Christian/Islamic conflict. Technological revolution. Fear of the end of the world. Sound familiar? It should. But it's not the world of 2007…it's the world of Europe, circa 1000 AD. The world of Brian Wood's brand-new monthly series, NORTHLANDERS.
If you've been keeping up with MySpace Comic Books, you know we've got love for writer-artist-designer
Brian Wood. Last month, we brought you
a preview of DMZ, his critically acclaimed vision of New York City caught in a civil war. We couldn't be more excited to bring you an exclusive first look at the next title in the Wood library: a savage Viking epic called
NORTHLANDERS.
Can't remember the last time you read a kick ass Viking comic book? Well, those days are officially dead – and by dead, we mean: thoroughly dismembered by an iron broadsword, wielded by a giant warrior in an unstoppable bezerker rage. Brian is on a mission to restore glory to Viking tales.
NORTHLANDERS hits stores on December 5th. That is the date you will be rocked. Mark it on your calendar, and count down the days. Italian newcomer
Davide Gianfelice delivers absolutely gorgeous artwork, and Brian's knack for bracing and immediate storytelling is on full display. Be sure to check out
the excellent CBR article about NORTHLANDERS -- packed with insight into the gestation of
NORTHLANDERS, including photos of Brian's research trip to Iceland.
Luckily, you don't have to take our word for it, we've got an exclusive preview of the first issue, introduced by Brian himself. Before we get out of the way, we owe gratitude to Brian, Davide, and all the people at DC and Vertigo for making this happen. Hail, warriors, and thanks. Take it away, Brian…
I've written a lot of comics in the last decade, all different kinds, but they shared at least one common trait - they all took place in the "right now" and, in a lot of cases, the well-worn "near future", all filled with savvy hackers, media manipulators, mercenary bike messengers and superpowered teenagers. So why start a new series, the biggest launch of my career, with a story about a bunch of nasty people living in a muddy settlement up near the Arctic circle... a thousand years ago?
A few reasons. On a socio-political level, I can find parallels from then to now: terrorism, the clash of cultures, the old vs. the new, warring states invading and colonizing each other, you name it. That the past is a window to the future, that since history is doomed to repeat itself, by looking back you are actually looking forward. Or, that I've loved Viking stories since I was a little kid, those scary giants of men in fur and metal, in squat, black, dragon-headed boats, lissome Nordic women, gods of sex and death and war... all stalking the frozen northlands, no one able to stand up to them.
Well, its all three reasons in one. NORTHLANDERS is the excited 12- yo who loves the hack and slash going head to head with the well read 35-yo who appreciates the historical significance of the Vikings…and finding what they have in common with each other. Here you have the first seven pages of NORTHLANDERS 1, where we meet Sven The Returned, something of a self-loathing Viking, a skilled warrior serving in the Byzantine Empire as a mercenary, trying to deny his true heritage and history, but finding himself drawn back to a tiny island in the North Sea, first for money... but then what else?
I'm committed - I'll show you a vision of Vikings and the world as it was at the year 1000 like you've never seen in comics, both violent and smart and stylish and relevant. My artist Davide Gianfelice is as skilled an artist as I could hope for in a collaborator. Vertigo's giving us no restrictions. A thousand years ago the world changed forever and it was by the tip of a sword owned by a demon of a man from the North. Check it out.
Brian Wood 
