Northlanders: Sven the Returned -Brian Wood & Davide Gianfelice
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Title: Northlanders Book 1: Sven the Returned
Author: Brian Wood
Illustrator: Davide Gianfelice
Format: Collected Comicbook
Date: May 2010
Rating: 7/10
Northlanders: Sven the Returned is not an especially fun read, but it worth the time you put into it, especially if you pause while reading to experience the artwork. The comic tells the story of Sven, a young Northman who has returned to his homeland in search of his inheritance. Things don’t go so easily, of course, and he ends up waging a protracted one-man war against the pretender to the throne. (Not that he wants the throne. Initially, Sven only wants his cut of the gold and then to return to Constantinople).
This is a story well-told, but you may not enjoy it. I won’t give away too much, but Sven does change a great deal over the course of this miniseries. He starts out young, brash, and ready to kill for his fortune. About a year later he is grizzled, weary, and willing to make difficult choices to ensure the survival of himself and his people. Each page strips away his cocky, “modern” (his words) attitude, replacing it with the taciturn stoicism of his homeland.
