Titan Comics 2016
Written by Cavan Scott
Illustrated by Daniel Indro
Coloured by Kevin Enhart
Lettered b Jim Cambell
Ragnar Lothbrok has become a legendary Viking raider and king, but he is haunted by recent events, and addicted to the medicine provided by the slave girl Yidu, whom he killed. Elsewhere, an uprising is beginning, led by the slave Colum. And Ragnar’s former wife Lagertha has discovered the holy temple at Uppsala has been desecrated and its priests slaughtered…
For those who haven’t caught up on the show or haven’t seen it this issue fleshes out more of the aftermath of their Paris adventure. As Cavan tells this story we learn more and more of what’s happened and this helps the comic stand alone from the television show as well as compliment it. If you haven’t seen it I do recommend you binge watch the seasons as it’s a very well acted and produced show.
Alright from the last arc to this one Floki remains to be one of the more intriguing characters. I really have expected him to betray Ragnar but didn’t. I think he’s mad but that’s possibly inaccurate. His connection with his gods seems strong and has led him to the very temple where Lagertha currently is. This of course leads into two separate subplots here as well. Are they subplots or just one of three that interweaving throughout this run?
Ragnar and his addiction or whatever it is the slave girl Yidu gave him and his seeing her at every turn as his blood rages is great. It shows he’s more human than he’s been given credit for and if he can break the hold this spell has on him then he can regain some of that which he’s losing by being seen as weak. Even his son is having a hard time seeing him this way for it’s not the warrior’s way.
Are Colum and his people really free? They’ve killed masters and freed slaves yes but free that’s something else entirely. They are filled with their own sense of injustice and rage and why they did to the temple what they did. But Colum realises all this killing makes them no better than those they kill but reason is far gone here as they have blood in eyes and in their veins at this point.
Daniel and Kevin do some absolutely magnificent work on the interiors here. The attention to detail is superbly done. The way they can make these characters come to life, look and feel really leaves an impact. The flow through page layouts with angles and perspective really do wonders controlling the way the story is seen. The backgrounds we see in play are fantastic and I wish we’d see more as they really flesh out the panels they are in.
The way that Cavan writes this is incredible. I love the depth of the storytelling the layered way he can weave in and out and tie all three plots into the larger picture. The way the characterisation here is so spot on for not only the shows characters but the time they lived in as well and the research he puts into the series to write as honestly as he can. I love that this team can bring such a franchise to life this way and keep the spirit it was intended alive and well in the comics medium.