The League of Volunteers Issue #1
Written by: Robert Curley
Art: Barry Keegan
Publisher: Atomic Diner
Have you read something that instantly takes you away to a different place? Maybe it was a book that absorbed you into another world between the soft eggshell coloured paper and blotted black ink letters? On our third read of ‘The League of Volunteers’ we find ourselves washed over with a sense of nostalgia – we are twelve years old and sat in the third desk of our sixth class in Primary School, the teacher is telling us all about the life of Fionn Mac Cumhaill, one of Ireland’s greatest heroes, one of our favourite heroes, a figure of legend and myth.
Reading the League we can’t help but feel like that child lost in wonderment and awe, in a world filled with terrifying monsters, beautiful heroes and heroines, the perfect place to escape to.
The League of Volunteers is the work of Robert Curley and Barry Keegan. Robert, owner of Atomic Diner and author of numerous publications, has created something marvellous and brought the world of the superhero to Ireland, in a time when our country desperately needs to believe in someone.
Who better than some of the legends we grew up with as well as some new ones of Roberts creation?
Concept art for the cover and it’s final design
The comic is based around an Ireland that has recently just affirmed her independence from the United Kingdom. As our first act as an independent people, President De Valera and the Irish government maintain a policy of neutrality during World War II despite pressure from both sides to engage the war with them. The book opens with scenes of a man named Ruadhan having a vision, of an Ireland in trouble, nearly two thousand years into the future, visions of an Ireland amidst the turmoil of the 1940’s, an ancient and evil force far beyond the comprehension of the men of power in this era, the Bocanach will rise and all may be lost.
Flash forward to the south west coast of Ireland, 1941, a deployment of Nazis working under the cover darkness are being watched from within the shadows and as they begin to carry out their plan, a masked man crashes into the scene of the experiment, guns and fists ready to thwart the German soldiers.
However the machines open a rift and a being emerges draped in hooded robes, a terrifying figure bearing the skull of a horned creature for head; it brandishes two deadly blades, wielding them with ferocious skill. The Nazi leaders flee and the masked man engages the creature only to be bested, barely escaping with his life after an ally fires an explosive arrow, forcing the creature to flee but eventually catching up the Nazis who fled.
Their car forced off the road into a tree, one of the men flees pursued by the robed being but eventually caught. With the slightest touch, the creature gleams all the information it appears to want from the Nazi and then disposes of the soldier with a flick of his wrist and the edge of his sword before disappearing back into a rift.
In the Wicklow Mountains, the Archer and Glimmer Man meet with officials in a base of operations for the Covert Division. Based on what they tell those in charge, the men are informed that based on their description of events, they need to seek out the help of another hero, the Blood Rose.
Concept art for the Bocanach and how it appears on the front cover
It has been said that you should never judge a book by its cover that rule how ever does not apply to comic books and the cover art by Barry Keegan is a visual feast. The protagonists of the series set below dark foreboding clouds but overlooking Áras an Uachtaráin.
Turning the cover, our eyes pour over page after page of clean and sharp images, with impeccable detail, drawings coloured in a grey wash only enhance that feeling of nostalgia and of a time now committed to the ages.
Issue number one of The League of Volunteers is without a doubt a fantastic read, mixing the ancient myths of Ireland with the rebirth of a nation is by no means an easy thing to do but Curley has done himself proud. He has managed to hook us, the story reads well, with just enough detail to allow us to follow but not nearly enough to even hazard a guess as to what we can expect, a difficult but important feature for a first edition to pull off and now we wait eagerly for the next edition.
Something we think deserves a special mention is the dialogue used by the Bocanach, the summoned creature speaks ‘as Gaeilge’/in Irish and while we ourselves ashamedly only have a basic grasp on the language, it was still something that we enjoyed and appreciated.
We as a nation are at a point in our history where we are left doubting those we elect to guard our interest, too often we have been let down and even wronged by those we charged with the responsibility of protecting our Ireland. However Robert’s work alongside Barry’s art has crafted a fantastic piece that proves Irish heroes have a place in the world of international supers. Modern Ireland seemed to have forgotten who our heroes were but Curley and Keegan and the first issue of The League of Volunteers is a brilliant reminder of not only our ability to tell a story but also the real power behind the people of Ireland and the myths that have lasted an age.
The League of Volunteers Issue #1 is available to order online now. To order a copy just click here!
For more information and updates about the series you can find the official Facebook page here.
