Posted in: Comics | Tagged: 2000ad, Black Shuck, Comics, entertainment, john reppion, leah moore, steve yeowell, Vikings

Leah Moore, John Reppion, Steve Yeowell Bring Viking Tale Black Shuck To 2000AD

Published Wed, 22 Jan 2014 13:00:32 -0600

by Hannah Means Shannon

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It appears to be a Viking epic of the supernatural variety. Described by Rebellion as "Vikings vs. Trolls", the new series Black Shuck is coming in July and will be the first time the prolific comics team of Leah Moore and John Reppion will appear in the pages of 2000AD. 2000AD allowing for this mythological angle was a good way to get the duo to come on board though, given their passion for myth and fairy tales shown in their Dynamite book Damsels. Bringing in Zenith's Steve Yeowell is also likely to pique fan interest quite a bit, but there's more: it's going to be in color throughout its nine-part series. This is shaping up to be quite a package of high-end craftsmanship.

Moore and Reppion comment on the book thus:

Black Shuck is basically a classic kick-arse heroic fantasy with swords, sorcery, monsters and mayhem.The story draws on themes close to our hearts and which permeate much of our writing; folklore, history and horror. Instead of some fictional 'long long ago in a distant land' Black Shuck is set in 9th century Europe among the people we now call Vikings, giving us some cool characters and settings to play with. We're really enjoying writing it so far and, of course, it's an absolute delight to see pages coming in from Steve Yeowell who is doing some fantastic work on the series. We can't wait for people to read it.

So this Scandinavian story set in the 9th century seems to pick up on what I'd call a cultural wave of interest in things Viking right now, particularly in pop culture. That may be due, in part, to finally re-evaluating the Vikings as a major source of Western folklore and traditions, but also a reassessment of the stereotypes that have kept people from understanding and appreciating Viking craftsmanship and lore within its historical context. It's also just a good excuse to geek out on good hero stories with plenty of awe-inspiring supernatural elements, both of which we find in spades in Viking sagas.

Moore, Reppion, and Yeowell are producing a story which sets out following the mysterious arrival and fate of a long-lost heir to Ivar, a Viking king, an heir who has recently arrived from the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain in 813. The tales he's prepared to tell are no doubt harrowing and I'm guessing that's where at least some of the " Vs. Trolls" side of things comes in. As for the title, this dark-haired Anglo-Saxon heir could well be called "Black Shuck" though it is a little mysterious based on the promo.

Here's the first teaser art on the series depicting our voyager washing up in Scandinavia:

The only downside to any of this is that we have to wait until July, but we will have to stoically endure in the meantime. If there's more art and info available, we'll make sure you hear about it here at Bleeding Cool.