The Northern Lights are both beautiful and mysterious, and Gulr, Ætta, Jarpr, and Brúnn all have their questions about what they could be or represent.
This comic was partly inspired by the beauty of the Northern Lights themselves and wanting to bring that sight and feeling into a Scandi-Merica comic, and also a way for me to release some frustrations at seeing "experts" online constantly claiming that the Northern Lights play no role in Norse stories. That statement isn't true or false, it's just unknown. There could be, but just haven't been found in ancient text form. It's also possible that it has been, but is described in a way that hasn't been understood by modern audiences. I've read that the native Sami see it as ancestors, and it'd be strange if it wasn't acknowledged by the old Norse in that case. You can't apply modern black-and-white thinking to ancient cultures who saw the spiritual in all of nature, and not everything will translate to a modern English context so easily. Could it be Bifrost? Maybe. Could it be Æsgard? Maybe. Could it be Breiðrbleik? Maybe. Asking questions and being curious and engaging in conversation is part of the fun.
I don't know how the ancient Norse saw the Northern Lights, but regardless of what it is or what it's called, they are a wonderful example of nature's beauty and has inspired me in a multitude of ways.
All art, writing, penciling, inking, and coloring created by me.
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