I'll be the first to admit that I am no expert on Norse Mythology. I possess a loose understanding of this rich story. With that said, some of the authenticity of my review could be taken into question. I mean, if everything written in this book blasphemies the history as it stands.....Alas, I can just review the story based on my understanding of the lore.
I've never really understood the dynamic between Loki and Thor until I read this book. I've always been of the mindset that Thor should just kill Loki and be done with it. Why keep someone around who just keeps stabbing you in the back with the biggest dagger they can find? The first instalment of this 4 issue mini-series begins to address that question. At least, it did for me.
Loki is the yin to Thor's yang. Without Loki, there is no Thor. So why bring the trickster back time and time again? It gives Thor immortal purpose. Loki defines who Thor is. It is something like the age old adage, "Without evil there would be no good." Sure Thor can hit aliens with his hammer, or help save the future from Kang, but none of that compares to his rivalry with Loki.
Roberto Aguire-Sacasa does a wonderful job of re-telling the story of mjolnir. Loki tricks two groups of dwarves into crafting him gifts for the gods. One of which is the mighty mallet, mjolnir. If this portion of the story is true, I did not realize it. I hope that it does follow Norse dogma however, because it was a beautiful story.
The tale woven in this book is the kind that makes you realize why storytelling became so important in the first place. Why wonderful tales were passed down from generation to generation. In fact, this story resonated with me so much, that I have decided to create a power point presentation for my class and share the story with them (using the images I find only as visual clues to aid the story.)
This book was not on my pull list for the week, but am I ever glad I decided to pick it up. The art helped tell the story very well and the script was well timed. Even the cover art seems to tell a little of the story.
I look forward to reading how Thor holds Loki accountable for the fall of Asgard, and what appear to be the final days for the gods. This is a great stand-alone story, for anyone to pick up.