Five-time Eisner Award winner James Tynion IV is returning to horror with a new creator-owned series. Tynion joins co-writer Marguerite Bennett for Odin, a nine-issue miniseries coming in May from Image Comics and Tynion’s Tiny Onion imprint. The project features art by Letizia Cadonici, colors by Jordie Bellaire, lettering by Tom Napolitano, design by Dylan Todd, and editing by Steve Foxe.
The series was first revealed in an exclusive report from The Hollywood Reporter. According to the creators, the book delivers a dark and violent story rooted in Nordic mythology.
A Creative Team Built for Horror
The series brings together several notable comic creators.
Cadonici, known for House of Slaughter, provides interior artwork. Bellaire, a multiple Eisner Award winner, handles colors. Napolitano contributes lettering, while Todd oversees design. Editor Steve Foxe rounds out the team.
Acclaimed comic and album artist Alex Eckman-Lawn illustrates the main Cover A for the entire series. The first issue also features a Cover B by Cadonici. Additional variant covers come from Christian Ward, Martin Simmonds, and Jae Lee.
The Story Behind Odin
Tynion said the concept began with a conversation about modern extremist groups invoking Norse mythology.
“Marguerite and I have been talking about this story for years,” Tynion said. “It all started as a text conversation about a group of white supremacists we’d seen a story about online, talking about their faith in Odin, and then we started talking about what the real norse Odin would do with these idiots if he had the chance. It felt pretty immediately clear that there was a mean and brutal horror story in it and we wanted to tell it together.”
A Descent Into Nordic Horror
Odin follows Adela, a thrill-seeking journalist who goes undercover to investigate a group of Neo-Nazis. She joins them on a journey into the frozen forests of Norway as they search for Odin and the destiny they believe awaits them.
What they encounter in the wilderness is far older and more terrifying than they expected. No gods are coming to answer their prayers.
The creators describe the story as a mix of Green Room, Midsommar, and The Ritual. The series leans into psychological horror and hallucinatory terror.
Bennett Promises an Unsettling Story
Bennett said the series aims to deliver an intense emotional experience for readers.
“The plain truth is I hope it fucks people up, ups their pucker factor, puts ice in the pit of their stomach,” Bennett said. “The dread, doom, and desolation is truly unrelenting. We are on a death march through the frozen bowels of the ninth hell. If you’ve been feeling burned out or jaded, I hope this is the needle that pierces to the core: the injection that opens your senses back up to the wonder and horror of God.”
Bringing the Characters to Life
Artist Letizia Cadonici said the project has been a rewarding collaboration.
“Working with the Tiny Onion team is just wonderful. I’m so lucky to be on this journey with these amazing people,” Cadonici said. “And working on James and Marguerite’s script is extremely easy, which is how you understand that they are great writers. They’ve created an incredible cast of characters, each with their own personality, and I’m having a blast bringing out the essence of each of them.”
Tiny Onion Expands Across Media
Odin joins an expanding slate of projects from Tynion’s Tiny Onion production company.
Recent announcements include feature film adaptations of the comic Exquisite Corpses and the short film Room Servicethrough a two-picture deal with Lyrical Media. Blumhouse Productions has also optioned Tynion’s hit horror series Something is Killing the Children for both a film and an animated television series, with Tynion attached as a producer alongside publisher BOOM! Studios.
Tiny Onion is also developing several animated projects. These include an adaptation of Tynion’s Image Comics series W0rldtr33 at Netflix, a series based on his BOOM! Studios title The Woods, and an original adult animated comedy created with production company Irony Point and Tipsy Dragon.
Odin #1 arrives in comic shops and on digital platforms Wednesday, May 6.
