Heathen, Vol. 1

I found the story a bit boring at the start, but it quickly grew more complex and became very engaging.

We meet a young Viking woman who is struggling with her sexuality in a society where she is expected to marry a man. She goes on a journey to free a Valkyrie and I don't know how much I can say, cos I want to avoid spoilers. And that's the thing - if it weren't for the I Read Comic Books reading challenge, I would've never picked this book up. I'm not a big fan of stories set in homophobic past or Viking-themed stories in general, but Natasha Alterici created some likable characters, added a bit of tension here and there, and voilà - I'm hooked!

I'm not sure how I feel about the art, though. On the one hand, I like the sketchy style, and I think Alterici chose a fitting colour palette to set the mood of the book. However, the drawings tend to be a bit too messy at times, and the characters' faces are weird in some panels, which I find a bit distracting.