Titan Comics 2016
Written by Cavan Scott
Illustrated by Daniel Indro
Coloured by Kevin Enhart
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Ragnar Lothbrok has become one of the most feared and respected of all Viking raiders, leading audacious raids on the fertile lands of England and Frankia. Events have taken their toll on Ragnar, and he is haunted by his past. The present has its own dangers too, both for Ragnar and for his former wife Lagertha. An uprising is coming.
I’m beyond thrilled that Cavan is writing this story his work with Titan has been exceptional so far and this isn’t any different. Now I haven’t seen all the seasons of the television programme so for me this brand new stuff all around and while I don’t know what happened in Paris it doesn’t matter. I can envision that something went wrong and the events shattered Ragnar in a way that did it to his core. This isn’t the man from the last series and since that’s completely on display here anyone regardless of how much or how little of the show they’ve seen can jump right in and enjoy this.
Daniel and Kevin’s attention to detail with the interiors is amazingly gorgeous. Seriously I saw the first page and immediately I knew this was going to be incredibly special throughout and I was right. The use of page layouts through angles, perspective and the way backgrounds are utilized really make the flow of this store move perfectly. The life they breathe into this is far beyond what I was expecting and it’s one of the reasons this is as good as it is.
There are a few arcs that are going on here that I found fascinating. The slave owner for one was rather disturbing and incredibly well written. I mean hello I wasn’t aware that Viking’s kept each other as slaves this way or were this heartless and cruel outside the battlefield. So what we see here is the start of something though i’m not exactly sure what which means I have to come back to find out what the heck is going on.
There’s Ragnar’s inner demon struggle that is affecting his relationship with his men, child and wife(s). I have no idea what happened to him but seriously if what we see in this issue is a clue then the man is messed up and almost beyond redemption and considering the strong willed and confident man he’s been this is some seriously bad juju. Plus the Seer yeah that’s gonna be one hell of continuing arc.
Legertha has her own story happening as well and while Bjorn is her son and he idolises his father Aslaug doesn’t like her and well their not quite catfight moment is enough to send her from town. This leads her on her own journey and a discovery that will test her faith and mettle as well.
There’s this intensity to the story Cavan is writing here that’s undeniable. Along with the interiors that express all the emotion and feeling that work so in sync with the words this is one the best adaptations of television show. It fits right in with the series in look, feel and tone that you’d never know it wasn’t meant to be this way the entire time. Almost like an unused script and storyboard were brought to life.