Writer Daniel Kibblesmith bids a witty farewell to the god of mischief in the final issue of the short-lived “ongoing” Loki series. The series reaches its end in a double-ended story feat ring Loki both in prison in the present day and hanging out with Wolverine in the old west. Andy MacDonald handles the art for the fifth and final issue of the series, which cleverly plays with elements of Loki’s relationship with the Marvel Universe in a tale told in prison, which isn’t true until Loki finishes telling the story. It’s an enjoyable end to a series that has ended all-too abruptly.

Loki opens the story as an old cowboy western. Silent movie era title cards punctuate the panels leading to the reveal of Loki with horns protruding from a bowler hat. A western cowboy story begins to develop and settle-in before the narrative switches to Loki in prison in a green jumpsuit, speaking to an unseen other. The narrative alternates between the cowboy western and the meta-fictional interview with Loki as a prisoner before launching the god of mischief into a realm of mystery beyond the back cover of the final issue of his current series. There’s no telling what’s coming for Loki. He could show up anywhere.

Kibblesmith may not have known that the series was going to end with this issue. Still, a character with the potential to break the fourth wall, which now can engage the past, allows the writer an opportunity to ingeniously play with the very nature of storytelling in a narrative that plays with current criticisms on the nature of superhero fiction and what it says about contemporary culture. The series closes with a kind of ending that suggests so much more could happen for the character in and out of any title bearing his name. Like the writer says at the end of the issue: always leave them wanting more.

MacDonald serves the story well. The roguish appeal of Loki is brought forth into a tale of the old west with commensurate swagger. It’s an appealing contrast to the clean, antiseptic look of Loki’s jump-suited life in a superhuman prison. The visuals at that end of the story play quite vividly with Loki’s questionable relationship with the Marvel Universe courtesy of Kibblesmith. The strange mock-up between Loki, Wolverine, and the old west feels perfectly at home at the end of the series viewed through MacDonald’s eyes. He may not exactly be riding off into the sunset, but it’s a look for a very strange final issue. 

So maybe he gave Wolverine a verbal tic back in the old west. He may have done more than that. Kibblesmith’s all-too-brief walk with the god of mischief has cast everything in the Marvel Universe in a whole new light. He can affect events in the past now. Who is to say that he hasn’t been between the panels? Causing weird, little problems and inconsistencies in the continuity over the years? It’s a fun, little gift that Kibblesmith and Loki are handing the Marvel Universe at the end of a very short series.

Grade: A