Variant Covers For the New ‘Loki’ Comics Series Are Coming Out and WOW

We probably won’t see Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe again until September, but in the comics world, a new Loki story is fast approaching. A four-part series starring Loki, written by Dan Watters and drawn by Germán Peralta, is coming out this June—and a bunch of gorgeous variant covers have dropped.

Here’s the official synopsis of the new series:

This exciting new chapter for the God of Stories will introduce a collection of ancient Norse weapons Loki crafted in his mischievous past. When they’re scattered throughout the realms, including Nidavellir, Kree space, and Earth, Loki must track them down to prevent them falling into the wrong hands. Throughout this twisting journey, readers will see Loki go head-to-head with iconic Marvel villains, provoke Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and be forced to confront the dark truth that lies at his center.

According to a more recent plot summary shared by comics retailers, Loki will set sail on a ship made of fingernails. Straight from the original Norse myths, Naglfar (“nail-farer”) is made from the finger and toenails of the dead. Loki will sail Naglfar to Nidavellir, where the dwarves are warring over one of his old weapons.

The series looks like it’ll be a lot of fun. And judging from these variants, Marvel is giving the series the love and care it deserves. Look at this beautiful rendering of Lady Loki, which will serve as a variant for issue #1:

The cover shows a detailed portrait of Lady Loki looking over her shoulder, with beautiful designs on her horned helmet. The cover is drawn by  Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, who’s known for his portraits of Marvel characters.

There’s also a Frank Miller variant showing Classic Loki grinning against a black background.

Two variants have been revealed for issue #2. This one, created by Dan Nguyen and tweeted out by Dan Watters himself, shows Loki holding Yggdrasil, the World Tree that holds the 10 realms in the Marvel universe. I love that Nguyen brought the black nail polish back!

Here’s a second variant for issue #2, drawn by Matteo Lolli. Lolli isn’t known as a manga artist, but this cover does seem to have some manga influence. It shows Loki smiling as he falls backwards into a city.

I can’t wait for this series to come out. Luckily, issue #1 hits shelves on June 7.

(featured image: Marvel Comics)