Northlanders
{{Short description|Comic}}
{{For|the Canadian train|Northlander}}
{{Infobox comic book title
|image = Northlanders -1.png
|caption = Cover to issue #1 of Northlanders (December 2007), art by Massimo Carnevale.
|schedule = Monthly
|ongoing = y
|Historical = y
|publisher = Vertigo
|startmo = February
|startyr = 2008
|endmo = April
|endyr = 2012
|issues = 50
|main_char_team =
|writers = Brian Wood
|artists = Davide Gianfelice
Massimo Carnevale
Dean Ormston
Ryan Kelly
Vasilis Lolos
Danijel Žeželj
Leandro Fernández
|pencillers =
|inkers =
|letterers = Travis Lanham
|colorists = Dave McCaig
Dean Ormston
|editors = Mark Doyle
Will Dennis
Casey Seijas
|creative_team_month =
|creative_team_year =
|creators = Brian Wood
|TPB1 = Sven the Returned
|ISBN1 = 1401219187
|TPB2 = The Cross + the Hammer
|ISBN2 = 140122296X
|subcat = Vertigo
|sort = Northlanders
}}
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 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
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
The series was collected into trade paperbacks:
| class="wikitable"
|+Northlanders 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" | |||||
| 3
|Blood in the Snow |{{ISBN|1-4012-2620-5}} |March, 2010 |Northlanders #9–10, "Lindisfarne" |Davide Gianfelice, Vasilis Lolos, Dean Ormston, Danijel Žeželj | |||||
| 4
|The Plague Widow |{{ISBN|1-4012-2850-X}} |October, 2010 |Northlanders #21–28, "The Plague Widow" | |||||
| 5
|Metal |{{ISBN|1-4012-3160-8}} |July, 2011 |Northlanders #29, "The Sea Road" | |||||
| 6
|Thor's Daughter |{{ISBN|1-4012-3366-X}} |February, 2012 |Northlanders #37–39, "The Siege of Paris" |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 Žeželj |
Later also collected in the following paperback omnibus editions:
| class="wikitable"
|+Northlanders 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" |Davide Gianfelice, Ryan Kelly, Dean Ormston, Marion Churchland, Danijel Žeželj | |||||
| 2
|Book II: The Icelandic Saga |{{ISBN|1-4012-6508-1}} |November, 2016 |Northlanders #29, "The Sea Road" |Fiona Staples, Danijel Žeželj, 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" |Vasilis Lolos, Leandro Fernández, Riccardo Burchielli, Simon Gane, Matthew Woodson |
Awards
- 2007: Nominated for the Eagle Award for "Favourite Comics Cover published during 2007" for cover of issue 1B by Adam Kubert
References
{{refbegin}}
- {{gcdb series|id=27814|title=Northlanders}}
- {{comicbookdb|type=title|id=16387|title=Northlanders}}
{{refend}}
External links
- [http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=8538 Northlanders #1 at DC/Vertigo comics]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100210202218/http://www.brianwood.com/books.html Northlanders on Brian Wood's website]
- [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6500247.html Viking Clash Pits Old Against New in Northlanders], Publishers Weekly, November 13, 2007
=Interviews=
- [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=11720 Y1K PARANOIA: Brian Wood talks "Northlanders"], Comic Book Resources, October 16, 2007
- [http://comics.ign.com/articles/829/829367p1.html Interview/Preview: Vertigo's Northlanders], IGN, October 22, 2007
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080515215154/http://www.comicsbulletin.com/features/119562431975098.htm Ragnarok n' Roll: An interview with Brian Wood], Comics Bulletin, November 20, 2007
- [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19708 Brian Wood Talks Northlanders 2009], Comic Book Resources, January 27, 2009
- [http://www.newsarama.com/comics/060924-Northlanders-Wood.html The Viking Chronicles: Brian Wood Talks Northlanders], Newsarama, June 24, 2009
{{Vertigo Comics Ongoing Series}}