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:

Northlanders trade paperbacks
#TitleISBNRelease dateCollected materialArtists
1Sven the ReturnedISBN1-4012-1918-7October, 2008Northlanders #1–8, "Sven the Returned"Davide Gianfelice
2The Cross + the HammerISBN1-4012-2296-XJuly, 2009Northlanders #11–16, "The Cross + the Hammer"Ryan Kelly
3Blood in the SnowISBN1-4012-2620-5March, 2010Northlanders #9–10, "Lindisfarne" Northlanders #17, "The Viking Art of Single Combat" Northlanders #18–19, "The Shield Maidens" Northlanders #20, "Sven, the Immortal"Davide Gianfelice, Vasilis Lolos, Dean Ormston, Danijel Žeželj
4The Plague WidowISBN1-4012-2850-XOctober, 2010Northlanders #21–28, "The Plague Widow"Leandro Fernández
5MetalISBN1-4012-3160-8July, 2011Northlanders #29, "The Sea Road" Northlanders #30–34, "Metal", Northlanders #35–36, "The Girl In The Ice"Fiona Staples, Riccardo Burchielli, Becky Cloonan
6Thor's DaughterISBN1-4012-3366-XFebruary, 2012Northlanders #37–39, "The Siege of Paris" Northlanders #40, "The Hunt" Northlanders #41, "Thor's Daughter"Simon Gane, Matthew Woodson, Marion Churchland
7The Icelandic TrilogyISBN1-4012-3691-XJanuary, 2013Northlanders #42–50, "The Icelandic Trilogy"Paul Azaceta, Declan Shalvey, Danijel Žeželj

Later also collected in the following paperback omnibus editions:

Northlanders omnibus editions
#TitleISBNRelease dateCollected materialArtists
1Book I: The Anglo-Saxon SagaISBN1-4012-6331-3June, 2016Northlanders #9–10, "Lindisfarne" Northlanders #18–19, "The Shield Maidens" Northlanders #1–8, "Sven the Returned" Northlanders #41, "Thor's Daughter" Northlanders #11–16, "The Cross + the Hammer"Davide Gianfelice, Ryan Kelly, Dean Ormston, Marion Churchland, Danijel Žeželj
2Book II: The Icelandic SagaISBN1-4012-6508-1November, 2016Northlanders #29, "The Sea Road" Northlanders #20, "Sven, The Immortal" Northlanders #35–36, "The Girl In The Ice" Northlanders #42–50, "The Icelandic Trilogy"Fiona Staples, Danijel Žeželj, Becky Cloonan, Paul Azaceta, Declan Shalvey
3Book III: The European SagaISBN1-4012-7379-3September, 2017Northlanders #17, "The Viking Art of Single Combat" Northlanders #21–28, "The Plague Widow" Northlanders #30–34, "Metal" Northlanders #37–39, "The Siege of Paris" Northlanders #40, "The Hunt"Vasilis Lolos, Leandro Fernández, Riccardo Burchielli, Simon Gane, Matthew Woodson

Awards

External links

Interviews