Slaine the Horned God Anniversary Edition—A Graphic Novel The Way They Don’t Make Them Anymore!
I read The Horned God a long time ago when the Fleetwood oversized three-volume trade paperback edition came out. The three-volume format was costly, but it was definitely worth the price. This book is over 35 years old now. It’s been published several times in different formats since its introduction in the pages of 200 AD Magazine. Its lasting impact can be explained by the fact it is still eminently readable, even though Slaine, nowadays, would not escape the toxic male label.
Last year, 2000 AD celebrated The Horned God by publishing a 35th anniversary edition, which is probably the best way to read this book if you haven’t had the chance yet. 2000 AD released a trade paperback edition and a slipcase hardcover edition of this anniversary version. Good luck finding the hardcover edition, but the trade paperback is still available. I know die-hard fans will get the book, no matter how many previous editions of the story they already own.
First off, this anniversary edition is HUGE, measuring 10.63 inches × 14 inches. Simon Bisley’s artwork deserves no less; the oversized format truly does justice to the impressive art.I’ve read this story in all of its incarnations, including the original 200 AD Magazines, the hardcover edition and the Fleetwood oversized trade paperbacks. In my opinion, only the Fleetwood and The Anniversary editions do full justice to this amazing story and art.
When it originally released The Horned God, AD 2000 had already published several other Slaine stories in the pages of its magazine and in various trade paperback editions. Slaine had his heyday in the ’80s and ’90s, but his fandom is still very much alive today.His first story was published in 1983. The stories were penned by Pat Mills, and a number of great artists took their turn illustrating Slaine’s adventures over the years. Without casting a shadow over the great work of the other artists, Bisley’s work is the one that has become synonymous with Slaine.
Slaine is a barbarian hero whose stories are based on Celtic myths. He can be thought of as a “Celtic Conan.”Slaine is best known for chopping his enemies to bits with his mighty ax, “Brainbiter.” His battlecry—the king of one-liners—“Kiss my ax,” still resonates with fans to this day. Heis famous for his “warp spasm,” a battle rage that puts to shame all other berserker heroes in fantasy literature and myths (except for Cu Chulainn, whose battle frenzy is the inspiration for Slaine’s warp spasm).
If you haven’t read this story yet, the Anniversary Edition is your best chance to get your hands on it at a reasonable price. The Fleetway trade paperback and hardcover editions will cost you a mint if you can find them anywhere, but the trade paperback Anniversary Edition (released in 2024) is still available at regular retail price in some bookstores. The oversized format makes it even more worthwhile. You’ll understand why the moment you open the book on any random page.
Readers who know and like Bisley’s art will understand immediately why this book is such a momentous graphic novel achievement. Bisley has had a tremendous impact on comic book art over the past few decades. You can see his influence on the work of many artists.
Undoubtedly, the industry still produces great books, but the glory days or works such as Slaine The Horned God feel as if they are long gone. So, this anniversary edition is your chance to live (or relive) the full fury and beauty of Bisley’s Slaine.
The book is a perfect blend of storytelling and images. It’s a mix of the orgy of colors typical of Bisley’s palette, of Patt Mill’s storytelling skills and of Bisley’s mutable style, going from full-color art to basic monochromatic line art to convey the emotions carried by Patt Mill’s powerful dialogue.Both artists are great storytellers; their skills blend together to bring to life an amazing story worth reading over and over again. Every splash page of this book is like a Frazetta, Boris or Corben painting. All great works of graphic storytelling should be presented in such oversized glory. I haven’t felt as much awe for a graphic novel since 2004 when Dark Horse released the Gallery Edition of Elfquest.
For the new reader, this book will be a revelation. For the existing fan, it is a chance to relive in glorious oversized pages the awesomeness of one of the best fantasy graphic novels ever published. This book is a tour de force, and even readers who don’t like Bisley will recognize the work and efforts that went into creating this book.
I was a fan of Slaine long before Bisley illustrated The Horned God. Bisley’s work spoiled the rest of the series for me. The works of artists who drew Slaine’s adventures, before and after The Horned God, pale in comparison with Bisley’s art.But the grandeur of this book does not only reside in the art. This story is also the apex of Slaine’s adventuring days, brought to us by the mighty pen of Pat Mills. It is retold by his faithful dwarf companion, Ukko, living out his days in the Eternal Fortress of the Ever-Living Ones.
In order to defeat the Fomor (the sworn enemies of the Sessair, Slaine’s tribe), Slaine must secure the gifts of the Earth Goddess: the Cauldron of Blood, the Silver Sword of the Moon, the Flaming Spear of the Sun and the Holy Stone of Destiny. While this could have easily turned into a boring series of quests to secure a bunch of Mcguffins, Patts Mills brings his considerable storytelling skills to bear to make this story unique. The way Slaine secures each artifact is creative, oftentimes even surprising, given Slaine’s penchant for chopping heads. He also meets the goddess Danu, lies with her, and becomes her Horned God. He then assumes the mantle of the Ard Ri (the King of Kings) before setting off to meet the Fomorians in battle with the assembled tribes of the Earth Goddess.
The end battle is climactic, a fitting, epic end to this inspiring tale. Slaine is reunited with his great love, Niamh. It is a story to end all Slaine stories. It’s a tough act to follow. I read other Slaine stories after The Horned God, but they paled in comparison. The Horned God was it! And a fitting end to Slaine’s story.
Get this book while you still can.
Title: Slaine The Horned God Anniversary Edition
Publisher: 2000 AD
Format: Trade paperback
Publication date: 30 July 2024
Number of pages: 208
About the Author
Jules-Pierre Malartre Jules-Pierre Malartre currently lives in L’Île-Perrot, a small island west of Montreal (Quebec), which is as close to the Great White North that he will ever dare go, but still cold enough to save him from big-ass spiders, alien abductions, undead dinosaurs and tourists who find his French accent charming. In 2005, he quit a promising aerospace engineering career to go into freelance writing, which was a very, very bad idea according to his mother. Since then, he has become considerably poorer, but he has grown much happier. Along the way, he adopted cats—lots of cats! When he is not writing technical manuals, newspaper articles, press releases or blogs on anything from comic books to yoga, he is busy working on his first novel, a semi-autobiographical fictional account of his life that dares to ask the question, “where did God go wrong with me anyway?” His first short story, “The Rest Was Easy,” was published by the online literary magazine Amarillo Bay in 2013. The five people who read it liked it. He’s well aware that it took him over a decade to publish another one, so he’d really appreciate it if you'd cut him some slack about it! He loves coffee, cats and reading, mostly because those three things go very well together.
Related Posts
Preview: MADI: Once Upon a Time in the Future →
Review: 1,000 Nightmares #1 →
Review: Fistful of Blood #1 (of 4), Sexy Zombie-Western from Bisley and Eastman →
