Walsh Brothers Tackle Foster Care Through Magic and Fantasy in 'The Ballad of Ronan'

 

The Ballad of Ronan #1, the debut issue of the six-issue miniseries written by the Walsh Brothers with art and covers by Remy Jackson, is coming to comics shops on May 11.

Here's what you can look forward to in this heartfelt, action-filled tale...

For Aisling, a teenage girl in Dublin, Ireland, the foster care system has failed her for the last time. Now aged out of even the possibility of being adopted, Aisling has made a fateful decision. Rather than face yet another day of no hope of finding a family of her own, she plans to run away from St. Anne’s Orphanage. But before she leaves, Father Jack, the only friend she has at St. Anne’s, gives her a birthday gift: Her late mother’s first name, and the location of her final resting place. 

That may not sound like much, but it’s enough to propel Aisling into a world of magic, adventure, and danger, where she will meet Ronan, a mysterious warrior who looks like a teen idol but seems to know nothing about his own past. Aisling’s journey brings her into conflict with magical forces out of Celtic mythology, as well as reuniting her with Father Jack, a renegade from an obscure and dangerous part of the Catholic Church known only as the Secret Arm. 

The Ballad of Ronan is a six-issue miniseries written by the Walsh Brothers, with art and covers by newcomer Remy Jackson. And while it sounds like pure fantasy, the Walsh Brothers, John and Jim, draw much of Aisling’s experiences at the start of the story from their own work as award-winning advocates for children in the foster care system in Florida.