Northlanders #1-38 (Ongoing, Update)

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 with painted cover art by Massimo Carnevale. The first issue of the series was published on December 5, 2007. Wood has said that the series will be divided into standalone eight issue story arcs separated by two-issue arcs, though it's not strictly followed. Northlanders does not have a true main character; the cast and setting change with each story arc. Issue #20 finally changes that by reuniting readers with Sven, the protagonist of the first arc. It is a worthy sequel to "Sven the Returned" and a perfect standalone issue. This series may perhaps be one of the best ongoing monthly comic books of Vertigo. In the first arc, "Sven the Returned," (issues #1-8) we follow the protagonist Sven, a self-exiled Viking warrior serving in the Byzantine Varangian Guard, as he returns (in A.D. 980) to his birth region in the Orkney Islands in order to reclaim his rightful inheritance. The second arc, "Lindisfarne," (issues #9-10) 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," (issues #11-16) is set around Dublin, Ireland circa the Battle of Clontarf (A.D. 1014), and follows the chase of an Irishman who attacks the occupying Viking forces using guerrilla tactics. Issue #17 entitled "The Viking Art of Single Combat" is a self-contained single issue and may be one of the best comics stories of 2009. The fourth arc, "The Shield Maidens. (issues #18-19) breaks from the series' established format by introducing a small two-part story arc, that makes the storyline even more cutting and effective. Issue #20 entitled "Sven the Immortal" is another standalone issue going back to the protagonist of the first story arc, Sven, now old and living relatively peacefully... Issue #21 starts the next 8-part story arc, "The Plague Widow", set in Viking Russia in A.D.1020. It examines a year in the life of a remote settlement under siege by a contagious outbreak, mixing equal parts crime, history and survival fiction. Issue #29 entitled "The Sea Hood" is another fine standalone issue charting the path of one boat headed horribly off course and into the realms of myth and terror. Issues #30-34 comprise the 4-part "Metal", a young-lovers-on-the-run tale of violence and retribution, drawn by DMZ artist Riccardo Burchielli. Issues #35-36 are the current 2-part "Girl In The Ice", a low-key, sad yet inspiring gently-paced tale about an old man's quest for truth, one of those occasional breathers from writer Brian Wood for the next bloodbath that usually follow in the next tales. Issues #37-38 comprise what appears to be a rare 3-part story arc, "The Siege of Paris", a granular, bleak perspective on war. I have packed the individual issues #1-32 into RAR packs for ease and convenience on everyone's part, based on the respective story arcs, as much as possible; unfortunately I had to break off "The Plague Widow" into two RAR's (#21-24 and #25-28). Issues #22-34 and #37 are all high-quality Minutemen scans. This is a thinking man's comics series, with metafictional elements juxtaposed alongside moral ambiguities and philosophical contrasts, thus:

Comic Book Resources writer Tim Callahan also posts the following observation to his twitter: More Northlanders thoughts: I like how @brianwood sets up each arc as a philosophical contrast. Arc 1: Primitivism vs. Modernism. Arc 2: Faith vs. Materialism; Arc 3: Romanticism vs. Realism. And he does it all with vikings who wield big swords. Set in late-period Iceland during a period of intense clan warfare, an elderly fisherman investigates the death of a young girl found embedded in the ice. As the fisherman's furtive actions catch the attention of the local warriors, blame for the crime shifts over to him. If this is the last good thing he can accomplish in life, so be it, as long as the truth can be uncovered. 'The Girl in the Ice' concludes here! --

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