selfimage | Comprehensive reading list. (Reply)

So, this was supposed to be short and that never happened. Instead below is a list of comics that I compiled during a giant Loki (& Asgard, prob) binge that were either amusing or important enough to make the list. Most of it is self-contained within its own pocket so it can be read out-of-context. The newer stuff is better reading Siege-up, or at least Kid Loki-up, but it's not necessary. Find something I missed, wanna discuss something? Questions & comments are welcome!

Current

LOKI, GOD OF STORIES
Current stuff & currently getting more complicated. Somehow this has turned into Dark Reign p. 2.

› The Mighty Thor (2016) 1 - 23 (Aaron) Because comics are a mistake, it jumps right from no. 23 to no. 700 (see below).
› The Mighty Thor (2017) 700 - 706 (Aaron)
› The Mighty Thor (2018) 1 - ongoing (Aaron)
› The Avengers (2018) 1 - ongoing (Aaron)
› Doctor Strange (2017) 381 - 385 (Cates) Loki is Sorcerer Supreme; magic meta ensues; ties into Legacy.
› All-New Guardians of the Galaxy (2017) 10 - end of arc (Duggan)
› Marvel Legacy (2017; Aaron)
› Vote Loki (2016) 1 - 4 (Hastings) You can tell when it takes place because TMT Loki shaves his chin fuzz.
› Thors: Battleworld (2015) 1 - 4 (Aaron) To be read during Secret Wars, and can be read out of context. Aaron's Loki is a gift.

AGENT OF ASGARD
There's a brief transition period between Journey into Mystery and Young Avengers that heads straight into Agent of Asgard. For my own sanity, I've added YA to this list rather than to the JIM list, even if Kid Loki shows up for a majority of it.

Young Avengers (2013) 1 - 15 (Gillen; notes) There is a lot here under KG's Young Avengers tag. I'd suggest taking a look for all kinds of fun narrative tidbits, including notes on individual issues
Agent of Asgard (2014) 1 - 17 (Ewing)
- Original Sin: The Tenth Realm (2014) 1 - 5 (Aaron, Ewing) Between Agent of Asgard no. 5 and 6. Introduces my queen, Angela, as the daughter of Odin and sister of Thor & Loki.
  Angela: Asgard's Assassin (2014) 1 - 5 (Bennett, Gillen) Runs along the beginning of Agent of Asgard.
- AXIS (2014) 1 - 9 (Remender) Runs simultaneously with Agent of Asgard 6 to 9, I'd suggest taking a glance at it. It's not necessary, but it will avoid confusion in terms of what's happening with the event.

Notes: For everyone who wants a few more tidbits from AXIS, Loki shows up in Magneto (2014) no. 11, along with Amora. There's also a short where unworthy Thor goes on a bender in AXIS Revolutions no. 2; it doesn't include Loki, but it's one of those "how did who get where to meet who" BS that goes on in comics, and it's fun and cute.

These two don't need to be read, but they're fun.

Ms. Marvel (2015) 12 (Wilson) Loki shows up and messes around with stuff in a Valentine's Day special. It's cute, it's funny, I wouldn't worry too much about continuity here, just know it's before Agent of Asgard no. 10. There's a post-God of Stories follow up with this in Ms. Marvel (2016) no. 6.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015) 6 - 8 (North) No. 8 is really the only issue where Loki shows up, but you get Cat Thor out of it and it's fun. This is before Agent of Asgard no. 10. Loki shows up again post-God of Stories arc in no. 16 for Squirrel Girl's party.

KID LOKI

Thor (2011) 615 - 621 (Fraction)
Journey into Mystery (2011) 622 - 645 (Gillen)
- Exiled (2012) 1 (Gillen) Runs alongside Journey into Mystery. Read this before JIM no. 637. This also includes New Mutants 42 and 43.
- The Mighty Thor (2011) 1 - 22 (Fraction) Runs with KG's Journey into Mystery run. Starts at TMT no. 18, which is the prologue, and heads into JIM no. 642, then through the ends of both runs in reading order.
- The Mighty Thor Annual (2012; Fraction)
- Fear Itself (2012) 1 - 7 (Fraction) This event covers most of the beginning of KG's Journey into Mystery, as it ties into the event. Kid Loki shows up a few times and breaks Thor out of prison. It gives some context to what's going on.
- Fear Itself Thor 7.2 (2012; Fraction) Thor's funeral from Fear Itself. Necessary to figure out what the fuck is going on in TMT. Read between 7 and 8.
A+X (2012) 5 (Gillen; notes) Read this before starting Young Avengers. It's Loki trolling Sinister and tying up a few loose ends from Siege.

Dark Reign & Siege

I tried to keep this as linear as possible. tl;dr there's a lot of supervillains running around during this time doing shit, Osborn's collected them all in his Cabal, but they're still doing shit. While I can't say "read the whole thing" because Loki shows up at random sometimes (much like Dark Reign's Young Avengers run), but here's where Loki plays a bigger part than just "did this random thing for the lulz." There are a lot of moving parts to the villains in this event, and some cool stuff around about the Void/Sentry that I would consider looking into.

Consider this list base framework.

Thor (2007) 1 - 12 (Straczynski)
Thor: God-Size Special (2008; Fraction)
Secret Invasion: Dark Reign (2009; Bendis)
The Mighty Avengers (2009) 21 - 24 (Slott)
Thor (2009) 600 - 603 (Straczynski)
Siege: The Cabal (2009) Storyline: Dinner with Doom (Milligan)
New Avengers (2009) 55 - 57 (Bendis) Loki gives the Hood the Norn Stones.
Thor (2010) 604 - 609 (Gillen)
Siege: Loki (2010; Gillen)
Thor: Giant Sized Finale (2010; Straczynski)
Siege (2009) 1 - 4 (Bendis)
Thor (2011) 610 - 614 (Gillen) This is post-Siege-ish.

Loki doesn't show up too much in Dark Avengers, but it's critical to knowing what's going on around this time.

Dark Avengers (2009) 1 - 12 (Bendis)
Dark Avengers Annual (2010; Bendis) Read after 12.
Dark Reign: Young Avengers (2009) 1 - 5 (Cornell) Some Loki for the lulz during Dark Reign again.

Origins

I tried to keep this minimal but ran into some issues because I wanted to add everything that I could. Here are some of the larger Loki events (where Loki is the obvious villain) that are being used/have been used as influence in post-2007 Loki stuff.

Journey into Mystery 85, 88, 92, 94, 108 (Lee & Kirby)
The Mighty Thor (1967) 147 - 157 (Lee & Kirby) Some stuff, also Mangog.
The Mighty Thor (1970) 175 - 181 (Lee & Kirby)
The Mighty Thor (1982) 323 (Grant)
The Mighty Thor (1983) 337 - 349 (Simonson) ✻ I put 350 - 354 under Ragnaroks. There is important Loki stuff in there.
The Mighty Thor (1984) 355 - 359 (Simonson)
The Mighty Thor (1986) 365 - 369 (Simonson)
The Mighty Thor (1986) 375 - 382 (Simonson) Honestly just read all of Simonson.
The Mighty Thor (1991) 431 - 432 (DeFalco)
The Mighty Thor (1992) 449 - 455 (DeFalco)
The Mighty Thor (1995) 482 (DeFalco) Storyline: While Mephisto's Away
Thor Annual (1971) 3 (Lee & Kirby)
Thor Annual (1983) 11 (Zelentez)
Thor Annual (1984) 13 (Frenz) Storyline: Thy Neighbor's Wife
Thor: Tales of Asgard (2009 reprint) 1 - 6 (Lee & Kirby) These were originally printed in JIM 97 - 104, so whatever is working for you here.

Ragnaroks

Loki has a pretty big part in almost all of these, and it comes up in the post-2007 stuff a lot and plays a big part in Agent of Asgard. Lost Gods is one of my favorites. Disassembled continues the theme of Loki's talking, severed head. It's the last Ragnarok before the cycle "ends" with Those Who Sit Above In Shadow defeated.

The Mighty Thor (1972) 200 (Lee & Kirby)
The Mighty Thor (1978) 272 - 278 (Lee & Kirby)
The Mighty Thor (1984) 350 - 354 (Simonson) ✻
Journey into Mystery: The Lost Gods (1996) 503 - 513 (DeFalco)
The Mighty Thor: Disassembled (2004) 582 - 587 (Oeming)

Flashbacks & childhood

Who knows what's canon anymore.

Thor Annual (1971) 4 (Lee & Kirby) Storyline: The Boyhood of Loki
The Mighty Thor (1989) 400 (DeFalco) Storyline: Evil Aborning
Thor: Season One (2013; Sturges)
Journey into Mystery Minus 1 (1997; DeFalco)
Avengers Origins: Thor (2011; Kathryn Immonen)

OUT OF TIMELINE
These aren't really in Marvel-timeline stories, but they have an impact on how Loki is written after their publishing.

Loki (2004) 1 - 4 (Rodi)
Loki (2010) 1 - 4 (Aguirre-Sacasa)

Crossovers

Stuff before Dark Reign that includes more than just the Asgardians, and heads into the realm of Loki's adventures with the Avengers. The two most prominent here are the conception of the Avengers in Avengers no. 1, and the Acts of Vengeance event, which Loki tries to "make up" for his mistake in forming the Avengers.

Strange Tales (1964) 123 (Lee) Story: The Challenge of Loki
Silver Surfer (1980) 4 (Lee & Kirby)
Avengers: The Origins (2010) 1 - 5 (Casey) Alternatively, Avengers no. 1, 1963 (Lee & Kirby). The 2010 retelling has less of Hank being a dick to Janet.

AVENGERS-DEFENDERS WAR
- Avengers (1973) 115 - 118 (Englehart)
- Defenders (1973) 8 - 11 (Englehart)
THE X-MEN: ASGARDIAN WARS
- X-Men and Alpha Flight (1985) 1 - 2 (Claremont)
- The New Mutants Special Edition (1985; Claremont)
- X-Men Annual (1985) 9 (Claremont)
- Alpha Flight (1987) 50 (Mantlo)
ACTS OF VENGEANCE
- Avengers (1989) 311 - 313 (Ryan)
- Captain America (1989) 365 - 367 (Gruenwald)
- The Mighty Thor (1989) 411 - 412 (DeFalco)
- Avengers West Coast (1989) 53 - 55 (Byrne)
Avengers Annual (1994) 23 (Thomas)
Black Panther (2002) 46 - 47 (Priest) This is a retelling of one of Simonson's stories with the Black Panther.
Amazing Spider-Man (2004) 503 - 504 (Straczynski)

Asgard-specific

Some stuff that is probably good to know—Asgard stuff, Thor's conception, adventures of the Warriors Three, etc. This is also a loose recommendation of things that I enjoyed reading.

Thor Annual (1982) 10 (Gruenwald & Zelenetz)
The Mighty Thor (1990) 419 - 425 (DeFalco) Generally a fun read. Includes the clone-son the High Evolutionary made out of Thor & Loki's DNA. Enjoy.
Warriors Three (2011) 1 - 4 (Willingham) Not anything specific to Loki, but Fenris shows up to mess with the Warriors Three, and there are mentions of "Loki's kids." It's fun and worth the read.
Thor: God of Thunder (2013) 1 - 25 (Aaron)
Thor (2014) 1 - 8 (Aaron) This ends before Secret Wars. The Mighty Thor (back up in Essential) is the current run post-Secret Wars. Thors should be read between them.
Angela: Asgard's Assassin (2014) 1 - 6 (Gillen & Bennett)
Angela: Queen of Hel (2015) 1 - 5 (Bennett) Leah shows up.
Unworthy Thor (2017) 1 - 5 (Aaron) Thori's here.
Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica (2009; Brown)
What If? (1978) What if Jane Foster had Found the Hammer of Thor? (Glut)

What the hell

Marvel Double Shot (2003) 2 (Morrison) Storyline: The Roots of All Evil
Wolverine vs. Thor (2009) 1 - 3 (Tieri) When I talked about the lulz in Siege/Dark Reign, this is a perfect example.
Deadpool: Art of War (2014) 1 - 4 (David)

Comprehensive reading list.

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