DC Vertigo’s Northlanders, which told brilliantly engaging standalone story arcs set in the Viking age, is being cancelled with issue 50. Writer Brian Wood, who is also bringing his near future civil war tale DMZ to an end, confirmed the details, saying, “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’ (with Marian Churchland) and the nine-part ‘Icelandic Trilogy’ (with 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).”
A good time to pick up the graphic novels, then.
