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Hound: Defender – A Celtic Comics Odyssey

Published Sun, 16 Aug 2015 16:00:00 -0500

Paul Bolger writes,

Hello Bleeding Cool Folks,

Paul Bolger creator, or more accurately "adaptor", of HOUND here. What I'd like to tell you about is my graphic novel trilogy, HOUND as mentioned above, retelling the story of ancient Ireland's greatest hero Cu Chulainn (aka CU CULLAN).

What makes HOUND different to all the other versions and interpretations of the myth down the years, apart from it being a comic book of course, is the story is told from the point of view of CU CULLAN's greatest antagonist, MORRIGAN – the pre-Christian war goddess of ERIN (aka ancient Ireland). Like an unreliable correspondent she tells us what happened from her point of view. Should we believe her? You'll have to have a read to find out.

In the meantime I'd like to mention the successful Kickstarter we ran in 2014 to fund, finish and publish a limited edition of Book 1. We are now in the middle of our second Kickstarter to raise funds to complete Book 2 and, if we can, Book 3, to the same level and quality. More on that later.

This current Kickstarter ends Fri., Sept. 11th, 2015: 5:00 PM IST

Hound 2: Defender will be published in March, 2016. And ideally I would love to get Book 3 out by summer 2016. If we can hit our target on Kickstarter sooner than later we will be able to offer stretch goals and see if we can raise enough funds to allow me to do nothing else from September to April next except draw in books 2 and 3. Both books are 50% complete, as was Book 1 when we ran the last Kickstarter.

I am working off the screenplay (yes there is also a film version in development) so the story is nailed, the scene is set and a lot of work is already done.

I like to think we're a safe bet for anyone thinking about backing us but enough of the hard sell. All I want to say really is I need to buy the time for me to ink the pages and pay the team working with me to take HOUND home and onto your shelves. Book 1 got such a great response I think it's my duty now to get the next two out as soon as possible. This is why we are publishing it ourselves and not waiting around to be picked up by a "proper" publisher – although that is the long term goal. To get it around the world in every language.

The Story : MYTHIC IRELAND where war once ruled, peace reigns supreme. This is killing MORRIGAN, goddess of war – last of the Long Lived. In a desperate bid to stay vital she kidnaps baby CU CULLAN and exposes the child to her darkness imbuing him with unnatural strength and agility, but at a price: Morrigan being able to mess with his mind. In Book One, Cu Cullan grows from a wild child to the respected young Champion, but Morrigan is biding her time. He falls hard. Book Two sees him become the most dangerous man in the Ancient World, with a temper tinged by the capriciousness of Morrigan.

Now, before you look at the project description and more below, I'd like to announce that I will do an exclusive reward only for you if would be kind enough to follow these four steps:

1. Click here: http://kck.st/1J1ruyx and signup or log in to Kickstarter.

2. Pledge £3 or more and get yourself the reward of your choice.

3. Send us a message after that with the phrase: "I love Bleeding Cool."

Wait for a couple days for your special Bleeding Cool #houndthebook surprise.

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So…what makes HOUND special I hear you ask? Worth backing on Kickstarter even?

Well, I like to think HOUND is a fresh and original take on what many scholars of ancient mythology and culture believe to be the oldest European myth written in the vernacular, outside of Greece and Rome. The Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology and the stories surrounding Cú Chulainn and the Red Branch warriors of ancient Ireland may well be one thousand years older than Beowulf and all the Nordic myths but they deserve a new approach for modern readers. Being the oldest is not the only reason it deserves a new light shone on it – I think it needs retelling because it's cool.

Being Irish myself I'd like to see my "Celtic" culture and stories complete the triangle of European mythology so often seen as only being represented by the more familiar Classical and Nordic/Germanic myths. This is partly why I am doing this – the other part is because it genuinely is a great story and I love drawing comics.

I have also had a fascination with this character forever. He was everywhere when I was growing up in Ireland in the 1970's. A statue of him sits in the GPO in Dublin – he was the inspiration for the 1916 rebellion. When I was a kid CU CULLAN was on stamps, used as a model for hurling players to emulate, his one man stand against an invasion horde was used by every side of the now thankfully ended Anglo-Irish conflict and every kid in Ireland knew the story of him taking on the huge dog at the Forge. But…he is a shadow in the original myths – a moody dark type who seems selfish or self obsessed. His short life is full of heroism, loyalty, love and tragedy – like all of these "destined to die young" hero archetypes. What made Cú Cullan different for me though was how he was like a real person. Flawed and suffering from all the shortcomings of humanity. I wanted to investigate that side of him.

CU CULLAN's physical speed and strength is not enough to help him in every situation. There is more to him than fighting and posing. He has dark thoughts, struggle with his deeds and the need to be the best at everything he does. The voice in his head (which I made up admittedly and added through the persona of Morrigan) does not help either. He is as they say "conflicted". Placing that in a world where there is very little grey in the choices on offer and you have the basis for a very interesting conflict apart from any war that might happen between kingdoms or gods and fighting men. The conflict within, the signs of mental illness or the inability to follow the prescribed destinies laid down for him by his forebears are at the heart of HOUND's struggles. His inner demon, real or not, is his problem – and ultimately his solution. I found this hard to reconcile in the writing. I had the action, the myth to build on but needed to humanise the hero a bit so I brought in screenwriter Barry Devlin (who had done his own take on th Hound in the album The Táin by Celtic Rock legends HORSLIPS in the early 1970's) and together we found a way in to the story and character of CU CULLAN.

But enough about my trials and tribulation with the text – what about the art? It's a comic not a novel after all.

I went for a stark look – something that was both economical and sutiable to the story. It took a while to find it. When I did, it came digitally. I decided to draw the book in Photoshop on a Cintiq. I did do some work in ink on illustration board but it took too long as the amount of black meant I would be inking a page a week in some cases – way too slow. Like everyone I have many art influences and I wear some a bit too much on my sleeve maybe but I hope I've given it enough of my own flavour to make this dog mine. I brought my experience from filmmaking and storyboarding to the book which this allowed me to focus on the clarity and wide expanses needed in the design to make sure the story came across clearly and quickly. The fast moving grey skies of Ireland and Scotland also helped as it meant cloud cover gave me less to draw above and behind the characers in some panels.

There are some other interesting things I did with the art too. I avoided the typical Celtic knotwork of the Book of Kells and so on as the story takes place traditionally between 100BC and 100AD which roots it in the La Tene look for Celtic art and places it at least 500 years before the arrival of Christianity into Ireland. I also played with lots of other ancient Irish art giving the various "nations" or kingdoms of the world of HOUND their own signature look in the way of tattoo's or embroidery on cloaks, etc. If anyone is familiar with the timeline of ancient Irish/Celtic art and history then this will be clear. To everyone else you don't need to know the archaeology to dig the look of the various spirals and swirls used to differentiate of the various kingdoms.

This strange looking beast above is how I imagine CÚ CULLAN sees thw world around him when he goes berserk and his mind warps. When things go red and the world and all in it starts to twist and contort like a spiral or Celtic knot then I want readers to know trouble is about to kick off. Usually instigated by MORRIGAN, as she has telepathically transmit orders and machinations into the mind of CÚ CULLAN from an early age causing him to literally see red. Or is it all in his head? In HOUND my version of CÚ CULLAN does not deform into a monster as he does in other adaptations of the myth – our Hound sees the monsters. Or does he? Things heat up for CU CULLAN in Book 2: Defender as he is kicked out of ERIN (Ireland) and can no longer hear the voice of Morrigan. All he has in the new land of ALBA (Scotland) are his wits and (un)natural strength – which can come in handy when friends are in danger.

So what do people think of Hound? Have a read of what some of well known fans said:

"Beautiful, spare and timeless, Paul's artwork on HOUND shows the work of master draughtsman and storyteller – I always know something is good when I'm so envious it hurts!" Dermot Power, Concept Artist (Batman, Harry Potter, Star Wars, 2000AD)

'Really enjoyed reading HOUND. Paul Bolger and Barry Devlin have done a great job with re- imagining the story of the Irish mythical hero, Cuchulainn. Looking forward to the next instalment.' Aidan Turner, Actor (The Hobbit Trilogy)

'I thought this was a bloody marvellous book: magical, violent and visceral but with a glorious seam of comedy and irony to bring light to the spectacular Celtic landscapes of Paul's imagination.' Peter Lord, Film Director (Chicken Run, Wallace and Grommet) and Founder of Aardman Animation

"HOUND is an authentic interpretation of Celtic Mythology seen through the art and eyes of a visionary storyteller" Michael Avon Oeming, co-creator of POWERS

" HOUND is a stunning example of comics storytelling being used to reinvigorate ancient legends for a modern audience. Paul Bolger utilises a dynamic drawing technique that echoes both Mignola and Frazetta yet has a look that's uniquely his own, the pages fairly zing with personality , wit and style." Tomm Moore, twice Oscar nominated film director (Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea)

I published Book One: 'HOUND: Protector' (cover above) with my partner in crime on the project, Oscar winning film producer Hugh Welchman of BreakThru Films, in March 2015.

It was great to finally get it out there as I has had the project running around my head for close to three decades. I almost got it made as an animated feature film in 1999 but that didn't happen as is the way of film so I put it to bed. Then I met Hugh and we resurrected "The Dog" as a live action feature – an approach we felt that will serve the story better than animation, which is unfortunately viewed by many as children's entertainment.

The Irish Film Board and Northern Ireland Screen kindly supported the revised film version of HOUND and this allowed Barry and I to complete the script but the book was crucial to it's progress. So after hitting our target on our first Kickstarter I took a few months off from all other work to complete Volume 1. The printed book blew me away – not because I think my art is brilliant or anything – it was because the guys I brought on to help – Dee Cunniffe (Lettering) and Fran Walsh (Logo and Book Design) – pulled out all the stops and helped me produce the best book we could have hoped for. The printers were amazing too. Top notch (thanks WG Baird). The production value of the book is second to none – even if I say so myself. I hope you will agree if you check it out.

Once we had the books in hand, and after a 3 month holdback for our Kickstarter backers, the remaining copies of the signed limited 1^st Edition were sold at some Comic Cons and a very small number went exclusively to Page 45 and Gosh Comics in the UK and The Big Bang of Dublin, Ireland. There is an even smaller amount left on our webshop at www.houndthemovie.com – we are adding a 2nd edition of Vol. 1 is part of the current Kickstarter for anyone who missed it last time.
Read what Page 45 had to say about Hound Vol. 1 here.

To sum it up all I can say is I've literally been living with this project half a lifetime, and it was a mixture of friends and strangers, through Kick Starter, who allowed me the time to sit down and see if it was any good. When I got the feedback from our readers, we received 100's of letters of support, I had to sit down it was so overwhelming. Book One seemed to resonate with our readers, and I want to do even better by them in the next book, that's the aim. Thanks for taking the time to read this and look over HOUND.

All the best from Erin.

Paul Bolger

TEAM HOUND (just in case you'r wondering who we are and what we've done before)

Yours Truly (Writer and Artist) I earned my animation stripes at the Don Bluth Studios in Dublin in the late '80's, working up to being a lead animator there. I then went to work in Europe and eventually found my way onto Richard Williams' lost classic The Thief and the Cobbler as a lead animator. Happy days. I animated the Desert Brigand sequence. After returning to Ireland in 1991 I set up my own studio, Dagda Film, with an old colleague from the Bluth days. We had over 50 animators working for it at its apex. I have worked on some great 'toons such as The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go To Heaven, Cool World, Werner Beinhart, Felidae, Pippi Longstocking, Carnivale, Help I'm A Fish, Arthur Christmas, Pirates: Band of Misfits and Shaun The Sheep Movie contributing everything from animation, design, storyboards and animation direction. I also directed Happily N'ever After starring Sigourney Weaver and Sarah Michelle Gellar. I've written directed and produced several short films, illustrated a kids' book called Ancient Folk Tales of Ireland which was a new edition of a collection written down in the 1890's by Douglas Hyde, the first President of Ireland and made some music along the way – but enough about me.

Barry Devlin (Co-Writer) a film & TV writer of note ( A Man of No Importance, The Darlings Buds of May, Ballykissangel, A Kiss for Jed and the upcoming BBC period series My Mother and Other Strangers), Director of several documentaries on U2 as well as directing many of their music videos, Barry is something of an Irish rock legend himself as the front man of Celtic Rock legends Horslips.

Hugh Welchman (Producer) – an Oscar winning film producer (Peter and the Wolf 2008) and Creative Director of BreakThru Films (currently co-writer/co-director of the world's first fully painted feature film Loving Vincent, starring Douglas Booth, Eleanor Tomlinson, Aidan Turner, Saoirse Ronan, Chris O'Dowd, Helen McCrory and Jerome Flynn).

So…please consider supporting our new Kickstarter: http://kck.st/1J1ruyx – we need your help get. For more information on all other things HOUND please go to – www.houndthemovie.com