Daniel Kibblesmith Gets Mischievous on New Loki Series
Updated: Jan 25, 2020
Loki was dead, then he came back. But if you know Loki, then you know you can't ever really keep this god of mischief down for long. After taking down his father, Laufey the King of Frost Giants, he has now become the ruler Jotunheim.
Loki has been man things over the years, but this series is seemingly setting him up as hero. Writer Daniel Kibblesmith is taking our favorite trickster god and returning him to a his own ongoing series.
Kibblemsith is paving new ground with this book and talked with me a bit about what we can expect. What do you guys think, is Loki becoming a hero all just another clever trick?
COMIC LOUNGE: You're best known for your writing on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". How did you get involved in comics? DANIEL KIBBLESMITH: I've always wanted to write comics, I actually went to film school, and ended up doing some comics-related internships at the same time that I was doing sketch and comedy writing in Chicago. My first official comics gigs were some humor strips for Valiant, which led to more work at Valiant, like the digital-first Valiant High, and then QUANTUM AND WOODY. At the same time, I was going to cons and talking to editors and fellow creators on Twitter all day, so eventually I had enough of a portfolio and reputation to start getting gigs at D.C. and Marvel.
COMIC LOUNGE: Were you a huge comic book fan growing up? KIBBLESMITH: Yeah, I was a huge reader in the 90s. I actually came to comics through video games, specifically the giant six-player X-Men arcade game. My dad had a big stack of Claremont/Byrne X-Mens, and Silver Age Fantastic Four, and more recent Superman, so whenever I had a question about a character in a video game or a cartoon, the secret answer was always in a comic in our house somewhere. COMIC LOUNGE: You're set to launch LOKI this week. How did you land that project? Have you always been a fan of the character?
KIBBLESMITH: Funnily, I was never a big Thor reader until recently. My big entries into superhero-dom were the Batman Animated Series, and the 90s heyday of X-Men and Spider-Man kind of running the show. But I was always an Avengers fan because that's where I could see a rotating cast of characters I loved, like Black Panther and Hawkeye, who didn't have as much of a spotlight at the time. So I knew Loki as the jerk who accidentally started the Avengers, and it wasn't until the movies that I, like a lot of people, realized, "Oh, he's clearly the most interesting character." COMIC LOUNGE: Loki has been many things (man, woman, good, evil, even the Sorcerer Supreme). What version of Loki will we see? KIBBLESMITH: Ideally all of the above, but at the moment Loki is the "Hero of the Realms," having slain his biological father Laufey, the King of the Frost Giants, and helped to end the War of the Realms on Earth. But he's also Loki, so having goodwill and being known as widely as a hero is always kind of a precarious status quo.
COMIC LOUNGE: What kind of fallout from WOTR will you be dealing with? KIBBLESMITH: When we join him in LOKI #1, he's the new king of Jotunheim, and the Frost Giants have mixed feelings about that. So does Loki, because as a god of chaos/mischief/stories, he's not used to having responsibility, or a boring job where he has to sit on a throne all day actually ruling the kingdom. So, being Loki, he looks for a quick fix, and, being Loki, starts a new chain reaction he can't necessarily control. COMIC LOUNGE: Loki is one of the most fascinating characters in comics. I think he works best when he's in that gray area. How do you plan on leaving your "mark" on the character? KIBBLESMITH: Me and our extraordinary penciller Oscar Bazaldua, hope to set our Loki apart the old fashioned way: We're gonna put him in the most little costumes. COMIC LOUNGE: What are the longterm plans for the book? Ongoing or miniseries?
KIBBLESMITH: As with all comics, it depends on whether people buy it! We have a ton of stories to tell about the new trying-to-be-heroic Loki, so if people want to see them, call your local comic shop literally right now and tell them: "Kibblesmith says hi, and also can you reserve every issue of LOKI for me?" and say thank you, they work hard. COMIC LOUNGE:Can you tease anything about the book that might further entice readers? KIBBLESMITH: The little costumes aren't enough? At least stick around as long as Issue 2, he goes to Iron Man's house and gets yelled at.