THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2025! Aaron Losty is originally from Ireland and currently working from Canada. He has built a strong portfolio of unique publications including: his webcomic on Patreon, Clearwater; The Waves That Break, Losty’s first graphic novel; The Last Scarecrow, reviewed on Broken Frontier for Thought Bubble 2019; the long graphic novel, Blaze Beyond the Pale, set in Finglas. Following this Losty embarked on a number of collaborations: the Irish superhero Ploughman, which Losty provided art and co-wrote with Irish colourist JP Jordan; the horror graphic novella Daystar, which Losty co-wrote with Matt Emmons; and recently, Losty joined the Nullhunter team of Michael Walsh and Gustaffo Vargas to co-author issue #8 of the Image Comics series.
Losty returned to solo work with The Hanging, a graphic novel centered on three brothers: Adam, Mac, and Tim. Along with their mother, they live in an alternate near-future Ireland under mysterious circumstances. The skies are filled with nuclear missiles suspended in mid air, controlled by unknown “ghosts” which are only shown as abstract cloud-like formations through the younger brother’s visions. Their world is built on poverty and violence and overall hopelessness, the family bond is the only way they make it through the day. When one of the missiles is released by the “ghosts”, the brothers slip into survival modee. However, Losty underplays this scene which could be melodramatic in lesser hands. The turning point of the book comes not with a nuclear explosion, but when the brothers learn there is a riot at their mother’s place of work being put down by the military.
Losty paces this long graphic novel by alternating fight scenes with quiet moments, although the quiet moments carry just as much tension and violence as those action scenes. The art itself is distilled down to near abstraction, as the figures in the panels are wavy black forms ebbing and flowing through the narrative. Colour plays a crucial part in Losty’s story. As the tale revolves around the brothers they are highlighted in shades of red that make their presence dominate their repressive monotone green world. A word about the final piece of this perfectly constructed narrative the creator has put together: it’s impressive how seamlessly Becca Carey’s lettering matches Losty’s art style. Lettering at its best is complementary, however it’s incredible how organically the text fits into the rhythm of the overall narrative.
Boulder, Colorado (US) based Strangers Publishing is bringing The Hanging to Thought Bubble, publisher Eddie Raymond has brought US readers UK/Ireland creators in the past (notably distributing James Corcoran‘s Stramash series).
Aaron Losty (W/A/C), Becca Carry (L/Design) • Strangers Publishing, $18.00
Review by Gary Usher
The Hanging will be available from Strangers Publishing at Table C13 in the 2000 AD Hall at Thought Bubble. Unconfirmed guests at the Strangers Table include Adam Falp, Tom Kneeshaw, and Jordan Barry-Browne.
Thought Bubble 2025 runs from November 1oth-16th with the convention weekend taking place on the 15th-16th. More details on the Thought Bubble site here.
Read all our Thought Bubble 2025 coverage so far in one place here.
Poster by Ng Yin Shian
