Diamond: For those who are not familiar, can you give us some background on the premise of Heathen?
Natasha Alterici: Heathen is about a Viking girl who is made to leave her village for the crime of kissing another woman. Instead of wallowing, she uses her banishment as an opportunity to right some wrongs. She starts by freeing the cursed Valkyrie Brynhild, and enlisting her to her cause.

What inspired you to write about the Norse gods?
Mythology is very powerful, so I wanted to draw from that well. When I was doing my early research I discovered the story of Brynhild, this powerful Valkyrie cursed to marry a mortal man, and was immediately inspired. What if this time she was rescued by a woman? That was it, I knew this was the story.

There is a lot of content to unpack regarding several themes include the patriarchy and LGBTQ+ struggles and relationships. What was the importance of anchoring these in this story?
These are the issues that matter most to me, as a queer woman living in a patriarchal society. I'm not interested in writing stories that don't feature people like me, and don't at least try to make the world a more equitable place.

What is your favorite part about creating Heathen?
A lot of the characters come from mythology, but for many there is very little written about them. Some maybe get one or two lines, a footnote to a larger story but nothing further. So for these characters I get to use my imagination to flesh them out, make them come alive.

If you had to choose, who is your favorite character?
Probably Saga, he's sassy and loyal and as fun to write as he is to draw.