The last thing I expected when I opened issue #21 of Northlanders was to find the most terrifying comic released Halloween week. Sure, it's not in the traditional Halloween-y "guy with a knife is going to gut you" way, but the start of Brian Wood and arc artist Leandro Fernandez's new eight part "The Plague Widow" brings forth a sort of paranoia-fueled terror. Though I'm not one to buy into the media driven swine flu insanity, the extreme actions taken by the small village that is infected with the Black Plague is a horrifying reminder that human nature hasn't changed all that much since 1020 AD. It fears what it doesn't understand, turns its nose up at new ideas, and always turns to violence for a resolution. That is what makes this issue scary.
The statements above may be a bit of stretch for some, but Wood does tackle many themes that we have all experienced to varying degress through the main character, the titular Plague widow, Hilda. The story picks up in a settlement near The Volga river, where the Black Plague has struck. A wise man named Boris tries to tell the leaders of the village the new theories on how the Plague spreads, and he is labeled as a heathen by some, but praised by others. Hilda discovers her husband has fallen ill, and must take his place amongst the village council to vote on Boris' proposed plan of banishing those infected in order to save the rest.
What really drew me into this issue unexpectedly was the pure humanity that Wood successfully explores. Previously, Northlanders was enjoyable, but it was always more about awesome Vikings doing awesome Viking things. With "The Plague Widow", Brian Wood is poised to take Northlanders to a whole new level. Though I'm sure that this will change in the seven additional issues to follow, this installment was relatively low key in comparison to the high-violence of issues past. Most of issue #21 is about the small moments; the panels that take place within Hilda's home around the death of her husband are more moving than I remember any portion of the twenty previous issues being.
A good chunk of the issue's effectiveness has to be credited to the new artist Leandro Fernandez, who entices the characters to emote with an ease that makes it look like second nature to him. Though I wasn't interested in his action scenes as much - ironic, since he's known for drawing Punisher MAX - that could very well have been due to the fact that the story had already trapped me in the introspective lives of the characters, rather than the external action.
"The Plague Widow" promises a new type of Northlanders story, big on isolation and sure to be full of shocking moments and revelations. If you've never picked up an issue before, all of the stories are stand alone. And as always, it's better late than never.
