Q&A with Ivan Brandon of Viking
With Image Comics’ “Viking” receiving a large amount of pre-release buzz, particularly at the ComicsPRO annual meeting in Memphis, the series is poised to become a breakout hit. Writer Ivan Brandon answered some questions for The Oklahoman about the series.
Matt Price: What were your inspirations in creating “Viking”?
Ivan Brandon: Any number of seemingly unrelated things, but the touchstones for me on my approach were Deadwood and Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal, which handled period drama in a very modern and progressive way. When I was a kid, a western was seen as something for your dad to watch, while mom went off and avoided the living room. Deadwood was for everyone. I wanted to try and make something that spoke to more than just one demographic.
MP: Tell me about the characters in “Viking.”
Ivan Brandon: Finn and Egil are brothers who are trying to do whatever ugly thing they can do to climb the criminal ladder, from robbery to murder to kidnapping. Egil’s making bad decisions, pulling jobs that are way over their heads… Finn has more sense, but his weakness is his defense of his brother no matter how wrong he is. No matter what Egil gets them into, Finn gets them out.
MP: What made you decide to go with the larger trim size?
Ivan Brandon: It just seemed right to me. Nic’s art deserved a bigger stage and we wanted to really incentivize the book by making it more visually engaging on the shelves… we really wanted it to feel like a worthwhile purchase at a time when money’s tight for everyone.
MP: Tell me about artist Nic Klein.
Ivan Brandon: Nic’s a german painter with creative ADD who’ll throw anything and everything he can at his own inspiration to keep it sated. I get the impression it doesn’t work, so we get to watch him constantly evolve into something better, something more dynamic on every page. He’s got an endless arsenal of talent and ideas… it’s stunning to watch him work.
“Viking” #1, a 32-page comic book that’s the width of a 1940s comic, retails for $2.99 and will be in stores on April 22. The pre-release buzz has caused a sellout at the distribution level prior to release; a second printing is scheduled for May 6.
– Matt Price
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Hey Brandon!, Will look out for this one!