A Lovely Little War In Asgardians Of The Galaxy #2
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The current wearer of the Destroyer Armor has been revealed, and it is none other than Kid Loki. Angela is still unsure of working with the kid trickster god, but she has no choice if she wishes to stop Nebula’s rampage. Meanwhile, the Asgardians of the Galaxy experience some strife, particularly between Skurge the Executioner, Valkyrie, and Thunderstrike. Elsewhere, Nebula uses a weapon to entice an undead pantheon of gods to turn on their own worshippers.
Asgardians of the Galaxy #1 broke out with a don’t-think-about-it-too-much bombastic gathering of Thor affiliates on an intergalactic mission to stop a Guardians of the Galaxy rogue. The second issue is much the same, though we do establish more of the chemistry between our Asgardians.
To put it more succinctly, the first issue was fun, and the second issue is also fun, but actually establishes a couple of character relationships.
It is sincerely enjoyable. I came here for Valkyrie, but Angela has ended up being the one who’s turned out fairly interesting. Young Loki takes me back to the days of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie on Young Avengers. Thunderstrike is a bit of a meathead, leaving it to Skurge to mentor him on being less of a meathead. And Throg—Throg is just awesome.
Nebula’s intentions are still obscure—or nebulous, if you will. She’s playing the sadistic villainess, and we know little more than that.
Matteo Lolli provides some damn solid artwork, making this assortment of gods and monsters look both good and even, at times, human. Lolli’s work takes full advantage of the subtler details of human expression, and that adds a lot to the page. The action scenes are enjoyably cathartic too. Federico Blee nails it on the color work, bringing a wild and cosmic palette to the table.
Asgardians of the Galaxy #2 is another entertaining issue and improves on its predecessor in some respects. It’s not particularly thoughtful or smart, but it’s still worth checking out for a strange lineup and cosmic fun. This one gets a recommendation.
Asgardians of the Galaxy #2 comes to us from writer Cullen Bunn, artist Matteo Lolli, color artist Federico Blee, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, cover artists Dale Keown with Jason Keith, and variant cover artist Stephanie Hans.