Just read 600 and I'm going to moan again about the art. Why does the very competent Olivier Coipel seem so reluctant to give characters the all-out, pulse pounding, splashy entrance the script hints they're going to get? The first appearance of the reborn Bor (right your own joke) here is flat as a pancake sat on by Volstagg. Worse yet, Don Blake strikes the cane - with a very politely lettered Ba-doom! - and does Thor appear, hammer blazing, fists flying as he heads for battle? Nope, he strides towards us like a catwalk model, smouldering in his new costume.

Plus, I know Thor wields the lightning, and Bor the, er, Bor-dominance, but must fight scenes dominated by lighting effects? It reminds me of John Byrne's snow issue of Alpha Flight - something is happening, dunno what. There were some panels where I couldn't make out what was going on at all (the page with the Ba-choom sound effect, for example).

I'm also annoyed that we're supposed to believe Balder acts in accordance with Asgardian law this issue, rather than because he's Lokette's stooge, as has been obvious for months. He's the co-ruler of Asgard, he IS Asgardian law. If he can really see through Loki's serpentine whispers, why the heck is he letting the god of cross dressers hang around and snark?

And when will Marvel get rid of the intensely annoying Asgard font that strips the dynamism from any sentence? Just give me regular lettering and I won't even demand cod-Shakespeare.

That apart, JMS didn't do too badly with the script, there was fighting alongside the usual Loki nonsense, which is nice. And the ending of this issue intrigued - it's just a shame the story will likely take six months to get going.