Loki loses his bet by Lorenz Frølich [Denmark, 1885] First panel: The dwarfs Brokk

Loki loses his bet by Lorenz Frølich [Denmark, 1885]

First panel: The dwarfs Brokk and Sindri present Mjölnir to Odin, Thor & Freyr, who are obviously about to agree that Mjölnir is the greatest of their gifts. (Evidently, no one has yet heard of sewing or buttons, as their ‘clothes’ are all functionally useless.) Loki is on the left, clearly going “Oh shit, I am sooo about to lose my bet and my head.”

Second panel: Loki cuts and runs for his life, which is totally what most reasonable self-preserving people would do, right, whilst Brokkr is screaming “My head, gimme back my head!” Thor runs after Loki and grabs him to drag him back. The gods, being regin - ordering powers, take oaths very seriously. Also, they are douchebags (Loki doesn’t have a monopoly on this).

Third panel: Brokkr brandishes his sword at Loki whilst the other gods assume the role of spectators at a match. “You owe me a head, sunshine,” Brokkr says. Loki thinks quickly, which he’s extremely good at (but really rather less good at thinking long-term), and counters with, “Ah yes, you’re welcome to it, but I didn’t promise you my neck! Can you take my head without harming my neck? No! ~Hahaha~” Brokkr gets pretty pissed off at this, as anyone would, and says, “Uh, well, I’ll shut your tricky fuckin’ mouth anyway”. (Dwarfs aren’t civilised like gods.)

Fourth panel: Loki is tied down, probably by an obliging Thor, whilst the dwarfs stitch Loki’s liar’s lips together with a leather thong. Because this is mythology, the thong has to have a Name: Vartari. Loki doesn’t care about this, and rips Vartari from his mouth as soon as he can, which is how he got his scarred lips. That’ll teach you, children, that you better not go round making unwise & hasty bets with dwarfs.