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 | |
|---|---|
 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 – April 2012 |
| No. of issues | 50 |
| 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 Fernández |
| 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 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.
The series was canceled by Vertigo on April 11, 2012, at issue #50.
Plot edit
Northlanders alternates long and short story arcs, each of which deals with a different protagonist in a different time period within the Viking Age.
The first story arc, "Sven the Returned", runs through issues #1–8 and is set in A.D. 980. It follows a self-exiled Viking warrior named Sven who has been serving in the Byzantine Varangian Guard, and is now returning to his birth region in the Orkney Islands in order to reclaim his rightful inheritance.
The second arc, "Lindisfarne", runs through issues #9 and 10, and is about a young boy and the sacking of the Lindisfarne monastery in A.D. 793, the beginning of the Viking Age.
The third arc, "The Cross + The Hammer", runs through issues #11–16 and is set around Dublin, Ireland circa the Battle of Clontarf, which took place in A.D. 1014; it deals with the pursuit of an Irishman and his daughter who attacks the occupying Viking forces using guerrilla tactics.
Collected editions edit
The series is being collected into trade paperbacks:
| # | Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected material | Artists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sven the Returned | ISBN 1-4012-1918-7 | October, 2008 | Northlanders #1–8, "Sven the Returned" | Davide Gianfelice |
| 2 | The Cross + the Hammer | ISBN 1-4012-2296-X | July, 2009 | Northlanders #11–16, "The Cross + the Hammer" | Ryan Kelly |
| 3 | Blood in the Snow | ISBN 1-4012-2620-5 | 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 1-4012-2850-X | October, 2010 | Northlanders #21–28, "The Plague Widow" | Leandro Fernández |
| 5 | Metal | ISBN 1-4012-3160-8 | 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 |
| 6 | Thor's Daughter | ISBN 1-4012-3366-X | February, 2012 | Northlanders #37–39, "The Siege of Paris" Northlanders #40, "The Hunt" Northlanders #41, "Thor's Daughter" | Simon Gane, Matthew Woodson, Marion Churchland |
| 7 | The Icelandic Trilogy | ISBN 1-4012-3691-X | January, 2013 | Northlanders #42–50, "The Icelandic Trilogy" | Paul Azaceta, Declan Shalvey, Danijel Zezelj |
Later also collected in the following omnibus editions:
| # | Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected material | Artists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Book I: The Anglo-Saxon Saga | ISBN 1-4012-6331-3 | June, 2016 | Northlanders #9–10, "Lindisfarne" Northlanders #18–19, "The Shield Maidens" Northlanders #1–8, "Sven the Returned" Northlanders #41, "Thor's Daughter" Northlanders #11–16, "The Cross + the Hammer" | Davide Gianfelice, Ryan Kelly, Dean Ormston, Marion Churchland, Danijel Zezelj |
| 2 | Book II: The Icelandic Saga | ISBN 1-4012-6508-1 | November, 2016 | Northlanders #29, "The Sea Road" Northlanders #20, "Sven, The Immortal" Northlanders #35–36, "The Girl In The Ice" Northlanders #42–50, "The Icelandic Trilogy" | Fiona Staples, Danijel Zezelj, Becky Cloonan, Paul Azaceta, Declan Shalvey |
| 3 | Book III: The European Saga | ISBN 1-4012-7379-3 | September, 2017 | Northlanders #17, "The Viking Art of Single Combat" Northlanders #21–28, "The Plague Widow" Northlanders #30–34, "Metal" Northlanders #37–39, "The Siege of Paris" Northlanders #40, "The Hunt" | Vasilis Lolos, Leandro Fernández, Riccardo Burchielli, Simon Gane, Matthew Woodson |
Awards edit
- 2007: Nominated for the Eagle Award for "Favourite Comics Cover published during 2007" for cover of issue 1B by Adam Kubert
References edit
- Northlanders at the Grand Comics Database
- Northlanders at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
External links edit
- Northlanders #1 at DC/Vertigo comics
- Northlanders on Brian Wood's website
- Viking Clash Pits Old Against New in Northlanders, Publishers Weekly, November 13, 2007
Interviews edit
- 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