Celtic Warrior: The Legend of Cú Chulainn

by Will Sliney

A curse has been cast over Emain Macha, the Boreal land of Ireland, laying all but one man into a deep sleep. Cu Chulainn stands as its lone protector, as an army of 10,000 men set off on forty day quest across Ireland in order to Claim Emain Macha for their own. Along the way the army comes across five separate markers, in the five most spectacular locations of Ireland. These markers, left by Cu Chulainn serve as warnings to the advancing army of his prowess each area: courage, strength, skill, love, and knowledge. This unique and powerful graphic novel brings to life the legendary figure that is Cu Chulainn.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Mythology, Ireland, Fantasy, Irish Literature, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2013

About the author

Will Sliney is an internationally renowned graphic artist, living in Cork. Will works with major US comic publishers on the Star Wars Clone Wars comic book series, and Fearless Defenders for Marvel.

Reviews

[Els - cygny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a present as part of a Secret Santa exchange 😍

I love the art in this, it is similar to some of the graphic novels I own. The creatures in these are amazing 🥰 The hounds!

This might have been longer for me, or one with multiple volumes. I feel like a lot is missing and the jumps in the story felt a bit rushed. I still enjoyed it a lot and suppose I will need to brush up on my Irish mythology now 😁

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best graphic novel, but a nice souvenir from The Giant's Causeway. The art was great; story so-so.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will Sliney's graphic re-telling of the story of Cú Chulainn features great artwork & colours throughout. The story is nicely divided into six chapters & focuses primarily on the Cattle Raid of Cooley section of the Ulster Cycle legend. A number of flashbacks appear throughout & these are presented in black & white. They tell how Setanta the boy became Cú Chulainn the warrior. They also provide a far better insight into his character than the rest of the tale, which mainly follows the quest for the brown bull of Cooley. Celtic Warrior: The Legend of Cú Chulainn uses the comic book format well to bring this ancient Irish legend to a modern and, hopefully, international audience.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always surprised that the story of Cu Chulainn, The Hound of Ulster, isn't better known; not as well known as, say, The Legend of King Arthur and his Knights, or of Robin Hood and his outlaws.

Based primarily around the Cattle Raid of Cooley at the end of Cu Chulainn's life, this graphic novel is a mythic retelling of that story, split into 6 distinct chapters. Interestingly, nearly every chapter includes a flash-back (shown in gray-scale) to an earlier part of Cu Chulainn's life, taking in how he got that name (from his birth name Setanta) and his training to become a warrior, for example.

Short? Yes.

Did I enjoy this? Also yes.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book. Very much Cu Chulainn if he was done in the style of He-Man, the very few female characters appear to wear more than the men.
It packs in so much of the stories of the hero, that it was a lot of fun (as I was also reading some of the original tales to my kids at the time).

And ultimately that's my biggest complaint, it's too short. The core of the story covers Cu Chulainn's final battle with his origins told in flashback. While I wanted to see each of those flashbacks told with the same significance as the main plot.

[Aidan Hamill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great telling of the Cattle raid and some history of Cú Chulainn. I only wish there was more detail included; it was a little rushed to fit the few pages drawn.
Cú Chulainn's Warp Spasm was nicely done.

[Richard O' · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this and actually ended up gettign a tattoo across my chest similar to one of the characters in the story.

[Nial · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading this!

[Ben Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuchulainn was a hero of mine when I was a kid. I was lucky enough to grow up in his stamping grounds - I went to school in Dundalk, which was Dun Dealga in ancient times - the fort of Dealga, and where Cuchulainn spent part of his youth. Ardee, or Baile Fhir Dhia, the town of Ferdia, and where the two friends fought their duel, was only 8 miles from my village. I loved the Tain, the story of the cattle raids on Cooley and the war between Queen Maeve and the rest of Ireland.

I hadn't ever read a graphic version of the tale, so when my cousin mentioned it to me, I snapped it up. It's all that a graphic novel of a great hero should be - visceral, well-drawn and grippingly told.

As soon as my son - Ferdia - is old enough, I'll be reading this to him. If the author ever wants to think about turning my novels into graphic works, I'm all ears!

[Senan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will Sliney in his graphic novel tells the story of the coming of age story of Setanta. This is an interesting story filled with great use of color and art, along with an entertaining story line. I enjoyed learning more about a Celtic legend from somewhere my family is from. Although the story is not incredible it is a fast read with entertaining artwork and a well set up format. Sliney illustrates the super-hero type figure well which makes this story a very fun and easy read. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Irish stories and anyone who likes graphic novels about superheroes.

[Iñaki Tofiño · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best comic book ever, but, well, you get to learn about Cu Chulainn and his exploits.

[Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up as a souvenir as I passed through Belfast. The art is great. Maybe the story would be a bit easier to follow if this wasn't my first exposure to this legend. I think I will look for another version.

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick graphic novel read, and a beautiful visual adaptation to the Irish mythology! 🐶🐮

[Emelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5💫