When we were talking about the last appearance of Hyde and Cobra on the pages of JiM, Adam A Numero Uno consoled me that their next apperance would be much better. And it is! So many things just click here. Hyde and Cobra are Loki's pawns, which is a fitting role for mortals in a battle between gods. Loki is suitably devilish both in his human form and his more usual garb. Don Blake and Jane Foster are cracking jokes and smiling to each other. Even the silly-ass scene where Hyde and Cobra escape Thor in a cab works. (Cobra's driving, BTW. How did Hyde even fit to the back seat?)

The one constant in Thor's life is Odin's stupidity and this does not change here. He's always eager to believe the worst about Thor, especially when Loki is by his side offering advice. Did Stan and Jack have some issues with their fathers?!? I did like the scene where Thor storms the Rainbow Bridge and wins Heimdall. But why can't he just accuse Loki and be done with it? Surely the All-Father has ways to find out the truth?!?

The final battle in Cobra's and Hyde's hideout is bit of a let-down, to be honest. Did those clowns really think they could overcome Thor with some gas? It was entertaining watching Hyde and Cobra bicker, I guess in their line of business you can't really trust anyone. I was surprised when Thor stopped time! Wow, that's pretty impressive.

Tales of Asgard was pretty good too. It's funny, in these stories Odin is always much wiser, but in the main yarns... Ah well.

Art by Kirby and Stone is really top-notch. Several great panels (Loki changing from his human form, page 4), Hyde and Cobra speeding away in their cab, Cobra seems to be concentrating really hard on driving (page 7), battle in Asgard on page 10...


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