Northlanders Book 1: The Anglo-Saxon Saga

I admit to having no particular interest in stories of Vikings. Never seen the show, never picked up any other book and devoured tales of the legendary raiders. My interest in Northlanders was based on the size of the book (460ish pages), the price and the fact that it's one of the few Vertigo series I don't own. Simply put, in comics, affordable, large paperbacks of original material are rare, and something to be savoured. The fact that I received a quality book is just icing on the cake as far as I am concerned.Written by Brian Wood (creator of 'DmZ,' 'the Massive' and numerous superhero titles) Northlanders is really a collection of varied short stories taking place over two hundred years throughout Ireland and Scandinavia as the Northlanders combat the Saxons. There is terrific variety between the tales. One is a siege story as three women fleeing their destroyed village make their stand in a coastal fort against vicious Saxon raiders. Another follows a Northlander detective of sorts, investigating a series of politically-motivated murders in conquered Ireland, whilst simultaneously showcasing the murderer and his daughter on the run. The largest (and strongest story) follows an exiled Northlander returning to his homwtown in the North from the metropolis of Constantinople to reclaim his birthright. Every story is well-written. Brian Wood has delivered a far superior work to his previous series 'DMZ' which covered fascinating political themes, but struggled at times to create an exceptional narrative to discuss these themes. Not so with 'Northlanders.' Whether he writes about the plight of women in warrior societies, the notion of 'home,' or parental guilt, Wood creates a strong, well-paced story with well-realised characters to express these themes.Each story is drawn by a different artist, all talented, all delivering strong work. I have some issue with Dean Ormston (who draws the opening story.) I believe his style is better suited to horror, or dark fantasy, though he also draws the finest page in the book with his breathtaking double-page splash of our first encounter with the Vikings. The book is structured in the style of a samurai story, with plenty of splash pages and an epic, expansive feel, whilst retaining plenty of densely-panelled pages packed with story, when the work requires it. Additional material is fairly minimal with only a few pages of sketches and so-on. Still, this is excusable, considering the size, price and low-profile of the book.I really am pleased with 'Northlanders.' I wish I'd discovered it earlier, and I thank DC/Vertigo for reprinting it again, allowing new readers to experience an older story. I fully reccomend the book, (the first of three in the reprint series.) I'm eagerly awaiting the next one.

Northlanders Book 1 is a beautiful deluxe edition which contains the first three volumes of Brian Woods epic pulpy historical fiction series about Vikings. It is a great deal, only 20 bucks on Amazon, and it has many short stories within ranging in size and content. Each separate story arc has a different artist and every single one does a wonderful job in this book. Especially the second story arc "The Shield Maidens" which is illustrated by the legendary Croatian artist Daniel Zezelj. The cover artist Massimo Carnevale, who provides the covers for the entire book, does a wonderful job of giving each story detailed paintings which add a lot of flare and style to this impressive collection. Wood did a lot of research for these stories so they should appeal to history buffs, as well as action fans and fans of those old school Savage Word/Robert E. Howard style barbarian conquest tales. I had been looking for a great Viking book for years, and found myself being heavily disappointed with many of them. Especially The Vinland Saga, which although received tremendously positive reviews and was recommended by many people, I found to be a childish, puerile, a huge rip off of Berserk, and an incredibly inaccurate portrayal of Vikings. Northlanders is without question the best graphic novel of the genre to date. Wood's writing is always on point so I'd say this series gets a well deserved 5 stars.

Thought this was a great collection of stories about the vikings (and about those in the areas they invaded/conquered like England and Ireland). I loved the historical details, including the one character that was a member of the Varangian Guard in the Byzantine Empire. Looking forward to more.

First of all the book is fantastic the story is really good. The reason of three stars is the book came ripped at the top of the spine down the middle. At first I thought it was the packaging but how would it rip right in the middle of the spine. It had to of been ripped or damaged at the manufactures warehouse before being shipped. Just a heads up.

Never read much of Brian Wood's work, but enjoy the Vikings TV show & had a liking for the subject so when I saw Northlanders Book 1 on Amazon, decided to order it from my local library. Liked it so much I bought it & the second volume too. At same time I preordered the last volume, I thought it was so good. High praise to buy something I can get from the library for free. It also encouraged me to get a number of histories of and books on the Northmen from the library which were very interesting and taught me a lot. An excellent book and at a great price for over 400 pages.

This is an excellent book. Brian Wood is one heck of a writer, and these stories are marvelous. I can't wait to get the other volumes!

I love ALL things Viking, and this does not disappoint. Couldn't put it down. Highly recommend. A pleasure to read.

It was a comic book with pictures!!!

A really good mix of sagas covering various themes aided with some great artwork. We'll worth the read if you have the time

Great stories and drawings.

This is good, but Vinland Saga is far better. The artwork is good at times but there are also pages were its looks awful.

Esta coleção narra a historia da Inglaterra desde a idade média. Muito interessante, mas bastante irregular, já que são vários artistas fazendo a arte.