Celtic characters come to life through comic book artist
Writer Michael Gallagher put Cuchulainn, Newgrange and a Celestial called Scathan into Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, then watched the title get cancelled.
As printed in the Celtic Mirror, November 1995
Michael Gallagher fondly recalled times when his father, the renowned and award-winning gag cartoonist John Gallagher, would arrive home from a busy day of meetings in New York City and issue his son a verbal warning: "Don't get involved in gag cartoons."
So, Michael didn't.
Instead, he attended college, where he had the opportunity to try acting.
He studied classics, comedies, tragedies, and satires. He took an interest in community theater and went on to direct shows.
After college, he took a job with a local television station in Florida, where he scripted commercials.
Nevertheless, something was luring him back to his original dream: creating comic strips.
With the help of mentor Sid Jacobson, a writer from the now defunct Harvey Comics, Gallagher returned to comic writing and cartooning in the early 1980s.
Upon his return, the young writer/artist found opportunities aplenty.
He began a stint with Starcom Comics and then moved on to be one of the many writers who worked on the "Sonic the Hedgehog" cartoon.
He also scripted Alf comic books (based on the hit television series).
One of his most memorable assignments involved revamping his all-time favorite character, "Mighty Mouse."
"It was a thrill to be able to jump into the business and have these great assignments handed to me. My all-time favorite job was working on Mighty Mouse comics. He's such a popular and well-known character that I was honored to be able to do whatever I wanted with him in the story," Gallagher said.
Today, at 41, Gallagher is a successful freelance artist. One of his more recent assignments was with Marvel Comics, writing the "Guardians of the Galaxy" series.
These writings span Marvel Comics' Guardian issues Numbers 29 through 63.
Readers are taken on a mystical journey throughout the cosmos to find a number of super heroes engaged in defending the human race of the 31st Century from Martian invasions, evil banshees and any number of bad-news perpetrators.
Gallagher was instrumental in generating an interest in this series by introducing the comic book world to an old Celtic mythological hero called Cuchulainn (koo-hool-n) "The Irish Wolfhound."
"Marvel's most successful and longest-running character has been the Norse God of Thunder, Thor. Hercules has also become a Marvel mainstay, so I felt that it was my Celtic duty to add Cuchulainn to the mythological mix," Gallagher said.
In that story, the Guardians are taken to NewGrange in search of the Book of Kells, only to discover an obscure Marvel Superhero named Shamrock living with her companion, Cuchulainn.
Cuchulainn's name was augmented to include "The Irish Wolfhound" on the suggestion of Gallagher's editor, who said it was more palatable to readers who like ferocious-sounding heroes.
The bulky, fully armored medieval character made his debut in the Guardians of the Galaxy Annual Number 3. His appearance was courtesy of artist Kevin West, who designed Cuchulainn based upon research that Gallagher provided.
"I have always been fascinated by my Irish heritage and as a student of mythology I try to include an Irish twist in my work as often as possible," he said.
One such twist is a character that Gallagher personally designed for the Guardians of the Galaxy Series Number 50. The character's name is "Scathan (Ska-than) the Approver."
"Celestials like Scathan are a cosmic race of beings in the Marvel Universe. Scathan was created to fit a specific sequence in the story," Gallagher explained.
"Situations arise where a certain type of Celestial is needed to make a decision or fill a void. It's kind of like a space opera, where a specific cast member is needed to attend to a specific cosmic situation," he said.
Scathan's monstrous armor-like appearance makes other superheroes look like small potatoes. And, that is exactly what Gallagher had in mind when he was designing this Celestial.
"I needed to come up with a great title for the character and I felt that the name Scathan best described him," Gallagher said.
"Although this may imply that he is of Irish descent, he is a Celestial first and goes by the title 'Scathan the Approver.' But it doesn't mean that underneath his helmet he doesn't have red hair and freckles."
Gallagher knows quite a bit about some of the 35,000 to 40,000 people who purchased Guardians each month.
Like many enterprises in the nation, Marvel recently decided to downsize, and in doing so, it canceled the title. The decision was part of the announced "Marvelution," in which fewer titles are being produced.
"There was an extreme outpouring of fan mail from all around the world. Letters would come from kids in the Philippines, Canada, Guatemala, Ireland and just about anywhere in the world."
"Some of the more mature readers dropped me a line to say how Guardians reminded them of the old-style comics," Gallagher said.
Gallagher believed he could never get to know his fans unless he had the opportunity to meet them. For this reason, he continues to hold book signings and workshops.
"It's very rewarding to get out there and meet the people who read the comics. I receive many phone calls but there is nothing like seeing the expression on a kid's face or answering the many questions they have," he said.
According to Gallagher, topics discussed in the stories, such as the Book of Kells, or places, such as NewGrange, and catch phrases written in Gaelic, contribute to the educational value of the comic spread.
"If it sends kids screaming to the history books, what's wrong with that? I don't believe it's a bad thing for kids to be so taken by a passage in a story that they want to learn more about the language or history of Ireland."
Other Celtic characters Gallagher has put into his work over the years include Seamus Halligan, an Irish relative who visits Alf in Alf issue Number 40; Police Chief O'Reilly, among the cast of characters in Marvel's Mighty Mouse; and a "Leprockaun" who visits young Freddy Flintstone and Barney Rubble in the Flintstone Kids Comic Book.
So, what's next for Gallagher?
Well, he has completed two new stories for Marvel's X-Men comics called "Talking Pages." These stories are equipped with sound effects and, according to Gallagher, should be on the cartoon sales racks soon.
He is also proud to have sold a one page gag cartoon to the infamous Mad Magazine.
"I can't comment on that too much, but I can tell you that I am ecstatic because Mad is probably one of the toughest nuts to crack in terms of getting something published," he said.
For now, Gallagher's work with Guardians of the Galaxy is on hold and Scathan and Cuchulainn are suspended in a cartoon-like limbo. They may be heard from again if Marvel decides to bring them back, but if not, as Gallagher put it, "That's showbiz."
Gallagher was born in New York and grew up in Bergenfield, N.J. He attended Rider University as a fine arts major.
He was reared in a talented and creative family atmosphere. His father's work was published in such magazines as The Saturday Evening Post, Sport and Argosy, and he twice won awards from the prestigious National Cartoonists Society.
Michael's uncle, George Gately (Gallagher), created the tough tabby tomcat, Heathcliff.
Gallagher said both men were a great inspiration to him.
Where the Guardians went
We admit a soft spot for this one. A Marvel cosmic being named Scathan the Approver shares its name with this newspaper, and we are not about to let that go unrecorded.
A few numbers need a gentle adjustment. The 1990 Guardians of the Galaxy series, launched in June 1990 by Jim Valentino, ran to 62 issues and was cancelled with issue 62 in July 1995, so Gallagher's run is usually listed as issues 29 to 62 rather than 63. He took over the writing with issue 29, dated October 1992, after Valentino left to co-found Image Comics. With his regular penciller Kevin West and inker Steve Montano he also wrote two annuals and Galactic Guardians, a four-issue miniseries that ran from July to October 1994. Reference works give his birth date as November 15, 1951, in Manhattan.
His other credits hold up well. Gallagher wrote almost every story in Marvel's ALF comic for issues 1 to 50, plus annuals and specials, wrote Mighty Mouse issues 1 to 5 and 7 to 9, and wrote the first several issues of Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic, which leaned more slapstick than the later run.
The family business carried on too. George Gately, the uncle who created Heathcliff in 1973, had dropped the Gallagher surname professionally to avoid confusion with his brother John. He stopped drawing the strip in 1998 and died in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on September 30, 2001. Heathcliff is now written and drawn by Michael's cousin, Peter Gallagher.
A Guardians of the Galaxy film reached cinemas in 2014. Cuchulainn the Irish Wolfhound was not in it. That's showbiz.
Questions readers ask
Is Cuchulainn in Marvel comics?
Cuchulainn appeared in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, introduced by writer Michael Gallagher with artist Kevin West, who designed the armoured version billed as "The Irish Wolfhound." He debuted in Guardians of the Galaxy Annual 3 and appeared alongside the Irish heroine Shamrock in a story set at Newgrange during Gallagher's 1992 to 1995 run.
Who wrote Guardians of the Galaxy in the 1990s?
Jim Valentino wrote and drew the 1990 Guardians of the Galaxy series from its June 1990 launch until he left to co-found Image Comics. Michael Gallagher took over with issue 29, dated October 1992, and wrote it to the end, issue 62, in July 1995, mostly with penciller Kevin West. Gallagher also wrote the 1994 Galactic Guardians miniseries.
Who created Heathcliff the cat?
George Gately created the comic strip Heathcliff in 1973. Born George Gallagher in Queens in 1928, he worked under the name Gately to avoid confusion with his brother, the cartoonist John Gallagher. He stopped drawing the strip in 1998 and died in 2001. His nephew Peter Gallagher now writes and draws Heathcliff.
Who wrote the ALF comic book?
Michael Gallagher wrote nearly all the stories in Marvel's ALF comic for issues 1 to 50, along with several annuals and specials. He also wrote Marvel's Mighty Mouse and the early issues of Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog. His father was the gag cartoonist John Gallagher.
