Northlanders
Comic Summary: Written by Brian Wood Art by Davide Gianfelice Cover by Massimo Carnevale Variant cover by Andy Kubert After being left for dead by his corrupt uncle Gorm, Sven retreats to the farmhouse he was raised in and plots his next move. Now, with a small army out for his head, a strange and deadly half-wild girl living in the cliffs might be the lifesaver Sven needs - if she doesn't kill him herself! On sale January 2
Codes: 76194125915400211 76194125915400221 NOV070294 NOV070295
- Price:
$2.99$2.39- Author:
- Brian Wood
- Artist:
- Davide Gianfelice
- Cover Artist:
- Massimo Carnevale
- Cover Artist:
- Andy Kubert
- Release Date:
- January 2, 2008
- In Stock?
- Yes!
- Contains content intended for mature readers
- Genre:
- Fantasy, No Genre/All Genres
- Colouring:
- FC
- Lists:
- Not on any lists. Start your own!
Customer Reviews
Apparently, Vikings liked to say “f*” a lot, and they also liked to actually do what the word suggests a lot, which is a tonal strategy that can go either way for Northlanders #2. Removing the language and behavior trappings of Viking culture as we know it from modern media helps the reader cut to the story’s chase; at the same time, you’re kind of like, “Really, Wood? That Viking seriously just dropped an f-bomb?”
At the end of the day, I think the real question with Northlanders isn’t whether or not it should be read—Brian Wood’s enough of a talent that the first arc of any title he tries is worth checking out, and even if you don’t like it, that probably says more about your tastes than his abilities. He’s just that good.
No, the real question is whether or not to trade-wait the series, since you know that’s where Northlanders will live on, and where Vertigo has set its sights. I think the single issues have enough legs here that it’s worth reading in floppy form, although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have plans to eBay the first arc and switch to trades myself.
What I love most about Brian Wood’s writing is its humanity, the way in which his characters just exude a natural sense of self. Never contrived, never unnatural, these people, whether Vikings or wandering twentysomething females in modern America, always feel so REAL. It makes for an instantly captivating storytelling style, one that feels casual but is clearly the result of much hard work.
1 pts.
Sorry, Matt – I couldn’t disagree more. While the characters were unencumbered by the cow-horn helmets added to the viking look by German opera’s costume designers, I didn’t notice any trappings of actual Viking life. And the main character – Sven? – seems to me like a jerk who dropped right out of a time tunnel from 21st century NYC.
I suppose I should check out Local before I completely write the guy off, though. And I should note I do love his design work – it’s just his writing that, so far, rubs me the wrong way.
Absolutely… that’s a pretty typical trope, jerk of a character that grows into someone better, which is what I expect here. I liked #1, was disappointed by #2, but thought #3 was an improvement. I plan to at least give ti a few more…
I’m starting to lose my patience with the book too; issue 3 lost me a lot with its “slutty girl who longs to leave the farm” trope and the shitty way Sven treated her, without much excuse or response. I plan to read this in floppy till the end of the first arc, then sell the floppies on eBay and decide on whether or not I want to follow it in trade.
That girl who sven banged in issue 3, he said he knew her in the past, I think issue 5 will begin to unravel its awsome visuals, and glimpses into the viking ways, even though there is a lot of swearing, nobody really knows how the vikings communicated with eachother and its a Mature comic book created in 2007. There needs to be some relation to our times without boring all the readers to death about viking history and whatnot.