Josh was recently provided with advance copies of the first two issues of Noe: The Savage Boy, below are a few details about the book, its creators and Josh’s thoughts on the book.
“History is sometimes more interesting than anything we can imagine. If I told you I was writing a story about a town in Baltimore that disappeared overnight you’d think I was writing a fantasy story, but the truth is more frightening”
-Malachy Coney
Noe: The Savage Boy is a mini-series plotted by Robert Curley and Scripted by Malachy Coney featuring art by Stephen Downey. The book is published by Curley’s publishing company “Atomic Diner”.
All three men have experience in the independent comic scene; Curley currently writes adventure comics set across different time periods in Irish history such as The League of Volunteers and The Crimson Blade, while Coney has written several comics detailing life in Northern Ireland such as Good Craic Comics and his most famous series Holy Cross. Stephen Downey has actually worked as a letterer for Coney on his series Ouija Board before drawing the dark fantasy graphic novel Cancertown in 2009.
Noe the Savage Boy is set in Cork, 1961 and is based on the real world events of the people of Baltimore being kidnapped and sold into slavery in Africa. The story follows an Irish boy called Noe whose family is torn apart during the events, forcing him to put his mannerisms and become a fearsome warrior in order to overcome his captors during the grim voyage to Africa, suffering at the hands of many of the pirates on the way.
I was very impressed with the story that Curley and Coney have put together, as it tackles many large themes in a very mature and though-provoking manner. What particularly struck me was the level of cruelty presented and the graphic depictions of Janissaries pirates’ actions, yet it never feels gratuitous or as if it’s done for shock value, Coney just wanted to present this story in the most accurate way possible. I was told in fact that much of their cruel actions during the voyage were actually removed from the second issue and that a whole series in and of itself could be written on them.
With Curley hailing from Dublin and Coney from Ardoyne, both are perfectly suited to write a book with such roots in Irish culture. Coney’s script in particular contains many cases of colloquial language and spelling which make the book feel authentic. This knowledge of Irish culture and history make for a very unique read, with voices like this not too prevalent in many comics allowing for a comic featuring lots of history and fact to be highly entertaining.
Stephen Downey’s art brings a suitably epic and raw quality to the story. His characters feel very real which bestows a sense of emotion and tragedy as the story progresses, and his ability to draw the looming ships of the pirates give a great sense of dread that aids the storytelling. Downey has already been picked up by Dynamite comics so it seems he is only going to go up from here, see from yourself and check out a sample of his art below:
Noe the Savage Boy #2
To conclude, I was definitely impressed by Noe The Savage Boy, it was something different from many comics and it presented history in a very interesting and powerful way. Even if you know nothing about Irish history (like myself) this is still a highly entertaining comic which I would definitely recommend if you can get your hands on it.
Curley, Coney and Downey will all be signing copies of the book on Saturday 15th November in Belfast at Forbidden Planet International from 2-4pm. If you feel interested enough to check out the book then head on down for the chance to purchase a copy and meet the men behind it.
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