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Retro Review: Bog Bodies by Declan Shalvey and Gavin Fullerton

By Luke Williams on March 23, 2022

An Irish gangster, on the run after a job gone wrong, stumbles upon a young woman lost in the Dublin mountains. Injured and unarmed, the unlikely pair must try to evade their pursuers and survive the desolate bog that has served as burial grounds for unspeakable murder throughout history…

Review by Luke Williams

WARNING: IMAGES INCLUDE SWEARING

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Declan Shalvey
Artwork: Gavin Fullerton
Colours: Rebecca Nalty
Lettering: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Heather Antos
Collection first Published: 22nd April 2020

Bog Bodies is a gritty contemporary Irish crime drama that slipped out in the Image Comics release schedules with little fanfare.

Low ranking criminal Killian is called upon by his partner Keano to help dispose of a “package” in the mountain bogs near Dublin. What Keano hasn’t told him is that this is supposed to be a one way trip for Killian.

At the disposal site, Killian manages to escape, but has no way of calling for help. He runs into a girl lost in the bog and together they try and find their way to safety, all the while being hunted by Killian’s erstwhile colleague.

With the entire story taking place at night, the art team of Gavin Fullerton and Rebecca Nalty’s use of heavy lines and a subdued palette to create a suitable chilly, eerie atmosphere. Declan Shalvey characters’ are well rounded and believable, and the dialogue naturalistic and convincing.

Declan Shalvey has been better known as an artist, but between this and Time after Time, he’s a writer to watch.

To the creators’ credit, despite the vast majority of the small cast being pretty reprehensible, it’s difficult not to have at least some sympathy for career criminal Killian, who seems to have made one final critical mistake in a life full of them.

To say much more would give away too much of the plot, but this is a wonderful, self contained done in one crime story violent and occasionally disturbing, but well worth anyone’s money.

Luke Williams

• Buy Bog Bodies from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) | ISBN: 978-1534313309

WEB LINKS

• Bog Bodies – Official Site

To accompany the release of Bog Bodies, a companion soundtrack of eight original pieces was created, inspired by the book. The soundtrack is available now on all streaming platforms. The music was written and recorded by Eric Kelleher as the book was being created, mixed by Ian McNulty and mastered by Richard Dowling at WAV Mastering.

• Read an interview with Declan Shalvey about creating Bog Bodies on WMQ Comics

Declan Shalvey is an artist/writer from Ireland. Over his career he has illustrated hit titles such as Moon Knight, Deadpool, All Star Batman and INJECTION with writer Warren Ellis for Image Comics.

More recently, he has been a writer on projects such as Deadpool Vs Old Man Logan, James Bond, Marvel Comics #1001 and his original graphic novel, Savage Town.

Gavin Fullerton is an illustrator who works in animation and comics. He has been a storyboard artist for shows such as Disney’s Space Chickens in Space and has been self publishing his comics since 2015. His first graphic novel Bags (or a story thereof) based on the short story by Over the Garden Wall creator Patrick McHale, was published by Boom! Studios in 2019. He currently lives and works in Dublin, Ireland.

Rebecca Nalty is a comic book colourist living in Dublin, Ireland. She has been working as a colourist since 2017 and has worked on various titles including Boom’s Heavy Vinyl, IDW’s Glow and Dynamite’s Vampirella Red Sonja.

Clayton Cowles is an Eisner-nominated letterer. He graduated from the Joe Kubert School in 2009 and has been lettering comic books ever since. His credits include X-Men, Daredevil, and Star Wars for Marvel; Batman, Aquaman, and Mister Miracle for DC; and Bitter Root, Die, and The Wicked + The Divine for Image. He resides in upstate New York in a house with two cats.

Heather Antos is an award-winning comic book editor and writer most known for her work on Marvel’s Star Wars and Deadpool lines, Image’s Redlands, INJECTION, and Bitter Root, as well as one of the co-creators of Gwenpool and Doctor Aphra. She is now an editor at Valiant Entertainment.

Luke Williams

Brought up on a diet of Commando, British Boys Annuals and Asterix, Lucas Williams’s day job limits his reading time. Luckily for everyone else this also restricts his writing time.