Loki Appreciation 2022

[Prof. Aegis]

Some recent Loki Solicits (yeah I know most of these have been posted recently):

DEFENDERS: BEYOND #1 (OF 5)

AL EWING (W) • JAVIER RODRÍGUEZ (A) • WRAPAROUND COVER BY JAVIER RODRÍGUEZ
Variant Cover by LEE GARBETT
SPOILER Variant Cover by LEONARDO ROMERO
Stormbreakers Variant Cover by NATACHA BUSTOS
Variant cover by PHIL NOTO • TEASER VARIANT COVER BY RON LIM
Al Ewing and Javier Rodríguez follow up their acclaimed DEFENDERS: THERE ARE NO RULES series with a new volume and an all-new lineup, including none other than Loki, God of Stories! When Doctor Strange sends a dire warning from beyond the grave, Blue Marvel, America Chavez, Taaia (Galactus’ mom!), Tigra and Loki assemble to defend reality itself! Plus, you won’t believe who shows up on the final page!





THOR: LIGHTNING AND LAMENT #1

RALPH MACCHIO (W) • Todd Nauck (A)
Cover by RON LIM
VARIANT COVER BY Logan Lubera
The Mighty Thor has abandoned Asgard in her greatest hour of need, leaving the Realm Eternal in the hands of his half brother Loki, in the absence of its rightful ruler, Odin.
With Asgard under assault by legions of trolls, and the Lady Sif hovering near death due to a possibly fatal wound suffered in battle, can anyone save the Golden City from annihilation?



MARVEL’S VOICES: PRIDE #1

Written by CHARLIE JANE ANDERS, CHRISTOPHER CANTWELL, ANDREW WHEELER, ALYSSA WONG, GRACE FREUD, IRA MADISON III, & DANNY LORE
Art by STEPHEN BYRNE, BRITTNEY WILLIAMS, SCOTT B. HENDERSON & more!
Cover by NICK ROBLES
Variant Cover by STEPHEN BYRNE• Cover by NICK ROBLES
VARIANT COVER BY AMY REEDER • VARIANT COVER BY OLIVIER COIPEL
VARIANT COVER BY JEN BARTEL • VARIANT COVER BY STEPHEN BYRNE
Hot off a GLAAD Award nomination for 2021’s anthology, MARVEL’S VOICES: PRIDE returns for a jam-packed celebration of LGBTQI+ characters and creators! New York Times-bestselling, multi-award-winning author Charlie Jane Anders introduces a new hero to the Marvel Universe – and it won’t be the last you see of them. Get in on the ground floor here! IRON MAN scribe and lauded TV showrunner Christopher Cantwell takes on Moondragon’s complex legacy for a heart-bending story across space and time. Shuster and Eisner-winning writer Andrew Wheeler makes his Marvel debut with the MU’s real god of love – Hercules! Nebula, World Fantasy, and Locus-award winner Alyssa Wong reunites the Young Avengers in a story guaranteed to please fans new and old! And that’s just the first slice of the rainbow. MARVEL’S VOICES continues its groundbreaking anthology series with another swoon-worthy glimpse of the world outside your window!




Not Mentioned, but is on the cover
IRON FIST #5 (OF 5)

ALYSSA WONG (W) • MICHAEL YG (A)
Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU
VARIANT COVER BY GUNJI
The seal has been broken!
As a dark god’s power begins to rise, LIN LIE faces an impossible choice!
Will the power of the IRON FIST finally accept him…and even if it does, will it be enough?



Not sure if I missed anything.

[Prof. Aegis]

And the new Scottie Young statue is now available to order too!

New limited edition Marvel Comics statues are heading our way as Diamond Select Toys reveals their next set of reveals. Starting things off first is a new Skottie Young Loki as the Trickster God gets animated once again. Coming in at just 3,000 pieces, this comic book accurate design stands 4" tall and is loaded with color. The cel-shading on this statue really stands out and will be a nice statue to add to any Marvel fan's Skottie Young collection. Be sure to also check out some of the other animated statues also coming soon, like Apocalypse, Winter Soldier, and even Scarlet Witch. Set to release in September, with Loki found here for $49.99

[Raye]

ah! that statue is so cute!

Hm, had missed the Iron fist cover when i saw the solicits earlier today. Hopefully, the cover is misleading, as they often are with Loki.

Also weird, and kinda disappointing to me for kinda the same reasons as the Defenders thing, is the whole Jane being Thor again. Like first of all, regression, (though probably only temporary) yawn... but also, it makes NO sense given recent events in Thor. There is no enchantment on Mjolnir, or at least not the same one as before. It's not just kinda haunted by Odin, so, like, wtf? it feels like more of the right hand not knowing what the left is doing

[Prof. Aegis]

I know, I love the statue!

Yeah, with Iron Fist, I wonder if Loki is part of a flashback or just a passing connection, but the cover appearance adds drama. It's the last issue of the mini-series, so I can't see him having a big part to play.

As for Jane, I see it strictly for story and sales purpose to connect to the movie releasing. Jane will probably go back to being Valkyrie by the end of the story. They'll figure some Asgardian magic/power will give her the ability to change into Thor and so on. So yeah, it still won't make any real sense but helps them tell the story. That's my loose guess anyway.

Oh and regarding Odin showing up in the upcoming Thor/Hulk, I wonder if that's more about a flashback as well. It just seems odd Cates would undo what he just did so quickly.

But still we have no new Loki storylines or series reflective of our current Loki.

[Raye]

Yeah, I guess it probably is just a movie tie in, but it still doesn't make any sense, and I do worry it could weaken Cates' story, where he literally JUST removed the enchantment from Mjolnir.

I don't think the Iron Fist story is in the past, or at least not enough in the past that Loki would be a bad guy again, since he is in his modern costume... I'm betting on more of a misunderstanding situation, where they think he's involved, but not really and he ends up helping in the end?

and with Odin, I don't think Cates is undoing anything. the cover shows Odin inside Banner's 'cockpit' for 'Starship Hulk'. As in, he's inside Banner's mind. He doesn't need to have a living body to do this, I don't think, probably the spirit in the hammer could enter Banner's mind, we'll have to see in the next few issues how far Odin as a hammer can act.

And yeah, still no Loki stuff but it is the final issue of the Hulk crossover, so i wasn't really expecting too much movement on the 'main' Loki....

[Prof. Aegis]

Yeah, I guess it probably is just a movie tie in, but it still doesn't make any sense, and I do worry it could weaken Cates' story, where he literally JUST removed the enchantment from Mjolnir.

I don't think the Iron Fist story is in the past, or at least not enough in the past that Loki would be a bad guy again, since he is in his modern costume... I'm betting on more of a misunderstanding situation, where they think he's involved, but not really and he ends up helping in the end?

and with Odin, I don't think Cates is undoing anything. the cover shows Odin inside Banner's 'cockpit' for 'Starship Hulk'. As in, he's inside Banner's mind. He doesn't need to have a living body to do this, I don't think, probably the spirit in the hammer could enter Banner's mind, we'll have to see in the next few issues how far Odin as a hammer can act.

And yeah, still no Loki stuff but it is the final issue of the Hulk crossover, so i wasn't really expecting too much movement on the 'main' Loki....

Agreed, don't really know how they'll make the whole hammer thing work now. First issue will be telling.

Good point on Iron Fist on it being a misunderstanding and him helping in the end. I could see that happening.

That makes sense as well, regarding Odin being in Banner's mind.

Oh yeah, I know there's all the other stuff happening in Thor and with Hulk, that I wasn't expecting anything either. Even still, there hasn't been any real development toward Loki gaining a new solo. His appearances in Thor have been minor appearance at least and supporting character for an issue at most. It just feels like Cates is purposely keeping Loki out of the way so he can focus on Thor, which is fine, but if he doesn't want to do anything with Loki, why not let someone else write a solo series that won't conflict with his Thor stories? Ah well.

[Raye]

To be fair, there has been some foreshadowing with Loki, even if his appearances have been a bit sporadic. At least he is involved, which kind of says to me Cates has some plans for him, even if it's kinda taking forever to get to anything substantial. At this point, it seems Cates doesn't focus a ton on non-Thor characters (which is fair, it's Thor's book) but a sort of core set of supporting characters has been settled on, that have had important developments or parts to play in the story, if only briefly, and Loki is among them... And of the ones he's using (in addition to Loki, seems to mostly be Sif, Odin, Bill, Freyja, Throg, Angela... other characters like Volstagg or Balder appear, but not as much, and there doesn't seem to be a storyline building involving them as more than bit players) There are a couple things that kinda make it feel like he's got something planned. One, there's been foreshadowing of something coming for him 'a story for another time' and stuff. Two, Loki both hasn't gotten a makeover, which I find a bit odd. Freyja got a new look new look and role, Odin got a new look, and now a new role, kinda, Sif has a new role, Bill got a new costume and maybe new role? (War?), and of course Thor got a makeover. So why was Loki's costume change just going back to his Agent of Asgard look? Why not give him a full redesign like some of the others? Now, not saying I think he needs one, I happen to really like the costume he's wearing, but it does seem to be a trend to give most of the major characters a new look. Maybe they are waiting on Loki, for a story reason.

So, yeah, I do think he wants to do something with Loki, it's just not time for it yet. It is frustrating waiting though.

[Yoruno]

So... it's a tie-in.

leegarbett
He’s baaaaaaaack.

“Al Ewing and Lee Garbett collaborate for the first time since LOKI: AGENT OF ASGARD to bring you an all-new chapter for the god of mischief that leads directly into Ewing’s upcoming DEFENDERS BEYOND series”

tumblr_01252c5a3736e31e777ce6587d9ff6ca_80f99965_1280.jpg

I guess they're going to play with the idea of variants and take the turn that was abandoned. Just like Raye, I'd rather have Loki moving on (and I also dislike the God of Stories design though I find his title quite cool), while this chapter might be once again demonstrating that Loki's current position as a good king is basically a deadend for the character. Which is why they're not developing it further. He's now a wise (or, at least, sensible) ruler of his realm, as opposed to Thor, and can't be involved in any kind of adventure without losing his kingdom. An easy way would be a regression to his old ways, as it was partly hinted at in the Mighty Valkyries, but that seems unlikely. It's a stalemate.

[Raye]

it looks like he's walking through that door at the end of AoA... so that does semi-confirm it is a time travel dealie. But if he doesn't go BACK, then it is a paradox. The best case scenario for me is he comes to the realization that declaring yourself something new doesn't necessarily make it so, and kind of bridging the gap between the two runs. But I am not particularly hopeful on that front. And I am not against 'god of stories' as a broad concept, I just didn't like the particulars they settled on to represent that. I'm fine with him keeping some 'story' focus going forward, I just don't want to see a full on regression to this characterization where he got an annoying personality transplant. But some other things are making that look less likely which is a relief.

I do think Loki as king of Jotunheim is a bit of a dead end, yeah. But it's one he can easily get out of. He could just pass that off to someone else. Who? I dunno, they can come up with something. Thor may not be happy about that, because this is the first time in centuries Jotunheim has been friendly with Asgard, and if Loki was no longer king, that may end. But from a reader perspective, I mean, Jotunheim is not as much of a draw as Asgard, so there is a limited amount you can do with the ruler of that realm, really.

https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...artists-return

That image seems to come from this article: https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...artists-return

It also has some interior pages, and a variant cover with Loki that I liked:




I kinda like that they gave Laussa to Loki to hold

Doesn't seem to be in the other pages, but I can't imagine he would not be present at the funeral, and there are some giants there.

[Prof. Aegis]

Lady Loki Funko is coming!



Check here for the write up. It's a special edition, but seems like it'll be sold at Walgreens. Plus other online stores!

Love that we're getting so many different Loki Funkos.

[Raye]

ah, too cute! Sadly we don't have Walgreens in Canada, but I may be able to get an American friend to get one, if they don't have an alternate deal for Canada (sometimes they give exclusives that are restricted to US to Toys R Us up here, since we still have those)

[Emoandlazy]

Loki holding laussa is too cute because they're the younger siblings (I hope he would be holding her inside the issue too fufugadi)

I just realised how much I wanna see Loki interact with his baby sister.

as for Al ewing I'm gonna stick with my theories just because I feel like they make more sense to me.




I hope the pride month story is Loki and his friends (all thought not sure if I can call them his friends yet)celebrating pride month together and nothing sad or bad happens .Because Like it's pride month give him a break at least in this month :')

Maybe them getting an actual reunion and going back as a team because they missed each other too .I don't know I just really want Loki on a team with friends already it sucks seeing him suffer alone. I really like both the artist and writer of the pride month story and I really want them to work together on a young avenger comic.

Something no one cares about but I wanna mention because I'm dying for more comics strange and Loki interaction I'm guessing the one we won't believe is appearing in the last page of the first issue of defenders beyond is probably doctor strange because lee garnett said he will be joining the team .probably for" oh my god how is he here he's supposed to be dead"shock factor .All thought I'm kinda disappointed because that's not the Loki I want strange to interact with.

I think Loki would probably appear in issue 4 or issue 3 of ironfist before appearing in issue 5 but he's just not on the cover of them just because.

Is it me or are we getting at least one current Loki appearance a month or is this just normal and I'm just new?

[Digifiend]

There's an Infinity Comic out called Who Is America Chavez. It recaps her history, including her time with the Young Avengers, so Loki cameos.

[Yoruno]

I'll just leave it here:
https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...nkId=162003047
Alligator Loki has new chapters as well, plotless for the most part: Croki trying to lift Thor's Mjolnir, eating butterflies and other cute stuff.

marvoicespride2022001_reeder_variant.jpg

[Raye]

Nice! hopefully between that, and the other cover with the Young Avengers where he appeared prominently, it means he will have more of a part to play than last year. And I doubt anything bad will happen in the issue, the Pride issue is meant to be a celebration, only good vibes.

Yeah, the alligator Loki comic is just fluff, like the Jeff comic. Cute, but not of any consequence. A lot of the Infinity comics are like that, with the odd exception, so I wasn't really expecting much else. I do kinda hope OG Loki comes back to see what the gator is up to tho.

I hope to see Laussa with Loki too. It's strange, we've only really seen her with Balder and Angela, maybe a tiny bit with Thor. Maybe Freyja will give her to Loki to hold during the funeral.

Oh yeah, i forgot he was appearing in Iron Fist....will have to check that out.

As for Strange, I mean he is dead, so... last i heard was something about a zombie Strange, presumably a sort of nod to the MCU, but I am not caught up on Strange (with Clea) just read the first issue of that so far, so not really sure what's up. If Lee says he will appear in Defenders, guessing it is some kind of alt universe or time travel thing, same as with the Loki that appears there. I do want Loki and Strange to interact though. I know it was not REALLY Loki, but I loved the frenemies thing they had going on in that Mephisto thing.

And Loki appearances... I mean it ebbs and flows. sometimes we get a ton, sometimes it's a couple months between appearances. It feels like the appearances are getting more frequent over the next few months though, so hopefully that trend continues!