created by
NATASHA ALTERICI
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Heathen Issue #1. Reprint. September 2016. Published by Literati Press Publishing Company. Copyright 2015 Natasha Alterici. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means (Except for short excerpts for review purposes) without the express written consent of Natasha Alterici. All names, characters, event, and locales in this publication are entirely fictional. Any resemblence to actual persons (living or dead), event or places, without satiric intent, is coincidental. PRINTED IN THE USA.
art & story
NATASHA ALTERICI letters
RACHEL DEERING editing
CHARLES MARTIN REBECCA RUTLEDGE KRISTEN GRACE SPECIAL THANKS TO STERLING GATES & OVER 800 KICKSTARTER BACKERS
A few years ago, I was invited to go to the Renaissance Faire with a few girlfriends who were all planning to dress up. All of their outfits were some variation on the standard medieval wench dress; a pirate wench, an archer wench, etc. Never having been a dress-wearing kind of wench, and having played too many hours of Skyrim at the time, I made a costume of my own. I decided to go as a barbarian warrior, with fur bracers, bear claw necklace, and a leather helmet complete with paper mache horns. I screamed “Fus-Ro-Dah!� at a stranger and it was a good time. After the Fair, I found myself sketching the costume repeatedly. In the beginning, I was only planning a better version of the outfit for next time, but what I ended up with was a lesbian Viking warrior character who had wormed her way into my mind and compelled me to seek her out again and again. So naturally, I gave her a name and a horse, then wrote her a story. Please enjoy Heathen. -Natasha
www.alterici.com www.heathencomic.com www. literatipressok.com
“It’s a sweeping Nordic fantasy, but it’s also a personal story about coming out and coming of age in a culture that doesn’t accept who you truly are. The intersection of those two narrative planes is what makes Heathen so engrossing...” -Oliver Sava, The AV Club ”With its powerful, feminist storylines and it’s evocative, haunting artwork, Heathen is a welcome addition to the canon of queer comics.” -Chelsea Steiner, After Ellen “...I want epics with female leads, and fortunately Heathen fulfills that desire in a big way, while also adding its own unique touch with themes that are as contemporary as they are timeless.” -Ginnis Tonik, Women Write About Comics “...everything about this comic is mystic and magical, but with the feeling, light-heartedness, comedy and social realism of classic fantasy.” -Lauren McPhee, Need To Consume “Fantastically written and beautifully drawn, Heathen honors its source mythology while also brilliantly turning it on its ear.” -Geonn Cannon, two time GCLA winner for lesbian fiction “Natasha Alterici is by far one of the most impressive voices in all of comics. Heathen is just the beginning.” - Joshua Hale Fialkov, Writer of THE BUNKER, THE LIFE AFTER, I, VAMPIRE