A comiXologist Recommends (a Viking odyssey)
Creator - Natasha Alterici
Vikings, Immortals, and forbidden love are the driving forces of this new independent release from comiXology Submit. Heathen tells the story of a lonely Viking warrior named Aydis, who has been exiled from her home for her differences and is on a quest to prove her love and true courage above all others. It really is so sweet. And that can be meant in the different ways “sweet” can be taken. The ending of Volume 1 left me feeling both “warm & fuzzy” and outright “pumped up” for violence.
Aydis is a warrior who was driven from her home by prejudice and small-minded leadership. Her loving father was given a choice to kill her or marry her off.
He chose to kill her, because marrying her off would essentially enslave her to someone Aydis can’t actually love completely, if at all. Aydis is a lesbian, of which her father is aware, and instead of killing her he simply made it look like he had! In order to redeem her honor, Aydis set off on a quest to free the Valkyrie queen, Brynhild. With her trusty steed Saga, Aydis will not be prevented from her destiny.
Alterici’s book sets the stage for a very violent conflict with the Viking God Odin. The conclusion of Volume 1 filled my heart with a pitter-patter I usually get when I watch extremely well choreographed violence. I read the last page of Volume 1 a couple of days ago, and I’m still geeking out about Aydis. She is a badass. I just want to talk about the last page of this book so bad!
Natasha Alterici is my new favorite writer/creator with this first trade. Her writing of her heroine Aydis sets a nice standard to which writers of female protagonists should always aspire to: Make ALL your protagonists well-rounded people. Her use of the Norse mythology is just spectacular and is used in a way that sort of skews how we normally view most of it. I hate having to leave things short, but much more detail or analysis and there won’t be much book left to read.
Give this one a pass and you’ll be missing one of the best new independent titles of the new year. I on the other hand will be waiting with wide (impatient) eyes to know what becomes of Aydis in the next installment.
(Check out our preview of Heathen here)
Matthew Burbridge is a Digital Editor at comiXology. He was planning on playing his annual play-through of LoZ: Ocarina of Time but he found a copy of The Minish Cap for GBA, so he’s probably gonna do that first. But he isn’t certain yet, so don’t expect him to know what you’re talking about if it has to do with The Minish Cap.
Unless you want to talk about the art direction. Minish Cap art direction is the cutest thing ever.