Northlanders
| Northlanders | |
|---|---|
 Cover to issue #1 of Northlanders (December 2007). Art by Massimo Carnevale. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Vertigo |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | February 2008 – present |
| No. of issues | 33 (as of October 2010) |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Brian Wood |
| Written by | Brian Wood |
| Artist(s) | Davide Gianfelice Massimo Carnevale Dean Ormston Ryan Kelly Vasilis Lolos Danijel Zezelj Leandro Fernandez |
| Letterer(s) | Travis Lanham |
| Colorist(s) | Dave McCaig Dean Ormston |
| Editor(s) | Mark Doyle Will Dennis Casey Seijas |
| Collected editions | |
| Sven the Returned | ISBN 1401219187 |
| The Cross + the Hammer | ISBN 140122296X |
Northlanders is an American comic book series published by DC Comics under their Vertigo imprint. The stories are fictional but set in and around historical events during the Viking Age.
Northlanders is written by Brian Wood, illustrated by various artists on a per storyline basis, and with painted cover art by Massimo Carnevale. The first issue of the series was published on December 5, 2007.
Plot
Wood has said that the series will be divided into long story arcs alternated with short arcs.
In the first arc, "Sven the Returned," (issues #1-8) we follow the protagonist Sven, a self-exiled Viking warrior serving in the Byzantine Varangian Guard, as he returns (in A.D. 980) to his birth region in the Orkney Islands in order to reclaim his rightful inheritance.
The second arc, "The Cross + The Hammer," (issues #11-16) is set around Dublin, Ireland circa the Battle of Clontarf (A.D. 1014), and follows the chase of an Irishman who attacks the occupying Viking forces using guerrilla tactics. He also accompanies his daughter Brigid while on the run.
The third arc, "Lindisfarne," (issues #9-10) is about a young boy and the sacking of the Lindisfarne monastery in A.D. 793, the beginning of the Viking Age.
Collected editions
The series is being collected into trade paperbacks:
| # | Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected material | Artist | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sven the Returned | ISBN 1401219187 | October, 2008 | Northlanders #1-8, "Sven the Returned" | Davide Gianfelice | |
| 2 | The Cross + the Hammer | ISBN 140122296X | July, 2009 | Northlanders #11-16, "The Cross + the Hammer" | Ryan Kelly | |
| 3 | Blood in the Snow | ISBN 1401226205 | March, 2010 | Northlanders #9-10, "Lindisfarne" Northlanders #17, "The Viking Art of Single Combat" Northlanders #18-19, "The Shield Maidens" Northlanders #20, "Sven, The Immortal" |
Davide Gianfelice, Vasilis Lolos, Dean Ormston, Danijel Zezelj | |
| 4 | The Plague Widow | ISBN 140122850X | October, 2010 | Northlanders #21-28, "The Plague Widow" | Leandro Fernández | |
| 5 | Metal | ISBN 1401231608 | July, 2011 | Northlanders #29 "The Sea Road" "Northlanders" #30-34 "Metal", "Northlanders" #35-36 "The Girl In The Ice" |
Fiona Staples, Riccardo Burchielli, Becky Cloonan |
Awards
- 2007: Nominated for the Eagle Award for "Favourite Comics Cover published during 2007" for cover the of issue 1B by Adam Kubert
See also
- Viking, a Viking comic book from Image Comics
References
- Northlanders at the Grand Comics Database
- Northlanders at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
External links
- Official site
- Northlanders #1 at DC/Vertigo comics
- Northlanders on Brian Wood's website
- Viking Clash Pits Old Against New in Northlanders, Publisher Weekly, November 13, 2007
- Comics Wikia page
Interviews
- Y1K PARANOIA: Brian Wood talks "Northlanders", Comic Book Resources, October 16, 2007
- Interview/Preview: Vertigo's Northlanders, IGN, October 22, 2007
- Ragnarok n’ Roll: An interview with Brian Wood, Comics Bulletin, November 20, 2007
- Brian Wood Talks Northlanders 2009, Comic Book Resources, January 27, 2009
- The Viking Chronicles: Brian Wood Talks Northlanders, Newsarama, June 24 , 2009