A dark crime saga set in the Viking Age
Northlanders cover artist Massimo Carnevale and I conspire to redesign the trade dress for the next book in the series, called “The Plague Widow”, which will run in installments from #21-28. More details on the story itself to come, but for now just enjoy the cover:
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A few comments and reviews on what I consider one of the strongest bits of writing I’ve done:
Brian Wood continues to show what can be done with a Viking comic. Make no mistake, this is a clearly feminist text and yet, perhaps thanks to its gory Viking historical base, Wood makes it one that is accessible to the everyman rather than off-putting. While it’s emotionally heavy stuff, it’s more action-packed and inviting than it is didactic. That said, the feminist base makes this issue feel more intellectually substantial, more engaging, and more complex than a comic filled with guys getting stabbed in the gut with pointy sticks. - Weekly Comic Book Review
..Wood’s stories are deeper and richer, they have roots in the real world, and are far more relevant to today’s world and reading audience. He’s got a mind for historical research (construction techniques of the Romans) and an ear for dialogue that brings insight into the characters of the age and the types of insults they might hurl – “…here to send you to your nailed God.” - 13 Minutes
IMPRESSED BY THE TIMELESSNESS OF Northlanders #18. The best historical fiction reminds us that people who lived centuries ago were not all that different from you and I… Wood’s series of stand alone story arcs on the Vikings has delivered that level of quality with every issue so far, and is quickly correcting flagrant misconceptions about their culture brought about by three and a half decades of Hägar the Horrible. - ComicsAlliance
“…the last two issues of Northlanders have been some of the finest writing I’ve read in comics in quite some time… so meticulously researched, it feels very real, very emotionally grounded… it’s such a well-written series. I didn’t think [Brian Wood] could get any better.” - Blair Butler on G4’s Fresh Ink
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(otherwise known as Northlanders #18) This is out this week, part 1 of 2, illustrated beautifully by Danijel Zezelj and Dave McCaig. This is what I said on Newsarama:
….the Valkyries are pure fantasy, and the Norns, the Fates, are a way to humanize the cold, hard facts of how life unfolds… I mirrored a lot of these ideas into my three characters, three wives of dead men who allow fate to guide their actions in escaping from a hundred Saxons trying to kill them.
The research involved in this was incredibly difficult. Meaning, I couldn’t find out what a Danish wife at the time would be thinking. The Sagas hold some information but those are just stories and lyrics and often written decades or even centuries after the events being told happened. I found a few slim volumes on every day life in England at the time, and using that and contrasting with what I knew about the Danes, I was able to make a decent approximation. I utterly refused, refused, to follow stereotypes or refer to other fictional depictions for reference. Even if I ended up failing, I wanted to be as true to facts as I could. I’ve written a lot of comics with female characters, and based on feedback and reviews I seem to do a good job of it, of not writing women “like a typical man would” as it is said, especially with Local. I felt like one misstep here would unravel it all, so I tread very carefully.
But society back there was horrendously sexist, and that needed to be addressed. The women couldn’t simply be empowered by picking up a sword… too often in pop culture women are shown as “strong” simply by kicking someone’s ass or talking with a foul mouth. I wanted to go deeper than that. Certainly my three characters pick up swords but they don’t view it as a feminist act. If anything its a process they put into the hands of fate, and the choices they eventually take reflect an inner strength irrelevant to how much blood they shed. I’m proud of this.
Northlanders, Vol. 2: The Cross + the Hammer
Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly. DC/Vertigo, $14.99 paper (144p) ISBN 978-1-4012-2296-3This reader-friendly second collection of Wood’s series, illustrated by Kelly, tells an engaging tale of cultures clashing. A self-contained story, it relates to the previous volume only as an overall portrayal of the impact of the Vikings in Europe in a way that doesn’t reduce them to the familiar blustery stereotype of ocean-faring, land-pillaging warriors. This volume is set against the backdrop of Viking colonies in Ireland in the early 11th century, a land portrayed with a harsh beauty by Kelly’s artwork. Magnus, an Irishman, blames the conquerors in his lands for robbing and killing his people, and so begins to kill Viking settlers near Dublin. Lord Ragnar Ragnarsson is sent to investigate these crimes. While Magnus hides in the countryside with his young daughter, Brigid, Ragnar and his band of men follow the trail of dead bodies Magnus leaves in his wake. The resulting bloodbath is also an effective psychological portrait of the two main characters in a highly enjoyable book that is as smart as it is action packed. (July)
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(as seen on myspace.com/comicbooks)
Out May 27th, this is a special issue, an overview of Viking battle tactics and weapons, all told in the context of a single sword fight. Art by Vasilis Lolos and Dave McCaig.
Both Newsarama and CBR have posted glowing reviews of ‘The Cross + The Hammer’, which I find particularly gratifying, since we gambled a bit on it, producing a crime story with a fairly even keel to it until the very end, when we completely spun it on its head.
Newsarama: The book may indeed read better in trade, as Kelly suggested. It’s certainly fun to read back through the whole story, knowing the ending, and catch all the tricks and clues there–the story in itself is a mystery for readers to solve, a metafictional element that I wasn’t expecting at first. But there’s something to be said for the tension building slowly, issue by issue, with silent panels showcasing both the Ireland Magnus is fighting to preserve, and the destruction that both he and the Vikings wreak.
CBR: Brian Wood’s “Northlanders” continues to be one of the best monthly comics on the stands today, and the conclusion of “The Cross + The Hammer” arc proves it… If you’re one of those people who read single issue reviews to help determine whether or not you should buy the trade paperback, I’ll give you a bit of advice right up front: you should by the second “Northlanders” trade, and you should stop reading this review as soon as possible. Because it’s impossible to talk about “Northlanders” #16 without spoiling things for you, and “The Cross + The Hammer” story arc works much better if you don’t know what’s coming at the end.
CBR writer Tim Callahan also posts the following observation to his twitter:
More Northlanders thoughts: I like how @brianwood sets up each arc as a philosophical contrast. Arc 1: Primitivism vs. Modernism.
Arc 2: Faith vs. Materialism; Arc 3: Romanticism vs. Realism. And he does it all with vikings who wield big swords.
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Writing a book like this, structured with distinct and separate story arcs, really keeps me on my toes. I have to re-invent the series each time I start a new “part one”, and I can tell you that I am as driven and dedicated to this series as I was at the start.
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Ryan Kelly on the man we know and love:
He is known by many names–Vidr, Licebeard, or…whatever. He passed through our lives–misunderstood and forgotten–carelessly portrayed as a mere messenger…A lieutenant. A “second-hand” man. A… “Forest Guard”. But of those who truly knew Licebeard, he was a cunning warrior and……a good friend.
Too soon, He passed trough our lives, shaped a sense of ourselves, and touched our hearts.
A montage of images could never truly honor the deep complexity of a man–no, a Viking warrior — so profound as this. But , I did my best here to honor this magnificent and enigmatic character once and for all. Vidr, no longer will you walk in the shadows.
Licebeard, or Vidr, or whatever– this is your life:
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Old Man Sven, you think you gonna live forever????
Click to see it bigger.
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A re-envisioning of the Valkyrie myths, the two-part story “The Shield Maidens” will be illustrated by Danijel Zezelj.
Click image to see it bigger.
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