s Captain Britain and Doc Chaos. His prize-winning novel Hybrids is published by HarperCollins and the tv rights have just been sold.
Autumn 2010 - 5
Why The Third Policeman? There are a few reasons why we have chosen this novel. • First and foremost we really love it. • Secondly, The Third Policeman is a work of dazzling imagery crammed with dastardly deeds, absurd concepts, outsized characters and illogical realities – the perfect ingredients for any gripping graphic novel..
Happy Birthday Flann O’Brien Flann O’Brien (the pen-name of Brian O’Nolan 1911-1966) remains a relatively hidden treasure of 20th century Irish literature. Enjoyed and revered by a respectful hardcore of fans, academics and critics, O’Brien never achieved widespread literary success during his lifetime. Next year, 2011, markes the 100th anniversary of O’Nolan’s birth, and will see a long-overdue resurgence of interest in one of Ireland’s most important writers. A film version of O’Brien’s first novel, At Swim Two Birds, staring Gabriel Byrne, Colin Farrel, Cilian Murphy and Brendan Gleeson is currently in production and due for general release in Autumn 2011.
This is one of the examples of preparatory sketches for The Third Policeman. Aspects like mood and composition of the panels are explored here as well as character development.
6 - Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman - Adapted by Dara deFaoite, David Thorpe and Alé Mercado
The Book The book will have the following specifications: • 170mm x 240mm • Approx 160 pages (final pagination not determined yet)
The Process The process we will be following is the standard one in the industry, namely: • Development of script from the novel • Translating script into comic book page narrative • Developing the pencils for every panel • Inking • Scanning, retouching, layout of page • Adding typography • Designing book • Final output file as PDF
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Preview of the Graphic Novel We have developed the first few pages of the graphic novel to explain further what we are talking about and illustrate how we would like it to look. We hope you enjoy them.
8 - Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman - Adapted by Dara deFaoite, David Thorpe and Alé Mercado
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10 - Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman - Adapted by Dara deFaoite, David Thorpe and Alé Mercado
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12 - Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman - Adapted by Dara deFaoite, David Thorpe and Alé Mercado
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14 - Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman - Adapted by Dara deFaoite, David Thorpe and Alé Mercado
T ha n k you