Written by Brian Wood
Illustrated by Becky CloonanSet in late-period Iceland during a period of intense clan warfare, an elderly fisherman investigates the death of a young girl found embedded in the ice. As the fisherman’s furtive actions catch the attention of the local warriors, blame for the crime shifts over to him. If this is the last good thing he can accomplish in life, so be it, as long as the truth can be uncovered. “The Girl in the Ice” concludes here!
Northlanders is one of a rare breed of comics. One that expects absolutely nothing of its readership other than a desire to read a good story, told with the best possible tools available. Now 36 issues strong, this book has made its name by stringing together smartly written, beautifully drawn self-contained stories from arc to arc, with the only connecting factor being that all these stories are about vikings. While “versatile” has always been a well deserved moniker for Brian Wood, and this book is largely the reason why. With this issue, we’re given the final act of Becky Cloonan’s long awaited debut on the book, and boy is it satisfying.
The story of The Girl In the Ice has been largely compelling, if only because when you break it down to its basic elements, it’s essentially a murder mystery featuring vikings, only a few steps away from noir on the conceptual scale. Combining two very different storytelling conventions (and “vickings” are almost definitely a storytelling convention in and of itself) and doing it while still respecting both is an extreme testament to Wood’s abilities. Following the psychological thriller that was the last issue, this issue gives us the ending many of us could have suspected, but managed to do so in a way that was nonetheless riveting.
You pretty much knew as soon as our elderly protagonist found the body of a poor, seemingly murdered girl in the ice where he fishes for his living that he would end up accused of murdering the girl, and indeed that was exactly what happened. His trial as swift and his conviction obvious, however the turn of events involving the girl’s mother and the truth behind her death give the story a very distinct and tragic undertone that is serviced perfectly by Wood’s dialogue.
However, it really is the art that makes the issue stand out. Cloonan’s work in this issue really is unlike anything we’ve seen from her before. Her ability to adapt her style to just about any type of story while still retaining the nuances that make her work distinctly hers had made her a must read artist for me. The sense of barren despair conveyed by the sheer emptiness of the ice tundra scenes conveys the mindset of the old man perfectly, and really adds a certain punch to the sense of longing and tragedy that the rest of the issue upholds.
Overall, I was pretty damn please with this all too brief tale of mystery, murder and vikings. While my brief journey into the world of Northlanders was motivated entirely by Cloonan’s appearance in the proceedings, theres a very distinct chance that I’ll be sticking around to see what madness Wood can cook up within the ancient frozen north.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Buy
