LOKI Appreciation 2023

[Sif]

It was pretty good, so Loki is back, cool. I liked how this mini was able to travel from the mystic to the cosmic to the mundane and Loki could fit well in every dialogue and scenario.

Now, Beta Ray Bill last mini was also pretty good, yet (apparently) Al Ewing seems to not care for any of that take developments, will he also do that with Loki and not care where he ended in this final issue?

Also agree with the notion that the art in this mini was pretty good, specially Loki.

[Betty]

It was pretty good, so Loki is back, cool. I liked how this mini was able to travel from the mystic to the cosmic to the mundane and Loki could fit well in every dialogue and scenario.

Now, Beta Ray Bill last mini was also pretty good, yet (apparently) Al Ewing seems to not care for any of that take developments, will he also do that with Loki and not care where he ended in this final issue?

Also agree with the notion that the art in this mini was pretty good, specially Loki.

Yeah, I'm not exaggerating when I say I absolutely loved this mini. It's good to see Loki actually struggle with the worse parts of his/her nature; it's one of the most interesting aspects of his/her character and why Ewing's Loki fails so hard for me. I mean, ultimately I like to see Loki succeed at being good, but I need him/her to work for it and I want it to cost him/her. Struggles are an integral part of a compelling story. I do fully expect Ewing to ignore this development, though. Loki in the first issue of Thor was Ewing's usual Loki. Maybe he didn't want to spoil anything, but I don't think he'll want to acknowledge the mini; it's very different from Loki as he likes to write him/her. As much as I loved this run, it makes me even sadder for where I expect the character to be taken from here.

It's really good to see Watters bring back the idea that Loki is actually a good fighter and just prefers not to. There's no reason why Loki would be bad at actual combat, given his/her upbringing. It's another interesting aspect to his/her character, in my opinion.

It hurts my heart a little to see how he/she left things with Billy and Teddy, but I loved Gillen's JiM; clearly I like best the stories that hurt me.

I also absolutely loved the reveal of why Loki built the Naglfar. It was a really interesting character beat and it feels like something Gillen could've written; it speaks to Loki's arrogance, but also to his/her tendency towards self-pity, self-delusion, and loneliness. Watters just gets Loki. Absolutely loved it. So damn good.

[Sif]

Also this final issue had panels where the writer and artist were able to transmit to the reader the alarm that Loki presence can bring, something that was lost in recent years, that cameo was unexpected but worked again, specially in the sense that the entire run was able to put Loki's stuff as something beyond most of the marvel roster.

[Betty]

Also this final issue had panels where the writer and artist were able to transmit to the reader the alarm that Loki presence can bring, something that was lost in recent years, that cameo was unexpected but worked again, specially in the sense that the entire run was able to put Loki's stuff as something beyond most of the marvel roster.

It’s been a long time since Loki felt dangerous, and I missed it. I’m afraid it’s going to be a long time before we see it again. Ewing just keeps missing the mark for me. Just too darn soft. Coccolo even draws his/her face very round and soft-looking, which is completely different from how every other artist has drawn Loki up until now. Maybe it’s just the art style, but it’s weird for Loki. The new costume, though… Wow. That’s… Well, it’s a statement. And I hate it. A lot. Also didn’t like the implication that Loki has multiple personalities ala Dr Who? The comment about it having been a long time since Thor and Evil Loki have seen each other was weird. Evil Loki is good Loki. They’re the same person. It’s even weirder because the narration called it Loki’s aspect as Teller of Tales, which, presumably, Thor has never seen since Loki’s role as God of Stories is fairly new. I’m confused and not happy.

Pictured below is Loki's new costume. I had an AI make it. I regret nothing.


Second circus.jpg


But to end on a positive note, something about Watters’ run did occur to me. I personally believe Loki has a fair bit of buried self-loathing and it struck me what a brilliant touch that Loki made the Naglfar as a reflection of himself, and it hated him/her. He made it to be like him, and it hated him for making it what it was, just as Loki hated himself for what he became. I don’t know if that was set up intentionally, but it’s those little layers of meaning that really make me love a story.

[Frontier]

It’s been a long time since Loki felt dangerous, and I missed it. I’m afraid it’s going to be a long time before we see it again. Ewing just keeps missing the mark for me. Just too darn soft. Coccolo even draws his/her face very round and soft-looking, which is completely different from how every other artist has drawn Loki up until now. Maybe it’s just the art style, but it’s weird for Loki. The new costume, though… Wow. That’s… Well, it’s a statement. And I hate it. A lot. Also didn’t like the implication that Loki has multiple personalities ala Dr Who? The comment about it having been a long time since Thor and Evil Loki have seen each other was weird. Evil Loki is good Loki. They’re the same person. It’s even weirder because the narration called it Loki’s aspect as Teller of Tales, which, presumably, Thor has never seen since Loki’s role as God of Stories is fairly new. I’m confused and not happy.

Pictured below is Loki's new costume. I had an AI make it. I regret nothing.


Second circus.jpg


But to end on a positive note, something about Watters’ run did occur to me. I personally believe Loki has a fair bit of buried self-loathing and it struck me what a brilliant touch that Loki made the Naglfar as a reflection of himself, and it hated him/her. He made it to be like him, and it hated him for making it what it was, just as Loki hated himself for what he became. I don’t know if that was set up intentionally, but it’s those little layers of meaning that really make me love a story.

Yeah, I'm not really sure what Ewing is doing here.

[Sif]

I wonder if Loki is in the point, where core developments to his character, should be with him as lead and in the center of the narrative so the could breathe better, what Aaron was doing with Thor/Phoenix in the Avengers book was just painful, i don't want that for Loki anywhere.

[Betty]

I wonder if Loki is in the point, where core developments to his character, should be with him as lead and in the center of the narrative so the could breathe better, what Aaron was doing with Thor/Phoenix in the Avengers book was just painful, i don't want that for Loki anywhere.

Definitely, Loki's development should be in his/her own run, but at this point I'll take him/her as a side character as long as the writer isn't Ewing. I think I might write an email to Marvel, though, about how much I loved the mini. Hopefully if they hear enough positive feedback (and have good sales) they might give another Loki mini a shot, even better if it's with the same team. I don't think Ewing will ever let go of Loki, though. He seems to really like the version of Loki he made. It kind of ticks me off, because he had his variant of Loki in Defenders and could have continued to write that Loki as a separate Loki from the main Loki; we could have had both running around and everyone could've been happy. Instead, he had his pet Loki overwrite the other Loki's consciousness, and now we only have his interpretation.