Northlanders #46

Part five of Brian Wood's Icelandic Trilogy arrives with a cover by Massimo Carnevale that sets a striking, blood-soaked tone — a battle-worn Viking warrior in a steel nasal helmet stands amid a crimson-stained landscape, wounds fresh on his shoulder, sword in hand, his red beard framing a grim expression of hard-won survival. The subtitle "Christianity 999" hints at the seismic cultural collision between the old Norse world and an encroaching faith, the kind of historical tension that has made Northlanders one of Vertigo's most compelling series. With interiors by Declan Shalvey and colors by Dave McCaig, this 2012 issue promises the same raw, grounded storytelling that defines this arc.