The king of the frost giants didn’t have “find old warship made of fingernails” on his agenda, but that’s all changed.  Your Major Spoilers review of Loki #1 from Marvel Comics, awaits!

LOKI #1

Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: German Peralta
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Editor: Wil Moss
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: June 7th, 2023

Previously in Loki: Once known as The God of Mischief, The God Of Lies, The God of Evil, Loki has taken on a new title The God of Stories, and has found himself ruler of Jotunheim.

READING IS FUNDAMENTAL

Loki #1 opens with a recounting of how back in the day, Loki had created a warship made from the fingernails of dead people considered lost and forgotten.  In the present time, Thor has come to his brother with words of advice for being a king.  Also, to ask Loki why he’s lounging away his days in Florida.  He explains that he’s preoccupied with his subjects by making it a royal decree that all frost giants must learn to read.  Meanwhile, using their newfound reading abilities, a pair of frost giants have found, stolen, then promptly crashed Loki’s warship, scattering pieces across the realms.  Being alerted to the incident, Loki goes to investigate and deduces that the fallen pieces can only lead to problems.  Thor informs him that the other realms may see the arrival of the pieces as acts of war.  Loki then sets out to track down the pieces.

SETTING THE TONE EARLY

If you’re coming into Loki #1 Looking for some sort of groundbreaking approach toward comic book storytelling, you might be a bit disappointed.  But for those with more realistic expectations, this is a fun read.  What makes this so entertaining first and foremost is the tone this issue sets very early.  Taking its cues from Thor: Ragnarok, this finds a nice balance between snark, silliness, and grim stakes.  Fun moments like Loki revealing that he might be the infamous “Florida Man” and then bluffing the frost giants with a curse, elevate an unimaginative setup.  Also, its sudden dips into dramatic territory feel natural and pleasantly jarring instead of ill-fitting. Helping this issue along is the narration, which comes from the unexpected source of the boat that’s at the center of the story.  This narration bounces between sardonic and unreliable to full-on sinister at crucial moments.

LETTING THE DESIGN CARRY THE LOAD

The art in Loki #1 is fun and playful.  The characters come off as very animated and there’s a sense of movement which fits this story well.  But, when it comes to visuals, it’s the design work that needs the lion’s share of the credit.  The usage of imaginative panel placement heightens moments that could have easily been simple left-to-right story advancement. Clever callbacks to past events and past art styles tie into this new Loki motif of being a storyteller, in effective ways.

BOTTOM LINE: A FITTING INTRO TO A CHARACTER-FOCUSED MINISERIES

This miniseries doesn’t look like it has aims to have a grand scale, which makes Loki #1 a fitting opening issue.  But, where it lacks in the scale department it more than makes up for in charm and some unique visual elements. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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Loki #1

75%

75%

God of Not Bad

Loki #1 doesn’t try to do too much which makes it feel somewhat lacking in ambition, but it manages to still be a fun read with enough charm to bring a smile.

• Writing

  6
• Art

  8
• Coloring

  8
• User Ratings (1 Votes)
  9.9