Neo-Nazi Punks Face the Wrath of Norse Gods in ODIN: A Q&A with Comic Book Series Co-Writer Marguerite Bennett

"Neo-Nazi punks face the wrath of Norse gods in the new nine-issue limited series coming out from Tiny Onion and Image Comics." Odin #1 will arrive in comic book shops this May and, having already read the first issues, I can confidently tell Daily Dead readers that we're in for something really special with this horror story. Written by Marguerite Bennett & James Tynion IV, with art by Letizia Cadonici, colors by Jordie Bellaire, and letters by Tom Napolitano, we have a preview you can read right now, along with an exclusive Q&A with Marguerite Bennett, who tells us all about the making of Odin:

Can you tease the horrors awaiting Adela and our readers over the course of this nine-issue miniseries?

Marguerite: I can tell you our editors requested trigger warnings for some of the reference images I put in the script. Does that help? :D

Can you talk about any research you conducted on Norse mythology and how that research shaped the world and characters of Odin?

Marguerite: The thing that shocked me most was how our pop culture perception of Norse mythology was so grim and hypermasculine. But the histories, poetry, and myths were full of color, gaiety, music, gags, and frankly, genderqueer fuckery. The "ideal" so many were subscribing to was an utterly fanciful modern invention--no more authentic than Wagner's operatic Viking helmets decked with horns and wings. I went in expecting a grimdark slog through snow and blood, and was both delighted and appalled to find myself being hosted by a far more alien and outrageous contingent of party animals.

While many stories shy away from directly engaging with real-world sociopolitical topics, ODIN confronts the horrible rise of modern Nazism head-on. Why was it important for you to tell this story now?

Marguerite: One of the loveliest things about independent comics is that you are not beholden to a super-conglomerate telling you what you may and may not publish. I very much have James to thank for that. Anyone who has ever spoken to me knows I am Southern, but anyone who has ever so much as looked at me can tell my heritage is German. My family was on the wrong side of the Civil War, but the right side of WWII.

When I was 22, I wrote a post-it in my office that read "Sophie Scholl was 22 when she was executed by the Nazis. She was the same age as Traudl Junge, who became Hitler's secretary. You are responsible for the world you live in and create." I was born with the guilt and the horror already in my blood. I never expected in my lifetime to confront the same obscenities my ancestors did, and maybe that was my own naïveté. But I believe in fighting the good fight, even when it's ugly and even when you lose. God in his wisdom made me a writer instead of a soldier, so I must work with what I have, but God also knows he did not make me a fucking coward.

In decades past, especially as seen in popular films, it often felt that the majority of audiences clearly understood that Nazis and their beliefs were wrong. That's sadly no longer the case. How did that shift influence your approach to this story and its characters?

Marguerite: In 2015, I wrote DC's BOMBSHELLS about heroines whupping the Nazis six ways to Sunday. It was flirty, fun, a joyful power fantasy. In 2025, I wrote ODIN about Nazis eating one another for just one more mouthful of power. It is not flirty. It is not joyful. But it is a fantasy about power. Again, I never thought I'd live in a world where these sorts of things were once more up for debate. Once I might've used a kid glove, but now a cudgel is going to have to serve.

What did the collaborative process look like between the three of you when developing the characters and the visual identity of this world?

Marguerite: James and I had been kicking around the idea for nearly ten years -- the idea had a lot of time to boil down and become thick and nasty. Our editors, Steve and Eric, must not be left out, though -- their impeccable sense of taste helped us divide what was savory from what was merely scorched. It was a great joy whenever I could toss out an idea that made their faces go queasy with revulsion. I am immensely fond of them and cannot speak highly enough of their patience and sensibility. Work ethic and weaponized autism meant James and I had the entire nine issues written before ever handing a script over to Letizia, and then, it was only bowing to her and letting her more or less have the run of the place. Her character designs were exquisite, and her stark, spare linework makes the chilling tale into something skeletal and ghostly. The five of us built this little killing ground together. I'm very proud of us.

I really liked that Adela is an undercover investigative journalist. There's near-instant tension when we quickly realize that Adela could be exposed as a fraud at any time. What makes Adela the perfect protagonist for this story?

Marguerite: The foremost sin of any storyteller is that we think our story is worth telling. We think other people should listen to us; we think our opinions are worth hearing. Adela, in her nascency, has the same vanity as her prey. She swims with sharks. She thinks she is special and can come to no harm. She has the same ego that compels her enemies, though she tries to use it as a medical scalpel instead of a sadistic weapon. She's funny, ambitious, resourceful, cunning, and mean. But just like our quarry, she thinks she is special. She has no idea how in over her head she truly is.

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"MINISERIES PREMIERE Green Room meets Midsommar in JAMES TYNION’s most relentless Horror story yet! Adela will do anything for the perfect story. Including going undercover with Neo Nazi punks headed to the frozen forests of Norway under the misbegotten belief that they can summon Odin and achieve their promised white destiny. But what awaits them in the woods is far older and stranger than any of them can comprehend. And no gods are coming to answer their prayers for help. Multiple Eisner Award-winning creator JAMES TYNION IV (Exquisite Corpses), no-holds-barred writer MARGUERITE BENNETT (Witchblade), rising star artist LETIZIA CADONICI (House of Slaughter), and Eisner Award-winning colorist JORDIE BELLAIRE (Redlands) conjure a hallucinogenic horror story that leaves absolutely no taboo unbroken."

ODIN #1 (OF 9)

• Arriving: May 20, 2026
• FOC (Pre-Order Deadline): April 27th, 2026
• Page Count: 40
• Buy  Cover price: $4.99
• Cover A by Alex Eckman-Lawn - Lunar Product Code 0326IM0243
• Cover B (1:10 copy incentive) by Letizia Cadonici - Lunar Product Code 0326IM0244
• Cover C (1:25 copy incentive)  by Christian Ward - Lunar Product Code 0326IM0245
• Cover D (1:50 copy incentive) by Martin Simmonds - Lunar Product Code 0326IM0246
• Cover E (1:100 copy incentive) by Jae Lee - Lunar Product Code 0326IM0247