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.

On June 9, 2011, Brian Wood announced via Twitter that the series had been canceled by Vertigo. It ended 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 is being collected into trade paperbacks:

Awards

 * 2007: Nominated for the Eagle Award for "Favourite Comics Cover published during 2007" for cover the of issue 1B by Adam Kubert

Interviews

 * Y1K PARANOIA: Brian Wood talks "Northlanders", Comic Book Resources, October 16, 2007
 * Interview/Preview: Vertigo's Northlanders, IGN, October 22, 2007
 * Ragnarok n’ Roll: An interview with Brian Wood, Comics Bulletin, November 20, 2007
 * Brian Wood Talks Northlanders 2009, Comic Book Resources, January 27, 2009
 * The Viking Chronicles: Brian Wood Talks Northlanders, Newsarama, June 24, 2009