Declan Shalvey

Perhaps a good new year's resolution would be to get back to doing these reviews as soon as I finish the dang book rather than letting a pile of them grow into an imposing heap until they're due back in the library in an hour and I have to rush through them. Yeah, let's give that ago.

Didn't read many crime novels last year, but this was one of the best crime novels I've read in ages. Big part of it has to be the amazing depiction of Limerick low-lives, accurate in terms of brilliant visuals show more and vernacular dialogue presented in non-ironic way - a very easy accent to mock or dismiss but as rich and lively as it is loud and blunt. The small-time crooks and wheelers and dealers are depicted with the sort of humanity that makes their worse actions more chilling, but the whole thing is a big bold thriller about small fish Jimmy Savage swimming between the controlling crime families, caught up in a series of violent blunders that lead to a gang war. He has his own family and friends and to deal with as well as his own ambitions and betrayals. A fantastic read, lovely art. Incredibly well done. show less

This May release from Image Comics is deeply Irish, using lots of Irish cuss words and ones we in the US think of as swear words...ladies in the audience, "cunt" does not mean the same thing in Ireland!...which you'd do well to consult the Urban Dictionary about as you run across them.

The flat, brutal art and the dark, flat colors are a fine tonal match for the story of Killian, a small-time wise guy and a major fuck-up whose rope has finally run out. The son of a murdered gangster, he show more followed in his dad's footsteps without the talent for it. It has led to the moment in this story, a brutal life's summation and judgment; it's a morality tale, of course, but it's got a few little grace notes.

Mad Maureen is a sheer delight. Her weird world, the one her nephew Keano, aging in an unforgiving world as "the Bishop"'s enforcer, has made for her. It suits. It really suits. Madness is lonely; Maureen's isn't. She has plenty of company courtesy of Keano.

So at the end of the story, all the chickens come home to roost. There's closure. It's like the closure of a coffin lid, yes, but it's not less satisfying for all that. What it isn't is, well, conventional.

If you're up for a dark and cruel story of consequences and simple but brutal endings, this is your noir jam. Apart from the Irish-slang issues, it's a good solid crime read. show less

Civil War II was shallow, trite garbage and Brian Michael Bendis is a hugely overrated comics writer, but Marvel events basically force you to follow them if you want to follow my faves. This featured authors and artists I liked, as well as a few characters I adore.

Most of the stories are pointless, some connected to Civil War II, some really not. As cute as it is to see the Power Pack, what exactly was the point of their story???

Also Alpha Flight meeting Justin Trudeau? Tony Stark sparring show more with him and wanting a hug? Simmer down on the cringe factor, Marvel.

The War Machine short with America, Misty, Storm, and Monica reflecting on what Rhodey meant to them and how they want to continue forward in his name. Marguerite Sauvage's art is gorgeous and evocative. I'm a big fan of her work and I think that this story is the stand out of the collection.

The reason I borrowed from the library was for the Kate Bishop short, written by Ming Doyle with art by Stephen Byrne. It reunited Kate with some of her closest friends, the other Young Avengers America, Billy, Teddy, and David as she struggles with the reality of her mentor killing the Hulk. It was sweet and poignant. David Alleyne is hugely underappreciated. A cute, Black, bisexual mutant genius and he's not part of a current team? Give my boy some love! Also I loved the Jamie McKelvie/Matt Wilson alternative cover.

The Jessica Jones short was fun and though I'm not familiar with the White Fox, Sana Takeda's art was gorgeous as per usual. I also liked the little showdown between Misty Knight and Colleen Wing.

Overall, it was probably better than Civil War II solely because characters ignored in the event issues got to have their voices heard. show less

Warren Ellis writing a story about a team of cranky experts in fields both esoteric and technical investigating scary incursions and outbreaks around the world? Must be the nineties again! Except it's not, it's the now, Ellis has always surfed as close to the leading cutting edge of thought and tech as he could with often startlingly original results. Here he's joined with Declan Shalvey on art with amazing results as Professor Marie Kilbride reassembles her old team while dealing with a show more strange occurrence to do with a missing archaeologist and two security men, a rock with strange acoustical properties and, possibly, spriggans. It may all be her fault. She and her team injected a strange consciousness into the internet in the hopes that it would prevent development and innovations from stagnating. Instead something out there is is using ancient folklore and modern technology to make the century interesting. Because the century so far has been such a yawn.

With Ellis in top form in terms of storytelling and cutting-edge ideas and Shalvey's frankly astonishing art, beautifully coloured, and a terrifically spooky mix of alien AI and old British folklore this makes for a great read, even the various instantly identifiable Ellisisms in terms of character and dialogue seem refreshed and renewed and fit for purpose. Bits of it are even set in Dublin, and the Big Smoke never looked so good. show less