This graphic novel caught my eyes on Goodreads and I thought it looks interesting because it was about the Vikings (Yay!). Unfortunately, it wasn't very good, the art was fine, but the story and the language were not to my liking.

Sven gets news that his father has died and travelers’ home to take back his land from his uncle that has usurped it. Then he spends the rest of the 7 issues fighting his uncle and the Vikings. The end! I don’t have anything against fighting, but Sven isn’t really a nice guy (the first thing he does is to kill the messenger that delivers the note that his father has died, what a nice guy!) so it’s hard to cheer him on, to root for him to win when you really don’t get to know him. Except that all he wants is money, not his land, not his title. What a man! He's not even an interesting anti-hero...

Then we have the language; modern language and modern profanities. It was fuck this and fuck that. All through 8 issues! Meh! If they should swear at least they could use “by Odin's beard” or something. No, it felt like a Tarantino movie. And I love Tarantino movies but Vikings shouldn’t sound like they are part of one.

Anyway, I struggled through the last issues and finished off the first volume last night. Will I read the next one? Perhaps, perhaps not. There wasn't much I liked with the first one so I will probably read something more to my liking than struggling through a volume with more of this crap. The only redeeming fact was that I liked the artwork, but without a decent storyline, what's the point? ( )

This graphic novel caught my eyes on Goodreads and I thought it looks interesting because it was about the Vikings (Yay!). Unfortunately, it wasn't very good, the art was fine, but the story and the language were not to my liking.

Sven gets news that his father has died and travelers’ home to take back his land from his uncle that has usurped it. Then he spends the rest of the 7 issues fighting his uncle and the Vikings. The end! I don’t have anything against fighting, but Sven isn’t really a nice guy (the first thing he does is to kill the messenger that delivers the note that his father has died, what a nice guy!) so it’s hard to cheer him on, to root for him to win when you really don’t get to know him. Except that all he wants is money, not his land, not his title. What a man! He's not even an interesting anti-hero...

Then we have the language; modern language and modern profanities. It was fuck this and fuck that. All through 8 issues! Meh! If they should swear at least they could use “by Odin's beard” or something. No, it felt like a Tarantino movie. And I love Tarantino movies but Vikings shouldn’t sound like they are part of one.

Anyway, I struggled through the last issues and finished off the first volume last night. Will I read the next one? Perhaps, perhaps not. There wasn't much I liked with the first one so I will probably read something more to my liking than struggling through a volume with more of this crap. The only redeeming fact was that I liked the artwork, but without a decent storyline, what's the point? ( )

It's been a while since I was into Vikings, but with this series and the History channel program I can feel a new obsession coming on.

Out gateway into the Northlands is opened by Sven, the son of the land's former Lord, who ran away to grow up a slave and a soldier in the greatest city of the day, Constantinople. He returns to the Northlands not to reclaim his birthright, but for cold hard cash, which immediatly sets him at odds with almost everyone there. Sven is clearly not your typical Viking, but I find the contrast of his Roman morals and mindset to be the perfect story catalyst. Cross-culture influences were exactly how ideas were transmitted in the ancient world, so the author has inadvertently sparked some major historical themes here. ( )

This was the first thing I read by Brian Wood, and I really don't know what to think. Northlanders, is about Vikings... (is it?) Yes... it is. I mean the violence, the cursing and all that. But, if you ever read Vinland Saga, (the manga) you'll realize that this story is shallow and very superficial.
The artwork is fine, but please go read Vinland Saga, for a real story with real characters with real motifs. ( )

I was hoping Sven would meet his end in this book, but sadly he survived. I'm still not hugely into graphic novels, but some of the illustrations in this book were really nicely done. and the story seems pretty historically honest. The artists really seem to like drawing women's nipples, which I found amusing, but there wasn't too much gratuitous nudity and sex to really get in the way of the plot. ( )