Northlanders is an American comic book series published by DC Comics under their Vertigo imprint. These are dark crime epics set in the Viking Age, a set of sagas that explore the life and times of one of history’s more infamous civilizations. Northlanders is written by Brian Wood, illustrated by a rotating crew of artists, and with painted cover art by Massimo Carnevale. The first issue of the series was published December 2007 and ended June 2012, at issue #50, an impressive run. The series is divided into long story arcs, typically 8 issues long, broken up with the occasional short arc of one to two issues, particularly in volume three. Artists include Davide Gianfelice, Ryan Kelly, Leandro Fernandez and Dean Ormston, among many others.

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Brian Wood describes his work as “trying to blend equal parts historical fiction, violent swordplay, and dark, edgy drama,” “Speaking as a fan of the [Vikings] genre, and not trying to single anyone else out, I’ve never seen a comic on Vikings or anything close to it that I’ve enjoyed. So ‘Northlanders’ is me trying to create that book, the perfect Viking series, if I may be so arrogant!” Brian Wood

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The first arc concerns a warrior named Sven who is living the highlife in Constantinople, the “center of the world” at the time, and he’s called back to his rural backwater hometown in Northern Scotland. His father, the local lord, has just died. Sven wants his inheritance so he can return immediately to Constantinople. His plans go awry when he discovers his uncle is holding the town (and his inheritance) hostage. Only a Viking would be gutsy enough to try to rob a Viking.

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Interestingly, only the first story arc is about Sven. Every now and then, new stories and a new cast of characters are introduced, each arc being totally self-contained. But every so often we return for an issue or two and see what earlier characters, like Sven or others, are up to. It’s an interesting idea, and something other comics series might experiment with. It gives a real sense of time and movement to proceedings, and adds to the recurring themes of change and progression, whether it’s technological, social or personal. Of course you can expect amazing landscapes, brutal violence, long ships, frost and snow, berserkers on the rampage, gods of thunder, death, kidnappings, and sex.

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This series does not attempt to sugarcoat history, with characters including “horrible conquerors, rapists, murderers, and thieves.” As someone who is passionate about history, I appreciate the enormous work done by Brian Wood and his thirst for accuracy. And rightly so, those days mark a turning point in the evolution of the civilization, a move from need to want. We need more land, we need more food vs we want more land, we want more food. Change is something that runs through Northlanders.

Well done Brian, Northlanders sits on the top shelf in the world of Viking fiction and it definitely belongs in anyone’s best of comics list. Brian Wood has also written Channel Zero, DMZ, Demo, and Local. In 2012, Wood kicked off the second major phase of his career with the original series’: The Massive, Anthem, and Mara, as well as working on Star Wars and Conan The Barbarian for Dark Horse Comics and X-Men for Marvel.

Christophe Chanel