EYES ON NORAH’S SAGA: SONG OF THE FOSSEGRIM
Norah, a high school outcast, finds herself in a strange world where she must channel her inner warrior to face the challenges on her journey to return to her home world in “Norah’s Saga: Song of the Fossegrim”.
Norah Karlsson is a sassy, book-smart, high-schooler that crashes through the mists of time and into a realm of ice and Norse legend. Her quest to return back home becomes an epic tale of survival where she must win over unlikely allies, defeat monstrous villains, and complete a mythic odyssey to find the Song of the Fossegrim.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
Norah’s Saga was created by Patrick Stiles. The stories were written by Blake Northcott, S.N. Amendolare, Mitch Breitweiser, and Kelsey Shannon. It was illustrated by Kelsey Shannon, edited by Patrick Stiles and S.N. Amendolare, and lettered by Eric Weathers. The design and layout of the book were done by Cathleen Brignac. The wrap-around cover art was done by Kelsey Shannon and Lee Weeks.
Kelsey Shannon is mostly known for his use of color. He collaborated with many top creators and with nearly every company in American comics including Marvel, DC, and Image Comics. He also worked as a penciler, inker, and even writer, enjoying every aspect of artistic expression in the comic book industry.
Lee Weeks is one of the most influential masters of the sequential art form in the contemporary era, an artist whose legacy will reverberate for generations to come.
NORAH’S SAGA: THE BOOK
The book Norah’s Saga: Song of the Fossegrim compilates the complete first season of Norah’s Saga which includes all six comic book episodes in one bound 136-page hardcover graphic novel printed in color on high quality paper. Episodes 5 and 6 are for the first time published in this book. The book includes the main story and bonus content including 13 pages of art, a “Thank you to the Team” page, and 3 pages of advertisements. The book was published by Allegiance Arts & Entertainment in 2022.
Allegiance Arts & Entertainment is an Arkansas-based company founded by Mitch and Elizabeth Breitweiser. Their published titles are Norah’s Saga, Bass Reeves, The Futurists, The Saints, and Red Rooster. The physical single issues can be found at Walmart or Walmart.com, and the digital editions at AllegianceArts.com & Amazon Kindle.
NORAH’S SAGA: THE STORY
The story starts with a small Norah playing at the Vikings exhibit at the museum where her mom worked as a curator. Her father was also there taking pictures and flirting with her mom which she finds annoying. Her mom loves the history of Vikings and their legends. She has a special appreciation for Loki, The God of Mischief, brother of Thor.
THE LOSS
On their way back home, her mom was telling Norah what she knew about Loki they got into an accident. It seems to be a nightmare. We see an older Norah, in her teenage years, waking up from the nightmare. She seems to have lost her mother and is psychologically dealing with the loss. They moved to the city and she will be attending a new high school.
THE HIGH SCHOOL LIFE
Norah immediately feels excluded by her peers at school for the way she dresses. This makes her have a clash with her dad which they later resolve. They end up going to the mall to buy new clothes for Norah even though the weather wasn’t that great. On their way back home her father loses control and their truck falls into an iced lake.
A DIFFERENT WORLD
Norah is saved from the lake by a Viking-dressed man and his daughter Astrid. She eventually understands that she is not in her world anymore but ended up in a place where Thor and Loki are real.
Norah establishes a connection with her father through magic. She sees that he is in bad condition at the hospital in their world. In order to return home she must embark on a journey to find the Song of the Fossegrim. How far would Norah go to get back to her father?
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Norah’s Saga has been an interesting read. Some elements of the story reminded me a little bit about Shadowbinders and Magna: The Last Pantheon. The part where a teenager struggling in high school gets magically transferred to another world is similar to Shadowbinders.
FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION
The writers took elements from the Norse mythology and incorporating them into the story. It is similar to what was done in Magna: The Last Pantheon. Yet, Norah’s Saga is completely different incorporating secret organizations similar to M.I.B or Shield that handle inexplicable happenings. In the story, the parents used to be quite into Vikings and their history.
FATHER-DAUGTHER REALTIONSHIP
Even though Norah has a hard time and lashes on her dad she is mature enough to recognize her mistakes and apologize. Despite their struggles, they have a good father-daughter relationship very much like Hector and Maria from Trespasser.
NORAH’S SAGA: ART AND STRUCTURE
The story is engaging and the art is very distinctive and interesting looking. The structure of the panels constantly changes with the art and the colors. There is something about the colors used to tell the story, sometimes it’s dark-themed, and other times it’s brightly colored.
However, I missed the episode dividers as the story is told in 6 episodes. It is the first time I read the story but I can imagine those that read the first four individual issues would appreciate the dividers and personally from a structural perspective I would have liked to see it as well. I also noticed that the title of the season “Song of the Fossegrim” was not added on the cover of the book and the spine has no book details.
NORAH’S SAGA CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN
Norah’s Saga: Song of the Fossegrim graphic novel’s crowdfunding campaign looked very professional. When I finally decided the back the campaign, I chose the Lee Weeks Signed Hardcover perk.
I received the Lee Weeks signed Hardcover book, six-pack Postcard which includes the covers of the published individual issues, A Norah’s Saga bookmark, and an Allegiance Arts sticker.
Updates were provided during the campaign and queries were answered timely. The tracking number for the package was provided timely and everything arrived in good condition. Overall, a similar crowdfunding experience to The Saints: Unearthed.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Norah’s Saga: Song of the Fossegrim is an engaging story with an expected ending that leaves you with a lot of questions. I liked the combination of magic and technology in the story which also reminded me of God and Gears.
The art is very distinctive and interesting looking and the quality of the hard cover is excellent but more attention needs to be given to the layout of the book to include the episode dividers and the book details on the spine.
As of date, the crowdfunding campaign for season 1 is closed and the physical copy of the book is not available for sale online directly from the publisher as far as I can tell. They do have the digital version of the first single issues on their website. Looking forward to season 2 to see how the story continues.
Interested in more titles? Check more COMIC BOOKS and GRAPHIC NOVELS under the “EYES ON” series wherein I documented my experience with crowdfunding entertainment and shared my notes on the products I received.
My notes are all set. Let me know what you think.
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