Northlanders #22 (Ongoing)

is an American comic book series published by DC Comics under their Vertigo imprint. The stories are fictional but set in and around historical events during the Viking Age. Northlanders is written by Brian Wood, illustrated by various artists on a per storyline basis with painted cover art by Massimo Carnevale. The first issue of the series was published on December 5, 2007. Wood has said that the series will be divided into standalone eight issue story arcs separated by two-issue arcs. Northlanders does not have a true main character; the cast and setting change with each story arc. Issue #22 is the second in the eight-issue story arc entitled “The Plague Widow.” After a full four issues of two-issue arcs, the series is back to its original format of longer stories placed squarely in the Viking lore. With each story arc, "Northlanders" follows a different character in a tenth- or eleventh-century setting where Vikings have made their mark; sometimes the protagonist is a Viking, as in the first arc, "Sven," while in others the heroes are fighting desperately to repel the Norse invaders. This series may perhaps be one of the best monthly comic books, along with Robert Kirkman's .

"The Plague Widow" part 2 of 8. It's A.D. 1020 on the Volga river, and a Viking city has just sealed itself off against an unknown contagion. Hilda, newly widowed and trying to care for her young daughter, struggles to survive in a community rife with paranoia, thievery, violence and xenophobia. When she is called upon to 'donate' her own supply of food to the corrupt local militia leader, she commits an act of defiance that may get her killed. By: Brian Wood, Leandro Fernandez --

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