Journey Into Mystery #645 Review

Kieron Gillen takes one last Journey Into Mystery and whoa boy is it a good one.

Journey Into Mystery #645

Loki is now faced with a decision only he can make.  Mephisto is looking to conquer everything by using the crown that was forged by the left over fear stuff from Loki’s mind.  As the young trickster is told by his evil psyche, he must give over to his bad side to utterly erase his new persona to nullify the crown that will lead to countless billions of lives.  Loki plays along hoping his sacrifice will save everything he’s come to hold dear.  He says his goodbyes to Leah and Thor, and brings himself before the astral vision of his older self.  Loki asks what will his sacrifice mean in the greater scheme of things.  He’s told of all the happiness it will bring, but he knows much better than that.  He knows that he’s already changed enough to make the crown fail.  When he bites out the throat of Ikol, the older version of Loki disappears, seemingly forever, and our hero sits alone and forever changed.

Wow…  What a run this has been for Kieron Gillen.  This is undoubtedly one of the finest runs Marvel has seen in years.  It’s been one of those very special occasions when the perfect writer is tapped to write the perfect series featuring a character that he’s, you guessed it, perfect to write.

In the end, this was just one big story that seemed to pierce the veil between what’s happening in the book and what we’re physically holding in our hands.  It proves how good comics can be when handled with the proper vision and allowance for risks.  It’s been a series that, while some of the circumstances were certainly very serious and intense, played itself as light entertainment.  It’s that type of balance that makes a star out of Kieron Gillen.  It’s why he’s writing the AvX aftermath series, Consequences. It’s why he’s moving onto Iron Man.  It was everything we hoped we’d get from this writer who filled the gap on the Thor series between heavy hitters J. Michael Straczynski and Matt Fraction, and yet still exceeded our expectations with each turn of the page.

In this issue, we catch Loki not being his normal self we’ve grown accustomed to.  This isn’t a time for humor or funny little gags that turn out to save universes.  It’s time for him to make a real sacrifice.  Pay the piper for his deeds, if you will.  In this issue, we’re treated to emotional scenes that feels as though Gillen is writing them based on his own feelings about saying “so long” to a book that you can’t help but to label as his.  There were moments in which I was literally choked up as he betrays Leah and has her sent to the ancient past and he makes a final plea for Thor to end him if he were to ever end up as he was.  This issue packs such a punch that I can’t imagine any fan of the series is going to be able to make it through without nearly crying.

Providing the absolutely gorgeous artwork for this issue is Stephanie Hans.  If Gillen’s script was as emotional as it reads, Hans picks up every note and supports it with incredibly powerful art.  There are so many panels in which we see Loki emoting with his eyes.  We’re not seeing a child playing hero or villain for a particular end.  We’re seeing a boy having to make decisions that people well beyond his years will struggle with.  Her portrayal of all the “good” that will come when Loki gives himself over to his evil persona is so rich and full of happiness that we fall for the ruse that this is what Loki should do.  It’s a masterful turn for a fantastic artist.

It’s time now to say our goodbyes to Kieron Gillen as the writer of Journey Into Mystery.  As much as I am gleefully thankful for his run, I seriously cannot wait to see what he has up his sleeve.  Thank you, Mr. Gillen…  The next pint’s on me.

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Tags: Journey Into Mystery Kieron Gillen Thor