Sláine: The Lord of Misrule (2011)

Author: Pat Mills | Illustrators: Clint Langley / Greg Staples / Jim Murray

Page Count: 128

'He wasn't wearing the horns... the horns were wearing him...'

Sláine, now a time-travelling instrument of the Earth Goddess, gets dropped into historical events circa 1140 AD.  It’s more akin to a death / rebirth cycle than time travel but that’s semantics, the important thing is he’s tasked with destroying the Blood God so that the false religion he preaches can be torn down and the old religion put back where it belongs.  Christians will be upset.

You’re going to have to accept the time travel aspect if you’re to get any enjoyment out of it.  Why can’t one person be born again and again to better represent the many aspects of the Horned God?   I don’t think it’s as anachronistic as some folks accused it of at the time.  In fact, I think it’s aged better than some of the other Sláine stories.

Along the way our anti-hero gets to bury his axe in some Norman head, because it wouldn't do to go some place new and not slaughter a few dozen zealots.

A lengthy prelude (The Name of the Sword) begins the work.  It chronicles Sláine’s slipping into the boots of the Goddess’ champion of the time, with painted art by Greg Staples.  It’s a necessary set-up to get to the good stuff - the good stuff being the titular Lord of Misrule story.

Clint Langley takes over for the main feature.  He lets his brush go wild inside and outside panels with some two-page spreads that show how dynamic Sláine can be when he’s given room to really spasm out.  Langley hadn't started dabbling in his photography / digital art in '95 so it was regular pen and inks.  However, the 2011 collected edition was recoloured.  Please stop recolouring stuff!

The story ends abruptly, which is something that happened a lot in 2000AD because the anthology format usually meant a conclusion had to be given in the limited page count of one issue.  There’s an epilogue to try and make up for it.  It feels like a bonus rather than an unnecessary stretching out.

The book collects together The Name of the Sword (Progs 950 - 956), Lord of Misrule (Progs 958 - 963 + 995 - 998), and The Bowels of Hell (Prog 1000).

3½ two finger salutes out of 5

Sláine: The Horned God (1998)

Author: Pat Mills | Illustrator: Simon Bisley | Page Count: 192

'From the south came the Drune Lords and their Skull Sword soldiers … led by the Old Horned God – The Lord Weird Slough Feg.'

Sláine gave Pat Mills the opportunity to write the traditional axe-wielding barbarian but to tinker with the stereotype a little.  He took the muscle-bound Conan type and gave him a sensitive side.  The dwarf, Ukko, narrates the story of Slaine’s ascent to power, his love of the Goddess and his quest to acquire four sacred weapons.  It contrasts the reflective quiet moments in the warrior's life with the bloody and violent necessity of war, providing ample opportunity to bury his trusty axe (Brainbiter) in some thick enemy skulls.

This book is often cited as the quintessential Sláine epic but in truth it’s not the best work Mills has produced; it never really excites as much as it should or as much as Mills was capable of.

I suspect the real reason The Horned God endures is due to Simon Bisley’s magnificent art.  2000 AD gave Bisley his start and its right that he should have given them his finest work to date, on both Sláine and ABC warriors (also written by Mills).  His influences are easy to spot.  He’s heavily inspired by Frank Frazetta and Gustav Klimt, and even throws in some HR Giger from time to time.
It’s fully-painted throughout.  Fully-painted work is so rare these days that it’s a joy to revisit a time when it received the love it deserves.  For me, it's Bisley’s masterpiece.  There are a number of full-page pieces which are simply stunning.

If the quality of the story matched the quality of the art, The Horned God would get a resounding 5 out of 5 but unfortunately it falls a little short of perfection.

3½ reasons to kiss my axe out of 5