How does a book that looks this good manage to sell for three dollars without bankrupting someone? Given that the leading economic gurus (that is, the ones that aren't paid to lie to you) say the economy is going to be in a shambles for a long time to come, you might be inclined to skip your trip to the local comic book shop this week. Well, Viking #2 is worth your cash, if for no other reason than just to stare at its pretty, pretty pictures. Throw in an emotional gut punch of a climax and you've got yourself a winner.
Not being a studied man of the technical aspects of art, this reviewer can't detail for you what makes the visual work in Viking great from an objective point of view. But I can say it has its own style, is expressive, has unique character design, and uses panel layout very effectively. But above all Klein's color work is what brings it home. The story takes place in a time when the constant glow of electric lighting doesn't exist and it resonates throughout the book as torch, fire, or lamp light moves and changes throughout page and panel to give the sensation that the reader is watching the action from moment to moment. Even the few flashback panels in the early stages of the book have their own coloring, setting time and tone apart from the rest of the work, making this issue an example of coloring to lesser mortals such as your correspondent.
The entirety of the story, even in this second issue, has not come clear yet, but that's fine since the Viking team seems to be playing their time in that regard. They do use the period to its full extent, though. People often forget that pirates and Vikings were bastards. While it's fun to "Yar!" or where a horned helmet, both groups made their living by killing and taking. Vikings were the bigger bastards by far, though, as pirates might (might!) spare the lives of their victims if they were inclined to give up the goods without a fight. But Vikings venerated the killing, hated the weakness that came with innocence or pacifism, and reveled in the bloody work they did as much as the plunder they reaped from it. Viking doesn't shy away from this and, while the first issue showed this as well, issue #2 deals with the fact that you can't live a life like that without, eventually, having to eat the consequences.
And that last bit is what makes the climax of this issue hit home as the protagonists must deal with the consequences of their blatant killing from the first issue. Most impressive, certainly from Brandon's work here, is that while the two main characters came across as amoral killers in issue #1, at the tail end of this piece readers can feel for them, or at least one of them. Mind you, there's not redemption, but even with what they have wrought, readers will be able to feel for them, even as we know that they've brought this on themselves.
All in all, the one fault of Vikings #2 is that it is painfully short. Not enough seems to happen in the space of its pages, particularly if you pick it up without having read the first issue. But that's a forgivable, perhaps even intentional, decision on the creative team's part, as the work as a whole promises to be beautiful and deep. Let's hope that's the case.
If you liked this review, be sure to check out more of the author’s work at http://madbastard.hypersites.com
What did you think of this book?
Have your say at the Line of Fire Forum!