Northlanders #50 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Danijel Zezelj (art), Dave McCaig (colors), Travis Lanham (letters), Massimo Carnevale (cover) & Mark Doyle (editor)

The Story: The end of the series and the Icelandic Trilogy.

Review: [SPOILER WARNING] Endings are hard.  Even with properties we love, the endings often aren’t what we wanted: The Sopranos, Lost or Wood’s own DMZ series.  It isn’t so much that the ending is poor; it’s that we loved the series for years and want the ending to be great (The Wire, Y the Last Man, etc.).  We so badly want it to be a cherry on top that takes the property to a higher level.  Some of it is selfishness; we want to say that a property that we followed over the years – where we invested the time and the love – has transcended to “GREAT” and we can strut around and act like we knew all along that it would be that kind of series.

It’s sad to report that this ending is quite good, but not “great”.  It provides a very suitable ending to the Icelandic Trilogy, but it isn’t really the capstone to the series that it could have been.  Perhaps that makes sense?  Northlanders has never been about an over-arching “story” like 100 Bullets or Planetary, but has instead been a collection of unconnected story arcs.  Maybe hoping for a final issue that laced everything together with a bow was too much?

Enough with the wishing for what might-have-been…  This issue does have some very strong moments.  What it really sells, as circumstances become dire for the Haukssons, is that they’re still out there.  Even though this issue doesn’t have a very happy ending for our main characters, given the importance of family and ancestors in this story arc, it’s hard to dismiss the importance of a pregnant, yet still fierce Freya escaping into the wilderness or old-man Hauksson similarly making a break for it.  You get the sense that if we could convince Wood to let us watch the denizens of Iceland for just a few more issues, you’d see Freya’s grandson plotting revenge and a way to reestablish the Hauksson name.

Northlanders #49 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Danijel Zezelj (artist), Dave McCaig (colors), Travis Lanham (letters), Massimo Carnevale (covers) & Mark Doyle (editor)

The Story: A young buck tosses the clans of Iceland back into warfare.

A few things: 

1. Tight and classic story. – As I mentioned last month, I have a hard time commenting on the episodic structure of Northlanders because I bought the first 47 issues off eBay and inhaled them.  But, once again the story in this issue would be very “new reader friendly”.  It’s just a classic story of a clan patriarch being put out to pasture so that the upstart son can go start a war with another clan/gang/group.  But, what really makes this issue sing is the wonderful way that Wood and Zezelj handle the upstart’s wife, Freya.  She is smart, strong and respected by the men, and she’s a little afraid of what will happen if her husband’s war goes poorly – He will die a “glorious” death on the field of battle while she will probably die beaten and raped inside a burning house (or some other horrible death).  In many ways, she is the real power of their relationship because while her husband only understands how to attack, she understands subtlety and she plans ahead.  It reminds me of how someone once told me that women are better horse riders than men because men are accustomed to overpowering things with brute force. So they try to do the same thing to a horse, only you cannot overpower a 1200 pound animal… Women, on the other hand, are accustomed to using guile and leverage because they haven’t lived their lives just overpowering things, so they are better equipped mentally and physically to deal with a horse.  That’s kinda Freya, she’s doing all the work behind the scenes to help her husband in his struggles.  Throughout this series, the women of Northlanders have really stood out and Freya is a wonderful addition to the cannon.

2. Wonderful art from Zezelj. – Again, I just love Zezelj’s work.  Returning to the theme of Freya, I think it’s Zezelj’s art that sells he power and capability.  Here she is, the small woman in a land of hard men and she is getting things done.  Surely any of these guys could beat the hell out of her if they wanted to, but they better kill her because she’s going to get right back up and maneuver someone else into burning down your damn house and killing your family.  She’s a complete bad ass and it almost all comes from the art.  There’s just something about the way Zezelj draws faces with the slightly sunken eyes and cheeks that tells you that Freya is a hard woman.  But, it doesn’t stop there. Zezelj is nailing all the other scenes in this book: the wind-swept rocks, the battles, etc.  Kudos also to Dave McCaig for coming up with colors that set the theme for this issue: Lots of blues and grays.

Northlanders #48 – Review

By: Brian Wood (writer), Danijel Zezelj (artist), Dave McCaig (colors), Travis Lanham (letters), Massimo Carnevale (cover) & Mark Doyle (editor)

The Story: In this long-form story about the early history of Viking Iceland, one family leader tries to become an honest businessman, but can that ever really happen?

Three Things: 

1. Great series in hindsight. -Who knows why, but I’d always had a blindspot when it came to Northlanders.  This despite the fact that I enjoy virtually everything from Vertigo.  Consider that remedied!  I picked up most of the issues in one batch on eBay (see, THAT is how much I prefer single issues to those yucky “trade” things) and inhaled them…  As in I read the whole thing over the course of a week.  This has been a great series and even though it ends in a few issues at #50, it deserves some attention here.  This series is really a collection of independent story arcs that tell various tales about the people of the north.  Some are basic crime dramas that wouldn’t be out of place in an Ed Brubaker Criminal story, but others have been like the Plague Widow arc that showcased a city that shuts its doors to keep out the plague and the mayhem that ensues behind the walls.  Great series!  Check it out even if you must buy the yucky trades.

2. Compelling, self-contained story. – Don’t be too put off by the subtitle on the cover that says, “Part 7”.  This issue is completely accessible to a new reader because it jumps forward in time from the last issue.  And, that has been the pattern for this story arc that began with the first Vikings coming ashore in Iceland and has followed them through clan warfare, the formation of a city and society and the arrival of Christianity bringing us to this story.  As I mention above, this issue’s story could feature in any modern-day organized crime story.  Basically, you have the male leader of the family who wants to sit on the sidelines of this round of clan warfare and profit by picking up the pieces in the aftermath.  He wants to “go legit” like Michael Corleone in Godfather 3.  But, we all know it never works out that way as he comes into conflict with his son who is more eager to defend the family honor.  We’ve seen this story before, but that’s because this clash between wisdom and bloody emotion is timeless.  Wood handles the conflict very well, gives us a slightly surprising ending and in so doing, shows us how the Icelanders have changed and become a little less savage over the course of this story arc.

Northlanders: Sven the Returned – Review

by Brian Wood (writer), Davide Gianfelice (art), Dave McCaig (colors), and Travis Lanham (letters)

For those that don’t know, Brian Wood’s Viking-themed Northlanders works in completely isolated story-arcs.  As a result, this trade actually functions more like an original graphic novel.  Wood has actually pushed for Northlanders trades to be without numbering for this very reason.

Sven the Returned is the first of these tales and in some ways, it shows.  Much as I felt regarding the first trade of Wood’s other Vertigo series, DMZ, much of this book reads like a bit of a feeling out process on Wood’s part, as he gets used to his own series.  While that’s not to say that the writing is sloppy, it does mean that everything feels a bit simpler and more straightforward than what Wood normally produces.  In fact, this book feels much more basic even than later Northlanders issues.  While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, the fact remains that most of this book feels like little more than a gloriously violent, historical actioner following a fairly standard revenge plot.  While it definitely does succeed on this level, I don’t think we would have been wrong to hope for more.

Worse still, for most of the book, none of the characters are particularly nuanced.  Sven himself is essentially the unstoppable badass warrior who also wins through having a sounder tactical mind than his opponent.  Meanwhile, although his battle expertise does lead to some engaging captions, Enna is not anything particularly unique.  The same goes for the tyrannical Gorm, his murderous henchman, and Sven’s old flame…who is pretty much as stereotypical an “old flame” character as you can get – a seductress who now belongs to Sven’s enemy.  Meanwhile, you have Enna, who spends the majority of the book as the typical silent femme fatale.

That said, despite this simplicity, there are nuances.  Sven’s use of Gorm’s superstition and religious beliefs to terrorize his nemesis is well-done, leading to one of the coolest, and goriest, scenes of the book.  The clash of the old with Sven’s modernity is a nice touch.

Now, at this point, this trade may sound like a mediocre book worthy of being passed over.  That may very well be the case for the first five issues of this eight-issue collection.  However, in issue six, the book takes a sudden, massive upswing in quality in a manner so ingenious, that it reminds us of what Wood is capable of.  Wood essentially has Sven call out his own graphic novel.

Sven, around issue six or seven, comes to the realization of how pointless the entire book has become thus far, in its typical Viking characters and standard revenge/money centred drive.  Wood thus turns the graphic novel on its head by essentially having Sven call the entire tale into question.  When he does, the intelligence and depth of the book skyrockets.  Sven becomes much more of an individual and far more unique as a character, while the somewhat bland plot of earlier is completely abandoned.  The simple revenge plot is dumped by Sven as being meaningless and small and the book suddenly takes on a completely different plot, one that is far more grandiose and ambitious, treating issues of nationhood, solidarity, and culture.  Gorm becomes an afterthought, and old enemies now become friends, as their stereotypical rivalry of earlier is done away with when their roles and relationships come to be redefined by a new plot.

It’s unfortunate, however, that Wood uses a little bit of deus ex machina to create such a shift in the book.  It takes the arrival of a greater enemy in an event that is just far too perfectly and conveniently timed.  But given how much the book improves subsequently, I can’t gripe too much about this.

While the story’s quality may be divided down the middle, I can however say that Davide Gianfelice’s art is consistently amazing.  I’ve always loved his work and this book bears his trademarks.  Oddly blending an indisputably cartoony look with harsh, realistic environments and a good amount of piss and vinegar, it’s a very strange mix that leads to a wonderful contrast and a perfect balance.  That such a cartoony style is able to carry such maturity and grittiness frankly baffles me.  Gianfelice’s sprawling splashes of Orkney landscapes are also an absolute marvel, evoking a sublime effect combining awesome barrenness and sweeping beauty.  Dave McCaig’s colouring is also perfect for Gianfelice, adding a sort of grainy texture to the entire trade.

Ultimately, this is a rather strange book.  It carves out a very simple action story with simple characters and a simple plot and bumps along as such for the first 60% of the book.  Then, in the last three chapters, Sven, and hence Wood, essentially dump this all in the trash, openly criticizing it for its simplicity, meaninglessness, and pointlessness before switching to a plot/conflict that is far more grand.  This doesn’t change the fact that the first 60% of the book are nonetheless nothing special, but I do have to admire Wood for his gall and what appears to be metafictional self-criticism, as a character takes apart his own story and builds a better one.

Grade: B

*This trade collects #1-8 w/ covers.  I also recommend hunting down #20, which is a one-shot revisiting Sven and Enna several years after the events of this book.

-Alex Evans

Northlanders #20 – Review

by Brian Wood (writer), Davide Gianfelice (art), Dave McCaig (colors), and Travis Lanham (letters)

The Story: A few naive young warriors hear the tale of Sven the Returned and decide to prove their worth by killing a legend.

What’s Good: As he often does in Northlanders, Wood again makes characters and readers mirror one another. The young warriors who go out to find Sven years after hearing his tale are like us, readers;  seeking Sven out again by buying this issue, exactly one year after the conclusion of “Sven the Returned.”

Anyway, much as was the case in that first arc, there’s a lot of action here, all of it brutal.  Once again, although he may be older, Sven is the battle-hardened badass, quick-witted, experienced, and both smarter and better trained than his adversaries.  The bloodshed is enjoyable and the narration makes it all the moreso, sharing Sven’s thought process, blow by blow.

Perhaps the coolest thing in this issue though, is Wood’s writing on fiction itself, or rather the formation of legends.  Sven’s final tactic this month is essentially to rewrite himself into “Sven the Immortal.”  It truly is a case where fiction supercedes life, as through establishing his own legend and his own character. Factual or not, Sven transcends reality. This comic is essentially a battle between fiction and reality, where the former overshadows the latter and the writer wields ultimate power.  Sven’s life serves to be nothing more than a series of roles, some real and some told.

This comic also again features an espousal of unity.  Where the first arc centered around the idea of nationhood, this book feels much more intimate, focusing instead on family.  Less grand perhaps, but also a lot tighter and more conducive to a one-shot.

Davide Gianfelice is just as good here as he was earlier on Northlanders. Delivering his patented blend of cartoony and gritty, this is Gianfelice at his best.  His sprawling images of the Orkney landscape are also haunting and sublimely powerful, but this time, he also gets the chance to draw some more urban environments, which prove to be no less daunting or impressive.

What’s Not So Good: On the art front, I found some of Gianfelice’s action scenes later in the book a little confusing.  I understand that he’s attempting to capture Sven’s “battle fury,” but he leaves just enough clarity to make me think that I perhaps I should know exactly what’s going on.  Instead I just get shots of Sven hitting someone or other in some manner that isn’t comprehensible.

At times, I also felt that the book was just a little bit rushed as Wood attempted to cram everything within the 22 pages limit.  In particular, I felt that having no space between the first attack and the boys’ later revenge wasn’t the best idea and would’ve perferred a bit more of a denouement.

Conclusion: A fun revisiting of an old character that can be enjoyed both as an accessible actioner and a more complex take on the nature of myth and legend.

Grade:  B+

-Alex Evans

Northlanders #19 – Review

by Brian Wood (writer), Danijel Zezelj (art), Dave McCaig (colors), and Travis Lanham (letters)

The Story: Three women fight for their lives, making a final stand at an abandoned keep.

What’s Good: I loved this issue just as I’ve loved this arc overall, so it’s hard not to repeat what I said in my review of #18.   It’s a gripping tale of feminine solidarity in an age of raping and pillaging; a one of a kind story that hits the brain and the heart. Viking tales are almost always exclusively male in focus, an unfortunate continuance of that masculine-centric time that seems to have been furthered in hindsight rather than questioned.

Indeed, the fact that these three women are at the centre of a Viking tale is perhaps why they are under threat. They take centre stage, while the typical barbarians are left as faceless adversaries. Wood has given us a tale that focuses on female characters fighting for their place and their independence and that those arrayed against them are a horde of indistinguishable males that are out to take what is theirs.

Wood also assails Christianity  this month. I always like it when writers or commentators quote obscure, and socially horrific, passages of the Bible. It’s so utterly jarring to hear a book so central to our culture be so retrogressive and opposed to that very culture.

However, Wood’s greatest achievement this month, more than last, is his effective blend of myth and reality. No, this isn’t a Gaiman-esque tale of Odin showing up in disguise to save the day. Rather, Wood shows how reality, or “real life,” reflects myth and that the two sustain and mirror one another. The last page is genius for this reason, as is the depiction of one of our characters’ escape from the fortress. In that escape, Wood flirts with magical realism, blending myth and super-naturalism with reality so closely, that until the end of the comic, even I wasn’t sure if the character in question wasn’t more than human.

Also, Danijel Zezelj’s art is nothing short of fantastic.  Dark, shadowy, and horrendously bleak, it suits the mood of the book to a tee.  Indeed, Zezelj’s style strikes one as a vision rather than the movie or cartoon look that a lot of comics go for.  I also found it much easier to tell the characters apart, which was a bit of an issue last month.  McCaig does simply awesome work on colors as well, adding even greater emotion to Zezelj’s art by working heavily in monochromatics. The main color of every scene perfectly reflects the action, and more importantly the state of mind, being represented.  The battle scene in particular is set in a glorious array of reds and oranges.

What’s Not So Good: There are a couple lines where the religious commentary feels a little ham-fisted, as though Wood feels he has to spell out his points for the dullards who need to be fed, and it ends up losing some of the subtlety.  Also, what the heck is with the continual use of “pigfucker?”  Why that one profanity?

Conclusion: Very minor quibbles aside, this book is simply awesome.

Grade: A-

-Alex Evans

Viking #2 – Review

by Ivan Brandon (writer), Nic Klein (art, letters, design), and Kristyn Ferretti (letters & design)

The Story: Finn and Egil face the consequences of their actions.

What’s Good: From its basic design to the artwork itself, this book is one of the most gorgeous comics on store shelves today.  The fact that this book is $2.99 is unbelievable.

The art is a perfect blend of painting, modern indie comic, and cartoonish; stylized and beautiful, it’s a sight to behold.  I love Klein’s mastery of lighting in the book; it’s clear that he’s painting a world without electricity, as when it’s night, one gets a real sense of the firelight that is relied upon as everything takes on a dark orange hue.  I also reallyenjoyed Klein’s use of color to depict mood, with everything going a light red in moments of tension or violence. With creative panel layouts and large, impressive splashes, this book does the painted form proud.

There is however a story at work here, as Brandon continues to establish the voices of his characters.  This month, we really get a sense of the “crime fiction” element of the tale.  King Bram sounds like a mob boss and Brandon’s depiction of the Viking lifestyle sounds increasingly like that of the gangster lifestyle taken up by immigrants in the early twentieth century.  The wild and naive ambitions of the young, the difficulty of leaving the life behind, and the Grandfather’s wish that his grandsons do not enter the life of crime carved out by their father all make this comic sound a hell of a lot like a gangster movie.  Brandon is clearly making his generic standing clear this month, and the comic is all the more intriguing for it.  Meanwhile, for the second month in a row, Brandon ends his book with a final scene that packs an emotional wallop.

What’s Not-So-Good: This is a quick read.  Gorgeous painted artwork and single page splashes unfortunately mean several pages with little dialogue.  This also unfortunately means that at the end of issue 2, we still don’t have a real idea of what the plot of the series is.  I just didn’t quite feel that enough happened in the span of these 22 pages.  At times I even felt like the comic became more of an artbook than a comic, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.  It felt as though the comic needed a few more pages to get more done or to flesh more out.  I like what we got but I feel that we needed more of it.  This comic just doesn’t seem to have established a direction for itself yet.

This normally wouldn’t be so annoying really, but the fact that Viking is a bi-monthly title makes it somewhat crippling.  Having waited two months to get an issue that still doesn’t see a major thrust is somewhat frustrating. So little happened this issue and we still will have to wait until the end of August for #3.

Conclusion: A solid book that nonetheless feels a little light.

Grade: C+

-Alex Evans

Northlanders #18 – Review

by Brian Wood (writer), Danijel Zezelj (art), Dave McCaig (colors), and Travis Lanham (letters)

The Story: With their village destroyed and their husbands butchered, three women, treasure in tow, run for their lives.

What’s Good: 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.

What Wood gives us here is a story concerning three women fighting for independence in a world where such a thing is not only non-existent, but unthinkable.  It’s essentially three women learning that masculinity is entirely a social construct, as they wage war not merely with a group of murderous vikings, but in so doing, with the nastiest of all patriarchies.  Our three characters appropriate the masculine in a fight for freedom that is definitely stirring stuff.

It’s all the more hard-hitting due to Wood once again flexing his muscle when it comes to writing narrators.  Here, he establishes a unique, highly personal and memorable character voice for the comic through the use of narrating textboxes.  The textboxes expertly pull the reader in, causing you to really connect with the plight of our three protagonists.

Of course, it’s not just about those three characters.  As is often the case with Northlanders, Wood always makes these personal trials seem like a reflection of something more, a battle that concerns an entire culture.  Certainly, the bookending quotations help establish this feel.

As for the art, Zezelj’s work is attractive, stylized stuff.  Dark as hell, abstract, and filled with fluid and creative layouts. It really helps move the plot along and  convey the fact that this is NOT a good place for the women.  In fact, Zezelj’s art makes the comic’s world feel not only threatening, but downright hostile.  Full of shadows, malevolently leering faces, and nondescript, bordering on inhuman looking Vikings, it’s a place out of nightmare for our maidens.

What’s Not-So-Good: Unfortunately, Zezelj’s stylized work is also something of a double-edged sword in this otherwise fantastic comic.  Due to how heavy the inks are and how bloody dark the colours are, it’s occasionally difficult to tell our three protagonists apart.  Zezelj seems aware of this, giving each of them different hairstyles as something of a cheap aid, but it still is confusing at times.  At one point, even Wood’s narration joins in on the confusion, leading me to momentarily struggle to remind myself who WAS narrating.

Conclusion: “Consider us Odin’s wolves, here to send you to your nailed God.”  That’s just a sample of the cerebral badassery on offer here.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

Northlanders #17 – Review

by Brian Wood (writer), Vasilis Lolos (art), Dave McCaig (colors), Travis Lanham (letters)

The Story: Two vikings, champions for their respective lords, meet in a battle to the death on an icy plain.

The Good: Wow. Just wow… This issue is truly a work of art and a testament to what a writer can do with 22 pages. It is an experimental done-in-one that succeeds in everything it tries to accomplish.

If you’ve not read Northlanders before, this issue captures the spirit of Wood’s view on Vikings. It encapsulates the very paradox that Wood continually traverses in this book, that bizarre mixture of bleak nothingness and warrior heroism. The comic perfectly presents the life of the Northlander as being one that is both paradoxical and cyclical. Is the Northlander’s life glorious in its purity and simplicity, or is that very purity nothing more than a facade for meaninglessness? At the end of the issue, astute readers will realize that an answer to this question is never really given, nor should one be. The whole viking existence is defined by this ambiguity and ambivalence.

Wood achieves this message through a stunning balancing act in his writing. Containing more or less no dialogue, Wood makes extensive use of a narrator through various text-boxes. The narrator’s tone again showcases the strengths of Northlanders; the voice is at once very contemporary and understated, while somehow capable of channeling the spirit of a grizzled veteran raider. The information that this narrator relays is an incredibly diverse array of biographic information of the characters, the nature of viking life itself, technical (well-researched) details regarding viking weaponry and tactics, and finally, quotations from the sagas. What you ultimately get is a feeling that the very specific (these two warriors) comes to be representative of something much larger than Viking life itself. In turn, it comes to be an expression of fundamental aspects of human nature. It’s remarkably intelligent, stunning work.

All the more impressive is how this juggling actually lends itself to a chronological progression. The comments on viking life in general go from the young conscript, to the grizzled raider, to the retired farmer wishing for it all to end. Which in turn mirrors the details of one of the warrior’s (Egil) own life, a bold 16-yr-old raider turned broken down warrior.  It’s all remarkably cyclical; it’s a rise and decline in an uncaring world that maintains the same pace regardless.

The Not-so-Good: Despite the art fitting Wood’s writing incredibly well, Lolos’ art may prove divisive.  If you demand hardcore realism and detail in your comics, you won’t find it here. Lolos’ style definitely has a “sketchbook” feel, seeming to intentionally throw modern comic “polish” to the wind for a book that is neither modern nor polished. In the end, Lolos’ art manages to keep pace for the most part by really fitting the tone of the story:  it’s ugly, brutal, and, thanks in no small part to McCaig’s colors, very, very bleak.  It’s not complex or refined in the slightest, but then, neither is the viking.

Conclusion: An astonishingly good comic that shows what can be done with 22 pages.  This may very well go down as one of the best single issues of the year.

Grade: A

-Alex Evans

Northlanders #3 – Review

By Brian Wood (writer), Davide Gianfelce (art), Dave McCaig (colors)

The third time’s a charm is what some say. Sometimes you just strike out, is what I say. After reading through the first two issues of Northlanders, I was ready to give up on the series. It’s full of unlikeable characters, awful dialogue, and a plot that’ll make you yawn. Yet, I decided to give this series one last chance before passing it off. After all, Brian Wood is just too talented to not give a benefit of a doubt.

I was wrong. Northlanders #3, while not as dreadful as the previous two issues, just doesn’t contain enough substance for me to spend my money on. Perhaps this 8-part story will be better served as a trade paperback, but on a monthly scale, it’s a waste of money. Like last issue, nothing happens. We see Sven hunt, have more sex, and kill some of his uncle’s men. The plot doesn’t advance and we don’t learn much more about Sven or his motivation for staying in this wasteland. This story is just too decompressed. Perhaps the only notable things worth mentioning are his uncle’s a bit more spooked now and he has somewhat of an unlikely ally. He also likes to wear stag heads (aren’t those heavy?!), while murdering soldiers who’re doing nothing more than hunting.

There’s not much writing in this issue – most of it is a showcase for Davide Gianfelice’s excellent storytelling skills. He does a phenominal job with the script he’s given, but to be honest, he deserves to be working on a better title. Northlanders is just a waste. If you love Brian Wood, support him by picking up DMZ. It’s okay not to like everything he does. No one’s perfect. (Grade: D)

– J. Montes

Northlanders #2 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), David Gianfelice (Pencils)

Northlanders is everything DMZ is not. Where as DMZ issues are, for the most part, self-contained stories, Northlanders stories are decompressed and pointless. DMZ’s art is jam-packed with with attention to details while Northlanders’ is a barren wasteland. However, David Gianfelice’s art in Northlanders isn’t bad. It’s very good. One could easily follow the book without ever reading a single line of dialogue. The problem with this particular issue is nothing happens. Sven, who is still the unlikeable protagonist, spends his days running from an archer, trying to rally oppressed villagers to his cause (uncharismatically), and has meaningless sex with a woman who has had the hots for him since he was a kid. I just can’t read this anymore.

Brian Wood may be trying to show diversity in his work by taking on this title, but it just shows how weak he can be as a storyteller. I can’t, in good faith, put any more money into this title. Maybe I’ll read someone else’s copy or wait for a trade, but there’s no way this book is worth $2.99. (Grade: D)

-J. Montes

Northlanders #1 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), David Gianfelice (Pencils)

I enjoyed DMZ so much that I decided to check out another Brian Wood offering, Northlanders #1. It sounded diverse enough: a Nordic tale of a man named Sven, coming home to his land in the north to reclaim the wealth and lands stolen from him by his ruthless uncle. Despite his motives, Sven, is not a very likable character. I understand that living in 980 AD was a vicious time, but this guy has zero charisma.

He kills messengers for no reason but to skewer them and carries a spoiled brat kind of mentality on his shoulders by claiming that this money is his and he’s entitled to that. Sorry, but I’m not rooting for him. In fact, I kept hoping his uncle would just kill him and the story would move on to another character. Sadly, Sven survives and a new character is brought in for the next issue. I’ll give this book one more issue before I decide whether I want to continue reading or not. Perhaps Northlander’s saving grace is its art which is wonderfully done by Davide Gianfelice. He’s got great storytelling skills and does a good job portraying the barren Viking landscape.

It seems like Brian Wood’s put a lot of research into this book, but I need more than just a revenge tale full of unlikeable characters who use modern curse words just because the author thinks it’ll make the book more edgy. (Grade: C-)

-J. Montes