Inside ‘Odin’ #1: See how James Tynion IV and Marguerite Bennett built its shocking opening
April 28, 2026
Tiny Onion and Image Comics are pulling back the curtain on Odin #1 with a detailed look at how its brutal opening sequence came together. The new nine-issue horror series from James Tynion IV, Marguerite Bennett, and Letizia Cadonici arrives this May, and this early material walks readers step by step through the creative process behind its first pages.
The feature showcases the full evolution of the opening, beginning with Bennett’s script pages for the first two pages, then moving through Cadonici’s early sketches and inked artwork, and finally the fully realized preview pages. Along the way, readers also get a look at cover art and how the tone of the series is established visually before the story even begins. It is a rare chance to see how a horror comic of this scale is shaped from concept to finished page.
The opening itself sets an immediate tone. A grim and unsettling image of Odin greets readers, disemboweled and disfigured. Crows flutter, ripping his intestines from his body. The stark contrast between the blood-red sky and the dark tree sticks with you.
This is followed by a sweeping double-page spread that introduces Adela, a journalist embedded with a group of Neo-Nazis heading into the forests of Norway. The sequence is designed to shock, but also to establish the collision between myth, ideology, and something far older waiting in the woods.
The series follows Adela as she chases the perfect story, going undercover with extremists who believe they are destined for something greater. What they encounter is far beyond their understanding, pushing the narrative into dangerous and unpredictable territory.
Bennett spoke about how the team approached that opening moment and the importance of collaboration. “The wisest thing you can do is find the right people and then get out of their way,” said Bennett. “We wanted a grim, high mythological image to seize the reader by the guts, and then, at the turn of the page, reduce all that ancient holiness to a commodity, an aesthetic misused by a bunch of reject outcast dirt bags. Letizia killed it as surely as we’re gonna kill a lot more people.”
Cadonici described the experience of working across each stage of the process, from script to final page. “Working with James and Marguerite was an incredible experience, a blend of many things I find very enjoyable and stimulating,” said Cadonici. “I would define it as a balanced experience! Working with James is always an incredible honor for me. I’m first and foremost a huge fan of his work, but it’s also an experience that puts me very at ease, as in recent years I’ve literally been immersed in his dark universes and I feel very comfortable with his unique poetics. Working with Marguerite was a new experience, but I immediately felt an incredible affinity with her writing style and the unique unease she evokes. Also, working with Steve is just wonderful. Working with such experienced, great editors is so amazing for me. It helps me learn a lot. We are a super team!”
Editor Steve Foxe emphasized how much planning went into shaping the issue before art even began. “These three pages pass deceptively fast, but are a pretty great look into how Odin works behind the scenes,” said Foxe. “Marguerite and James have been cooking on this book for a LONG time, and we had the privilege of actually having all nine scripts done before Letizia put pencil to paper, which is a HUGE boon to the book’s overall structure. From the jump, you can see Marguerite, who took point on the actual scripting, is very generous with reference materials and background. But she’s also a very flexible, open collaborator. A lot of spreads in the script are left up to Letizia as far as where to break the page, exactly how many panels to use. It’s a good balance of working ‘full script’ while still trusting that the artist understands pacing and visual storytelling.”
Cadonici added that the freedom to interpret those scripts helped shape the final look of the book. “It was certainly a challenge to immerse myself in this specific vision of Norse myth, but James and Marguerite immediately wanted me to feel like a full-fledged co-creator, and I was able to have fun finding my own way of representing these wicked and ancient themes. They have complete trust in me and give me a great deal of freedom, sharing all the information and details that allow me to orient myself within their vision and make it my own.”
Foxe also pointed to specific changes made along the way, highlighting how the team refined the opening for maximum impact. “In these three pages, you can see a few of the small tweaks we made from sketches and layouts to final inks. We punched up the initial Odin opener, asking Letizia to go EVEN MORE GRUESOME, and we nixed an establishing inset shot on the Page 2-3 spread that didn’t serve enough of a purpose to justify the page space it occupied. Those same establishing details ended up getting parsed out in other panels in subsequent pages. There are plenty of pages where we have no notes at all, though. This is my second time working with Letizia, and she’s a dream collaborator, especially paired with Jordie Bellaire’s color work and, now, Tom Napolitano’s letters. We can’t wait for everyone to see the absolute misery we’re going to put these nine wayward adventurers through…”
With script pages, sketches, inks, final pages, and covers all on display, Odin takes shape for readers looking for more horror in their comics. It is a reminder that every shocking moment on the page is the result of careful collaboration, iteration, and trust between creators.
Odin #1 arrives in comic shops on May 20th. Today, April 27th, is the last day for comic shops to place their preorders!
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