ATOMIC
EMPIRE

Our contenders are Loki, Agent of Asgard (Marvel) and the upcoming Loki: Ragnarok and Roll (Boom! in March).

These are two completely different imaginings of the Norse scoundrel Loki, besides the obvious Marvel 'verse Tom Hiddleston vs. Boom's super slacker.

Loki: R&R has more of a counter-cultural, snarly-guitar-and-leather-jackets-based rock tone. This comic is very much trying to dance on your comfort zones, but doesn't seem nearly as edgy as, say, Transmetropolitan (Vertigo) was in the late 90's. Upside-down cross pasties are about as wild as it gets (which means parents of kiddies under 13 might be scandalized). But this isn't calling Loki: R&R tame. He drinks, he lives to excess, and he makes fun of his very meathead bro/buddy Thor. This feels a bit more like the mythological Loki I used to know: beer, wenches and trickery/ practical jokes.

Loki: A of A is very much meant for the Marvel fan, with double entendres and the promise of snark and menacing evil hiding just behind his arrogant veneer. I thoroughly enjoyed the first issue's script, and I am eagerly awaiting the next issues.

So the winner of this competition is: the reader. Both comics are very tongue-firmly-embedded-in-cheek, and fun. It's two different styles, but it's like asking which I like better, Cherry Coke or Wild Cherry Pepsi: I'll consume both, and get a variation off of the taste I want.