Pathfinder

By Laeta Kalogridis

Five hundred years before Columbus, barbaric Viking invasions ravaged North America. Pathfinder is the story of a young Viking boy left behind as the only survivor of a shipwrecked expedition. A stranger in a strange land, the boy is raised by a tribe of American Indians - the very people the Vikings had sworn to destroy. When Vikings again storm the eastern shores, waging another barbaric campaign, they slaughter the tribe that adopted the young man. Now he wages a violent personal war to stop the Vikings' trail of death and destruction.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1593076711
• ISBN13: 9781593076719
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Dark Horse
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.3" x 0.3" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

"Your journey lies along another path"

His path emerged from violence, from a senseless slaughter - only that one boy survived. His adoptive people called him 'Ghost' for his pale coloring. I wonder, though. The Ghost is also one who came out of that place of death. When the killers return, his unquiet spirit also haunts them, demanding revenge. This comic adapts a movie that I have not yet seen, so I can't comment on its representation of the original film. In itself, however, it moves well and tells just enough of the story to leave elements of mystery brooding behind the scenes. Shy uses color with dramatic effect. Nearly every panel follows the cover's monochrome pattern, usually in that watery blue-green, but sometimes in fiery oranges. Multiple hues, when the appear, create additional drama. Although generally well done, I found the dark mood a bit wearing - doesn't this land ever feel sunlight? Also, the open tribute to Frazetta's Deathdealer (p.118) came across without subtlety. Despite these minor points, this movie adaptation stands well on its own, well enough that I now want to see what it adapts. -- wiredweird

Great !!

Great graphic novel. Better than the movie, as most books are, though the movie held pretty true throughout.

BRILLIANT! THE MOVIE HAS A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW!

"Pathfinder" is the graphic novel adaptation of the big screen motion picture. The book is written by Laeta Kalogridis with art by Christopher Shy. The book is based on the premise, and recent archaeological information that the Vikings came to North America many centuries before later European explorers and some 800 years before the first colonists. The Vikings came as raiders and were considered monsters and demons by the Native American tribes along the north eastern shore. When a young Viking boy is left behind, the only survivor of a shipwreck, he's adopted by the Indians and "Pathfinder" is his story. He's found by the wife of the tribe's chief and the tribal elders debate on whether he should be allowed to stay or not. The boy speaks little as he grows up with the Indians, always under a suspicious eye because of the color of his skin. When the other young men go through the rites of manhood, Ghost, as he is named, is not allowed to join them. He's told his destiny lies along a different path. But trouble soon comes to the Indians because the Norsemen have returned to their shores, and they want the boy back! Ghost must some how lead the people who've scorned him to safety, knowing that they are no match for the swords of the vicious Norsemen. "Pathfinder" deals with many issues...racism, isolation, becoming a man, and it scores on all of these levels. Kalogridis' story is captivating because while it is taking a guess at history, you get the feeling that this could have happened. The art of Christopher Shy is a major advantage of the book. The art is done in various shade and tone palettes that give the book a very primeval look, exactly what you might expect North America to look like in around 800 AD. Shy makes the Norsemen look larger than life...mythical creatures...giants, demons that put great fear into the Indians. Shy's work is the most evocative I've seen in a long time and is worth the price of the book alone. Now that I've read the graphic novel I really want to see the film but I'd say the film has a pretty tough act to follow! Reviewed by Tim Janson