Sláine (comics)

:For other characters with the same name, see Sláine.

Sláine () is a comic hero from the pages of 2000 AD - one of Britain's most popular comic books.

Sláine is a barbarian fantasy adventure series based on Celtic myths and stories which first appeared in 1983, written by Pat Mills and initially drawn by his then wife, Angela Kincaid. Most of the early stories were drawn by Mike McMahon and Massimo Belardinelli. Other notable artists to have worked on the character include Glenn Fabry and Simon Bisley. The current artist is Clint Langley, whose artwork combines painting, photography and digital art.

Sláine's favourite weapon is an axe called "Brainbiter". He has the power of the "warp spasm", based on the ríastrad or body-distorting battle frenzy of the Irish hero Cú Chulainn, in which earth power "warps" through his body, turning him into a terrifying, monstrous figure who knows neither friend nor foe. He is a devotee of the earth goddess Danu.

Plot

At the start of the series Sláine was a wanderer, banished from his tribe, the Sessair. He explored the Land of the Young (Irish Tír na nÓg) in the company of an unscrupulous dwarf called Ukko (Finnish for "old man", and the name of the Finnish pagan Thunder god), fighting monsters and mercenaries in the fantasy tradition. In one early adventure he rescued a maiden, Medb (named after the Irish mythological queen Medb) from being sacrificed in a Wicker Man, only to earn her enmity - she was a devotee of Crom Cruach, the god to whom she was to be sacrificed, and was looking forward to the experience. Her master and mentor, the ancient, rotting and insane Lord Weird Slough Feg, became the series' main villain.

Following stories featured sky chariots (flying longships), dragons and prehistoric alien gods.

As the series progressed, Sláine returned to his tribe and became king (as had been foretold in the narrative of his first appearance), leading them against the Fomorians, a race of sea demons who were oppressing them. Then, in the landmark storyline The Horned God, Sláine united the tribes of the earth goddess against Slough Feg and his allies, while his personal devotion to the goddess led to him becoming a new incarnation of the Horned God Carnun (based on the Gaulish deity Cernunnos). By the end of the story the Land of the Young is no more, and Sláine is the first High King of Ireland.

Subsequent stories saw Sláine sent through time by the earth goddess to fight alongside Celtic, and other, heroes and heroines such as Boudica (with whom he fought against the Romans (and Elfric), and William Wallace, and more recently return to Ireland to defend his people against new enemies alongside his wife Niamh.

These new enemies turned out to be a full Fomorian invasion led by Balor and the sadistic Moloch, murdering, raping and eating their way through Slaine's tribe until, wracked with warp-spasm, Slaine was able to take out Balor. The tribal council forced Slaine to let Moloch go, hoping he'd fulfill his promise of keeping the Fomorians out of Ireland; instead, he deliberately returned to rape and murder Niamh. Wanting vengeance, Slaine abdicated the throne in order to go to Albion and kill Moloch, which he succeeded in doing. In his absence, his son Kai left the tribe to search for his father (eventually becoming a performer in an Albion carnival) and Ireland faced a second invasion - "the dread of Europe", Atlanteans whose ancestors had lived in Ireland before the tribes of Danu and who had been forcibly turned into hosts - Golamhs - for the symbiotic Sea Demons under Lord Odacon (an offshoot of the Fomorians), who easily threw the tribes' Sky Chariots into the Otherworld. Upon Slaine's return, he found the new High King Sethor, former member of the council who had granted Moloch freedom, was willing to surrender half of Ireland to Odacon in return for the gifts of science and civilization.

Slaine was able to convince the tribal council that the demons could be killed and war was once more declared on the invaders, but it was clear that Ireland would be constantly attacked by wave after wave of Fomorian invasion. Slaine hit on the idea of having the Tribe of Danu escape to the Otherworld that their Sky Chariots had been sent to, thus freeing them from the demons and allowing the Atlanteans to settle peacefully in Ireland; both armies united against Odacon and his Sea Demons. Slaine was able to free the Atlantean leader Gael from being Odacon's Golamh by handing over Sethor to take Gael's place; and they led their armies to bolster the city of Tara. While the tribes fought a defensive battle, Slaine was sent to the Otherworld to secure the blessings of Danu for the Tribes of the Earth Goddess to settle there; this done, he returned with her power behind him and led a charge that decimated Odacon's forces. The Tribe was cast to the Otherworld in the aftermath, and Slaine assisted Gael in finally destroying Odacon and the parasitic spawn with which he had infested the outer-lying villages.

With Gael as High King of Ireland and founder of the eventual Gaelic race, Slaine left to track down his son. He found Kai at a traveling carnival, and later embarked on a quest to track down Crom Dubh.

Sources and influences

Sláine's most obvious source is Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian and Cúchulainn the hero of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Mills derived much of the background to the series from Celtic mythology and European prehistory (as in part did Howard: the name Conan is Irish and is borne by a number of mythological figures). Sláine himself is named after Sláine mac Dela, the legendary first High King of Ireland, and his "warp-spasm" or body-distorting battle frenzy is derived from the ríastrad of Cúchulainn. "Warp-spasm" is the term Thomas Kinsella used for ríastrad in his translation of The Táin. His barbed spear, the gae bolga, is also borrowed from Cúchulainn, although his favourite weapon, the axe, is more usually associated with the Vikings or Anglo-Saxons than the Celts.

His patronymic, Mac Roth, is the name of the steward of Ailill and Medb, king and queen of Connacht, in the same cycle. The death of Sláine's mother, Macha, while forced to run on foot in a chariot race because of her husband's boasting, is taken from the story of an Irish goddess called Macha, who was forced to run against the king's chariot while heavily pregnant for the same reason.

Sláine's seduction of Niamh, the king's chosen bride who was brought up in seclusion until she was of age, is reminiscent of the Irish story of Deirdre. Cathbad, the druid who foretells the evil consequences of Deirdre's birth and appears in several other tales of the Ulster Cycle, gives his name to Sláine's chief druid. Sláine's feat of crossing a raging river to visit her, weighed down by a heavy stone to prevent him from being swept away, is taken from an episode of the Táin. Niamh is a popular Irish girl's name, and is also the name of a fairy queen from the Fenian Cycle. Her otherworld homeland, Tír na nÓg'' (the Land of the Young), provides the name of the series' setting.

Sláine's goddess, Danu, and her tribes, the Tuatha Dé Danann, come from the Irish Mythological Cycle, although the worship of a universal mother goddess of the earth is not Celtic and comes from speculations about prehistoric European culture and religion by the likes of Marija Gimbutas and Robert Graves. The Horned God, Carnun, is adapted from the Gaulish antlered deity Cernunnos. Some of the religious ideas in the series are taken from Barddas, a possibly fraudulent compilation of "bardo-druidic" beliefs by the 18th century Welsh antiquarian Iolo Morganwg. Mills divides the priests of Tir na nÓg into two factions: the good Druids, the well known priestly class of Celtic Europe, and the evil Drunes, which name derives from the Galatian place-name Drunemeton ("oak-sanctuary"), used in the story "The Bride of Crom" as the name of the Drunes' capital. Their leader, Slough Feg, is partly based on Cernunnos and partly on the paleolithic cave painting known as the Sorcerer in the Trois-Frères cave in Ariège, southern France. His acolyte, Medb, is named after the legendary queen of Connacht from the Ulster Cycle. The Drunes' god, Crom Cruach, is an Irish deity who was reputedly propitiated with human sacrifices. The practice of mass human sacrifice by burning in a Wicker Man is mentioned as a practice of the Celts of Gaul by Strabo and Julius Caesar.

The enemies of the Tribes of the Earth Goddess, the Fomorians, and their leader Balor, are from the Irish mythological cycle.

Other elements of the series are derived from non-Celtic mythological sources. Sláine's dwarf companion is named Ukko, after the Finnish storm god. Odacon is identified in Theosophist circles with a Babylonian deity named Oannes and is considered closely related to Dagon.Musarus, one of same species of Odacon, shares this origin. Grimnismal, the name of the dark god Sláine and his companions defeat in "Tomb of Terror", is the title of a poem about Odin from the Norse Elder Edda. The term Ragnarok, for the end of the world, is also borrowed from Norse mythology.

Publication

They have been collected in a number of volumes but recently Rebellion has started a new series of trade paperbacks:

Sláine (written by Pat Mills unless stated):

* Warrior's Dawn (2005, ISBN 1-904265-33-2):

** "The Time Monster" (with Angela Kincaid, in 2000 AD #330, 1983)

** "The Beast in the Broch" (with Massimo Belardinelli, in 2000 AD #331-334, 1983)

** "Warrior's Dawn" (with Mike McMahon, in 2000 AD #335, 1983)

** "The Beltain Giant" (with Mike McMahon, in 2000 AD #336, 1983)

** "The Bride of Crom" (with Massimo Belardinelli, in 2000 AD #337-342, 1983)

** "The Creeping Death" (with Massimo Belardinelli, in 2000 AD #343, 1983)

** "The Bull Dance" (with Massimo Belardinelli, in 2000 AD #344, 1983)

** "Heroes' Blood" (with Mike McMahon, in 2000 AD #345-347, 1983)

** "The Shoggey Beast" (with Mike McMahon, in 2000 AD #348-351, 1983–1984)

** "Sky Chariots" (with Mike McMahon, in 2000 AD #352-360, 1984)

** "The Origins" (two page text article, 2000 AD #352, 1984)

* Time Killer (2007, ISBN 1-905437-21-8):

** "Dragonheist" (with Massimo Belardinelli, in 2000 AD #361-367, 1984)

** "The Time Killer" (with Glenn Fabry, David Pugh and Bryan Talbot, in 2000 AD #411-428 and 431-434, 1985)

* Slaine the King (2008, ISBN 1905437665):

** "The Tomb of Terror" (with Glenn Fabry and David Pugh, in 2000 AD #447-461, December 1985 - March 1986)

** "Spoils of Annwn" (with Mike Collins and Mark Farmer, in 2000 AD #493-499, October–December 1986)

** "Sláine the King" (with Glenn Fabry, in 2000 AD #500-508 and 517-519, December 1986 - April 1987)

** "The Killing Field" (written by Angela Kincaid, with Glenn Fabry, in 2000 AD #582, July 1988)

** "Slaine the Mini-Series" (with Glenn Fabry, in 2000 AD #589-591, August–September 1988)

* The Horned God (2008, ISBN 1905437733):

** "The Horned God, Book I" (with Simon Bisley, in 2000 AD #626-635, May–July 1989)

** "The Horned God, Book II" (with Simon Bisley, in 2000 AD #650-656 and 662-664, October 1989 - February 1990)

** "The Horned God, Book III" (with Simon Bisley, in 2000 AD #688-698, July–September 1990)

* Demon Killer (2010, ISBN 1906735417):

** "The High King" (with Glenn Fabry, in 2000 AD Yearbook, September 1991)

** "The Return of the High King" (by Dermot Power, Poster Prog Slaine 1, January 1993)

** "Jealousy of Niamh" (with Greg Staples, in 2000 AD #850-851, August–September 1993)

** "Demon Killer" (with Glenn Fabry and Dermot Power, in 2000 AD #852-859, September–October 1993)

** "Queen of Witches" (with Dermot Power, in 2000 AD #889-896, May–July 1994)

* Lord of Misrule (2011, ISBN 1907519858):

** "Name of the Sword" (with Greg Staples, in 2000 AD #950-956, July–September 1995)

** "Lord of Misrule" (with Clint Langley, in 2000 AD #958-963, September–October 1995, #995-998,June 1996)

** "Bowels of Hell" (with Jim Murray, in 2000 AD #1000, July 1996)

* Uncollected:

** "Treasures of Britain" (with Dermot Power, in 2000 AD #1001-1010, July–September 1996, #1024–1031, January–February 1997)

** "Ukko's Tale" (with Steve Tappin, in 2000 AD #1011-1012, October 1996)

** "The Demon Hitchhiker" (with Steve Tappin, in 2000 AD #1032, March 1997)

** "King of Hearts" (with Nick Percival, in 2000 AD #1033-1039, March–April 1997)

** "The Grail War" (with Steve Tappin, in 2000 AD #1040-1049, April–July 1997)

** "Secret of the Grail" (with Steve Tappin, in 2000 AD #1090-1099, April–June 1998)

** "Lord of the Beasts" (with Rafael Garres, in 2000 AD #1100, June 1998)

** "Kai" (with Paul Staples, in 2000 AD #1104-1107, July–August 1998)

** "The Banishing" (with Wayne Reynolds, in 2000 AD #1108-1109, August 1998)

** "The Triple Death" (with Wayne Reynolds, in 2000 AD #1111, September 1998)

** "The Swan Children" (with Siku, in 2000 AD #1112-1114, September–October 1998)

** "Macha" (with Paul Staples, in 2000 AD #1115-1118, October–November 1998)

** "Beyond" (with Greg Staples, in 2000 AD Prog 2000, December 1999)

** "The Secret Commonwealth" (with David Bircham, in 2000 AD #1183-1199, March–June 2000)

* The Books of Invasions: Moloch and Golamh (2006, ISBN 1-904265-82-0):

** "The Books of Invasions I: Moloch" (in 2000 AD Prog 2003 and #1322-1326, December 2002 - February 2003)

** "The Books of Invasions II: Golamh" (in 2000 AD #1350-1355, July–August 2003)

* The Books of Invasions: Scota and Tara (2006, ISBN 1-904265-92-8):

** "The Books of Invasions III: Scota" (in 2000 AD Prog 2004 and #1371-1376, December 2003 - February 2004)

** "The Books of Invasions IV: Tara" (in 2000 AD Prog 2005 and #1420-1425, December 2004 - February 2005)

* The Books of Invasions: Odacon (July 2007, ISBN 1-904265-92-8):

** "The Books of Invasions V: Odacon" (in 2000 AD #1436-1442, April–June 2005)

** "Carnival" (in 2000 AD Prog 2006 and #1469-1475, December 2005 - February 2006)

* Slaine the Wanderer (2011, ISBN 978-1907992247):

** "The Gong Beater" (with Clint Langley, in 2000 AD #1635-1638, May–June 2009)

** "The Amber Smuggler" (with Clint Langley, in 2000 AD #1662-1665, November–December 2009)

** "The Exorcist" (with Clint Langley, in 2000 AD, #1709-1712, November 2010)

** "The Mercenary" (with Clint Langley, in 2000 AD, #1713-1714 and Prog 2011, November–December 2010)

Appearances in special issues:

"The Battle of Clontarf" (with Massimo Belardinelli, in 2000 AD Annual, 1985)

"The Arrow of God" (with Steve Parkhouse, in 2000 AD Annual, 1989)

"The Devil's Banquet" (with Glenn Fabry, in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special, 1986)

Cast

Main characters

Slaine Macroth - Mighty black-haired Irish warrior exiled from the Sessair tribe for having an affair with the chief's fiance Niamh. He loves fighting and often beats up Ukko. His weapon is the stone axe Brainbiter and he first experienced the Warp Spasm as a child.

Ukko - Slaine's dwarf sidekick and chronicler. He is lecherous and greedy; like most fantasy dwarves he loves gold and has a business mind centuries ahead of the human characters. When Slaine becomes king Ukko is appointed his jester.

Nest - Druidess who urges Ukko to record Slaine's deeds. Ukko argues with her all the time but it is hinted there may be some mutual attraction between them

Supporting characters

Niamh - Slaine's strong-willed wife. She is very assertive for a woman of her times and prone to anger and jealousy, often beating up Slaine's other wives and concubines

Danu - Goddess of the earth who provides Slaine with guidance. Originally earth was ruled by female goddesses but the druids suppressed them and replaced them with male counterparts

Cathbad - Chief druid who wears a horse skull and has a strong dislike of Ukko. He is a short old man with a moustache and bald head, save for a single tuft of hair

Kai - Slaine's son. Slaine wanted him to be a warrior but Niamh had him train as a druid. Later Kai became a travelling acrobat.

King Rudraige mac Dela - Ruler of the city of Gorlias and guardian of the Silver Sword of the Moon. His hand was bitten off by Avagddu and replaced with a metal prosthesis, preventing him from becoming High King. He was married to Niamh for a year but left her for a warrior resembling Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan.

King Gann mac Dela - Ruler of Finias and weilder of the Spear of the Flaming Sun. To celebrate the defeat of the Fomorians Gann was sacrificed and eaten by the tribe

King Sengann mac Dela - Mad ruler of Falias, a moon-worshipping society. His people, the black-skinned Tribe of the Shadows, were responsible for exterminating the Neanderthal-like Beaver folk and stealing the Stone of Destiny.

Villains

The Lord Weird Slough Feg - Ancient, rotting leader of the Drunes and the original Horned God who refused to die when his seven year reign was over. He ate the Time Worm's eggs to prolong his life and resides at the drune capital Carnac where he spends his time making cave paintings

Medb - Drune priestess saved by Slaine from human sacrifice. It is revealed she wanted to be sacrificed to the worm-god Crom in order to become a goddess. Her revealing dress is based on the skirt worn by the Egtved Girl

Balor - Leader of the Formorians. He only has one eye which is capable of destroying anythign he stares at

Moloch - Balor's cruel lieutenant. Based on the pagan god Molech

Avagddu - The demon son of the earth goddess, and the foulest, most stupid demon ever to have lived. Medb summoned him to kill Niamh but he ended up eating himself

Elfric - Three-eyed blue skinned demon capable of time travel. He led both the Roman invasion of Britain and the Viking invasion of Ireland. He appears to be homosexual or bisexual as he refers to his relationship with Nero and was reluctant to rape Boudicca's daughters, only doing so out of spite.

Scenb - A jailer who ran a prison where criminals were incarcerated until they could pay for their freedom. He sold the jail to Ukko to escape its resident shape-shfiting demon feeding on the prisoners

Nudd - Ogre serving as assistant jailer. Slaine bashed out his brains when Nudd tried to kill him

Domnall - A dwarf blacksmith who murdered warriors and tempered his weapons in their blood. He is killed with his own sword by Slaine

Slough Grunsgul - An evil drune lord guarding the mythical Cauldron of Blood

Megrim - An evil dwarf who acts as a servant to Medb

Historical characters

Boudicca - Queen of the Iceni, based on the historical hero of the same name

William Wallace - Scottish rebel fighting against the English invaders

St Patrick - A priest Slaine encounters in Demon Killer. He tries to convert Slaine to Christianity then threatens him with damnation when Slaine refuses. Ukko is interested in his valuable gold cross.

Minor characters

Lord Weird Slough Throt - Another drune who successfully shed his rotting skin to earn the rank of Slough. He hired Slaine as a bodyguard to escape Slough Feg and deliver the plans for Ragnarok to the Druids of Glastonbury

Roth Bellyshaker - Slaine's father. Once a proud warrior, he became an obese braggart. He was killed by Slough Feg when attempting to avenge Slaine's apparent death

Macha - Slaine's mother. Roth was responsible for her death as he bragged she could outrun the king's chariot and made her enter the race

Blind Bran - An old beggar and ally of Slaine who fought alongside him during his time as a mercenary

Cuan - A warrior sacrificed by the druid priestesses to enable them to fortell the future. His torture and disembowelment is similar to the injuries influcted on Lindow Man

Fergus the Brave - A warrior a bored Slaine accuses of cowardice

Diarmid the Foul-Tempered - Slaine claims to have slept with his wife and daughter, only for Diarmid to offer his attractive sister

Conal the Handsome - A warrior Slaine punches in the face in an attempt to start a fight. Despite knocking out all his teeth, Conal is more concerned about the damage to Slaine's hand

Mor Ronne the Dung Collector - One of the few dwarves more repulsive than Ukko. Nest has to sleep with him as part of her initiation ceremony

The Knucker - An ageing dragon used as aerial transport by Slaine

In other media

Video games

Sláine, the Celtic Barbarian (by Creative Reality, Amstrad CPC, C64 and ZX Spectrum graphic adventure)

RPGs

Solo RPG appearances:

Cauldron of Blood (Dice Man #1, illustrated by David Lloyd).

Dragoncorpse (Dice Man #2, illustrated by Nik Williams).

The Ring of Danu (Dice Man #4, illustrated by Mike Collins & Mark Farmer).

The Invulnerable King (by Ian Sturrock, Mongoose Publishing)

Slaine - The Roleplaying Game of Celtic Heroes (by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Mongoose Publishing)

Novels

The first Sláine novel was released at the end of 2006:

Sláine: Sláine the Exile (Steven Savile, Black Flame, December 2006, ISBN 1-84416-387-3)

Sláine: Slaine the Defiler (Steven Savile, Black Flame, September 2007, ISBN 1-84416-493-4)

Cultural influence

Sláine has influenced popular culture:

The Lord Weird Slough Feg, an American folky heavy metal band who derive their name from Sláine's foe. Spanish fans made their own unofficial Slaine film. It is rumored that an official movie is planned.

Irish-American rapper Slaine (rapper) is a fan of the comics and derived his name from the protagonist.

Additionally the comics contain frequent references to modern culture:

Like the Vikings, the Formorians implement a "nose tax" on the Irish; those unable to pay have their noses removed. When the victim begs for mercy, having spent his gold on firewood for his grandmother, the tax collector mockingly suggests he could have simply killed grandma. This mocks Margaret Thatcher's Poll Tax and the uncaring, elitist 1980s Conservative government.

The anti-Thatcherism is more even pronounced in the Horned God, where it is revealed the Demons' stronghold is on Tory Island. However Tory Island is also associated with Fomorians in Irish Legend so the Thatcher reference is only a slight possibility.

Cathbad's description of the strict druid training curriculum parodies British private schools.

References

External links

2000 AD Profile

Sláine - "The Time Monster" (requires registration)

Interview Steven Savile

Review of Slaine The Exile

another review of the novel made by Saville

Encyclopedia of the Celts

Ghosts between the Pages: The Devolution of Medb from Sovereignty Goddess to Comic Book Villainess and the Potential Dangers of the Transcription of Oral Tales

Category:British comics Category:Characters in written fantasy Category:Comics by Pat Mills Category:Fantasy comics Category:Fictional Celtic people Category:Fictional kings Category:2000 AD titles Category:2000 AD characters Category:Ulster Cycle derived works