DUE NORTH: BRIAN WOOD ON NORTHLANDERS

[ChrisArrant]

by Chris Arrant

Announced at last year's WizardWorld: Chicago, Northlanders is a new series created and written by Brian Wood for DC/Vertigo that follows the lives of Northlanders… Norsemen… Vikings.

Set around 900 AD, it will examine European life in a time of transition, with the Viking people being one of the main instruments of change, both for their famed fighting but also their social and political struggles.. It is a time of great upheaval, with Christianity reaching its ascendancy in a globe that had been brought up on multiple deities for countless years.

While Brian Wood is best known for his street-level stories such as DEMO and DMZ, this new series marks a departure from his previous work but touches upon his childhood adoration of Viking stories. Eschewing the stoicness of flourly language that is sometimes paired with Viking stories, Wood is hoping to bring a more modern and timeless approach in writing these stories.

Illustrating this book will be European artist and American comics newcomer Davide Gianfelice, with covers by Massimo Carnevale. Accompanying this article is previously unseen sketches and the first six pages of the series. Scheduled for a summer 2007 debut, these Viking epics will be told in eight issue arcs.

Newsarama: First off Brian, can you tell us in your own words what the series is about?

Brian Wood: Vikings! That's what I like to tell people when telling them for the first time, because it never fails to surprise them. I know this sounds totally out of left field for me - and it is in some ways - but I think at its core it makes sense coming from me. Northlanders is a monthly ongoing series about Vikings (and I feel I should let people know that I'm using that term "vikings" as a general term of convenience for those peoples, even know I know that's not a catch-all term) and the time in history they lived in. It's about the old vs. the new, the rise of Christianity and the death of the old pagan religions, the end of the Dark Ages, the expansion of Northern Europe, the maturing social politics of the time, specifically in Iceland, and, eventually, the European discovery of North America.

This was a huge time for the world... the Vikings were the engine of change, probably the smartest invaders and colonizers the world has seen. Certainly one of the most effective. They were also incredibly exciting, very violent, very cool, with gods of sex, death, and war. A thousand years later people still get excited about Vikings.

As is typical of my writing, the stories will focus on small groups of people living in this time, with conflicts on the inter-personal level that tie into large events. Although I'd be a fool not to write epic battle scenes, ship-to-ship warfare on the Bosporus, Saxon and Norse armies clashing on the beaches of Orkney, the brutal hand- to-hand combat that the Vikings excelled at.

Lastly, I'm writing this book in a modern style, minus the poetic, flowery language you sometimes see in other sword and sorcery books, and I'm de-emphasizing the mythology of the time. The people in Northlanders are simple people, most of them struggling to survive in the harsh northern climate, and I think excessive displays of religion just wouldn't be a priority. I was always more interested in the day-to-day Viking life rather than the classic tales of the gods. This book will reflect that.

NRAMA: At New York Comicon you mentioned that the Vikings were facing a 'Y1K paranoia'. Can you tell us more about that thought, and when and where the book starts out?

BW: Well, I think everyone alive at that point who were living under the Gregorian calendar were experiencing a sort of fear or dread as the year 1000 loomed. Our Y2K fears were mostly based around technological issues, but back then when people were far, far less wordly-wise and educated, they really thought the end of the world was nigh, Book of Revelations-style. Halley's Comet burned brightly in the sky, day and night, for three months in 989 AD... how terrifying must that have been at the time?

Northlanders is not set right on the even of the millennium but rather in the decades just before and in time, just after. In addition to it being "Y1K", it was, in general, a time of huge cultural change that helped feed the end of the world paranoia, amongst other things.

NRAMA: You also said that the Vikings instrumental in pulling Europe out of the Dark Ages, which teases a look at Vikings in a social context and more than just Vikings waving sharp objects around. Can you tell us what texts were instrumental in your research, and the type of ideas you were attracted to in formulating what the series came to be?

BW: It feels like all I've read in the last 12 months is Viking non- fiction. My wife can attest to my book fetish - any excuse I have to buy a book, and I'm there. I could easily list fifty books that have helped (my library on the subject could easily be the envy of any decent university), but a few standouts are the Osprey guides, Jared Diamond's Collapse, the Sagas, specifically the Orkney and Icelandic ones, Griffith's The Viking Art of War, the book The Year 1000 by Lacey and Danzinger... I plan on putting a full reading list online, when I get www.northlanders.net up and running.

NRAMA: Not that the series will be all talk – what kind of research did you do on the ways Vikings made war on a large scale and individual fighting?

BW: All these same books. I also read some fiction, although very sparingly because I am far from a scholar on the subject and I was worried I might take a writer's liberties as fact. But books by Bernard Cornwell, Tim Severin, and Paul Watkins helped a bit, especially to give some life to the somewhat dry descriptions of combat I would find in the textbooks.

NRAMA: Northlanders starts out with a well-traveled norseman named Sven. Can you tell us about him?

BW: Sven's in the Varangian Guard, a detachment of Norse soldiers that served the emperor in Constantinople. They were that era's most elite special forces, and it earned them a lot of money and prestige. Sven likes his life, living well in the cultural center of the world, and by comparison his old life, the world he was raised in, seems crude and backwards. He's a self-loathing norseman. He has that arrogance that comes easy to younger people with luck and talent.

So when he hears his father has died, he heads back to Orkney to cash out his inheritance and return home as quickly as possible. But once there he's pulled into a local conflict that's tying up his funds, and one thing leads to another, and a speedy return to Constantinople seems impossible. In fact, events conspire to make sure he stays in Orkney to see this conflict out to its bitter end.

NRAMA: Format-wise, you're doing this as a series of self-contained 8 issue arcs. How did this format decision come about, and why do you feel this fits the type of stories you're looking to tell?

BW: I think its just a variation on the self-contained writing I've been doing since 2003, with Demo and Local. Those were single-issue stories, but the concept is the same. Northlanders will be a series of self-contained epics, linked by theme and genre only. If I can write compelling enough stand-alone fiction that brings readers back every month, getting them to come back every 8 issues should be a cinch!

And as much as I like writing monthly comics - and I really do love this format - I also love seeing them collected into hefty books for the shelf, and I wanted self-contained trades for a single reading experience. Anything longer than 8 issues runs the risk of being split into two volumes.

NRAMA: This series was announced at San Diego Comicon 2006, but the artist wasn't announced until February's NYCC. The artist on this, Davide Gianfelice, is a name I haven't seen before. Can you tell us about him, and how he ended up being the artist for the first arc?

BW: Wizard World Chicago, actually. We announced Northlanders at the same time as my DC exclusive.

And it took us a long time to find an artist, and when we decided on Davide, he had a John Doe book to finish drawing first for his Italian publisher. He's only just now starting on Northlanders.

He is a guy, just like Riccardo Burchielli, who came to me via Will Dennis. I love his linework - his draftsmanship is near perfect, and I was pleased to see that, for his samples, he did quite a lot of research and got details in the clothing and weaponry quite correct. I figure that bode well for a future of working with him.

NRAMA: As a series, this is quite a dramatic departure from the street level stories you've told for a majority of your writing career. What led you to seriously pursue such a different comic for you?

BW: I was talking to editor Steve Wacker when he was still at DC, trying to see if there were any old, dead DC properties I could revive. He was leafing through some reference and held up a picture of The Viking Prince, who is this mostly naked boy with a fur skirt and a lot of bling. That just didn't square with any notion or idea I had about who the Vikings were. But the idea of Vikings in general stuck in the back of my mind, and months later when I decided to pitch my Vertigo editor, Will Dennis, another monthly, I decided to try Vikings - my own Vikings. I had been encouraged to work outside what Will called my "comfort zone"... you call it street level stories. I'm not sure what I would call it, but it seemed like a dark bit of historically-inspired fiction might be the way to go.

I liked Vikings as a kid, as well as all things Norse and Celtic, but the trick for me in pitching Northlanders was to not only isolate what exactly I liked about it all, but also to update it, make it relevant not only to my readers but also to me personally. What was cool to me about Vikings when I was 10 years old isn't enough for me at 35. I needed to find a level of sophistication and maturity in the material, as well as make it make sense coming from me - it needed to be a Brian Wood book. AND it needed to be nothing like any of the other attempts people have made with this material in comics.

This was key to me - I needed to find my own angle and do my best to avoid comparisons to others. I wouldn't want someone to glance at a Northlanders cover and dismiss it as not being for them because some other book with swords in it wasn't. I want Northlanders to be unique and accessible enough that any potential reader could give it a fair shake.

The below sketches, along with the six pages shown above, are by Davide Gianfelice.

[Michael Hawk]

Interesting idea but I haven't really liked Wood's other stuff. Still check it out though.

[panicbxmb]

i love brian wood, and i'm going to love this. no question about it

[deathmasterj]

I love DMZ, but I've been trying to cut back on monthly comics due to space and decided anything new I would get in trade form, but I may just have to give in and buy this monthly. Brian Wood + Vikings = SOLD!

I've always wanted to try and trace my family back and see if we are Viking in anyway, since I have the blonde hair and blue eyes Plus the area I come from is rich in Viking history (in York we have the Jorvik Viking centre, which I shall have to go back to sometime soon, great museum).

[pez dispenser]

I've been looking forward to this since I first heard about it.
Looks good so far.

[newfoundma]

I just picked up Demo and DMZ in trade, and I've had some trouble finding Local. I think Wood is great, not totally polished, but definately on his way.
And seriously, Vikings? How fracking cool is that?!
Way to break with the exhausted ninjas, zombies, and robots trends. (Although I did hear that the Vikings might meet some ninjas in this, which ok, would rock.)

[Blackbeard]

You had me at Vikings.

[briancwood]

I should say the second character sketch from the left, along the bottom, is drawn by Massimo Carnevale, who is doing covers for the series. The color promo art at the top is also Massimo's art. Everything else is Davide.

-brian w

[Humphrey Lee]

Added and then some. This should just be one more step in solidifying Wood as one of the best in the industry today. Yay Vikings!!

[IzzySlash]

I am so amped for this. This is going on the pull, no questions asked.

[sexyjesus]

I'd like Brian Wood to write Catwoman. His female characters are the only characters I've liked written by him. He'd do quite well with Selina.

[Solario]

I am so there. I'm also really in love with the stuff I've seen from Davide Gianfelice, so that's a major drawing point as well. Plus, you know, the whole being from Denmark might have me gravitate towards Vikings almost no matter what.

[Fletcher]

I like DMZ and I like the subject matter, after living in Iceland for a few years I got interested in that sort of thing. I would like to see finished interior art though before I make the plunge.

I wonder though if these Norsemen will make it to Oklahoma?

opooo...ahhh...snap!

[EMeadow]

Its a new Brian Wood monthly book.

Absolutely no way I woudln't get this. Vikings are just the icing on the cake.

[briancwood]

Originally Posted by newfoundma

(Although I did hear that the Vikings might meet some ninjas in this, which ok, would rock.)

Not from me you didn't!

(Maybe you're thinking of the Vikings vs. Samurai comic Warren Ellis was talking about doing years ago)

b

[WildcardZ]

I will definitely pick this up. I love DMZ and have enjoyed some of his other work like Supermarket and his work on Generation X. This will also be out around the same time as Thor so we will get double the Norse Goodness

[astronato]

It sounds really good and it looks really good. I like the idea about not focusing on the myths and religion.

When does it start?

[Ace]

I'm excited about this because I've wanted to give Brian Wood's stuff a try for the longest time but the concepts behind DMZ and Local and Demo and all of his other stuff so far really, really, really haven't interested me.

But this is down my medieval history degree's alley.

[briancwood]

Originally Posted by astronato

When does it start?

Not until autumn.

b

[Dirtbagjeff]

DAMN YOU WOODS. Damn you. Just when I thought I was getting my pull list under control. Now Vikings. Guess I'll just have to cut back on my out of control meth habit.

[hondo]

Brian Wood is one of the freshest most original creators to come down the pike in a while.

I haven't liked any of his work. High praise indeed.

Viking stuff is cool anyway, but like another poster said, esp cool when it's your lineage (Danish).

I'd buy this either because of Wood or vikings, but esp now that it's Wood's vikings.

Can't wait. Will give this as gifts this Christmas too.

[BillReed]

This looks like it could be amazing.

[Cormorant]

Not wild about the art, but for concept and Wood's writing, I very much expect to check this out. The demythologizing sounds particularly interesting, as I've always been a bit of a geek for the "daily life" side of studying ancient peoples. I'm burned out on the cliche that every story from the ancient world has to be something epic, and really just want to see some human stories in these eras. Wood, while I've only recently taken to his work on Local and DMZ, seems surprisingly perfect for this.

[lostphrack]

I've been wanting to hear and see more about this since it was first announced. Sounded interesting then and it just keeps sounding better as more information comes out. Wood's name along had me sold on it, but Gianfelice's art and character designs look lovely! Can't wait for it.

[tof]

I've been cutting my pull list a lot lately but I can't wait for this book. Vikings + Brian Wood + Nice preview art = must have for me.