Top of the Pile 10/24/12

Journey into Mystery #645
Story by Kieron Gillen
Art by Stephanie Hans
Marvel Comics

This is the end of a long story by Kieron Gillen. Starting with a young, resurrected Loki, we follow as he tries to change the whole god of evil – must kill my half-brother Thor trope. Through a couple story arcs that had the potential of ending the universe, young Loki uses his cunning for good throughout. With varying results, he usually comes out on top and saves the nine realms from some nasty fate.

With issue 645, we are presented with the aftermath of the “Everything Burns” crossover event. Through the various plots and schemes from the previous issues, Loki has unleashed Surtur (a huge fire demon) who likes to burn things. And as everything comes apart and the outcome looks catastrophic, young Loki rewrites reality and saves the day. In this aftermath, we learn that the loose ends will require young Loki to sacrifice his essence to save (yet again) everything.

I have enjoyed this book. I have mentioned that the Norse Marvel stories have always been a fun read. And with this reinterpretation of Loki, different types of stories were told. Not good versus evil in a huge fight, but a good tricking evil at its own game. There is an interesting panel where it shows some demon getting a book from a magpie with the title “Journey into Mystery: A Comedy in Thirty Parts (Or a Tragedy in Thirty-One)”. This made me chuckle and kind of broke the fourth wall a little.

The art by Stephanie Hans is very good. Unlike the Alan Davis Norse stories, there are no huge muscle battles. Instead, we see young Loki setting up with his past and decisions. It has a melancholy feel and a palette of greens and reds. I’ll have to keep my eyes out for other works by her.

As for adding this book to a library, I would definitely do so without hesitation. Teen hero? Tough life choices? Fate of the universe? Potential love story? All make for a compelling young adult novel. And with the benefit of great art and Marvel marketing, any library would do well with this book.