THE SECRET OF THE AESIR

THE SECRET OF THE AESIR, a graphic novel written and illustrated by Alan Langford, will undoubtedly find its place alongside the work of the great comic illustrators of all time. Alan brings such life to his drawings that the reader can sense the presence and strength of the characters, feel the chill of the icy tundra and see the hot breath of the horses. Alan is both artist and author of his own story. THE SECRET OF THE AESIR describes the journey of a contingent of Viking warriors, who guided by their knowledge of the far north, discover a mystery that is older than the Aesir, older than Odin himself.

Table of Contents:
Title and copyright page Frontispiece Dedication Preface Cast of Characters 132 page graphic novel Afterward and acknowledgements

About the Author :
Alan's early childhood was tough, his family lived in a small caravan on an ill-equipped caravan camp, close to the boundary of the New Forest. In his own words, “During the winter of 1962-63, everyone on that camp had a hard time. Water froze in the pipes, so there were times when there was no running water. Our beds were hard against the caravan walls and we awoke in blankets damp and cold from condensation.” It is hardly surprising that Alan spent a lot of his time outdoors and became fascinated by the New Forest ponies that roamed freely on the nearby heath. Throughout his childhood Alan always sketched, trying to catch the movement of the animals and people who frequented his world, but his start in life did not favour a professional career in art. The first ten years of his working life, he did all manner of unskilled work in England and later in the Australian outback. Following his return to the UK, he finally decided to pursue his ambition to become an artist, by attending night classes at Southampton Art College, while still earning his living working as a labourer in Fawley refinery. He succeeded in earning an A grade A level pass, and following a succession of interviews, finally found work as a full-time illustrator for a company called ‘Etchmasters’. After three years at Etchmasters, Alan moved to work for Mike Fowler's Fleet Street Artists’ Agency, who found him work for the regular comic weeklies ‘2000AD’ and ‘WARLORD’, and for the Puffin ‘Fighting Fantasy’ role-playing gamebooks. He later worked on a publication called ‘SUPERNATURALS’ for Barrie Tomlinson. However, the popularity of the British Comic Industry was now in decline. So, inspired by the example of some artists friends, he decided to paint landscapes of the New Forest on location in oils and watercolour. He was particularly fascinated by the Romani Horse Fairs, and the traditional association between the Romanies and the New Forest since Tudor times. He also followed the lives of the New Forest Commoners, who ride their hardy New Forest ponies in the famous pony drifts (round ups) in pursuit of their wild-roaming livestock. Alan's first book ‘WELGORA’, published in 2015 by Little Knoll Press, is a condensed autobiography illustrated with his paintings and drawings. It is a book of interest and beauty and has received very positive reviews. Alan is a full member of the Society of Equestrian Artists and has exhibited and sold at the Mall Galleries on numerous occasions. He was invited to be an exhibiting artist at Southampton City Art Gallery in a popular exhibition called ‘Nags to Thoroughbreds’, where his artwork was hung alongside the paintings of the renowned equestrian artists, Lucy Kemp Welch and Sir Alfred Munnings, among other notable masters. The idea of creating a graphic novel of his own conception had long been Alan’s ambition, and in the winter of 2017 he finally began his dream project. ‘THE SECRET OF THE AESIR’ is the result of three years of intense work, almost without a break. Every one of his graphic novel’s 132 pages is an artwork in itself, successfully capturing the atmosphere of what is believed to be the dark ages of pagan Scandinavia, and powerfully telling the story of the Norsemen who courageously sought the answer to THE SECRET OF THE AESIR.