My 40 Pun-Filled Comics About Vikings

For as long as I can remember, I've always loved different types of mythologies and folklore. The same goes for comedy. Laughing is one of my favorite activities, and I really wanted to create something that would bring those two worlds together. My goal is to introduce others to the crazy world of Norse mythology while also adding my own twists and pun-smithing.

One of the beautiful (and annoying) things about Norse myths is that there aren't a lot of recordings of the actual stories or beliefs the Vikings had. Most were recorded and interpreted by travelers visiting those parts of the world during that time. This kind of opens up the floor for me a bit, where I can put my own twist on some of the stories and characters that have been recorded without feeling like I'm going against the grain too much. I don't have to worry about making one of my stories too weird or absurd, because I really can't outdo the wild and craziness of the original Norse stories themselves!

My process for creating my comics is pretty simple: take a pun, then write a brief story around it. I have a (somewhat lengthy) list of puns I've collected over the years that I've either come up with myself during random occasions or have heard in an old joke. It's probably not the most effective way of doing things, but it's been working out so far! It does get trickier when I want to write a multi-part story, since each pun has to relate to the overarching story in some way. That's all part of the fun though, and it feels very rewarding once something finally comes together. My favorite pun I've used in a comic still might be the very first Comedy Viking comic I ever wrote, where Lars asks if an elderly woman can see that well, then naturally, she falls into a well.

I'd say my comic has a pretty niche target audience; people who enjoy Vikings and people who enjoy punny humor. When I first came up with the idea for this comic, my only goal really was to create something I myself would enjoy (selfish, right!?). So when I started posting it online, I was happily surprised to see how many others enjoyed that combination, as well. I know my jokes hurt sometimes, or often, but getting responses from readers who share how it made them cringe or roll their eyes is what I live for.