MANILA, PHILIPPINES — After that mind-blowing season finale for the Loki Disney+ series, fans are excited for what it all means for Loki and the MCU. Let long-time comic book guy JV guide you on the recommended books that delve further into the characters and clue you in on what may come next! MAJOR SPOILERS for the Loki Disney+ series.
1. Loki: Agent of Asgard (Writer: Al Ewing. Artist: Lee Garbett) – Loki operates as a spy to ensure Asgard’s safety. But what starts as a mission to safeguard the realm’s future becomes Loki’s quest to stave off his inevitable fall from grace. Why This Book? Loki’s evil villain drastically changes to anti-hero in the series and this title straddles that line as well. AoA gives ideas on where Loki could go as a character in the show moving forward.
2. Avengers Forever (W: Kurt Busiek. A: Carlos Pacheco) – Avengers are plucked from their respective timelines by Kang the Conqueror to fight the Time Keepers. WTB? Avengers Forever summarizes everything you need to know about He Who Remains aka Immortus/Kang and the Time Keepers, characters introduced in Loki. It shows us how formidable and dangerous Kang/Immortus will be in the MCU (a time-travelling warrior who can wipe his enemies out of existence!). And while the Time Keepers were Kang’s figureheads in the show, it begs the question of why they were chosen in the first place. Avengers Forever provides possible answers.
3. Avengers: Heavy Metal (W: Walt Simonson. A: John Buscema) – The Avengers are being mind-controlled and manipulated by a female Kang to find the deadliest weapon in the universe! WTB? This is the first appearance of the Council of Cross-time Kangs, an organization composed of Kang variants. Variants that He Who Remains mentions are worse than him, a reference to this motley group who will make their presence felt in upcoming MCU movies (first up Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania!).
4. Fantastic Four: The New Fantastic Four (W/A: Walt Simonson) – The Fantastic Four is arrested by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) for “illegal” time travel! WTB? This is our first real look at the TVA (fronted by Mobius M. Mobius as well) and their monolithic bureaucracy that monitors time. While the live-action TVA was concerned with “preserving the Sacred Timeline”, maybe their purpose will be altered to something akin to their comic book counterpart in Loki season 2.
About the author
JV Tanjuatco is a comic book writer/editor/publisher who founded Comic Book Lab, a business that creates comics for clients. Projects have included the comic book titles Mythopolis and War of Whispers (co-created and co-written by him), and Stay: 21 Comic Stories authored by Palanca Award winner Angelo R. Lacuesta and illustrated by a stellar line-up of artists including Trese’s Kajo Baldisimo. Other notable clients include WHO, USAID Philippines, Sun Life, and Manulife. He has also written articles/reviews for Spot.ph and Ain’t It Cool.
