Book Review: Vote Loki by C. Hastings et al.

Vote Loki written by Chris Hastings, art by Langdon Foss and Paul McCaffrey

Politicians are considered inveterate liars, so what better candidate for President of the United States of America than Norse god Loki? He's the trickster of the pantheon, so lies and misdirections are his favorite things. He sneaks into a presidential debate as a blogger. At the debate, a bunch of Hydra goons try to kill both candidates. Loki reveals himself and takes them out--the Hydra agents, that is. He then gets swept up (or is he sweeping himself?) into running for president. He claims to have reformed his evil ways and even has a certified West Virginia birth certificate to show he's qualified. His superhuman powers and his disarming ability to admit he is a liar to the press and the public skyrocket him to fame and frontrunner status. But is it all really a put on? Does he really want to be president?

The book is a thinly-veiled satire of 2016's political election with Loki filling the outsider/media enemy role that Donald Trump had. The other two candidates in the story are never named and are completely unidentifiable, the focus remains on Loki, who does act more like Loki than Trump throughout the story. At one point, he interferes with political unrest in Latveria, using magic and deception to secure America's interests there. So he's not just a Trump stand-in. As a satire, it's a great premise but the execution of that premise is only good, not great. I finished reading and said to myself, "that was fun," not "that was awesome."

If it sounds interesting to you, give it a try, otherwise give it a pass.