Comics I Bought This Week: March 30, 2013
Being that I was sick last week it was a big week for me this week at the comic shop as I got fifteen comics:
And now for a review of something I’ve read recently.
”Northlanders Book 6: Thor’s Daughter and Other Stories” by Brian Wood, Marian Churchland, Simon Gane, and Matthew Woodson
This volume continues Brian Wood’s historical fiction stories of the Viking world, from the Northlands all the way down to Northern France, at the end of the first millennium AD. You can read the volumes in any order since the books don’t continue one into the other. This volume contains three separate stories. One three issue tale and two single issue stories.
The main story is about a siege of Paris in 885. It’s really the story of a single soldier in that battle. I never really got a good sense of the logistics of the battle or the terrain besides a tower, a bridge, and a river but I did come to understand a bit about the motivations of this one single soldier. There is lots of blood, guts, and action but it’s still mostly the story of one man. That seems to be what a lot of “Northlanders” is about. Individuals living at the time of the Vikings.
Next we get the story of a hunter in Sweden circa 1000 AD who is far out in the woods hunting a deer in the winter time. The story is mostly inner dialogue as the hunter tries to cope with his lot in life.
The final story takes place on a small island in the Outer Hebrides in 990 AD. It’s the tale of a fourteen year old girl who’s father owns the island but she’s about to lose that protection. It’s not always good to be a woman at this time and place.
A different artist drew each of these stories but they were all pretty good. The first story was drawn by Simon Gane and his work reminded me a little of Richard Corben crossed with Mike Mignola. Marian Churchland’s work, the third story, looked a bit like Charles Vess. All three artists did a nice job capturing the feel of a bygone era.
I don’t have much more to say about this book. It’s good. Slice of life historical stories are something I generally enjoy and they’re well done here. Check it out.
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