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.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Amazing Spider-Man #679 – The entirety of the Dan Slott run on ASM has been pretty darn good, but when he is partnered with Humberto Ramos the quality goes to a new level and we get a comic that can win “issue of the week” much of the time.  Ramos just accentuates the FUN aspect of Slott’s Spidey writing better than any of the other artists in the regular Spidey rotation.  So, on top of the fact that this Spidey time-travel story was exciting and played up the importance of the Peter Parker side of Spidey, Ramos’ art made everything so bouncy and expressive that nothing else was really close this past week.

Most Anticipated: Severed #7 – It’s a crowded week, but I can’t wait to see how this one ends.  Severed has been creepy and touching and featured great art!  How is that little boy going to get away from the creepy old man with the big-ass teeth?  Will we see how he loses an arm?  Scott Snyder mentioned doing more comics in the Severed universe, so will some elements of the story be left open-ended?  Runner-up: Fearless Dawn: Secret of the Swamp One-Shot – Steve Mannion = Awesome!  Comics don’t come much more fun than Fearless Dawn, so anytime an issue pops up, it is a “must read”.  If you didn’t pre-order this, you’re probably out of luck on Wednesday, but you can probably find them on the Asylum Press website.

Other Picks: Northlanders #48, The Unwritten #34, Blue Estate #9, Thief of Thieves #1, Powers #8, Scarlet Spider #2, Wolverine and the X-Men #5, Cavewoman: Feeding Grounds #1

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Fatale #2 – While not quite at the slam-bang awesome level of the first issue, this was a still a really great, moody slice of everything the Brubaker/Phillips combo do so well.  This is a really great series that everyone should be on board with, particularly those who read Brubaker’s Marvel work.

Most Anticipated: Powers #8 – Do my eyes deceive me?  It has been almost exactly ONE FULL YEAR since the last issue of Powers, which left us hanging in the middle of a story-arc.  Seriously, this issue was solicited, I believe, in August of 2010. Resentful as I may be, that doesn’t change the fact that Powers is Bendis and Oeming at their best.  Both are creators with very distinctive, idiosyncratic styles that don’t necessarily fit every book, but Powers really is their wheel-house, one that maximizes their strengths and, well, turns their weaknesses into strengths as well.  So grumpy though I may be about the delay, rest assured that I will still be buying this book.

Other Picks: Batwoman #6, Demon Knights #6, Frankenstein #6, Green Lantern #6, Captain America #8, Incredible Hulk #5, Journey into Mystery #634, Wolverine and the X-Men #5, PunisherMAX #22