So, full disclosure, aside from Miles Morales (Spider-man) and Kate Bishop (Hawkeye) I had no mcfucking clue who anyone else on this cast was. I mean I knew who Balder was, but only because I really, really liked the Norse story about Baldur’s death as a kid.
That said, if you’re like me and only coming to this story because of the McElroys, issue one gives enough of an introduction to the characters that you don’t feel lost reading a story about them.
The team is as follows:
Balder: Norse god, brother of Thor.
Miles Morales: Spider-man, the main protagonist of Into the Spider-verse (the spider-verse is actually referenced in issue one)
Kate Bishop: Hawkeye, not girl Hawkeye, just Hawkeye. She did spend time training with Clint Barton though.
Rebecca Ryker: Death Locket, teen girl Deathlock (who I also know nothing about)
Sebastian Druid: part monster, has magic powers, a coat of holding and a nanny license
Simon Williams: Wonder Man, retired superhero and pacifist
Thori: Thor’s dog, really likes to fight NOT a babysitter
Now, the baby. The baby is Thor and Baldur’s babiest sister and the plot is basically: Baldur recruits a team to keep the baby safe from the big bad which leads to chase/roadtrip, which is a good and entertaining plot.
Baldur, like any child of any parent, is horrified by the idea of Odin and Frigga boning. It’s very Griffin McElroy “I’m in Hell!” every time Clint makes a dirty joke in the Adventure Zone.
On that note, if you enjoyed the writing of the Adventure Zone graphic novel you’re definitely going to enjoy the writing in Journey to Mystery.
Other moments, I found highly enjoyable:
- The background gays. Like any good McElroy content, it’s flush with background gays. You’ve got the cosplayer boyfriends in issue one and the very obviously butch lesbian trucker in issue two.
- The cosplayer goof is actually good. It’s not comic book writer mocks the fans, which happens an unfortunate amount.
- Thor’s dog is named Thori and also everything about Thori.
- The baby just effortlessly charms a bunch of Skrulls
I’m frankly super pumped for the next issue and…… cowboy ghosts?
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