This was fun and cool. I love the old mythology stuff and Loki makes a great "hero". ( )

I love superhero films, but only recently jumped into reading Marvel comics. As a newbie, I began with the new Journey into Mystery trade volumes because you don’t need to have read anything else to follow the stories. I admit my interest stemmed from wanting to read about the new Loki, reincarnated as a kid/teen. I ordered the first four volumes (beginning with JiM: Fear Itself); this volume is an off-shoot of the main four. It is a stand-alone story that takes place within the same time frame as the others, but is not tied directly to them. I recommend reading them first, but it isn't absolutely necessary.

It begins with the New Mutants (a team of teenage x-men) moving into the house directly across from an unusual & secretive person. He turns out to be the Asgardian Sigurd and when he reveals himself, he inadvertently summons the dreaded cannibal DISIR to his location. This in turn attracts Thor, Loki, Hel and various others. Sigurd casts a spell that causes the Asgardians to lose their memories and become “normal” people. It’s up to the New Mutants, with some help from Loki, to fix reality. What I enjoyed most about this book was learning about the DISIR and how they came to be. The story occasionally breaks the fourth wall, speaking directly to readers, which was an interesting story-telling device. One minor criticism I have is that the author worked a little too hard to make the teens sound “modern.” In a few instances, it felt forced and oddly out of date. The artwork is vivid and I though it flowed with the story perfectly. It’s not the best I have seen so far (that’d be Olivier Coipel) but served the story well.

Overall, this was a fun adventure story that is well worth reading. I have enjoyed JiM so much; I branched into reading Thor comics. Marvel does a brilliant job of pulling a reader into their world. Highly recommended. ( )