Geek Syndicate Issue 5 | Page 100

Geek Syndicate COMIC REVIEW The League of Volunteers, Vol. 1 Image © Atomic Diner, 2012 against an even greater threat than the Axis powers…the dark god Bochanach! I’m no historian and had utterly forgotten (or as a child of very early GCSEs never been taught) Irish neutrality in World War II. As such reading these issues, published by Atomic Diner comics, was quite the educational experience. Set in the Republic of Ireland in 1941, this story focuses less on the battle between the Axis and Allied forces and more on the eternal struggle of Good vs Evil. Whilst the Nazis provide the kickstart to our story, rending the barrier between dimensions and allowing the dark god Bochanach to return to Earth after millennia of entrapment, they soon fade into the background and our story follows an assortment of mystery men (and women) operating under the auspices of Ireland’s G2 Covert Division. As one lacking in Celtic context there were some elements of the story which I feel passed me by, such as the importance of the Fianna, however a bout of Wikipedia searching afterwards soon filled me in. I don’t think this context is necessary to enjoy the story, the character reactions on the page tell you everything you need to know. I also liked that the various languages in the book go without subtitles, once again you don’t actually need to know all the spoken words in order to understand the story. With only three issues to tell the tale, the plot moves at a fairly fast clip throughout. This frenetic pacing works both for and against the book. The reader is pulled through the issues very quickly, with little time to lose interest but at the same time those scenes which don’t actively carry the plot forward stick out like a sore thumb. This is particularly noticeable in the last issue as about half of the book takes place after the climax of events and has a far more leisurely pace. The issues are artistically solid, I found the pencils and grey tone colouring of issue one to be a little more rounded than the later issues. The tones felt more integral to the page, whereas in issues two and three it felt like the greys were flatter. The art change in issue three is unfortunate, whilst it certainly doesn’t lack quality it pulled me out of the story a little. The weapons and armour of the mythical characters are particularly well rendered and Keegan resists the temptation to be completely over-blown with them. This grounded design seems to highlight their mythical nature rather than diminish it. As with a number of indie titles, the issues could do with a good sweep through with the editor’s broom as there are a few typos. Generally though, the feeling is one of a degree of quality that whilst not matching big publishers definitely does no harm to the story at hand. I particularly enjoyed the back story threads that we’re left with at the end of issue three, which tip a cap firmly in the direction in another “League of…” title. Writer: Robert Curley Artist: Barry Keegan Publisher: Atomic Diner By 1940 the second world war had cast its shadow over the entire world. Men and women from all walks of life fought for what they thought to be right. America had yet to enter the battle field but when she did her might was a great relief to a broken continent. Ireland had chosen to remain neutral from the start having only recently become a republic. This was a definite way of showing the world just how truly independent she now was. But there were many in the republic who felt this decision was wrong and like their ancestors before them fought for what they believed to be true and just. Among them an elite league of meta humans brought together by their belief in a better world and a better Ireland. A league of volunteers. This is a story of Irish heroes in the second world war fighting Dave Williams Rating: G G G GG 100