Northlanders #50, final issue of the series, by Massimo Carnevale
Northlanders 48
On DMZ, Northlanders, Supergirl, and The Massive
I’ve done a few interviews in these past weeks, linked below. The one for CBR has a somewhat startling title, and I’m not sure it represents anything I said in the interview but in a practical sense I guess its true. Although if anyone is saying goodbye to anyone, its not me to DC.
CBR: Brian Wood Bids DC Comics Adieu
That CBR one is also the first time I’ve been asked about Supergirl.
iFanboy has a two-parter here and here.
And The Beat quoted this from me here, with some commentary.
Yes and no. It’s the end of one era, I suppose, where I was doing all this work for Vertigo and not only earning a living but having that as a career — being a Vertigo writer as a career. I think the condition of the comics market these days, combined with all the recent changes at DC, I don’t think that exists anymore as an option for anyone. Well, certainly not for me. Vertigo’s output, as publicly stated by DC, is to be reduced, and I cannot expect to be able to write two plus books for them. Which breaks my heart, no exaggeration.
I’m heading upstate for a week for some much needed downtime after writing four scripts in two weeks. I’m contemplating writing a web comic, similar in format to Freakangels. Any artists out there?
(Northlanders #42) THE ICELANDIC TRILOGY
In more ways than one, this Northlanders installment brings everything full circle. This is also the final Northlanders story, the longest story, and probably the largest in scope.
I created Northlanders in 2006. In an effort to explain my basic concept for the book to the people at Vertigo (which was difficult; this series is a tough sell and an anomaly, format-wise) I branded it a crime book. Vikings as criminals, as organized criminal gangs. Which is, of course, exactly what they were and thats why a “viking crime story” is such an obvious, no-brainer high concept.
Also in 2006 I travelled to Iceland. This was only a couple weeks or so after DC approved Northlanders as a monthly series and my research had not yet kicked into overdrive, but that trip was hugely influential and I still use the photos I took while there to help describe landscapes to Northlanders artists.
Anyway, Northlanders started with crime and Iceland, and so it will end the same way. THE ICELANDIC TRILOGY is a distillation of everything Northlanders was ever about, 180 pages of some of the bleakest, meanest, most depressing, most abusive, most nihilistic, most human comics I’ve written. I say all that with immense pride, because I’ve written my share of that in the past.
Part One of the story - and I should explain the format: the trilogy here is a series of three stories, each three issues long, for a total of nine parts - deals with Settlement, the “wild west” days of that nation’s history when settlers fleeing hard times in Norway lands in the shores of Iceland and subject themselves to an even harder time, eking out a new life in unforgiving terrain. But a new life on their own terms, free of government, of a ruling class, free of laws and restrictions. Iceland was uninhabited, land for the taking.
The main family of characters are the Haukssons, and the young boy, Ulf, rises to the challenges of the new land in a rapid and muscular way. In these first few years of Settlement, tribes of immigrants have banded together for protection, to pool resources, and to help each other out as subsequent waves and waves of new arrivals start to crowd the shores. Much like mafia crime families, these tribes grow and expand and war with each other. Mayhem ensues. The birth pangs of a new nation. The actual history of Iceland is sketched in here loosely. I am picking milestones, such as Settlement, the conversion to Christianity, the civil war, etc as backdrops for my story, which is almost entirely fictional.
Paul Azaceta is drawing this one, taking on the double-whammy of not just drawing a 9-part story but also the burden of closing out the series. Paul’s depiction of Iceland is gorgeous in its simplicity, sweeping horizons and pebbly beaches. Exactly what I wanted - every panel a scene of stark isolation and rugged landscape is drawn beautifully. Dave McCaig and Massimo Carnevale, loyal soldiers from day one, will be here until the end.
Northlanders is cancelled, but THE ICELANDIC TRILOGY is a complete story, its content and length unaffected by the bad news. I hope everyone checks it out.
I’m going to miss this book BAD
The Unfuture of Northlanders
Bleeding Cool correctly reports that my Vertigo series NORTHLANDERS has been cancelled by the powers that be at DC Comics. It has a very loyal fanbase but the trade sales just aren’t cutting the mustard. But it is staying around for awhile yet, and will finally conclude with issue #50. That means next week’s one-shot “Thor’s Daughter” (w/ Marian Churchland) and the nine-part “Icelandic Trilogy” (w/ Paul Azaceta) will still happen as planned. Please, retailers, do not cut your orders, and please, readers, don’t cancel your subs. No story is getting cut short, nothing will be left hanging. As always with NORTHLANDERS, you can jump in at the start of any story, including the ones listed above.
I’m not going to eulogize the series yet and start thanking everyone, since I have the next nine or ten months to do that. While this news sucks, I consider it a triumph for everyone responsible that our depressing, often cerebral comic book about Vikings and history is lasting FIFTY ISSUES. It feels appropriately epic, and the eventual seven volumes of the series will hopefully stay in print forever (or close to that).
I read a lot of twitter comments linking this to my saying the other day that my exclusive was up. I don’t think these two are connected. Also, while I’m here, I was not given a role in the recent DCU reboot after all but I think its an exciting idea and wish everyone the best.
Back to work! Announcements of new books should start appearing soonish… not sure when, but closer to NYCC at any rate. Thanks everyone, lots of really nice comments from you guys. Don’t stop reading!
Preview: Northlanders 40, “THE HUNT”
This is a story I’ve been wanting to write since I first thought of the IDEA of Northlanders: a deer hunting story, set in that time period. Originally this was to be a two-parter, the second issue containing the same events but told from the perspective of the deer, but that’s the sort of nonsense you have to be self-publishing to pull off.
Matthew Woodson, a young man with an impressive list of illustration clients and an even more impressive collection of taxidermy, kindly agreed to draw this issue. He and I go back quite a ways, and we always want to make a comic together. I hope this is the first of several. His artwork, as you can see, is staggering in its execution and beauty. My purpose for existing, in terms of writing this issue, was only to make his art look good.
“THE HUNT” is the first of two one-shots, the other one Marian Churchland is wrapping up the art for. That one, called “THOR’S DAUGHTER”, is in the same spirit as past Northlanders stories that feature the woman’s POV, such as it is in such a male dominated culture. It’s my last saving grace before I beat you up and toss you into the pit of horrors that is “THE ICELANDIC TRILOGY”, a nine-part epic so black, so abusive, so incredibly bleak and hopeless that I cannot shake this bad feeling in my gut. That I shouldn’t have written such things. I might have to start going to church.
Here’s a preview of “THE HUNT” - the first three pages, and then a four-page sequence that happens later in the issue. As always, colors by the unstoppable Dave McCaig, the cover by Massimo Carnevale.
This is the cover to the Spanish-language edition of the upcoming Northlanders Book 5, “Metal”. I really loved writing this story… in a lot of ways its my favorite of the bunch. I actually have a spin-off pitch written about the early years of Black Karl that I would love to do but I dunno if DC will see the commercial value in that. Still, someday, in some form.
Marian Churchland
Northlanders 41 - “Thor’s Daughter”
The Hunt
I am not sure how much I am allowed to talk about this project, let alone show it off. But I figured I would give a sneak peak at what I have been working on for the last month or so. I probably shouldn’t have started a new blog when 90% of what I am working on can’t be shown to anyone.
It’s not a secret! This is a page from Northlander #40, “The Hunt”, by the everlastingly talented Matthew Woodson.
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What I Got Going On For April:
DMZ #64
Written by BRIAN WOOD
Art by RICCARDO BURCHIELLI
Cover by JP LEON
“Free States Rising” concludes here as the final battle for the city of Manhattan, as well as the fate of the entire country, begins to unfold. Matty Roth, the ultimate embedded journalist, reconnects with his on-again off-again friend Zee, who finds Matty a very changed man since she last saw him.
On sale APRIL 20
NORTHLANDERS #39
Written by BRIAN WOOD
Art by SIMON GANE
Cover by MASSIMO CARNEVALE
“The Siege Of Paris” concludes not with a bang or a whimper, but with a political settlement. What of the warriors who bled and died on the battlements for all those long months? Mads and Abbo try to make sense of it from Mads’ rather bleak new perspective. War was a bitch back then just as much as it is now. On sale APRIL 13
THE NEW YORK FIVE #4 (of 4)
Written by BRIAN WOOD Art by RYAN KELLY
Cover by KELLY and WOOD
The semester is in full swing and our four (five?) girls could not be more on their own. But when tragedy strikes, they realize what a small world the big city can be and discover the strength sticking together gives them. On sale APRIL 2
and in May:
DMZ VOL. 10: COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT
Written by BRIAN WOOD
Art by ANDREA MUTTI, NATHAN FOX, DANIJEL ZEZELJ, CLIFF CHIANG and DAVID LAPHAM
Cover by BRIAN WOOD
In this collection of tales from DMZ #55-59, citizens and soldiers – new characters and old – weather the storm of a brutal “shock and awe” bombing campaign on the DMZ.
Included is a story concerning the enigmatic Wilson, the self-professed protector of Chinatown and confidant to series star Matty Roth who has always said he’d own the DMZ in the end. Now, with the U.S. poised to steamroll its way into the city, it’s do-or-die time for the old man. In another tale, Matty lends his Liberty News secure phone line to DMZ citizens to reach out to loved ones outside the city – a direct violation of his contract. Is this the beginning of a new, compassionate Matty looking to atone?
On sale MAY 4
Next issue will conclude the story Becky Cloonan is drawing, “The Girl In The Ice,” then Simon Gane comes in to draw “The Siege Of Paris,” followed by Matthew Woodson on “The Hunt.” Matthew’s an illustrator with almost superhuman talent - google him - and his story will be a high point in the series. Beyond that, I have notes for a short story called “Thor’s Daughter” that’ll continue NORTHLANDERS‘ run of powerful one-shot stories. This is the book I increasingly feel I was born to write, and is so completely tied into my identity as a creator. And based solely on the incredible range and diversity of the artists we’ve had on the series, there is nothing else like it out there.
2011 Work Updates
On the Vertigo blog, there’s a bunch of stuff I wrote regarding DMZ and its five year anniversary, Northlanders “Siege Of Paris” storyline w/ preview art by Simon Gane, and The New York Five, also with preview art. Check it out.
Work Update 12/19/10
I’m sitting here, working on a very short, company-owned project that is one of the biggest names out there, something with huge, global awareness, and its more fun than I would have thought.
2010 sucked for me. Hardly anyone on the outside could tell that, but aside from obvious things like the birth of my son Ian, there’s been too much stress, fear, and disappointments on the creative side. But I did get a lot done. Here’s what I wrote in 2010 (not what was necessarily published during that time):
DMZ 50-64
Northlanders 26-37, 40
The New York Five 1-4
DV8 6-8
Demo 5-6
Thirty-six scripts, roughly 800 pages of comics.
Despite that, or rather not counting that, it was rough. A lot of pitches were written and rejected, always for reasons beyond my control. I’m determined to take better control over this in 2011. One of the side effects of being exclusive while working on long-running monthly books is the lack of time or room to launch new projects. I have proposals for a half-dozen monthly series, and several mini-series that I’ve been sitting on for years, and I feel I need to get some of these moving while they’re still relevant.
It’s hard to make any kind of comment on the state of the comics industry without it sounding cliche or bitter. I’m not the sort of writer who seeks shelter in the Big Two properties, although who knows, maybe I should? For 14 years I’ve strived to carve out a place for myself where I can have an actual career, a lucrative one, writing creator-owned books, but can that last forever? At what point can I say: there, look, I did it.
What I do know is everyone is taking a hit, in one way or another.
Writing comics is a dream job, but its also work, and my 3 scripts a month during 2010 often made comics feel like a grind, and in the new year I want to do something about that. I love working hard, but I hate the grind, and before this past year the last time I felt the grind was when I was sitting in a cubicle at Rockstar Games. For me, the joy is in creating something new, and 2011 needs to see a lot of new stuff from me.
I have 42 pages of script to write before the end of this year, then its off to spend New Year’s Eve in a quiet place in Upstate New York. Thanks, everyone, for buying and reading. My ability to do what I have done in my career is solely down to the strength and power of my readership, and that’s you guys.
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