(Marvel Comics, 2014)

Writer: Al Ewing
Art: Lee Garbett
Color: Nolan Woodard
Cover Art: Jenny Frison

I found myself having mixed feelings about Loki: Agent of Asgard #1. On the one hand, I loved all the mythological references when it came to trickster and mother gods/goddess. On the other hand, I felt that Ewing and Garbett were trying to put too much information in one comic. Ultimately though, the comic ends with a bang, and makes you want to scream out in frustration for not having Issue #2. Because somehow you have managed to fall in love with Loki despite the chaos of this comic. I know, that’s pretty broad – so let’s break it down.

Let’s start with my favorite part: mythology. Now, reader, I’m assuming you aren’t as much as a mythology nut as I am, but if you are, I do apologize and please bare with me. I’m not sure if you know this, but Loki (and Thor for that matter) is more then just a superhero villain. The inspiration for our villain Loki is none other than Loki: the Norse Trickster God. In mythology, trickster gods are gods that don’t follow the rules. They aren’t evil gods, but they aren’t necessarily good either. Usually, their stories are the ones used to teach children how to behave. Now, out of all the trickster gods out there, Loki is famous for breaking the rules so much that it seems like he is almost evil. And that, my reader, is what we see in our super villain Loki. In fact, Loki even admits it himself. In Agent of Asgard, Loki has been given a new young body and life by the All-Mother (three mother goddess: Gaea, Freyja, and Idunn). In this new life, Loki is an agent for the All-Mother, working on missions and being a true trickster god. However, he remembers his past life, and says that when Thor became a hero, he, being the trickster that he was, thought he should play the roll of the villain. Loki says, “But the gods are creatures of magic. Creatures of story. We must be careful which roles we step into. The God of Mischief became the God of Evil.” He goes on to say that he has no intention of being evil again – that he will stick to being a trickster god, and is repenting for his sins. Loki is young, mischievous, he would have girls stopping and staring at him if he was real, and his first mission is saving his brother’s life – what’s not to like about him? Nothing. Which is why I said before, that despite the chaos of this comic, you fall in love with his character.

Now, about the chaos.  This comic is twenty-two pages long and had more information thrown at its reader than a three-hundred page book I read. We learn about Asgardian Folk music, a lesson on magic, information on his costume, his history as a villain, his history with the Avengers, and information on his mission. And let’s not forget that this is a comic, so we have three different fights, a resolution (which included a brotherly love moment between the two Asgardians), and an open ending that you have to read for yourself. As you can see there’s a lot shoved into a tiny bit of space – which means that nothing is really given the amount of time it deserves. Take magic for instance.  We really didn’t need a whole page devoted to him walking up a building talking about magic. Yes, eventually the reader needs to know how Loki’s magic works, but that wasn’t something they needed to know in Issue #1. All that was needed was a quick explanation that Loki’s “superpower” is magic. It’s not like he uses his magic all that much in this comic anyways. I would have rather seen more space given to the resolution between Loki and Thor. You know the two have bad blood between them and I would have liked to see more then them just sitting and having beer giving have-way apologies.  Of course, that could just be my lack of knowledge on brother apologizing vs. sister apologizing (since I only have a sister). Ironically, alcohol always seems to be involved. Either way, there were some things that were emphasized too much, and others not enough.

Ultimately, I am curious to see where this comic goes (yes, I will be picking up Issue #2). I think it has a lot of potential especially with Loki. He’s a likeable character and a lot can be done with his trickster personality. I always love it when a character can walk that thin line between good and evil, and Loki definitely can.  However, I am really worried about the information overload from Issue #1 and what that means for future comics. I guess there is nothing to do but wait and see.

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Ali is a creative writer with an emphasis on Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Comic Books. She first fell in love with superheroes when they were used to teach her to read. When not practicing at her dojo or out seeing the latest superhero movie with her friends, Ali can be found curled up on the couch with her dog and a good book.