Coming soon to Kickstarter is the second book of the Sagas of the Shield Maiden. Here, I will have a look at the first book.
Sagas of the Shield Maiden is an oversized, Viking western, perfect bound comics anthology that recounts the legends, or sagas, of the titular Shield Maiden as she traverses Scandinavia and beyond the North Sea.
With five stories inside, this is a great themed anthology comic which bring us a number of creators and some excellent reading.
In A Lesson In Revenge tells a very rousing tale, and introduces the type of story we can expect in this. The build up was well done, with a satisfying ending. I recall a saying about if you are at the wrong end of a sword – always hope the man holding it is evil…
With an incredible team of artists working on the five stories throughout the book. Daniel Coloma, Kay Baird, Kevin Keane, Michelle Marham and Sammy Ward provide the interiors with an amazing wraparound cover by Sweeney Boo. Each of the stories is lettered by Ken Reynolds, who also did the brilliant title design.
A Deed Worthy Of A Shield Maiden brings us an excellent cinematic feel to it – both in the art and the storytelling. It has an excellent ‘passing of the torch’ feel to it with less words, but no less of a story being told.
A Matter Of Fate tells a compelling story, with battles and vengeance. The pace is terrific, and has some well laid-out action scenes. Some excellent colouring and light(ning) in this one.
Each tale takes place at a different point in the Shield Maiden’s life. From her first raid in England to a spout of bloody vengeance and her eventual death. As well as obviously being heavily influenced by Viking history and Norse mythology the stories all draw upon traits and themes commonly found in the western genre.
A Bounty Paid is a satisfying read, with some great dialogue along the way. It brings a wry smile to my face reading this one, and I like the way it all pans out.
Finally there is some excellent mythology going on in A Crash Of Thunder, A Flash Of Lightning. I like the start, middle and end. It all adds up to a well told short story with a lot of promise for the future.
With 40+ pages of comics and an amazing pin up gallery from artists Raquel Kusiak, Amanda Stewart, Elena Gogou, Jon Slater and Artyom Topilin, Sagas of the Shield Maiden is presented in an oversized perfect bound format totaling 60 pages including cover.
This is all-in an excellent read. It’s spellbinding and combines action, art, character work, magic, gods and battle. I’m glad to see a second book coming up.
You can follow creator Asa Wheatley on Twitter here.
Get the first book of Saga Of The Shield Maiden here available in print and digitally.
Signup on Kickstarter here to get notified when the next issue launches.
