New Moorestown Councilman Wrote An Award-Winning Comic Book

MOORESTOWN, NJ - New Moorestown Councilman Brian Donnelly has mentioned during meetings that he is a veteran. He is also a lawyer, but many people might not know he is also an award-winning comic book writer who was recognized alongside icons from Marvel Comics and Star Trek.

“I wanted to pursue a path where I could be in control of my future and be my own boss,” the 1997 Rowan College at Burlington County graduate recently explained to college officials.

He said that as he explained why he achieved a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law and a Master of Laws, Taxation from Temple University after earning his bachelor's degree in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Maryland, College Park.

While his bachelor’s degree and his doctorate, he served as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. Today, he is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and serves in the Judge Advocate General's Corps as a Judge Advocate.

In December 2008, he was mobilized for one year at the Pentagon working under the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Army, International and Operations Law Division, prosecuting terrorists under Iraqi law and supporting the Rule of Law in Iraq.

When he was 19 years old, his father died in a steel mill explosion. Earlier that year, he survived a serious car crash involving a drunk driver.

Nearly 20 years later, when his wife was a few weeks pregnant, he learned he had a brain tumor, epilepsy and autoimmune encephalitis, an extremely rare condition where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy brain cells.

He underwent brain surgery when his wife was five months pregnant with their first daughter and seven months of immuno-infusion therapy. It was during his recovery that he decided to pursue a passion he had since the 1980s.

He formed a comic book publishing company, Mythographer’s Workshop. His graphic novel, “Tir Na Fuil Volume 1: A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall,” won a bronze medal in the 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards alongside fellow award winners and pop culture icons Stan Lee and William Shatner.

Donnelly describes it as dark historical fantasy set during the Irish War for Independence from Great Britain. His next graphic novel will be another historical fantasy that will cast King Arthur returning as a young girl for the Battle of Britain during World War II.

Donnelly is a lifelong resident of Burlington County who lives in Moorestown with his wife and 4-year-old daughter. He is currently a managing member of Donnelly LLC, a law firm in Mount Laurel.

He is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys, a distinction claimed by less than 5 percent of U.S. attorneys. He was named a Burlington County Times "40 under 40" and has been quoted in U.S. News and World Report and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The attached image of Brian Donnelly was provided by Rowan College at Burlington County.

See related:
Meet the Moorestown Council Candidates: Brian Donnelly