History ComicBook / Hound2014

* OfferingsToTheGods: Father Kava attempts to sacrifice a magnificent bull to appease Morrigan before Cú Cullan stops him and offers gold to the goddess of war instead.

* MorphicResonance: Morrigan is a hooded crow in animal form and a dark-haired beautiful woman in human form. Her unique font and balloon style also extend to her Fomorian guise of Calatin at times.

* ImmortalBreaker: The Gae Bolga is the only weapon capable of wounding Morrigan, hence the epithet "The God-Killer". A decisive hit is enough to turn her from a gigantic monster bird to an ordinary-sized hooded crow, at which point she states Cú Cullan will lose the ability to hear her should he leave her lair at Brunaboyne.

* DisappearedDad: Cú Cullan leaves Eva pregnant to return to Erin after they carry on an affair for months. The only time he sees his son, [[spoiler:she sends the boy away to Erin to fight him and neither of them realizes who the other is until the boy dies by the Gae Bolga.]]

** At the beginning of the story, Morrigan carries Setanta away as a baby to her lair at Brunaboyne. The final battle takes place around the same mound.

* DisappearedDad:
** Cú Cullan's father is said to be the sun god Lú but he is absent throughout the entire story.
** Cú Cullan leaves Eva pregnant to return to Erin after they carry on an affair for months. The only time he sees his son, [[spoiler:she sends the boy away to Erin to fight him and neither of them realizes who the other is until the boy dies by the Gae Bolga.]]
* DisneyDeath: Emer seemingly dies by the shock of King Connor's bull running into her when one of Maeve's soldiers attempts to capture it away from her father's farm. A grieving Cú Cullan fights Maeve's soldiers in her name but she eventually awakens in the middle of her funeral.

* DualAgeModes: Morrigan can change between the form of a dark-haired young and the form of a Fomorian hag called Calatin.

* ImmortalBreaker: The Gae Bolga is the only weapon capable of wounding Morrigan, hence the epithet "The God-Killer". A decisive hit is enough to turn her from a gigantic monster bird to an ordinary-sized hooded crow, whereupon she states Cú Cullan will lose the ability to hear her should he leave her lair at Brunaboyne.

* InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers: Morrigan steals Setanta away as a baby, killing his mother in the process, to raise as an unstoppable killer who would give her back power outside the Otherworld.

* MorphicResonance: Morrigan is a hooded crow in animal form and a dark-haired beautiful woman in human form. Her unique font and balloon style also extends to her Fomorian guise of Calatin at times.

* OfferingsToTheGods: King Connor attempts to sacrifice a magnificent bull to appease Morrigan before Cú Cullan stops him and offers gold to the goddess of war instead.

* ShapeshifterLongevity: Morrigan has the unique power of shapeshifting, her guises ranging from a hooded crow to a Fomorian hag. She alludes to heroes throughout the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages in the ending narration.

* WarGoddess: Morrigan, the goddess of war, sets her sight on Setanta and manipulates people into fighting each other to regain power for herself after peace has weakened her.

* AbortedArc: Cú Cullan's decision to visit Skye after the death of his only son by Eva seems like it's going to build up to a payoff for Skye's comment to Eva that "What goes around comes around" upon his departure from the Isle of Skye. This plotline is dropped when Emer goes to Brunaboyne to pray for him, where he saves her from Morrigan before encountering a surprise attack led by Queen Maeve.

* AbortedArc: Cú Cullan's decision to visit Skye after the death of his only son by Eva seems like it's going to answer Skye's comment to Eva that "What goes around comes around" upon his departure from the Isle of Skye. This plotline is dropped when Emer goes to Brunaboyne to pray for him, where he saves her from Morrigan before encountering a surprise attack led by Queen Maeve.

* AbortedArc: Cú Cullan's decision to visit Skye after the death of his only son by Eva seems like it's going to answer Skye's comment to Eva that "What goes around comes around" upon his departure from the Isle of Skye. This plotline is dropped when Emer goes to Brunaboyne to pray for him, where he saves her from Morrigan and encounters a surprise attack led by Queen Maeve.

* FightingYourGod: During a celebration attended by countless guests from over Erin, King Connor prays for Morrigan to side with Ulla and never against them. In the climax of the story, he and the warriors of Ulla come together with Cú Cullan to fight the goddess of war when Cú Cullan reveals that she, not Queen Maeve and her kingdom of Connact, is the true enemy.

** Cú Cullan comes across the corpse of a boy at the beginning of the invasion of Ulla, in which Morrigan taunts him over not being there to protect the boy in time.

''Hound'' is an Irish graphic novel written and drawn by Paul J. Bolger and co-written by Barry Devlin (of Music/{{Horslips}} fame), with lettering by Dee Cunniffe and logo by Fran Walsh[[note]]not to be confused with the producer of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''[[/note]]. It retells the [[Myth/CelticMythology Irish myth of Cú Chulainn]] in the Ulster Cycle from the perspective of Morrigan, the [[WarGod goddess of war]].

* WarGod: Morrigan, the goddess of war, sets her sight on Setanta and manipulates people into fighting each other to regain power for herself after peace has weakened her.

The graphic novel was first published in 3 volumes in limited copies by Polish animation studio [[Creator/BreakThruFilms BreakThru Productions]]. They were subtitled ''Protector'' (2014), ''Defender'' (2016), and ''Liberator'' (2018). Paul rendered the graphic novel in black and white with an occasional use of red to save time and costs. British film producer Hugh Welchman edited the graphic novel and launched three successful UsefulNotes/{{Kickstarter}} campaigns to fund the original editions.

In March 2022, American publisher Creator/DarkHorseComics reprinted the graphic novel as [[{{Omnibus}} as a single volume]]--which is how Paul intended it to be read--with promotional text by Creator/AidanTurner (actor: ''Film/TheHobbit'', ''Series/{{Poldark}}''), [[Creator/AardmanAnimations Peter Lord]] (director: ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun'', ''[[WesternAnimation/ThePiratesInAnAdventureWithScientists Pirates: Band of Misfits]]''), and [[Creator/CartoonSaloon Tomm Moore]] (director: ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfKells'', ''WesternAnimation/SongOfTheSea'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolfwalkers}}'') and a gallery of art dedicated by various 14 artists.

The graphic novel was first published in 3 volumes in limited copies by Polish animation studio [=BreakThru=] Films. They were subtitled ''Protector'' (2014), ''Defender'' (2016), and ''Liberator'' (2018). Paul rendered the graphic novel in black and white with an occasional use of red to save time and costs. British film producer Hugh Welchman edited the graphic novel and launched three successful UsefulNotes/{{Kickstarter}} campaigns to fund the original editions.

* OfferingToTheGods: King Connor attempts to sacrifice a magnificent bull to appease Morrigan before Cú Cullan stops him and offers gold to the goddess of war instead.

* EvilMatriarch: In kidnapping Setanta as a baby, Morrigan causes the death of his real mother, Detira. She encourages Setanta to pursue what he's best at since then, referring to herself and him as mother and son. He eventually discovers that she's a cruel and manipulative goddess who wants to destroy his humanity for the sake of war and to restore her to power.

* InSeriesNickname: Morrigan always addresses Emer as a "goose", even when under the Fomorian guise of Calatin.

* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: During the final battle, Morrigan appears as a gigantic monster to Cú Cullan and the warriors of Ulla. Emer, the only non-combatant present, courageously proclaims that the goddess of war doesn't scare her.