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Read Northlanders. Libro 2: La Cruz + El Martillo (2010)

Northlanders. Libro 2: La Cruz + El Martillo (2010)

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Rating
3.63 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
8467476133 (ISBN13: 9788467476132)
Language
English
Publisher
Planeta DeAgostini

Northlanders. Libro 2: La Cruz + El Martillo (2010) - Plot & Excerpts

I sped through this graphic novel. I prefer to buy graphic novel with more story at once, then wait for each issue of the comic book series. However, I still usually read only one issue at at time, but with this graphic novel, once I got through the second issue, I couldn't stop. Lots of action, yet it also has a philosophical message. I also enjoyed the mention of Brian Boru, whom I read about in Morgan Llewelyn's Lion of Ireland. The Cross and the Hammer is the second TPB in the Northlanders series. The first volume was amazing; this one is merely good. The basic set up is fine: an anachronistic but interesting premise in which the patient, educated policeman chases down a violent criminal. Except that in this case, the policeman (Ragnar) is a lackey of the Norse king who lords over 1014 Ireland, and the criminal (Magnus) is an Irish freedom fighter. Neither man is all good or evil. Ragnar is committed to hunting down a killer, but he also despises the Irish as a culture and has no problems killing many people to catch a single man. So there's that. On the other hand, Magnus passionately believes that he has a moral duty to oppose the Norse invaders. But every time he takes action, the immediate environment gets covered in blood.The "Javert vs. 24601" theme is fine, really. Lots of stories operate off this premise. But there's really nothing else to the story, and thus the chase gets repetitive quickly. Ragnar uses his skills to chase Magnus, Magnus uses his skills to evade him. Repeat until end. It's nothing surprising. You know what this story needs? A twist...SPOILER ALERT.....Surprise! There's a twist. Magnus isn't on the run alone. He's brought his young daughter Brigid with him. He protects her even as he carries out his deadly "missions" against the Norse. But is there something a bit weird about Brigid? NO! There's _no_ hint that she's anything other than a normal human until the very last chapter, when Brigid (who's been absent for a few pages) suddenly reappears as a much older woman, who casts doubt on Magnus' sanity and beliefs..and ultimately shows the reader that the young Brigid seen in previous chapters is either a dream or hallucination brought on by Magnus's inability to deal with his wife's death.Okaaaay. The real problem with this twist is that it is handled badly. I had to reread the preceding pages several times to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Were two pages stuck together? Did I miss a huge passage of time? Did Magnus have another daughter?Turns out, no. There's no time gap, and no reason prior to the appearance of Real Brigid to suspect Young Brigid isn't real. She appears to eat soup in a town scene. She appears to get dirty and run into branches. She appears to sew stitches in her father's arm. There's only one hint that she isn't all she seems. After an attack on a farm with young children, Ragnar notes the small footprints and concludes that Ragnar has a "young companion" (but then notes the child must be barefoot - Brigid is usually shown wearing leather slippers). But why would Detective Ragnar conclude the the little footprints belonged to someone _with_ Magnus? He's a forensic expert. He'd see signs of children living on the farm. Occam's Razor would lead him to the obvious theory that the footprints belonged to children who escaped...which in fact was the case, since Magnus told the tykes to take a horse and run. The author clearly forced Ragnar's conclusion as a way of prolonging the "twist", which is too bad, because this would have been the perfect place to highlight the absence of a Real Brigid in a more compelling way. As it was, the hint was too subtle (so subtle that it could be read as a mistake).So the Brigid Twist is a letdown, and it sours the conclusion.That said, it's still fvcking Northlanders, and Norse crime sagas are hard to come by in any format. The art is both brutal and lush, and each character is given a distinct look...even the nameless, bearded Norsemen in Ragnar's party. If you like that sort of thing, pick up a copy. But I suggest you close the book after page 127.

What do You think about Northlanders. Libro 2: La Cruz + El Martillo (2010)?

Set in Viking-era Ireland, Northlanders Book Two: The Cross And The Hammer, collects issues #11-16 of the DC/Vertigo comic book series written by Brian Wood (DMZ, Demo) and illustrated by Ryan Kelly (Lucifer, The New York Four).It is 1014 in Viking-occupied Ireland. One lone man, only known as Magnus, refuses to bow to the will of the Viking overlords and is leaving a bloody trail of insurgency in his wake. Magnus has no ties, no weaknesses, nothing to lose…except his daughter Brigid. Magnus’ killing spree and defiance catches the attention of Lord Ragnar Ragnarsson, a forensic specialist and confidant of the King who becomes obsessed with finding Magnus and ending his uprising.When it becomes apparent that the only way to draw Magnus out of hiding is to provoke him by senselessly murdering innocent Irish families, it sends the two foes into a circle of psychological warfare and intrigue.I was really looking forward to this volume after having already read Northlanders: Sven The Returned, which was amazing…so maybe my hopes were a little too high.First off, don’t get me wrong. I would rather read this volume than not read this volume. Northlanders is a great series, and Brian Wood is doing some great stuff. Even the premise of the arc in this volume is decent and had me intrigued, but it all ended up falling a little flat.Ryan Kelly is a great artist but I was honestly, the entire time, comparing his style (without meaning to) to Davide Gianfelice’s, who did the art for the issues collected in the first volume. In some ways, Kelly’s artwork is better for this Irish story but in others it just doesn’t feel up to par. There was nothing wrong for it save for the flavor, and despite some great splash page work some of it seemed a bit cartoony.On top of that, I was sort of brought out of the story some by the way Lord Ragnar Ragnarsson spoke/wrote in the way that you might see a character do on an episode of CSI. I kept thinking to myself “This is so modern sounding. WTF is going on here?“Another thing to watch out for is the twist ending. It seems to be all the rage nowadays to give a twist ending on everything, but I don’t think they had to do so, here. It wasn’t super-compelling as it was and then to sort of glaze over it all with a twist ending such as the one found within the pages of this TPB, it just dulled everything down even more.Overall, I wouldn’t miss this entry into the series, but it could have been much better. I hear that Volume III is, indeed, much better…so I’ll have to check it out. So, give this a read if you follow along but I’m not so sure this will be a favored volume in the series.
—omezag

Set in Viking-era Ireland, Northlanders Book Two: The Cross And The Hammer, collects issues #11-16 of the DC/Vertigo comic book series written by Brian Wood (DMZ, Demo) and illustrated by Ryan Kelly (Lucifer, The New York Four).It is 1014 in Viking-occupied Ireland. One lone man, only known as Magnus, refuses to bow to the will of the Viking overlords and is leaving a bloody trail of insurgency in his wake. Magnus has no ties, no weaknesses, nothing to lose…except his daughter Brigid. Magnus’ killing spree and defiance catches the attention of Lord Ragnar Ragnarsson, a forensic specialist and confidant of the King who becomes obsessed with finding Magnus and ending his uprising.When it becomes apparent that the only way to draw Magnus out of hiding is to provoke him by senselessly murdering innocent Irish families, it sends the two foes into a circle of psychological warfare and intrigue.I was really looking forward to this volume after having already read Northlanders: Sven The Returned, which was amazing…so maybe my hopes were a little too high.First off, don’t get me wrong. I would rather read this volume than not read this volume. Northlanders is a great series, and Brian Wood is doing some great stuff. Even the premise of the arc in this volume is decent and had me intrigued, but it all ended up falling a little flat.Ryan Kelly is a great artist but I was honestly, the entire time, comparing his style (without meaning to) to Davide Gianfelice’s, who did the art for the issues collected in the first volume. In some ways, Kelly’s artwork is better for this Irish story but in others it just doesn’t feel up to par. There was nothing wrong for it save for the flavor, and despite some great splash page work some of it seemed a bit cartoony.On top of that, I was sort of brought out of the story some by the way Lord Ragnar Ragnarsson spoke/wrote in the way that you might see a character do on an episode of CSI. I kept thinking to myself “This is so modern sounding. WTF is going on here?“Another thing to watch out for is the twist ending. It seems to be all the rage nowadays to give a twist ending on everything, but I don’t think they had to do so, here. It wasn’t super-compelling as it was and then to sort of glaze over it all with a twist ending such as the one found within the pages of this TPB, it just dulled everything down even more.Overall, I wouldn’t miss this entry into the series, but it could have been much better. I hear that Volume III is, indeed, much better…so I’ll have to check it out. So, give this a read if you follow along but I’m not so sure this will be a favored volume in the series.
—jenny

Not as good as the first. Ugly.
—JThobe

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