Northlanders by Brian Wood

Northlanders
Written by Brian Wood
Illustrated by Davide Gianfelice
Pub: Vertigo
Collecting Northlanders 1-8



Let get this out of the way now. It’s a comic. So you know, words and pictures. Good. Right. Hopefully I’ll be getting up a few trade paperback reviews over the next while (No, not graphic novels. Just don’t like the term.) Anyway to begin the review.

Sven of Orkney is lured back to homelands he fled as a child by the lure of gold. Abandoning his position in the ranks of the Varangian in the Mediterranean, Sven returns to the backwater island, enticed by promise of his inheritance coming due. Rather than a celebrated homecoming he returns an outside and traitor to the Viking way of life, and finds that his uncle Grom has claimed both Sven’s wealth and land for himself and is lording over the populace backed by the thug, Hakkar. Determined to reclaim what is his Sven makes it his business to destroy Grom’s rule and is pulled back into the life he had escaped.

With good writing matched with good art, Northlanders draws the reader into a bloody tale of revenge, greed, bloodshed and even love. The stark bleakness of some of the scenes is chilling, as Sven battles across a frozen, snow covered landscape. Violence is full on with blood splattering across the page as warriors meet sword to sword. The plot twists and turns nicely and concludes far from the expected ending.

Northlanders brings Vikings to the page as rarely done in any media, with a sense of realism add to, rather than detracting from the story line and action. I realise this review is looking a bit short, but I’ve skirted around the edge of things quite a bit so it all comes as a surprise. It’d be easy to go, really enjoyed the art where “X,Y,Z happens” but I don’t want to spoil things. So, trust me on this one. Go out and find it. Have a flick through and see if you like the art. Then buy it. Go on. If you don’t like it, that’s not my fault. Blame Skip Walker.