Loki’s defining trait, especially in the original myths, is that he is both the creator and the solver of the problem. What aspects of yourself do you see or put into the characters you write?

I’m a big Sandman fan as well, so it was inspiring to stand at the nexus of Kirby’s influence on Gaiman, and mythology’s impact on both of them, and to see their impact on me, first as a reader, and then as a writer, as I set out to place these mythological figures in an approximation of our actual world. So I re-read that, and from there I expanded outward into past and future, and read the tremendous Agent Of Asgard comics written by Al Ewing, Lee Garbett (and other artists), as well as going back to early 60’s Loki appearances orchestrated by his own creator gods: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Larry Lieber.Īside from comic-related research, one of my editors, Wil Moss, recommended Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, which was incredibly fun, concise, and helpful in giving me a more rounded view of Loki’s history and personality. The exception was the Journey Into Mystery series by Kieron Gillen and a whole roster of great artists who-alongside Tom Hiddleston’s MCU appearances-really set the mold for the modern take on the character. I was a big fan of Loki as a villain in the MCU, but I hadn’t read a ton of Thor-related comics until I got the gig. Loki is ever inspired by himself (or herself, or themselves), and that was how it worked for me, too.

Loki by Daniel Kibblesmith