Nordlys
Nordlys, or Northern Lights, is a Peter Pan retelling fused with Norwegian folklore and fantasy, based on author Malin Falch’s 
webcomic, Fjordson. Originally written in English and drawn while Falch attended university in the United States, the webcomic was picked up as a print series in Norway in 2018 and now comes back to English speaking readers with the translation of its first volume.
Fourteen year old Sonjia longs to join her favorite uncle on his long and mysterious camping trips and she’s captivated by the art he creates of fantastical creatures out in the wilderness. She’s awoken one night to the sounds of a troll boy rummaging around her house. Recognizing him from her uncle’s sketches, she eagerly asks him about his home. He introduces himself as Espen, asks her to come back with him, opens a portal and leads her through to another world.
Sonja soon meets talking animals as well as the troll children Espen cares for, and learns about the magical troll forest she’s been brought to. She’s introduced to dragonflies, tiny dragons with a magic dust that makes an individual lighter on their feet when sprinkled with it. She helps the group steal some dinner from a local troll farmer and his wife. As the dark settles in, the group huddles close and Espen tells Sonja the story of his greatest rival, the viking earl Hjalmar. Vikings are a variety of humans living in this magical version of Norway that have a distaste for trolls and other forest creatures. Hjalmar has a particular vendetta against Espen, after Espen severed his sword hand and fed it to an ancient serpent. Now with a hook in place of the hand, Hjalmar sails the waters with his crew seeking to destroy the serpent before it destroys him.
Dangers lurk everywhere for Sonja and Espen. A large and powerful flesh-hungry troll has been awakened by Sonja’s presence and now seems to be hunting her, upsetting all the creatures in the forest. Hjalmar has struck a deal with a witch offering him respite from the serpent in exchange for Espen’s life. She lends him the power of her apprentice, a young girl with magic that can kill trolls. While all of these things are happening, Sonja’s uncle uses his own portal to enter the forest, frantically searching for his niece, only to be kidnapped and imprisoned by unfriendly trolls.
Writing-wise, there’s plenty of intrigue with multiple plotlines intertwining, and Falch does a good job world building without bogging the reader down with excessive dialogue or exposition. Nothing in this volume is likely to subvert the reader’s expectations, and the connections to tales of Peter Pan are pretty obvious, but the added folklore makes it fresh and interesting.
The art of Nordlys is really its strong point, with vivid colors and gorgeously crafted landscapes. Characters have bright eyes and expressive faces, engaging the reader and pulling them into the dialogue. The tone of each scene is expertly handled through color and lighting, shifting the reader easily between the lighthearted parts of the narrative and the darker, more terrifying sections. The darker scenes are arguably the most intriguing, but every panel is lush and eye-catching.
While Nordlys is a pleasant adventure, the magical version of Norway is a dangerous place and mild, mostly bloodless violence occurs throughout. As mentioned previously, there are depictions of limbs being severed, as well as people being eaten by large creatures. There is mild physical abuse, animal harm, and brief depictions of death, all shown in a way that is appropriate for the publisher rating of ages 12 and up. This series would be great in a teen collection and would be perfect for fans of fantasy and adventure.
Nordlys
By Malin Falch
Inklore, 2025
ISBN: 9780593726914
Company Age Rating: 12 and up
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13)
Creator Representation: Norwegian,
Character Representation: Norwegian,
The hero’s quest is as much a staple of fantasy tales as both swords and sorcery. Basically, it involves the titular hero going on a journey. Along the way, the hero, along with a coterie of companions, will encounter many obstacles that will test the group’s resolve, but ideally they will prevail. It’s a formula that’s been duplicated in everything from Lord of the Rings to Star Wars: A New Hope. To be clear, just because a story uses a well-known trope like the hero’s journey doesn’t make it derivative. Largely, it depends on the individual creator to give it a unique spin. For Beware the Eye of Odin, written by Doug Wagner and drawn by Tim Odland, that unique spin involves Vikings and Norse mythology.
