Northlanders #43

Written by Brian Wood
Art by Paul Azaceta

This is a good week for Paul Azaceta.  He has this book out, and Graveyards of Empire, and they are both excellent and vastly different.  In Graveyards, Azaceta gives us dusty and dry Afghanistan, whereas here, we get to see 880 AD Iceland, with wonderful battle sequences and a cool whaling scene.

Ulf, the child we saw being so mistreated in the first chapter of The Icelandic Trilogy, has grown up into a right little prick, and has taken over his father's role as leader of one small section of Iceland.  After his livestock is stolen, he leads his men on a vicious raid against the neighbouring Belgarssons, and begins to assert his authority over the whole island.

It's interesting how Wood has changed Ulf from the slightly sympathetic character that he was last issue into a proper little monster.  I'm curious to see where this story is going, and still saddened by the knowledge that this is going to be the last arc of this thoughtful and engaging series.