NorsePlay.

  A girl's body's discovered floating in the open sea by a Viking prince's ship. Barely alive, they spare some of their dwindling water for her, and when she comes to, her eyes open ... to reveal goat-like horizontal pupils! This is the hook for Vei , a two-volume graphic novel , originally a Swedish 12-issue limited series from 2012 CE, and it is a stunningly executed NorsePlay. Writer Sara Bergmark Elfgren & artist Karl Johnsson gift us a re-scripting of Norse Mythology that answers the very real question of why don't the Jotnar or the Aesir just make a pre-emptive attack now to get an early victory and not have to suffer the pyrrhic resolution of end-time Ragnarök? The answer is a détente struck by a longstanding "peace" agreement mediated by a periodic gladiatorial combat. The winning side then for that time gets the domain of contested Midgard, which makes our world & its mortal reverence the key to divine power! This gives us a sweeping story rev...

  One of the things we wanted in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla was more of the mythological Nine Worlds setting-within-the-synchronized-simulation-within-the-near-future where you were Odin-analog Havi. It's new  Dawn Of Ragnarök  expansion deals with a  jötnar invasion of Svartalfheim and Havi has to sally forth and deal with those foes, plus rescue his son Baldr. Dawn Of Ragnarök  delivers on March 10th, 2022 CE. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product devel...

In Ibn Fadlan's Risala  (§ 85) , when Viking trading trips to Russia didn't work out after their first four attempts at the market after leaving offerings at the large godpoles , merchants would then employ a roundabout appeal via Gods' wives & children   by instead leaving offerings at their smaller statues surrounding those godpoles  to then intercede for them and get their Gods' attention & favour that way. This one-degree-removed hierarchy networking seems amusing, yet let's NorsePlay this idea from a religious practice standpoint and look at the divinity of the children themselves. Some modern Asatruar point out that the Æsir Gods & Ásynjur Goddesses are usually too busy to attend to individual appeals since on a cosmic level they are big picture beings keeping the Norse Níuverse in order . For instance, Odin's chessmastering things so Ragnarök either never happens or to make it so that the Aesir get the upper hand to  defeat the prophecies ...

Gathering from online reviews, previews, and our personal powers of speculation, the Nordic Netflix show Ragnarok harnesses elements from the reincarnation & self-discovery of the children's book series The Blackwell Pages and the New Zealand TV cult favourite The Almighty Johnsons of gods into mortals, and partly the contemporary fantasy of American Gods  and tabletop RPG Scion , into what seems to be a teen fantasy drama. Headed by Danish writer Adam Price (of the successful Danish political series  Borgen)  and Danish editor-turned-debut-director Mogens Hagedorn, the show's set in the pointedly named town of Edda (actually shot in Odda, Norway). The description colour text: " In a Norwegian town poisoned by pollution and rattled by melting glaciers, the End Times feel all too real. It’ll take a legend to battle an old evil. " So it appears literal & figurative corporate giants are intentionally ruining the environment in order t...

Or Freya versus Sif? These three NorsePlay'd characters  along with different poly/monotheistic choices   are available in Fight of Gods , the fighting game where divinities holmgang off videogame-style . Sif gets oddly fitting golden wheat-related special moves, whereas Freyja's been overly bishōjo'd. Created by Taiwanese indie developer Digital Crafts for Windows & Nintendo Switch. Any of you played this? #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product develop...

Norse Mythology family tree by Humon Comics. The style of this is iconically reductivist, yet still charmingly winning, though we believe Ymir should be more ancient sleeping mountain as opposed to an infant and the infanticide that would falsely imply. What's always interesting to note in these is how closely related the different factions are. Thor the jotun slayer is himself half-giant as many Aesir, and the Aesir marry often from the select of jotun maidens, yet despite familial ties the enmity overrides that, and defines the nonusversal conflict of entropic forces wanting to breakdown everything because that's just what they do, versus creators' constant struggle & vision to preserve an established existence for everyone. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by th...

Balder leads the next generation of Æsir from the ashes of Ragnarök in Marvel Entertainment's The Mighty Thor #294. This surviving line-up's made of Hoder, Hoenir, Magni, Modi, Vali, Ve, Vidar , and Vili. Note the hole in Balder's white tunic where the mistletoe arrow's been removed. [pencils by Keith Pollard, April 1980.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Since NorsePlay's in Tucson, we're taking a moment to mention Arizona Opera 's putting on Das Rheingold , Wagner's classic remix of Norse Mythology. [At the Tucson Music Hall on April 14th & 15th, rehearsal photos by Tim Trumble.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

While hunting for patches, we ran across this Marvel-ously Kirby-esque BSA jamboree hex design dedicated to the Norse Gods of Asgard! [scan via Patchscan.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

In Georges Dumézil 's From Myth to Fiction: The Saga of Hadingus, the author backtracks the Cinderella story where a mate is selected by their feet to Skadi 's picking of Njörðr, including the mentioning of ancient Scandinavian rock carvings and petroglyphs of feet perhaps being representations of the perfect feet of the divine, which by contest Njörðr must have possessed. [Rock carvings of feet from Skjelin in Østfold County, Norway. Photo by Jørn Bøhmer Olsen.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,...

" The Gods are alive, well, and eager to party. " ~ Diana Paxson of The Troth [ Viking Feast painted by Harvey Dunn (1884–1952).] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Interior illustration from a recent edition of Kevin Crossley-Holland's Norse Myths , art by Jeffrey Alan Love. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Not to let the  hokey Twain-ist title fool you, Edmond Hamilton's  A Yank at Valhalla  delivers  a Norse-inspired genre mash-up in fine pulp style. [Original pulp from January 1941.] Part lost civilization fantasy, part science fiction,  Hamilton plays with the idea that behind mythology lies a greater truth. Physicist Keith Masters, during an exploratory survey flight, gets blown into a hidden area of the arctic  where he discovers the secret lands of  the Norse Gods . [An Ace double version from 1973.] Stylewise, the many typos (a pulp given) are  unexpectedly balanced out by some lovely .50-cent word selections, and it's neat shifting gears as a  reader between scientific terms and medieval descriptors. This integrated juxtaposition aside, a lot of  the presentation is stirring with cries of "Our swords for Asgard!", impressive feasting hall settings, and  saga worthy melees & martial battles. [UK re-tit...

What if the Norse Gods moved to New Zealand, fell out with the Norse Goddesses, reincarnated as mortals for a few centuries, thus diminishing their powers, which they later want back? Then you have the contemporary fantasy com-dram that is The Almighty Johnsons . Running three seasons, and itself successfully reincarnated by a fan campaign between seasons 2 & 3, this much loved NorsePlay is worth watching not only for its man & lady candy , but for the nuances of kiwi culture. Note the promo Last Supper-style cast shot done a few years before History Channel's  Vikings used the same idea. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project...

The Aesir at the feasting table in Jul i Valhal ( Yule in Valhalla ) , a Danish holiday advent television series from 2005 about two kids' adventures involving the Norse Gods! Any of you know where we can watch this with English subtitles? #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Eastern-European woodcarving style meets Lewis Chessmen-esque in this set of Norse Gods made by Triumpho . At 13 cm each, one could imagine that these are the golden gamepieces found in the grass after Ragnarök. [Found on Etsy.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Splash page of Kevin Long's illustration of Thor from Palladium Books' gaming RPG offering Rifts: Conversion Book 2 -- Pantheons of the Megaverse . In Rifts a post-apocalyptic Earth has experienced a surge in ley line energies, which opened up transdimensional rifts, allowing for all sorts of traffic from worlds beyond including the real Norse Gods ... and other beings posing as them. Note the vanquished xenoskulls underfoot. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product developm...

Neil Gaiman faced the daunting task to adapt the narrative holy of the holies, the ur-book stories, the most ancient tales known to man from which all other tales have since flowed from: Norse Mythology . As we told a childhood friend of Neil's last month, Neil is a fearless writer, that before Neil there wasn't a great movement in the fantasy genre to use the Gods as actual intimate first & close third-person protagonists. [Neil Gaiman being fearless!] We look back at his record for this daring talent with reading pleasure:  The Sandman  (his breakout World Fantasy Award-winning graphic novel series expanding the being of Greek deity Morpheus),  American Gods  (heavily featuring Gods from various pantheons), and  Odd & the Frost Giants  (a  NorsePlay  story for children of all ages). And now, in a tribute to pay back what originally inspired him, Gaiman offers us his version of  Norse Mythology . In his introduction, ...