Slaine is an incredibly long running character in 2000AD which uses action and thrills to explore myth and legend. He fully deserves his place in the pantheon of great characters in British comics. Unfortunately the determination of Pat Mills to be the only one to explore the potential range of stories means we get the rehashed, didactic and repetitive and dull lectures disguised as a story. Uncle Pat needs to let go before the character is driven into the ground.

This is the last Slaine book. Albion suffers under a tyrannical ruler and Slaine leads a rebellion. My husband is a HUGE Slaine fan and the reason why I got into Slaine in the first place. I was so excited to see these titles getting released in America. Slaine was my introduction to the world of 2000AD comics. It is a fun sword and sorcery adventure that connects to my favorite mythologies.

The story instantly sucks you in. It is sad and powerful and the art is perfect. But the art!!! It took me a little while to read this book, but only because with almost every page I would spend several minutes just in awe of the art. Even the pages that were brutal and sad were beautiful. I wanted to frame just about every page and hang it on my wall. I read most of my review books on my phone and that did not do this book justice. Even though every page was beautiful and powerful when my husband brought home the hard copy it was even more so. Every time I turned a page it became my new favorite piece of art.

By page 6 I had already called my local comic shop to make sure they ordered me a copy. This will definitely be a reread.

5 stars.

Creative Team:
Pat Mills
Leonardo Manco

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review

Trigger warning: this comic is filled with bloody scenes, body mutilation, violence and rage

The story follows Slaine a barbarian fighting against the emperor Brutus. On his journey to free his people from slavery, he received advice, support, and guidance from his ancestors. He draws strength from them to keep his will going and continue till he achieves his goal of freedom.

When he discovers a secret about the emperor, everything will change and it depends on his belief in the strength of his ancestors channeled through him to defeat the emperor

I love 2000AD, it is a fantastic serial comic that is filled with some of my favourite characters. Judge Dredd is omnipresent, but there are other characters that I picture when I think of opening a new issue; ABC Warriors, Rogue Trooper and of course, Slaine. Slaine felt a little different as it was not the science fiction the magazine normally lent on, instead it was fantasy. Thankfully, this fantasy is filtered through the warped minds over at 2000AD and has all the ultraviolence you could wish for. Slaine: Dragontamer is one of the final outings for the antihero. Can he bring down the reign of Emperor Brutus before all Celts are destroyed?

Emperor Brutus and his army of Trojan Warriors are destined to conquer the entire world, but this won’t stop Slaine from giving them a bloody nose. Brutus may have the magic of his Gods, but Slaine has that of the Druids. Which of these antient powers will prove the strongest? Slaine will not only have to rely on his great strength and skill, but also on unlikely allies. The dispossessed` and the shunned will be part of his army and they will have to be brave as they go up against an army of dragons.

The world of Slaine is a rich one and packed full of lore. I have read quite a few of the runs and even I don’t always know what is going on. What is always clear is that Slaine is an absolute bad ass and hands out axe fulls of death to his enemies. This volume is written by Pat Mills, one of the originators of the series and illustrated by Leonardo Manco. Obviously Mills knows his Slaine as the dialogue is rich with information about the character and the world that surrounds him. This is great for fans of the character as they are getting the full Slaine experience, but there is also a coherence to the tale for people who have only dabbled like myself. The grievances between the Celts and the Trojans are clear.

One of the best things about Slaine is the possibility of great illustrations and Manco delivers on an almost unprecedented scale. The pages are glorious, full of menace and violence, but also remaining fantasy based. The book is violent, and pages are often coated in crimson, yet Manco is still able to catch the reader’s eye so that we follow the story.

Dragontamer purports to be the final adventure for Slaine after forty years of creations, but the tale, at least in this volume, remains open enough for it to continue. The volume also comes with a couple of shorter classic stories that give a further glimpse into Slaine. This is a series that would make even Conan blush and although this may be the last ever Slaine story, it works brilliantly as an introduction to the character as you just want to find out how it got to his point.

Slaine leads a rebellion against the trojan army. I did enjoy this book. The story was great and the illustrations were amazing. I'd recommend to a friend.

This is a stunning and incredibly gory story about rebellion; the Celtic warrior Slàine leading a rebellion against the tyranny of the Emperor Brutas and his Trojan Army. But the Trojans aren't the only terrors ravaging Albion. The Emperor has unleashes his dragons spreading firey destruction throughout the lands..

This is my first Pat Mills graphic novel - and my first introduction to 2000AD - so I was a little confused at first but I was so captivated by the story and incredible art work I didn't really care because it was such an incredible journey.

I found the characters so intriguing, espeically Slàine as I went with him on this blood soaked adventure to liberate Albion.

The action didn't seem to stop from one gore filled page to the next, and I enjoyed this combination of mythology, history and epic fantasy. I highly reccomend this to everyone who is fans of sword battles and magic, epic fantasy and gore. I'll be diving into all of Pat Mills work and thank you to netgalley and rebellion publishing for gifting me this to read for free.

I have read some Slaine stories over the years and generally enjoyed them and this joins that list. As with the other reviews, there were times that I literally had no idea what was going on but was happy to go along with it as Leonardo Manco's art in this is astonishing. I've liked his stuf for years and this is amongst his absolute best work ever. a solid piece of work by Pat Mills and a couple of decent bonus stories make this a very nice package indeed. Thanks to netgalley/rebellion for the chance to read and review this

There's something about reading Slaine that always makes it a guilty pleasure, not just the scenes of carnage, but also the language that accompanies it, a reminder of the earlier tales that continues to this day. Listed on the back as the last Slaine Adventure, I'll be honest when I say that I hope it's not.

There were callbacks to those who have followed him on previous adventures, and the life that he'd been making for himself in the time between, but this was more a melancholy beginning to a character that has not truly been melancholy in all the time he's been with us.

To be sure, the melancholy did not last long, and it didn't take long for the Warp Spasms to arrive and the bloodletting begin, many pages of wanton destruction, bold and vivid of colour, but lacking in the building of the stories of old, almost a winding down of the legend and the promise of something else to come.

There are three stories in total, with the second story one of a warrior hunting down Ukko, and the third one involving the Lord Weird Slough Feg, both enjoyable but brief.

This reminded me a lot of the stories of old, but there wasn't the level of build up in it that there was in the previous books, perhaps because we already know the character and what he does, but it felt as if there could have been more to this than there was.

Thus, four stars

I didn't think it too many

Author Pat Mills and Leonardo Manco's latest work is a must read for all the graphic novel lovers. I absolutely loved the storyline and presentation. The author's command over language and narration is evident by the way the story has been presented before the readers with utmost care to and attention to details. Overall, it was a great experience. I highly recommend this work and give it full 5 stars.

Happy Reading

I haven’t visited the the gory, fantasy world of Sláine for years so I am glad to see he hasn’t mellowed.
“Sláine: Dragontamer”, billed as the final Sláine story, sees everyone’s favourite Celtic warrior work through his anger-management issues against the tyrannical Emperor Brutus who is terrorising the land of Albion with his Trojan army and a squadron of fire-breathing dragons. But this is no lame Game of Thrones clone. It is doubtful they would allow this story to be filmed for an episode of that show because Sláine soon discovers the dark secret Brutus is hiding in his dungeons…
The story is beautifully, viscerally painted throughout, with one of the most powerful enemies Sláine has ever faced. Indeed, we get a strong sense that Sláine has finally met his match. I really can’t understate the gore level in this story - it is supremely graphic, with the superb artwork capturing every slice of Sláine’s axe. Many of the panels and single pages are works of art.
As always from Pat Mills, the story itself is a vivid and skilful mix of Celtic mythology, real history and sorcery, told in majestic, sublime language. If this truly is the last Sláine story, then he goes out on a glorious, carnage-filled high.

Exceptionally fantastical!

Sláine: Dragontamer is a story about rebellion and anti-authoritarianism. The Celtic warrior Sláine leads the rebellion against the tyrannical Emperor Brutus and his Trojan army. But that's not all that's plaguing Albion, Emperor Brutus has dragons and he spreads fiery terror across the land. Sláine manages to take the fight to New Troy, bringing gore into his wake. Once there, he uncovers dark secrets in Brutus's dungeons. And my oh my, those secrets are twisted.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
- the art is to die for
- the story is dynamic and there is no idle moment
- the gore, blood, and guts / the story is dark and extremely graphic
- the combination of mythology, history and epic fantasy


This is my first encounter with Pat Mill's 2000 AD, so I was confused at some parts - I didn't know any of the characters and I certainly wasn't familiar with the plot. I was lost at times, but I thoroughly enjoyed the journey.

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫:
- fans of dark gritty, gory fantasy
- fans of Pat Mills
- fans of fantastical sword and sorcery sagas