Comic Series Review #3: Vote Loki Vol. 1 (2016)
With the 2020 United States Presidential Election just around the corner, it seems fitting to choose Marvel’s satirical Vote Loki title as the third entry for this series! I promise you, there are no political agendas or opinions within this review. I hope you all enjoy!
Aside from the fact that the U.S. Presidential Election is quickly coming upon us, the other reason I chose Vote Loki for this series’ third entry is simple — I’m hyped for Loki’s miniseries that was announced to be a part of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe! It is set to premiere on Disney+ sometime early next year (which hopefully remains true, and that the pandemic didn’t stall this as well). Prior to the 2016 Presidential Election, Marvel printed this underrated four-part series — possibly in an attempt to make their view on politicians known? Regardless, this is a very enjoyable series that will get you into the Election Day spirit and destined to give you a few laughs!
Written by Christopher Hastings, the plot is simple — Loki runs for office and attempts to become President Laufeyson. Could you imagine if this guy was POTUS? In this short series, Loki attempts to prove himself to the media as well as to a skeptical journalist named Nisa — who thrives on exposing political corruption. He pledges to America that he will “lie to your face”. That’s just the highlights, but there is far more than what I just mentioned. Warning, possible spoilers below!
What caught my eye from this series is that the main character is an everday person. No superhuman abilities, mutant genetics, or anything like that. Rather, she relies on her intuition and journalist experience — and her name is Nisa Contreras. Nisa is a journalist for the Daily Bugle who attempts to stop Loki from running and “expose” him, so to speak. However, their relationship grows throughout and changes after an episode with Doom’s Children in Latveria — that’s all that I will say about that. She has a personal bone to pick with Loki, as her New York neighborhood was destroyed during a battle between him and the Avengers when she was younger (2012 Avengers film reference?). She debuted in Vote Loki #1, and has appeared only in this series to date. Ultimately, it shows that a superhuman doesn’t always need to be the central character in order for the story to be entertaining. Even better is that Nisa represents something we do not see often in comics — the ordinary civilian and their struggles as the result of conflict between heroes and villains.
Loki’s portrayel is as you would expect — mischievous and untrustworthy. Or is he? The reader is made to believe that Loki really does care about American interests, and that he helped bolster Nisa’s journalism career due to her “busting” him. However, a mysterious phone call at the end of Vote Loki #4 puts an end to all the assumptions — and I’ll just leave it at that. Loki seemed more complex in this series, while also coming off as more sympathetic and fair than usual. Interestingly enough, Thor decided to not stop Loki simply because the whole matter was political due to Loki running for office. He even has Angela as his “security detail” for his campaign. Anyways, this series has some humor to it and it still fairly portrays the infamous God of Mischief.
The artwork of this series had a very real Archer vibe behind it, if that makes sense. Langdon Foss was responsible for issues #1,#3 and #4 while Paul McCaffrey did #2. Although I enjoyed the series greatly, the character design and artwork took some getting used to. Perhaps it was meant to be this way as the series is a form of political satire and not meant to be taken seriously. If that is indeed the case then I am already failing. It wasn’t terrible, nor was it eye-catchingly extravagant. However, I will admit that I am a fan of Loki’s casual and somewhat bummy look with a slight five-o-clock shadow (as seen above)! Even Asgardians have their days off, right? Even if they’re actually from Jotunheim?
Vote Loki is a series that one should think over before reading. Although it is meant as satirical, it could possibly hit somewhat close-to-home politically for a variety of readers. We read comics for entertainment, and we seek out entertainment as an escape from the real world. Does it make sense to escape the political climate of reality by reading into the political climate of Marvel? No, it doesn’t make sense — but we will still do it anyways! Should you choose to read this series, you will find yourself seeing some truth within it alongside some laughs!
For the previous entry in this series, please click here! For the next review, click here!
