Natasha Alterici

What I enjoyed most about this were the changes in the illustrated attitudes and faces of the characters as they overcame the challenges. What I didn't appreciate was the near naked presentation of a people who proudly wore the best they could put together - and well, the idea that Norse women before the conversion to Christianity were particularly subjugated. Norse women of the late first millennium are recorded in the sagas as having more autonomy than women further south. So the milieu is entirely fantasy, and the story rather mechanical, but other than the bikini business not actually painful.… (more)

A 12-issue graphic novel centering on Aydis, a young Viking woman who has essentially been exiled from her small town for kissing another girl. With nowhere to go, Aydis and her loyal not-an-actual-horse Saga set off to free the imprisoned former leader of the Valkyrie, Brynhild.

It turns out rescuing a goddess from a ring of enchanted fire on top of a mountain is the easy bit, because before long., Aydis is whisked away by another Valkyrie. meeting vicious man-eating mermaids, and battling Odin, the king of the gods.

Natasha Alterici wrote Heathen and did the art for issues #1-8. Her linework is purposefully, artfully messy, which lends itself well to the roughness of the Scandinavian landscape. Ashley A Woods tags in with issue #9, and though her lineart is more delicate and precise, less scribbly than Alterici's, she keeps to the already developed style and matches the character designs so there's no jarring bump when we segue between the art of Alterici and Woods.

Alterici's colours work in tandem with the art, the cool blues and greys contrast nicely with the warmth of the neutral beiges and browns, all of them muted to evoke the starkness of the landscape. The dreamy watercolour aspect helped bring out movement and shadow, adding depth to the panels.

The story ends a bit abruptly for my liking but I really liked the theme of stories inspiring heroics. Aydis was a great protagonist, easy to care about and root for. And I thought the character design was fabulous - memorable and simple.… (more)