Webcomic / For Love Nor Money

For Love Nor Money is a spin-off series from the webcomic series When Heaven Spits You Out by Bourbonnais Comics, and follows the life of Eamonn Lees, father of Peter Lees who is the childhood friend of Ryan Hanson from WHSYO. The series chronicles the life of Eamonn as he goes from an impoverished Irish migrant in the early 1930s to becoming a major figure on the Baltimore crime scene, where choices he believed were simple to begin with soon result in a succession of increasingly dire consequences.

As a crime drama, the series takes a more mature tone than the slice-of-life vibe of WHSYO, with slightly stronger language and with more adult themes of sexuality and violence. When we join Eamonn in Chapter 1, his is an impoverished but idealistic young teenager who desires more from his life than his meagre existance of working nights in a Dublin glassworks, only to find that through one act, he is plunged into a seedy and dangerous world that transforms him into a jaded and emotionally bankrupt man.

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In the comic

3 - H

• The '30s: The story begins in 1933 in Dublin, and is demonstrated through tight, claustrophobic terraced housing, rumbling tramcars and the style of clothing from the time.
• Action Survivor: Eamonn Lees, having survived a vicious gunfight with the exceptionally violent gangster Frank McGregor, who is twice his size and completely insane.
• Adorable Abomination: If you met Eamonn, as a 13-year-old-boy, you would never imagine that behind his fluffy brown hair and piercing green eyes, he is an extremely violent and mentally unhinged killer.
• Adorably Precocious Child: Completely inverted. Eamonn, even at his young age, is already corrupted by the influence his uncle has on his life. He is cold, barely showing any emotions, and there is very little to indicate what's going on inside his head. Aside from Darragh, he is emotionally distant from all those around him, even his own mother.
• Affably Evil: If you encountered John Lees when he wasn't in the middle of brutally assaulting his tenants or raping his sister-in-law, he would come across as a soft-spoken, cultured and charismatic man wearing expensive suits and riding around in Rolls-Royces, a typical politician for the era, but one hiding extremely dark pleasures and pass-times.
• Allegiance Affirmation: Darragh and Eamonn, despite the many trials of their impoverished life, and even with the knowledge that Eamonn is a cold-blooded murderer, the two of them affirm their loyalty to one another constantly.
• All Abusers Are Male: John Lees, Eamonn's uncle, is a man who sexually exploits his mother, Aoife, in exchange for payments. He is also an unforgiving landlord to his tenants, sending his heavies in a violent response to anyone who fails to pay their rent on time.
• All Men Are Perverts: John Lees makes no qualms about his sexual abuse of Eamonn's mother, Aoife, but whether this is due to his own perversion, or a chance to have dominance over something that once belonged to his late, superior brother, is its own mystery.
• Anti-Hero: Eamonn starts off as a morally sound young man only trying to do what's right, but with the rape of his mother and the death of his half-sister by John Lees, he is pushed off the rails and into a world of murderous intent.
• Anyone Can Die: Given the nature of the story, set among the violent gangs of the northeast United States, there is a lot of collateral damage in terms of characters meeting their end.
• Asshole Victim: John Lees. For his prolonged abuse of his family, the rape of his mother and causing the death of his half-sister, he is punished for his crimes by a bullet to the face, courtesy of his nephew, Eamonn.
• Awakening the Sleeping Giant: When John Lees raped his sister-in-law and caused the death of his accidental daughter, he likely expected Eamonn to do nothing about it. Instead, he pushed an already frustrated and proud young man over the edge, and paid for it with his life.
• Awesome by Analysis: Eamonn has a keen eye for observation, seeing simple solutions to problems others would consider complicated, and using the most basic of items to circumvent obstacles. Examples include how he was able to devise a scheme to both sneak onto and sneak off the RMS Olympic while escaping to America.
• Badass Adorable: Eamonn, from initial impressions, is a somewhat cute boy with unkempt brown hair and piercing green eyes - a typical 13-year-old boy who could generally be considered cute by the standards of the time. Behind his eyes, though, there's a different story, a disturbed young man who has been mentally damaged beyond repair, and has now cemented himself as a capable and calculating murderer.
• Badass Bookworm: While having no formal education, having spent his young life working the nightshift at a local glassworks in order to make more money and sleeping during the day, he is by no means unintelligent.
• Bathtub Scene: While not so much a bathtub, Eamonn is given a thorough scrub down at a luxury spa prior to being introduced to Seán.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Even in the last few minutes of her life, Heather is still a beautiful little baby to Eamonn as he holds her close.
• Being Good Sucks: Is the case for Eamonn in Chapter 1. When he confronts his uncle over the cruelty he displays to his tenants, John responds by raping his mother and cutting of his supply of payments to their family, ultimately leading to his baby sister, Heather, dying of Whooping Cough when they run out of medicine.
• Berserk Button: Eamonn is a generally calm and moral boy, but morality quickly dies the death after his uncle's abuses towards his family push him too far.
• Beware the Nice Ones: When he's not murdering people, Eamonn is a friendly though emotionally distant young man.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: Eamonn, out of all the characters in the series, does the least talking among the main cast, probably because he's sizing up how he's going to put his victim into a coffin.
• Big Bad: John Lees is this of Eamonn's story, being responsible for much of the misery in his life by sexually abusing his mother constantly before cutting off his payments to his family out of naught but spite, resulting in his baby half-sister's death.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Seán Hennessey and his mob, together with John Lees, all of whom are corrupt, violent, morally bankrupt and willing to use whatever means necessary to get what they wany.
• Big Fancy House: Several, as Eamonn is gradually introduced to a life of ill-gotten gains.
  • John Lees' manor in Dublin, a two-story monstrosity with many lavish rooms.
  • Seán Hennessey's veritable palace in the suburbs of Baltimore.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: The Lees Family. Eamonn's father had died long-ago during the Irish civil war, and his mother is forced to have sex with his uncle in order to pay their way, even resulting in the accidental birth of his half-sister, Heather.
  • Made worse at the end of Chapter 1, when after Eamonn confronts his uncle and points out his cruelty, the latter cuts off his payments to their family which results in Heather's death from Whooping Cough.
• Black-and-Gray Morality: Eamonn isn't truly a bad person, but is a boy who's been pushed too far once too often, leading to his once simple but legitimate working-class life in Dublin being overturned, and placing him into a crime ridden underclass.
• Boom, Headshot!: His modus operandi as a murderer.
• Break the Cutie: Plenty of examples in Chapter 1 due to the violent nature of the character's surroundings.
• Briefs Boasting: In Book 6, Eamonn is finally introduced to the concept of underwear, as he had previously believed they were reserved solely for girls.
• The Bully: John Lees likes to use his money and political power to intimidate those he considers beneath him, be they his tenants or even his own relatives.
• By-the-Book Cop: Luther Forrestal. Wants desperately to take down Seán Hennessey, but only via legal means.
• Carnival of Killers: There's not only Eamonn, but also Seán, as well as his subordinates in his gang including Arthur, together with the rival gangs of the Belfast Mob.
• Catchphrase: Darragh and Eamonn have a propensity to address each other as 'me brother'.
• Chekhov's Gun: In Book 1, John Lees makes reference to the fact that when his brother, Eamonn's dad, was killed in the Irish Civil War, the only things sent back to his widow were his stirrups and what he incorrectly refers to as his 'revolver' - it is actually an M1911 single-action, semi-automatic pistol. In Book 2, John was likely wishing he hadn't brought up mention of the gun as said weapon is used by his outraged and murderous nephew to blow his face off.
• Child by Rape: Heather, who was conceived accidentally through John Lees' sexual exploitation of his sister-in-law.
• Classical Anti-Hero: Eamonn Lees is not cut out for the life of crime he had chosen. Starting as a 13-year-old boy, he is driven to murder after John Lees, his abusive uncle, caused the death of his half-sister, Heather, and though his motivation was entirely based on his strong sense of pride and honour, where it leads him is down a road of crime and lawlessness which will never allow him true peace.
• Conspicuously Public Assassination: While the person involved isn't killed, per se, the manner in which a tenant, late on his rent to John Lees, is brutally mutilated is done in the presence of many workers at the glassworks, likely to serve as a lesson.
• Cool Car: John Lees is shown to be the owner of a 1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom II in black, driven around by his loyal chauffeur, Michael.
• Corrupt the Cutie: At the start of the series, Eamonn is a warm hearted, caring but frustrated young boy pinned beneath the whim of his abusive uncle, only to be dragged into a world of villainy and murder.
• Corrupt Politician: John Lees states that he has a seat on the Dail, or parliament of the Irish Republic, hence his extreme wealth and influence. However, he frequently uses his power to manipulate and intimidate those beneath him, including violent ramifications for his tenants if they fail to pay their rents on time, and sexually abusing his sister-in-law.
• Covert Group with Mundane Front: The Hennessey Mob, which is fronted by various bars, restaurants and other businesses such as shipbuilding.
• Crapsack World: Eamonn's bleak appraisal of both Dublin in Ireland, and his new home in Baltimore, nothing but crime and corruption with no hope of escape.
• Crazy-Prepared: The insane amount of detail Eamonn goes into when perpetrating his crimes:
  • When murdering his uncle, he arranges and scouts everything in such a way that allows him to leave Dublin, and later Ireland as a whole, before word gets out as to the death of John Lees, including checking to ensure the times of trains and ships, and observing the security arrangements at John Lees' affluent manor house so he can easily break in and out again without detection.
  • In Book 7, as his first hit on behalf of Seán Hennessey, Eamonn devises a scheme whereby Arthur and several members of the Hennessey mob would stage a fake act of road rage in order to distract the guards and make enough noise to cover up the sound of him sneaking in via an empty apartment and capping the pimp, Connor Fitzpatrick, without them being any the wiser.
• Create Your Own Villain: John Lees continuous persecution of Eamonn and his family ultimately leads to his timely demise at the hands of his nephew in Book 2.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Eamonn, a 13-year-old boy, is able to not only go about the city of Baltimore murdering men twice his size, but in close quarter combat is also able to gun down four heavily armed and extremely violent gangsters, although he does take a shotgun blast to the shoulder and nearly dies himself from blood loss.
• Darker and Edgier: While WHSYO was a very dark series with regard to matters of child abuse, religious bigotry and a realistic depiction of the troubles of growing up in 1970s America, For Love Nor Money takes things a step further due to the criminal nature of main character Eamonn Lees, with the topics of murder, rape, prostitution, extortion, sexual violence and torture all covered as a simple matter of fact for the lifestyle into which Eamonn has plunged himself.
• Dead Foot Leadfoot: Takes place during the battle between Eamonn and Frank McGregor, when Eamonn shoots the driver of the latter's car which sends it hurtling uncontrollably down the street before smashing into a lamppost.
• "Dear John" Letter: When Eamonn leaves home to murder his uncle and escape to America, he leaves a letter written to his mother explaining everything and hoping she wouldn't think less of him for what he was about to do.
• Death Glare: Eamonn, at multiple points:
  • First time at Heather's funeral, illustrating the moment he mentally broke.
  • Second time at John Lees' mansion, when he points his father's gun at his uncle before claiming revenge for the death of his half-sister.
• Deconstruction: Eamonn is a deconstruction of how a mob hitman is made, a resourceful and innovative boy with an athletic edge who's born into impossible circumstances of poverty and depravation, but carries with him a deep-seated anger and pride that helps him overcome emotional barriers and turns him into a perfect weapon. He is self-loathing, and it is inferred that he may also be suicidal at times, but his desire to cling to life is strong enough that he doesn't want to be handed over to the authorities, where he'd be surely hanged for killing his uncle, John Lees. This is the leverage by which Seán Hennessey is able to employ Eamonn as his private assassin, essentially carrying out his despicable bidding not for the love of it, but because he has no choice.
• Deliberately Monochrome: Unlike previous series, For Love Nor Money is shown in black and white as a means to illustrate the period tone.
  • As the series progresses, volume by volume, it gradually regains its colour.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: The attitudes and mannerisms of many of the characters are reflective of the 1930s working-class setting of the series.
• Disappeared Dad: Eamonn's father is revealed to have died before he was born in the Irish Civil War, specifically at the Battle of Kilmallock, in which Anti-Treaty forces were routed by members of the Irish Free State.
• Dissonant Serenity: One of Eamonn's more unsettling qualities, the fact that he can detach himself from all manner of violent imagery and sexually perverse situations while others are discomforted or even shocked.
• Don't Look At Me: Aoife begs Eamonn not to watch as she is raped by his uncle after confronting him over his cruelty - he is made to watch by his uncle's chauffeur.
• Downer Beginning: By the end of the first chapter, things are off to a very downbeat start.
• Dream Intro: Book 4 begins with Eamonn dreaming back over his life to the times his mother had been coerced into the sexual services of his uncle, John Lees, leading through the brief life of his accidental half-sister, Heather, and finally to the point where he murdered his uncle in revenge for her death.
• Dreaming of Times Gone By: Book 4 essentially provides the viewer with a summary of Eamonn's life, including how John Lees was able to manipulate his way into their lives by forcing his mother to be his sexual servant, resulting in the accidental birth of his half-sister, Heather, and the short life she led before her untimely death. This sequence also reveals the contents of the letter Eamonn had written prior to murdering his uncle and running away from home, explaining himself and hoping that his mother wouldn't think ill of him for what he'd planned to do.
• The Driver: Michael is the loyal chauffeur of Eamonn's uncle, John Lees, and is not often seen too far away from his assortment of luxury cars. However, his loyalty goes a step further to John's own sordid personal dealings, as while his face may not condone his actions Michael restrains Eamonn and forces him to watch as John rapes his mother, making no comment or protest as to his master's sickening act.
• Establishing Character Moment: Several during the course of the opening parts:
  • Eamonn's life of hardship is shown as he is seen clocking off from his overnight shift at the glassworks.
  • Darragh's somewhat more cocky and laid-back attitude is illustrated as he appears to have deliberately missed church, something Eamonn is used to seeing.
  • The first time we see John Lees, he is departing Eamonn's home after having had a 'session' with his mother, walking straight past his nephew without a word and climbing into his regal Rolls-Royce.
• Establishing Series Moment: By the end of the first chapter, we see Eamonn's mother being forced to whore herself to his uncle in order to pay for basic needs, a worker at the glassworks having his head shoved into a furnace for non-payment of rent, Eamonn's mother being raped by John after Eamonn confronted him over his vain and cruel ways, which ultimately leads to his half-sister, Heather, dying of Whooping Cough when John cuts off their payments and thus they cannot afford medicine for her.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: While Eamonn is a cold-blooded murderer, he still harbours a little love for his mother, even if emotionally he isn't particularly well attached to her.
• Everybody Cries: Everyone has a good cry at some point during the first chapter as the despair of their situation is made clear.
• The Exile: For murdering his uncle, Eamonn has to go on the run and escape from his Irish home to America, taking his best friend, Darragh, along with him.
• Faux Affably Evil: John Lees, despite his inherent cruelty, is a charismatic and calculating man, never raising his voice and speaking in a generally polite manner, even after he's just raped Eamonn's mother.
• Flashback: The dream sequence at the start of Book 4 essentially counts as one as it goes through Eamonn's life to that point, showing the many low moments of his existence prior to the start of the series.
• Forbidden Friendship: While not forbidden, Aoife has a very low opinion of Eamonn's friendship with Darragh due to his family's apparent history of being ne'er-do-wells.
• Forced to Watch: After confronting his uncle regarding his cruel and vain nature, Eamonn is forced to watch him rape his mother while being restrained by his uncle's chauffeur, Michael, all while his mother, Aoife, pleads with her son not to look.
• Foreshadowing: In Book 6, Charlie mentions that some of Seán's accounts and tax documentations have gone missing. It is subsequently revealed in Book 8 that one of Charlie's accountants had been secretly hording the documents so that he might reveal them to the police after Seán stopped paying his gambling debts. Seán's response is somewhat fiery to say the least.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Having put up with his uncle's abuse for long enough, Eamonn is driven from an impoverished teenage urchin working nights at a Dublin glassworks to a ruthless murderer who starts his criminal career by shooting John Lees.
• Genre-Busting: Jumps from tone-to-tone throughout the course of the series, ranging from a slice-of-life drama with Eamonn and Darragh, to a gritty neo-noir crime drama when the former ends up in the employ of Seán Hennessey.
• The Gunslinger: While Eamonn is not proud of the fact that he's now a gun-toting murderer, he apparently is quick to warm to the idea that simply being in possession of his father's old handgun helps him to win every argument he encounters, such as threatening the driver of the Bentley he and Darragh hide in so as to enter the USA, and even considers using it to blast their way out of the pawn broker's shop if things went south with Darragh's attempt to hawk a candlestick holder he stole.
• Handguns: Eamonn's weapon of choice for his criminal activities, his father's M1911 sidearm.
• Hate Sink: John Lees is a corrupt and sadistic human being who revels in his abilities to intimidate and persecute his lessors, including the tenants who pay rents to him, and his own relations.
• Healthcare Motivation: While both Aoife and Eamonn both object to John Lees taking sexual advantage of the former, they are both aware that his payments are what keeps the ailing infant Heather alive as it pays for her whooping cough medicine.
• Heartbroken Badass: It is Eamonn's heartbreak over the death of his half-sister, Heather, that drives him to become a cold blooded and brutal murderer.
• The Heavy: Two of John Lees' men are seen 'collecting' the rent of a worker who had failed to pay on time at the glassworks, one brandishing a knife to keep the other workers at bay, and the other beating the man to a pulp before sticking his head in a furnace.
  • Though Michael's role as a driver doesn't usually extend to acts of violence against those who displease John Lees, when the latter is teaching his nephew about respect by raping his mother, Michael assumes the role of a pseudo heavy by restraining Eamonn and forcing him to watch, although his facial expressions show that he doesn't truly approve of what his master is doing.
• Hero Antagonist: Eamonn is a villain in this tale, a murderer who has not only killed his uncle, but now, in the employ of Seán Hennessey, now finds himself murdering his way across Baltimore, avoiding rival gangs and even the police as he does so.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Eamonn and Darragh. They are apparently quite intimate with each other as friends, even bathing naked with each other and confessing their personal thoughts and feelings with each other in a manner they never would with their own parents. Eamonn even lampshades this by pointing out that the reason his mother hates Darragh so much is because he could find a friend in the latter more than the former. Their connection is so deep that Darragh is even willing to emigrate to the USA with Eamonn despite the hardships they must endure.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Eamonn makes it more than evident that he despises everything about his uncle and the perversion he reaps on those around him, especially his mother, and when he chooses to challenge him directly, John Lees opts to rape his mother and leave his half-sister to die of Whooping Cough. To kill the perceived monster of his life, Eamonn resolves to murder his uncle out of revenge and honour, even though this in turn makes a monster out of him.
• Honor Before Reason: Honour is a common theme among the main characters, as they are often driven to extreme lengths solely out of a sense of pride for either their family or friends.
  • Eamonn's decision to murder his abusive uncle and seek revenge for the death of his half-sister is entirely based on his own sense of family honour, to avenge himself upon the man who had defiled his mother time and time again, and had brought both life and death to Heather, even though doing this terrible act would lead him into a life of crime from which he could never truly escape.
  • When trying to emigrate out of Ireland, Eamonn and Darragh are faced with the seemingly impossible task of rowing out to the RMS Olympic and climbing up its anchor chain while its sitting in the open sea, something Darragh quickly points out as far beyond what the two young boys are capable of. However, after Eamonn explains his true motivations for leaving Ireland in such a hurry, Darragh is willing to put aside his own worries and help his friend on this dangerous journey, even if it results in both their deaths.
• Hotter and Sexier: Unlike WHSYO, For Love Nor Money focusses more on matters relating to sexuality and sexual violence due to the more criminal nature of the subject matter, including rape and prostitution, therefore many people, both male and female, are shown either partially or fully nude and engaging in sexual activity, although this is never illustrated explicitly and is more so implied.

I - Q

• If I Do Not Return: As written in Eamonn's letter to his mother before he sets off to murder his uncle and escape to America.
• An Immigrant's Tale: After murdering his uncle for his many abuses towards his family, Eamonn makes his escape to the USA, bringing along his best friend, Darragh. After dangerously climbing aboard the RMS Olympic via its anchor chain, the two boys eventually sneak into the United States in the boot of a Bentley that's being shipped to New York.
• Incest-ant Admirer: John Lees towards Eamon's mother Aoife.
• Incurable Cough of Death: For Heather, it is a literal example as she is suffering from Whooping Cough, which, in 1933, was a widespread killer, especially among infants. She ultimately succumbs to the illness by the end of Chapter 1.
• Info Drop: In the comic, dates are not explicitly stated by the characters, but are instead shown either on newspaper pages, or through events taking place at the time in the wider world.
• Ireland: The series begins in 1930s Dublin, a bleak and industrial landscape rife with poverty.
• Irish Names: Due to the series being set in Ireland, the characters display a variety of Irish names, including Eamonn, Darragh and Aoife.
• The Irish Mob: In Book 6, its revealed that Seán is the leader of a vast Irish crime syndicate which essentially controls Baltimore.
• Irrational Hatred: Eamonn against his uncle, John Lees.
• Jerkass: John Lees, as he is more than happy to sexually abuse his sister-in-law routinely, have his tenants violently assaulted and mutilated for non-payment of rent, and rape Eamonn's mother after Eamonn confronted him over his vain and cruel ways, which ultimately leads to his illegitimate daughter, Heather, dying of Whooping Cough when he cuts off their payments and thus they cannot afford medicine for her.
• Karmic Death: For his crimes against Eamonn Lees and his family, John Lees meets a sticky end at the hands of his nephew.
• Kick the Dog: For his failure to pay his rent, a worker at the glassworks is beaten severely before having his head stuffed into a flaming hot furnace in order to teach him and the others a lesson.
• Le Parkour: Eamonn is demonstrated to be a superb climber, using his dexterity and skill not only in his civilian capacities, but also when carrying out his more criminal activities.
  • At the start of the series, he's shown to put his climbing skills to use in the glassworks, clambering high up into the factory's extensive pipework to fix some machinery.
  • In Book 2, he uses his skills to scale up the drainpipe and climb into the window of John Lees' bedroom in order to murder him.
  • In Book 3, he scales the anchor chain of the RMS Olympic and up the side of its hull in order to escape Ireland with Darragh after murdering his uncle.
• Loan Shark: John Lees, despite being a member of the Irish parliament, is shown to be a landlord on the side, one who has no reservations to using extreme violence in order to make sure his tenants pay.
• MacGyvering: Eamonn has an innate ability to craft a plan out of just about anything, so long as he has a little time to think through how he's going to make it work.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: Under the employ of Seán, Eamonn's main task is to act as his personal hitman, administering death to his enemies while making sure there are no ties to lead it back to Seán himself.
• Male Frontal Nudity: The male leads, especially Eamonn, are often shown naked throughout the series, either due to them washing or sleeping nude. While characters such as Eamonn and Darragh are depicted as being in their early teens at the start of the series, none of the instances where they are seen naked, either front or back, are done in a sexualised manner, and is more practical nudity given the nature of their situation, especially considering their impoverishment in a time when undergarments weren't readily available or affordable to the working classes.
  • In Book 1, when Eamonn and Darragh are bathing in the River Liffey, they are briefly shown fully nude. However, this is from a distance and not focused upon in great detail.
  • In Books 3 and 4, after sneaking aboard the RMS Olympic, Eamonn and Darragh strip down in order to get out of their wet clothes prior to getting some sleep.
  • Eamonn is again briefly seen nude from the front in Book 5, though this is from a distance as he is stood in a small window.
  • Eamonn is again briefly glimpsed from the front naked while washing himself with Colm from a barrel outside their tenement during Book 8.
  • In Book 9, as Eamonn mentally prepares himself for what he knows will be a vicious battle between himself and Frank McGregor, one he's not likely to survive, he sits naked in his bedroom and inspects his rifle, where his frontal nudity is shown clearly on two occasions.
• Manly Tears: Unlike his mother, who breaks down in fits of misery at the various tragedies of her life, Eamonn is far more reserved, only showing his emotions when in solitude, which don't amount to more than a few anguished tears.
• Meaningful Name: Of Irish origin, the name, Eamonn, means wealthy protector, and while he may not be rich, he has a strong sense of duty and demands justice even to the point of murder.
• A Mistake Is Born: Heather Lees. She was conceived through the sexual arrangement between John Lees and his sister-in-law, Aoife, but although she is John's daughter, a man her half-brother, Eamonn, despises, he still showers her with love as if she were fully his sister.
• Mob War: As instigated by Seán Hennessey, a massive gang war breaks out between the two factions of the rival Belfast Mob, the plan being for each side to destroy one another and allowing Hennessey to move in among the remains.
• Mood Whiplash: No shortage of these, the series flip-flops frequently from moments of levity to moments of despair within the space of a page.
• Moustache Twirling Villain: John Lees is a despicable and corrupt character, whose upper lip is complimented by a suave moustache.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: In Eamonn's case, murder is the ONLY solution.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Eamonn has a moment like this after shooting his uncle, where he is shown to be quite emotionally shaken by what he had just undertaken and the consequences it will incur.
  • He has another terrible moment of realisation in Book 5 when comes to truly appreciate how far he's fallen due to his actions, now alone in a far off land with the only possession to call his own being his father's pistol.
• Naked People Are Funny: Inverted. When Eamonn and Darragh are swimming naked on the banks of the River Liffey, a tramcar passes by in which the passengers get a good look at the two boys in their birthday suits. However, while the passenger's reactions range from mild amusement to outright disgust, the two boys find their reactions hilarious.
• Never Bareheaded: Throughout pretty much the entire first chapter, Eamonn is seldom seen without his flatcap on.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: An arguable instance of where, if Eamonn hadn't confronted his uncle over his cruelty, the latter wouldn't have raped his mother to teach him a lesson, nor would he have cut off his supply of money that was the only thing paying for Heather's medicine, resulting in her death from Whooping Cough.
• Oh, Crap!: John Lees has a slightly more subtle one seconds before his nephew, Eamonn, puts a bullet in him for the death of his half-sister.
• Only Friend: Darragh to Eamonn.
• Parental Issues: Eamonn has a very distant relationship with his mother due to her not liking his friendship with Darragh, and for being his uncle's whore in order to pay for their basic needs.
• Police Are Useless: Aside from the fact that the police are never there to catch Eamonn in the act of his perpetrating his crimes or to stop him before he commits them, thanks to the manipulations of Seán Hennessey, the Baltimore Police Department are led on a wild goose chase with the rival Belfast Mob and their own crime war, allowing him and his mob to take over the power vacuum and become one of the most powerful crime syndicates in the northeast United States.
• Prayer Pose: Eamonn adopts one when he's in church during the opening pages.
• Precision F-Strike: Delivered by Eamonn in Book 7:
  Eamonn: "I should've listened to me mam, at least I can now appreciate what it was like being in her shoes."
  Darragh: "That's a bit much, Eamonn, it's not like me brother's havin' sex with ya or anything!"
  Eamonn: "There's more than one way to get fucked in this life, Darragh."
• Professional Killer: Eamonn Lees, despite no formal training, is adept with weapons and can devise plans to kill people with ease, working in a cool and calm manner as he commits his heinous crimes.
• Protagonist Journey to Villain: Throughout the series, Eamonn evolves from an impoverished Irish immigrant to a ruthless and calculating murderer.
• Theme Naming: Every chapter is called "Book of" a theme representing the chapter. The first is "Book of Innocence," reflecting Eamonn's outlook on life which gets shattered throughout the course of the chapter. Chapter 2 is "Book of Guilt," representing Eamonn engaging in his first criminal act by killing John Lees. Chapter 3 is "Book of Travels" as Eamonn and Darragh sneak aboard a ship to escape the country.
• RMS Olympic: In order to escape Ireland after killing John Lees, Eamonn and Darragh scale the anchor chain of the RMS Olympic, older sister to the ill-fated Titanic and Britannic, hiding away in the boiler room to avoid detection.
• The Quiet One: Eamonn is a character who does very little talking when he's not around Darragh, carrying out both his legitimate work and his criminal activities in cold and calculating silence.

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• Revenge: Against his uncle, John Lees, for raping his mother and cutting off the payments that were keeping his half-sister alive, Eamonn being driven to murder the corrupt man by shooting him point-blank in the face while inside his luxury Dublin manor.
• Scenery Porn: The opening chapter captures the bleak and miserable terraced streets of Dublin, the stygian gloom of the glassworks, and the beauty of the Irish countryside outside the city.
• Skinny Dipping: Eamonn and Darragh do this in the River Liffey in what they call 'having a bath'.
• Slowly Slipping Into Evil: Eamonn starts the series as an impoverished but well-meaning young boy working nights at a Dublin glassworks in order to support his desperately ill sister and widowed mother. However, after his corrupt uncle, John Lees, rapes his mother and cuts off his payments to keep his sister alive, Eamonn jumps the rails morally and claims his revenge through brutal, cold-blooded murder, starting a spiral throughout the series with increasingly dire consequences.
• Smug Snake: John Lees, who is abusive, sadistic, cruel and manipulative, but through it all maintains an unflinching smile of superiority.
• Son of a Whore: In order to keep her family financially buoyant, Aoife is forced to have sex with John Lees, her brother-in-law, so as to get access to his money, something that doesn't sit well with her son, Eamonn.
• Sticky Fingers: Darragh seems to take a leaf out of his older brother's book by stealing items in order to pawn them off for cash, his first caper being the theft of a candlestick holder from the RMS Olympic in order to provide them with enough cash to buy passage to Baltimore, and also take a quick trip to the top of the Empire State Building.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Having escaped Ireland after murdering his uncle, Eamonn faces the true reality of what he's done. Rather than landing immediately in a world of wealth as promised by the American Dream, he is separated from his friend and dumped in a working class tenement with only a single tiny bedroom to call his own.
• The Syndicate: Seán Hennessey and his mob.
• Tears of Fear: When climbing up the anchor chain of the RMS Olympic, while Eamonn has no problem scaling the metal chain high above the churning ocean, Darragh is terrified to the point that he is literally left clinging in frightened tears.
• This Is Gonna Suck: "Eamonn, what the hell are ye doin' out on this anchor chain?"
• Tragic Villain: Eamonn's only motivation to start out is to avenge the death of his half-sister and the rape of his mother, pushing him to murder his corrupt and abusive uncle.
• Train Escape: To get out of Dublin after murdering his uncle, Eamonn and Darragh clamber aboard the luggage van of an overnight express heading south out of the city.
• Tranquil Fury: When Eamonn confronts John Lees, and insults him to his face that he could never match his deceased older brother, the latter is clearly offended, but rather than raising his voice, he calmly calls for his butler and has his servant bring round the Rolls-Royce, saving his fury for the rape of Eamonn's mother he intends later.
  • Eamonn becomes this himself, when after John Lees had raped his mother and caused the death of his sister, he turns into a cold and calculating murderer in order to exact his revenge, never raising his voice or giving big, elaborate speeches, just pulling the trigger without emotion.
• Undying Loyalty: Eamonn and Darragh, two friends devoted to one another even through the toughest moments.
• Urban Hellscape: Dubin's tight and dreary terraced streets and factories.
• Villain Protagonist: No matter what way you look at it, Eamonn Lees is a cold-blooded murderer, even though his choice to take this violent path was done with arguably the best intentions.
• Violence Is Disturbing: While Darragh is terrified by the sight of a co-worker having his head shoved into a furnace, Eamonn is apparently used to such a horrific spectacle.
• Voiceover Letter: In Book 4, during a flashback dreamt by a sleeping Eamonn, he narrates the contents of a letter he had left his mother explaining his true feelings about her and how he planned to murder his uncle before escaping to America.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Heather Lees lives and dies within the first chapter without saying a word, with most of her backstory told by Eamonn and Aoife. Then again, she is only a baby.
• Wicked Cultured: Given the manner of his dress and the style of his stately manor, John Lees, despite his inherent cruelty and sadism, is a highly cultured individual, though this does not subtract from his hideous acts.
• Would Hurt a Child: While John Lees doesn't directly hurt Eamonn through physical violence, he chooses to hurt him instead through psychological torture and the ruin of his already meagre life.
• Would Hit a Girl: Solely to teach Eamonn a lesson in respect, John Lees chooses to rape his mother before his very eyes.
• Wretched Hive: Dublin is illustrated to be crime-ridden, impoverished and pollutant.
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Due to the setting and time period, Eamonn and those around him speak in an older manner of English based on their terms and words, as well as using period and regional slang.
• Young Gun: A 13-year-old Eamonn once he takes possession of his father's old handgun and uses it to murder his uncle, leading him down a road of crime and lawlessness.

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