Fair warning: this review contains major spoilers for the first chapter of “The War of the Realms”, as the contents of this issue of Thor cannot be discussed without giving away details of the opening of the miniseries.

“The War of the Realms” has begun, Malekith’s forces have invaded Midgard, and Loki has already suffered a horrific fate, eaten by by his biological father, King Laufey of the Frost Giants. While the main action is taking place in the “Realms” miniseries, Thor #12, written by Jason Aaron, with art by Mike Del Mundo, follows the trickster god’s journey into the great beyond...or, does it? As with any Loki story, all is not what it seems.

Aaron has had a long road of writing Thor, and he does it well, often proving that he may be the best scribe the title character has ever seen. But, he has had an equal amount of time writing Thor’s troublesome brother, and it shows. Loki is, inherently, a complicated character; sometimes a villain, sometimes a hero, always lying and manipulating those around him to achieve his goals. No one gets that better than Aaron, who manages to turn a book where Loki literally talks to himself for an entire issue into a masterpiece. The trickster tricks himself, as he goes on a Dickensian trip through his life, talking to his many incarnations throughout history, and it makes for a twisty, turny read that keeps you guessing until the unsettling end.

The only check in the minus column for this issue is that it is clearly filler meant to buy Aaron time between issues of “Realms”. With Thor tied up in the main miniseries, his book is forced to tell side stories within the larger arc, which puts it in danger of being completely unnecessary. Luckily, Aaron is a master of the side story, and chose to immediately address the cliffhanger from “The War of the Realms” opening chapter, rather than catch us up on the adventures of Throg, the Thor-powered frog (No offense, Throg, you’re still loved).

Del Mundo has slowly earned the reputation of being an amazing Thor artist over his tenure on the book, which is why it’s no surprise that he knocks another issue out of the park this month. His strong fantasy sensibilities, and ability to cover all of the art duties by himself, make for the perfect artist for this book. It’s a shame that he can’t pick up extra duty on the “Realms” miniseries, as well, not that Russell Dauterman is doing a bad job in the least.

Overall, if you’re understanding of the circumstances of Thor not starring in his own book, and you’re a fan of Loki, or you’re just plain curious as to whether the trickiest god of all managed to cheat death for the millionth time, you’re going to want to read this issue. Nearly all of the questions you have are answered here, and Loki’s fate probably isn’t anything you could have guessed.

Grade A-