Barbarian Lord

Barbarian Lord Clarion Books Written & Drawn by Matt Smith I have always been fascinated by the Vikings, their history, and their myths. When I was young, it was Leif Ericsson, not Christopher Columbus, that I admired. When I learned that Tolkien had taken the names of the characters in The Hobbit and The LordContinue reading “Barbarian Lord”

On Musing about Beowulf and Its Culture

This morning, while I was listening to Scott Simon on NPR’s Weekend Edition and waiting for the coffee to kick in, I saw that a friend posted a question on Facebook about Beowulf. No, not the Robert Zemekis film. The Anglo-Saxon epic poem on which the Zemekis film was based. What, he wanted to know,Continue reading “On Musing about Beowulf and Its Culture”

On Delving into Marvel Comics’ Thor

On paper, I should love Thor. Norse mythology? The Viking age? Absolutely fascinating to me. I’ve read the Volsung Saga, the Poetic Edda, the Greenland and Iceland sagas. I’ve listened to Wagner’s Ring Cycle in its entirety several times (even though I don’t speak a word of German). Northlanders is a comic I look forwardContinue reading “On Delving into Marvel Comics’ Thor”