Meet the Cast: THE VIKING GUNNARSON

It's time to introduce you to another one of the characters you'll be seeing in "The Wolves of Odin."

While Tyr very much filled the role of "lead hero" in my story, I knew I wanted a rough-n-tumble character as well. Someone who could be a good guy, but really be more of a random element. You see, with Tyr, it's all about destiny and fate -- his path is laid out before him and Thor is making sure he sticks to that path. With Gunnarson, however, you know he can work outside of the rules, so to speak. He can be that diehard berserker. He can be that guy with no pre-written destiny -- someone the reader can maybe identify with a little more.

And I've told this to people before -- I must proudly own up to it -- Gunnarson is also an homage to the Techno Viking, who's something of a YouTube celebrity (if you've never watched the video, here's the link - go check it out). The guy in that video is the most awesome and crazy human on the planet. How could I not put him in my viking comic? I had to do it. :) And it worked out for other reasons, too -- Tyr had darker hair, so the blonde hair on Gunnarson was perfect. Visually he worked well with the cast.

Gunnarson wears a Mjöllnir necklace (Hammer of Thor) to show his allegiance to the God of Thunder. I wanted to show that not all followers of the deities automatically get to see or speak to the gods, as Tyr does. Gunnarson is a follower of Thor, but he does not actively converse with him. For him, religion is more of a good luck charm than a way of life.

Readers of the book can look forward to lots of Gunnarson going head to head with the wolves. He definitely isn't one to shy away from a bloodbath. Let's just hope he survives the fight...

That's it for now. Thanks for reading! Come back soon for another inside look at one of the other cast members of "The Wolves of Odin" and more WoO news and updates!

~ Grant