Writer: Natasha Alterici
Artist: Natasha Alterici, Ashley A. Woods
Colorist: Natasha Alterici
Letterer: Rachel Deering
Designer: Tim Daniel
Publisher: Literati Press (2015, #1-#4), Vault Comics (2017-2020)
Age Rating: Adult
WOMAN. WARRIOR. VIKING. HEATHEN. OUTCAST.
THE GODS MUST PAY…
Born into a time of warfare, suffering, and subjugation of women, and exiled from her village for kissing another woman, the lesbian Viking warrior, Aydis, sets out to destroy the god-king Odin and end his oppressive reign. She is a friend to many as she is joined by mermaids, immortals, Valkyries, and the talking horse, Saga. But she is also a fearsome enemy to the demons and fantastic monsters that populate the land.
Content Warnings:
Graphic: Nudity
Depicted: Violence, Death, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Sexual Content
Mentioned: Body Horror, Rape, Slavery, Religious Bigotry, Racism
Tags:
Adventure, Vikings, Battle Bikini’s, Fanservice, Fighting the Patriarchy, Sigurd and Brynhild Reimagining
Review
Starting with the intriguing concept of a reimagining of Sigurd and Brynhild following lesbian protagonist Aydis as she and Brynhild fights against the oppressive patriarchal Viking clans. However, our two protagonists are quickly separated and go on separate journeys of self-discovery, weakening later revelations in the plot. And Alterici’s art style often portrays women in a voyeuristic and fan service way which only leans into the themes she is trying to tackle rather than dismantle them.
Initially published by Literati Press in 2015 (#1-#4) and then completed by Vault (2017-2020, #1-#12), Heathen is the tale of Aydis, a young Viking woman exiled from her clan who wants nothing more to prove herself and take down the patriarchal society that she lives in. She believes that she can do this with the help of the famed Valkyrie Brynhild and frees her fiery prison. Their relationship is built on unhealthy expectations of each other. However, they both eventually realise they don’t share a romantic love.
And this revelation would be fine in itself had Aydis and Brynhild spent any time together to come to this conclusion. Instead, Aydis and Brynhild are immediately separated in issue #2 and do not reunite until the final issue. And this conclusion is delivered solely through Brynhild's introspection. A conclusion that is hard to sell when your two main characters haven’t spent any time interacting to know each other in the first place.
Aydis has more of a relationship with the human and mythological characters that she meets along the way in her goal to take down Odin than with her deuteragonist. And often feels like a vehicle to tell Brynhild’s story rather than a character in her own right. As for Brynhild, she has more of a relationship with her ex-husband Sigurd than with Aydis. And much of her realisation that she does not see Aydis in a romantic way is because of her reuniting with Sigurd and her realising that she still wants to be together despite the curse that prevents them.
And these are fine themes. But that message is weakened when you don’t have your two protagonists interact in any meaningful way to come to these conclusions about each other together.
Heathen’s art style also weakens its themes. Alterici’s sketchy suits the frantic nature of the plot, being rougher in the first four issues initially released in 2015 than in subsequent issues. However, Alterici’s choice of female character design is little more than a battle bikini. And compared to men in similar clothing, there is often depicted in a voyeuristic or fan service way. Freyja, queen of the Valkyries - in this comic - is illustrated in nothing but a battle bikini bottom, elbow-length gloves, a sheer cloak, and a winged helmet. And even when she shifts into a male form for a few pages in volume 2, there is an emphasis that he is supposed to be gazed upon by the reader.
Ultimately Heathen is a series that had a lot of potential but wasted it by separating its main pair. And for a comic about dismantling the ills of patriarchal oppression instead often reinforces it through its art style.