| Northlanders | |
|---|---|
 Cover to issue #1 ofNorthlanders (December 2007), art byMassimo Carnevale. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Vertigo |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | February 2008 – April 2012 |
| No. of issues | 50 |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Brian Wood |
| Written by | Brian Wood |
| Artist(s) | Davide Gianfelice Massimo Carnevale Dean Ormston Ryan Kelly Vasilis Lolos Danijel Zezelj Leandro Fernández |
| Letterer(s) | Travis Lanham |
| Colorist(s) | Dave McCaig Dean Ormston |
| Editor(s) | Mark Doyle Will Dennis Casey Seijas |
| Collected editions | |
| Sven the Returned | ISBN 1401219187 |
| The Cross + the Hammer | ISBN 140122296X |
Northlanders is an Americancomic bookseries published byDC Comics under theirVertigoimprint. The stories are fictional but set in and around historical events during theViking Age.
Northlanders is written byBrian Wood, illustrated by various artists on a per storyline basis, and with painted cover art byMassimo 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.
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 ByzantineVarangian Guard, and is now returning to his birth region in theOrkney 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 theLindisfarne monastery in A.D. 793, the beginning of theViking Age.
The third arc, "The Cross + The Hammer", runs through issues #11–16 and is set aroundDublin, Ireland circa theBattle 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.
The series was collected intotrade paperbacks:
| # | Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected material | Artists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sven the Returned | ISBN 1-4012-1918-7 | October, 2008 | Northlanders #1–8, "Sven the Returned" | Davide Gianfelice |
| 2 | The Cross + the Hammer | ISBN 1-4012-2296-X | July, 2009 | Northlanders #11–16, "The Cross + the Hammer" | Ryan Kelly |
| 3 | Blood in the Snow | ISBN 1-4012-2620-5 | March, 2010 | Northlanders #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 Zezelj |
| 4 | The Plague Widow | ISBN 1-4012-2850-X | October, 2010 | Northlanders #21–28, "The Plague Widow" | Leandro Fernández |
| 5 | Metal | ISBN 1-4012-3160-8 | July, 2011 | Northlanders #29, "The Sea Road" Northlanders #30–34, "Metal", Northlanders #35–36, "The Girl In The Ice" | Fiona Staples,Riccardo Burchielli,Becky Cloonan |
| 6 | Thor's Daughter | ISBN 1-4012-3366-X | February, 2012 | Northlanders #37–39, "The Siege of Paris" Northlanders #40, "The Hunt" Northlanders #41, "Thor's Daughter" | Simon Gane, Matthew Woodson, Marion Churchland |
| 7 | The Icelandic Trilogy | ISBN 1-4012-3691-X | January, 2013 | Northlanders #42–50, "The Icelandic Trilogy" | Paul Azaceta, Declan Shalvey, Danijel Zezelj |
Later also collected in the following paperbackomnibus editions:
| # | Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected material | Artists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Book I: The Anglo-Saxon Saga | ISBN 1-4012-6331-3 | June, 2016 | Northlanders #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 Zezelj |
| 2 | Book II: The Icelandic Saga | ISBN 1-4012-6508-1 | November, 2016 | Northlanders #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 Zezelj,Becky Cloonan, Paul Azaceta, Declan Shalvey |
| 3 | Book III: The European Saga | ISBN 1-4012-7379-3 | September, 2017 | Northlanders #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 |