Loki fans are in a bit of a dry spell at the moment. News about Loki season 2 has been slowly trickling in, but with filming having only just wrapped a few weeks ago, we’ve still got a few months before we get to find out what Marvel’s God of Mischief is up to. If you’ve watched season 1 so much that your eyes have bored holes in your TV, don’t worry—there are lots of Loki-centric books out there to help you get your fix! Here are 10 (well, more like 12) of our favorites.
Some of these titles are Marvel comics, while others are novels and stories that focus on the Loki from Norse mythology. But they all center on the trickster god we know and love, with all the mischief he can dish out.
Loki: Agent of Asgard
If you only read one of Loki’s Marvel story arcs, make it this one. Loki, recently reborn into a new body, wants to turn over a new leaf. He cuts a deal with the All-Mothers of Asgardia: for every mission he performs for them, they’ll strike one of his evil deeds from the record. With the help of his new friend Verity Willis, who can see through any lie, Loki seems to be making good progress until he finds out that his evil future self is determined to force him back onto the path of villainy. Making matters worse, Loki is carrying an unspeakable secret that, if discovered, would shatter any chance he might have of redeeming himself.
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The Witch’s Heart
This novel by Genevieve Gornichec, adapted from the Norse myths, tells the story of the jotun Angrboda, Loki’s lover and the mother of his monstrous children. Shunned by the gods and hunted by Odin for her knowledge of seidhr, Angrboda lives a lonely existence in Ironwood until a handsome trickster shows up with her still-beating heart. Although Loki is a supporting character in this book, the love story between him and Angrboda, and the slanted look at the familiar myths (including some new and interesting interpretations of Loki’s more sinister acts), will have you looking at Loki in a whole new light.
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Thor and Loki: Double Trouble
It’s Loki in manga form! This adorable graphic novel by Mariko Tamaki, featuring the amazing art of Gurihiru (Avatar: The Last Airbender), follows teenage Thor and Loki as an ill-fated scheme gets them sucked into an alternate universe. Once there, they meet female versions of themselves, and the four of them have to stop fighting long enough to get things sorted out! The story features ridiculous shapeshifting, horribly thought out plans, some deliciously unbridled pettiness, and plenty of denying responsibility for one’s actions.
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Loki: Where Mischief Lies
This YA novel by Mackenzie Lee takes place a century and change before the events of Thor and The Avengers. Odin is preparing to name a successor to his throne, and Loki is desperate to prove himself worthy. When Odin sends him on a seemingly pointless mission to Earth, Loki suspects that Odin is quietly getting him out of the way, but Loki is surprised to find his old flame Amora living in London. Together, Loki and Amora decide to make some mischief. Featuring some Marvel lore that we haven’t yet seen in the MCU, this story is a surprisingly moving take on the young God of Mischief.
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Journey Into Mystery: Fear Itself
Of all the new characters we met in Loki, Kid Loki was one of the most popular (well, okay, aside from Alligator Loki). Journey Into Mystery: Fear Itself is a 2-volume collection that introduces Kid Loki’s counterpart from the comics. Loki has been reborn into a child’s body, but war is brewing in Asgard, no one trusts the reincarnated trickster god, and even Loki isn’t sure why his evil older self chose to sacrifice himself to save his people. This collection contains great writing and art by Kieron Gillen and Doug Braithwaite, and has a more mythical feel than some of the more superhero-y Thor comics.
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Young Avengers
If you love Kid Loki, then you can catch more of him in Young Avengers by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. There’s an evil force running amok in the multiverse, but grownups can’t see it. That means it’s up to America Chavez, Kate Bishop, Billy Kaplan, and other superpowered minors to save the world. Luckily, the Young Avengers have Kid Loki around to help them out … but is that help genuine, or is this whole thing another of Loki’s schemes?
Norse Mythology
Neil Gaiman’s retelling of the myths found in the Norse Eddas is a modern classic and a must for any Loki lover. The stories in this volume are faithful to the originals, but they still have Gaiman’s unmistakable flair. The original Loki is every bit as sneaky as his Marvel counterpart, tricking the gods and then getting himself out of the resulting scrapes. If you’re wondering where Marvel got the inspiration for Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, Odin’s horse Sleipnir, the frost giants, Lady Loki, or that unfortunate incident with Sif’s hair, all those stories can be found in this collection. It can also serve as a starting point if you want to dive deeper into Norse lore.
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The Poetic and Prose Eddas
Speaking of Norse lore … why not just read some Norse lore? The Poetic, or Elder, Edda is a collection of ancient poems and songs that include myths about Loki—including the Lokasenna, or “Loki’s Ultimate Party Foul.” The Prose Edda, written by Icelandic chieftain Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, contains retellings of many Norse myths, including the one where Loki gives birth to a horse, and the one where Loki invents the fishing net just to weasel his way out of trouble. Classic Loki!
The Gospel of Loki
This novel is the first in a duology by Joanne M. Harris, author of Chocolat, that retells the Norse myths from Loki’s point of view. In the original Norse myths, Loki’s origin is a mystery, but The Gospel of Loki gives him an origin story. After Odin recruits him from Surtr’s realm of Chaos, Loki helps the gods and watches the rise and fall of Asgard, from its creation from the body of Ymir to its destruction in Ragnarok. Along the way, he provides wry commentary on the “accepted” versions of the Aesir’s myths.
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Vote Loki
President Loki is another beloved Loki variant who made his MCU debut in the Disney Plus series. In Marvel’s Vote Loki, you can see where the series got its inspiration! Loki has decided that he wants to be President of the United States, and he uses his silver tongue and abundance of charisma to aid him on the campaign trail. But is his campaign just a scheme with some nefarious ulterior motive? I mean, more so than other politicians? Read and find out! Bonus: this book contains some truly uncomfortable commentary on the twisted rise of Donald Trump.
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This list just scratches the surface of all the great Loki titles out there, both Marvel and non-Marvel. Did we miss any good ones? What’s your favorite book about Loki? Sound off in the comments!
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