There’s something magical about flipping through those old Marvel pages and seeing Loki evolve, and if you’re talking classic artists who really shaped his look, a few names always come up for me.
First and foremost: Jack Kirby. Loki technically debuts in 'Journey into Mystery' #85 (1962), and Kirby’s big, mythic shapes set the tone for how the trickster would inhabit the Thor universe. Joe Sinnott is another must-mention — his inks on early Thor work polished Kirby’s pencils into that clean, iconic Marvel look that made Loki read as grand and dangerous. Then there’s John Buscema, whose more muscular, heroic anatomy in the Bronze Age grounded Loki’s interactions with Thor and gave the god a physically believable presence on the page.
For me, Walt Simonson deserves a full paragraph of praise. His 1980s run on 'Thor' reintroduced mythic energy and theatrical flair; his Loki is more cunning and dramatic, and the layouts/energy lines he used really sold the trickery. Don’t forget inkers like Tom Palmer, who added mood and weight to those pencils. If you want to dive into actual classic reads, start at 'Journey into Mystery' and then hop around King Kirby, Buscema issues, and Simonson’s run — you’ll see Loki’s visual language changing in real time, which is kind of a thrill.