Trickster. Traitor. Villain. Variant. 

Hero? 

Marvel Studios' Loki, the charismatic and compelling God of Mischief portrayed by Tom Hiddleston, first strode across screens in 2011’s Thor.  Five films and a veritable multiverse of merchandising campaigns later, the television show Loki debuted as part of Marvel Studios' foray into televisually expanding upon the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to show characters' post-Endgame exploits. The show Loki tackles tough topics over the course of its two seasons, showcasing its ability to contain multitudes, from reframing the grand heroics of the MCU through the banality of bureaucracy at the Time Variance Authority, to tracing the title character's arc from power-hungry despot to self-sacrificial [anti]hero. Through recurring themes of power, identity, duplicity, and control, both Loki and Loki concern themselves with multiversal moral dilemmas and quantum physics-inspired quandaries—-what happens to a God when no one’s left to worship him? How does one successfully subvert a corrupt system to enact positive social change? Who is responsible for the pattern of our lives? Which matters more, fate or free will?

Whereas the MCU overall and certain Marvel characters (such as Black Widow) have received scholarly treatment, no critical volume yet exists devoted solely to study of Loki and Loki. The mischievous malcontent’s redemptive narrative journey, and the insight such exploits unveil about the human condition, remain academically under-explored. 

I am excited to invite submissions for a new volume which aims to fill that gap, entitled From Villain to Variant: Critical Perspectives on Marvel Studios' Loki. Essays may critically engage with Loki the character, Loki the televisual media property, and/or the role of Loki and Loki within the larger context of the MCU and other Marvel Studios properties. I seek between eight and ten original essays of around 6,000 words each rooted in various fields and schools of criticism that offer original ideas, arguments, and interpretations concerning what Loki and Loki mean in our modern media landscape.

Contributor chapters may approach the televisual series as its own entity, facets of Loki’s character arc across MCU properties, or Loki-adjacent characters and narratives from a variety of critical perspectives. Possible topics include but are not limited to:

• Gender and sexuality studies

• Toxic masculinity

• Memory and trauma studies

• Religion, faith, and eschatology

• Wardrobe, aesthetics, and material culture

• Genre and metaphor

• Post-modernity and (anti-)heroism

• Quantum mechanics, astrophysics, and time paradoxes

• Identity and philosophy

• Camp and comedy

• Power, leadership, and ethics

Submissions engaging Loki's history within the world of Marvel Comics may be considered. However, as this volume focuses on 21st-century digital media properties, submissions must have as their primary focus generating and sustaining scholarly discourse around Marvel Studios' cinematic and televisual versions of Loki. 

Inquiries regarding the suitability of specific chapter ideas are welcome.

Please submit abstracts of 300-500 words and 100-word author bios as PDF attachments to: [maryiatrop] at [gmail] [dot] [com] 

Submissions will be accepted through December 31st, 2024. 

Final drafts for accepted proposals will be due by August 1st, 2025. Each essay will be subject to editorial review, and successful contributors should expect to undertake at least one round of revisions before publication.