Review by Ian Keogh

As a starting point Gunhild takes the Norse legend of there being nine worlds, of which Earth is but one, known as Midgard. That’s where Gunhild lives, convinced Ragnarok is due and having a hard time persuading anyone else that the end of days is imminent. This is despite her otherwise modern Earth being well aware of other worlds inhabited by gods and creatures considered mythical in our schools. Gunhild is a Jotun, which makes her an outsider on Midgard, but she still harbours ambitions of sitting among the gods themselves.

The wish-fulfilment coming of age story is common enough among young adult fantasy stories, but Fred Tornager produces a stylish variety with the combustible Gunhild a likeable personality keen to prove herself. Gods like challenges, so one by one Gunhild faces off against them, Tornager producing a handy stats page for each of them, along with others Gunhild befriends along the way.

Manga art influences Tornager’s storytelling, the back cover blurb emphasising this, but she includes considerable detail beyond the figurework, and makes good use of colour, especially when it comes to those figures. They have their own inbuilt problems because in comics at least, the best known versions of the Asgardian gods are those produced by Marvel, so Tornager’s versions look very different. Thor, for instance, is a bulky red-headed biker with tattoos and a hammer in no way resembling the Marvel version, but Tornager’s designs rework the established characteristics of the Norse gods into viable new versions. Odin is very much the surprise.

Gunhild’s never say die personality carries her a long way, and anyone who reads her opening adventure is likely to be captivated enough to want to see how her life continues in Vol. 2.