Head Lopper
Head Lopper is a comic book series created by writer and artist Andrew MacLean, currently published by Image Comics. The story follows the exploits of the Viking warrior Norgal (or "head lopper", as some call him) and the severed head of Agatha the Blue Witch.
| Head Lopper | |
|---|---|
.png.webp) Head Lopper #1, 2013 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Self-published (2013–2014) Image Comics (2015–present) |
| Schedule | Quarterly |
| Format | Ongoing series of miniseries |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publication date | June 7, 2013 – present |
| No. of issues | 2 (self-published) 15 (Image Comics) |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Andrew MacLean |
| Written by | Andrew MacLean |
| Artist(s) | Andrew MacLean |
| Letterer(s) | Andrew MacLean #1–present Erin MacLean #6–present |
| Colorist(s) | Mike Spicer #1–4 Andrew MacLean #1 Jordie Bellaire #5–present |
| Editor(s) | Erin MacLean #9–present |
| Collected editions | |
| The Island or A Plague of Beasts | ISBN 9781632158864 |
| The Crimson Tower | ISBN 9781534305083 |
| The Knights of Venora | ISBN 9781534313330 |
| The Quest for Mulgrid's Stair | ISBN 9781534319127 |
Publishing history
Head Lopper originally began as a self-published project by comics creator Andrew MacLean.[1] In 2015 it was picked up for a four-issue miniseries.[2]
The character originated from a piece for Brand New Nostalgia.[3] The theme of the week had been Vikings, and a bearded warrior with a witch's head skewered on his sword was the result.[4]
Self-published issues
Head Lopper #1 debuted at Heroes Con 2013. The first issue was a small print run and thus costly to produce. The second issue was funded via a Kickstarter campaign launched October 10, 2013.[5]
| Story Arc | Issue | Release Date | Chapter | Writer | Artist | Colorist | Cover Artist | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Island | #1 | June 7, 2013 | Blood and Water | Andrew MacLean | Mike Spicer | Andrew MacLean | PINUPS: Toby Cypress Brian Churilla Tradd Moore Warwick Johnson-Cadwell James Harren | |
| #2 | June 29, 2014 | The Wolves of Barra | PINUPS: Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart Joe Dellagatta Michael Avon Oeming Simone D'Armini Max Fiumara Troy Nixey Fillip Acovic Enrique Fernandez Paul Maybury Janusz Pawlak | |||||
Image Comics issues
In 2015 Image Comics picked up Head Lopper as a "quarterly adventure comic". The series eschewed the industry standard 22-page monthly issues in favor of a larger issues published quarterly.
… I've decide to release the HEAD LOPPER comic on a quarterly basis because I think a longer book can make a better book. Here's what I want in every issue of HEAD LOPPER: long fights, dark jokes, creepy atmosphere, short plots and long plots, and comfortable conclusions that, hopefully, still leave you wanting more. The standard comic length would make me cut something short.
I'll be able to make it the story I want if i take more pages to tell it, maybe fifty to sixty pages per issue, cover to cover. But I can't pull off that big of an issue on a monthly schedule. So… QUARTERLY! It's for the better…— Andrew MacLean, author's afterword from Head Lopper #1, September 2015[6]
In April 2016 MacLean announced on various social media channels that Image Comics had picked up Head Lopper for another miniseries in 2017.[7]
| Story Arc | Issue | Release Date | Chapter | Writer | Artist | Colorist | Cover Artist | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Island | #1 | September 9, 2015 | Blood and Water | Andrew MacLean | Mike Spicer | Andrew MacLean Rafael Grampá (variant) |
PINUPS: Zé Burnay Adam Miller Alexis Ziritt MacKenzie Schubert Lamar Mathurin | |
| The Wolves of Barra | ||||||||
| That Which Lurks in the Mist | Andrew MacLean | |||||||
| #2 | December 9, 2015 | Into the Silent Wood | Andrew MacLean | Mike Spicer | Andrew MacLean Mike and Laura Allred (variant) |
PINUPS: Aaron Conley Stephen Green Scarecrowoven Matt Smith | ||
| #3 | March 9, 2016 | The Sisters of the Hill | Andrew MacLean James Stokoe (variant) |
PINUPS: Skottie Young Rebecca Kirby James Callahan | ||||
| #4 | June 8, 2016 | The Black Bog | Andrew MacLean Gabriel Bá (variant) |
PINUPS: J.B. Roe Mike Rooth Mike Spicer Andy Suriano Ben Templesmith | ||||
| Epilogue (TPB) | Return to Castlebay | Lin Visel & Joseph Nergin III |
— | — | ||||
| The Crimson Tower | #5 | March 15, 2017 | In the Shadow of the Tower | Andrew MacLean | Jordie Bellaire | Andrew MacLean Tony Sandoval (variant) |
PINUPS: Marcus Georgiou Nicole Goux Paul Maybury Victor Santos | |
| #6 | June 21, 2017 | Quest for the Crystal Eyes | Andrew MacLean Benjamin Marra (variant) |
PINUPS: Austin James Daniel White Derick Jones J.M. Dragunas Justine Jones Tom Hunter | ||||
| #7 | September 20, 2017 | Deeper into the Strange | Andrew MacLean Nathan Fairbain and Ryan Ottley (variant) |
PINUPS: Christine Larsen Gerardo Zaffino Shane Hillman | ||||
| #8 | December 20, 2017 (printing error) January 10, 2018 (corrected printing) |
Gladiators | Andrew MacLean Skinner and Alexis Ziritt (variant) |
PINUPS: Cliff Rathburn Jason Fischer Jeffrey Alan Love Kyle Meyerdierks Luke Parker Sean Kiernan | ||||
| Epilogue (TPB) | In the Shadow of the Tower: Part Two | — | — | |||||
| The Knights of Venora | #9 | September 12, 2018 | Norgal Has a Talking Basket | Andrew MacLean | Jordie Bellaire | Andrew MacLean Alan Brown (variant) |
— | |
| #10 | December 12, 2018 | From the Lips of Venora | Andrew MacLean Jeanne D'Angelo (variant) |
PINUPS: Skam 2 Shadia Amin Ainsley Sturko Luca Vassallo Matt Lesniewski Chris Faccone Diman Kaiman Fran P. Lobato | ||||
| #11 | March 13, 2019 | Send the Wizards | Andrew MacLean Al Gofa (variant) |
PINUPS: Cam Shepler Chad Lewis Demetrius Dawkins Nerdgore Zach Cunningham | ||||
| #12 | June 26, 2019 | The Last Time I Saw Him He Was Covered in Blood | Andrew MacLean Matthew Allison (variant) |
— | ||||
| Epilogue (TPB) | — | — | ||||||
| The Quest for Mulgrid's Stair | #13 | September 16, 2020 | The Executioner | Andrew MacLean | Jordie Bellaire | Andrew MacLean Daniel Warren Johnson (variant) |
— | |
| #14 | December 16, 2020 | The Gorgon | Andrew MacLean Tradd Moore (variant) |
— | ||||
| #15 | March 17, 2021 | The Mines of Martan | Andrew MacLean Dennis Brown (variant) |
— | ||||
| #16 | July 28, 2021 | Of Climbing and Falling | Andrew MacLean Dani (variant) |
— | ||||
Crossover
In October 2019, Norgal and Agatha appeared in two short stories in Rumble Vol. 2 #17. The first, "Belly of Hell", was drawn by Andrew MacLean and the second, "Deceitful Above All Things", was drawn by James Harren. Both stories were written by John Arcudi. The events of these stories are in continuity and referenced in Head Lopper #16. These stories were collected in Rumble – Volume 6: Last Knight[8] and Head Lopper & the Quest for Mulgrid's Stair.[9]
Collections
| Volume | Title | Release Date | Collects | Extras | ISBN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Head Lopper & The Island or A Plague of Beasts |
October 5, 2016 |
|
|
9781632158864 | |
| 2 | Head Lopper & The Crimson Tower | April 4, 2018 |
|
|
9781534305083 | |
| 3 | Head Lopper & The Knights of Venora | September 18, 2019 |
|
|
9781534313330 | |
| 4 | Head Lopper & The Quest for Mulgrid's Stair | September 22, 2021 |
|
|
9781534319127 | |
Premise
The series follows the adventures of the legendary swordsman Norgal, dubbed the Head Lopper, and his companion, the severed head of Agatha Blue Witch, as they trek across the realm to fulfill their quests, uncovering mysteries whilst encountering friends and foes along the way.
Reception
The Kickstarter for the self-published Head Lopper 2: The Wolves of Barra was funded with only 544 backers, but strong word of mouth and reviews led to the series being picked up by Image Comics. The Image Comics incarnation of Head Lopper has had strong reviews since its debut, with MacLean's artwork and sense of humor and Bellaire's coloring receiving consistently high praise.[10]
| Issue | Review average | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | 9.0 | 10 |
| #2 | 9.0 | 4 |
| #3 | 10 | 4 |
| #4 | 9.2 | 5 |
| #5 | 9.3 | 5 |
| #6 | 9.4 | 4 |
| #7 | 9 | 3 |
| #8 | 9.1 | 1 |
| #9 | 8.7 | 3 |
| #10 | 6 | 1 |
| #11 | 8.9 | 3 |
| #12 | 8.9 | 4 |
| #13 | 8.9 | 4 |
| #14 | 8.6 | 3 |
| #15 | 9.1 | 3 |
| #16 | 9 | 2 |
References
- Meylikhov, Matthew (June 4, 2013). "Heroes Con 2013: Heads Roll in MacLean's "Head Lopper"". Multiversity Comics. Multiversity Comics. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- Sullivan, Jeremy. "Image Comics solicitations for September 2015". Image Comics. Image Comics. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- MacLean, Andrew. "Andrew MacLean's "Viking"". Brand New Nostalgia tumblr. Brand New Nostalgia. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- Parkin, J.K. "Andrew MacLean kickstarts a second helping of 'Head Lopper'". Robot 6. Comic Book resources. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- MacLean, Andrew. ""Head Lopper 2: The Wolves of Barra" Kickstarter campaign". Kickstarter. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- MacLean, Andrew. "Head Lopper #1". Image Comics. Image Comics. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- MacLean, Andrew. "Facebook post, 22 April 2016". Andrew MacLean's Facebook. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- Arcudi, John; Rubín, David (2019). Rumble – Volume 6: Last Knight. Image Comics. ISBN 9781534313712.
- MacLean, Andrew (September 28, 2021). Head Lopper & the Quest for Mulgrid's Stair. Image Comics. ISBN 9781534319127.
- "Head Lopper". Comicbook Round Up. Retrieved December 6, 2020.