Sigh... Sometimes we fall victim to our creature comforts too much. For as long as I can remember I have loved barbarians and tales of high adventure. As neat as it is to see a space ship blow up a fake moon, there is something so primal about a dude with an edged weapon going to town against his enemies, that I can scarlessly resist sometimes. From Arak to Conan to Elric to Hawksmoor to Warlord, I've tasted them all over the years. Vikings especially are my flavor of choice. I can't get enough of them darn "murder cult" jerks from the North. So when I happened upon Northern Blood #1 in Previews a few months ago... (yeah that monthly wishbook that helps you NEVER miss anything) I was immediately intrigued. Zombies? Zombie Vikings? Fighting Germans? Fighting them during WW2? A quick google search got me some extra images and I pre-ordered myself a copy before declaring my ship had come in. Some mocked, others snickered, some agreed. How bad could it be? How great could it be? Well, it is not bad at all. Clear storytelling, straightforward story with American GIs finding a Viking treasure trove while being chased by German soldiers awakening the zombie Vikings that protect it! Awesome! Pretty tasty! I only wish Mr. Rojo's art was a little more polished. This looks like countless other books that are 1000x better than what I can do but not quite there yet. He shows some signs but definitely needs to cook a little more, I wish this was his third or fourth series to see how he grows. And J. Michalski better have some great nuggets coming because 3 pages of exposition of how Vikings became Zombie Vikings instead of some glorious artwork telling that tale? Rookie mistake. If you can show me something cool, show me. Don't tell me about it, especially in an artform dedicated to the visuals.
I will keep reading but this book is on a short leash. But that is a tale for another day.