The Wicked

It’s a tricky thing, judging a comic that’s as far along as The Wicked + The Divine. Based on what creators Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie have said about its intended length, issue #29 lands around two-thirds of the way through the series. In a medium where a lot stories don’t end but rather change hands, renumber and continue onward for decades, there are two obvious comparisons at this point. The first is Image Comics stablemates like Sex Criminals and Saga, now similarly a few years deep into their run. These books tend to take a month or two off between arcs, and then essentially relaunch with a brand-new status quo — a time jump, or a major change to the cast. That’s not really the case for WicDiv #29. It does mark the beginning of a new arc, “Imperial Phase (Part II),” but, as that name implies, it’s the second part of a larger story, and the issue reads like a continuation. That means that this isn’t a particularly good jumping-on point for the series, so a quick recap migh

Since “The Wicked + The Divine” revealed that Laura had survived Ananke’s attack, fans have had one big question on their minds: how did she survive? After months of teasing, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie give us all the details in “The Wicked + The Divine” #20, though they’re careful to advance the plot at the same time. It’s easy to stop a comic, jump back in time and give answers to a dangling mystery, but it requires much more effort to continue to move the overall storyline forward at the same time — yet that’s exactly what happens here. Gillen’s script uses Laura’s attempt to recruit Cassandra and the other two Norns to her side as an reason to finally show what really went down on the day of her death, all while revealing a bit more about Baphomet. The flashback to Laura’s ascension and prompt death wouldn’t have worked quite so well if the end result wasn’t so pleasing. Gillen plays loose and fast with the events of “The Wicked + The Divine” #11, and — in doing so — casts

It’s all confusion and contusions in “The Wicked + the Divine” #19, as the rift between Ananke’s allies and enemies explodes into a brawl. Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson have a blast with punchy sequences and splashy character entrances, while Kieron Gillen keeps the script exciting and efficient. Though the story doesn’t have any gasp-and-drop-the-issue moments to make it a must-read, the climactic fight is a fierce spectacle and a total blast. “The Wicked + The Divine” #19 is another winner. The Underworld melee is a naked celebration of this series’ superhero DNA. McKelvie knows how to convey confidence, and his eye for posture is a real joy here. From Sakhmet’s self-satisfied punches to Baal’s snarl as he enters the fray, the gods are in full BAMF mode in this issue. The storytelling, though, is more measured; McKelvie balances explosive, full-page character moments with smaller, sequential series of panels that let the reader see the action from the cheap seats. When these l

Here’s the bad news: it isn’t advisable to come into “The Wicked + The Divine” #18 cold. But here’s the good news: that’s because Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie build on the previous 17 issues to bring you this explosive new chapter. Everything that’s been simmering up until now boils over into an intense new story arc. As promised, “The Wicked + The Divine” #18 gives us Persephone’s first public concert, and it’s even more of a doozy than one could have imagined. When we got our first look at Persephone at the end of the second story arc, Gillen was careful to give us just enough information to know how bad this is, but not overload us right from the start. In many ways, this series has shifted away from her perspective, and this issue maintains that even though she’s finally back in the story. That’s a good thing; by showing readers these events from the perspective of characters like Ananke and Wodan, Gillen and McKelvie drop the surprises with no warning, even as we start to se

“The Wicked + The Divine” #17 wraps up “Commercial Suicide,” the third story arc of the series, which saw a host of guest artists join Kieron Gillen for a handful of character-focused stories. While it’s nice to finally learn something about Sakhmet in this Brandon Graham-drawn issue, this feels like a comic that has little in the way of payoff, though it will eventually have a larger purpose in the issues to come. Sakhmet is a member of the Pantheon that we’ve seen little of up until now, and Gillen makes the reason for that lack clear in “The Wicked + The Divine” #17. Sahkmet’s attitude towards her catlike attributes is more pronounced than so many of the other gods’ connection to their inspirations. Sakhmet is presented as fickle, unreliable, capricious and ultimately dangerous. In other words, she really is the embodiment of a cat. While that’s great for a background character, it’s becoming quickly clear why she’s someone we haven’t had much of a spotlight on up until now. A cha

In “The Wicked + The Divine” #16, Kieron Gillen and guest artist Leila Del Duca focus on the Morrigan, the god who suffered a beatdown from fellow deity Baal and is now imprisoned by Woden. Gillen looks back at how this incarnation of the Morrigan came to be and specifically at her origin as Marian, a Goth teen whose relationship with her boyfriend Cameron becomes strained after a tragedy changes his nihilistic mindset. The issue steps back a bit from advancing Gillen’s evolving plot where Ananke and Woden’s schemes are coming to light, but it’s still a well done character study of one of the series’ lesser-seen cast members. Del Duca captures Marian’s gothic characteristics well and gives her environment an appropriately bleak and pale demeanor, enhanced by Mat Lopes’ mostly grey, colorless palette. Del Duca’s lines have a kind of rough, unfinished quality that gives Marian a sort of dirty, disheveled look, while at the same time adding a decidedly evil yet beautiful quality to her

One of the first gods we heard of in “The Wicked + The Divine” #1 was Amaterasu, so it feels almost overdue that the series is just now circling back around to her. Kieron Gillen and guest artist Stephanie Hans give us a glimpse into Amaterasu’s life, even as the pantheon grieves the loss of Tara. With three (or, as the reader knows, four) members of the pantheon dead, Gillen brings to life the overall panic and fear running through the remaining members. Gillen slides Ananke into that tense situation, bringing up red herrings to spook them even more and have them looking for foes that don’t really exist. It’s a masterful show of misdirection, one to make the audience squirm because they know the truth even as it is near-impossible for the characters to spot the deception. At the same time, Gillen also recognizes Minerva is one of the members of the pantheon, and that — if anyone should spot the cracks in the stories being spun — it’s her. While it doesn’t look good for her continued

Readers were promised that “The Wicked + The Divine” #14 would be something different and, on that front, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie have delivered. Re-editing and presenting material from the earlier issues with a new narration from Wodan, this issue reveals all sorts of information even as a new mystery is added to the mix. “The Wicked + The Divine” #14 is an experiment that could have easily failed, as Gillen and McKelvie cut and paste images, panels and sequences from earlier issues together to give them new meaning. It’s almost like a clip show, except this time the scenes are different. Look at it more like a remix of your favorite single, where the additional elements combined with the re-arranged earlier pieces emphasize all sorts of things you might not have noticed the first time through. Wodan is one of the gods who’s been present for a lot of “The Wicked + The Divine,” even though he never seemed to be more than a supporting role. Gillen shows just how important Wod

After the previous month’s double-cliffhanger (and if you haven’t read it, it’s best to stop here before it’s inevitably spoiled for you), “The Wicked + The Divine” #12 quickly became one of the most anticipated issues of the series to date. There’s no turning back from the shock ending that wrapped up the “Fandemonium” story arc and, sure enough, the series blasts forward full speed ahead. While some readers might be taken aback that guest artist Kate Brown has joined series writer Kieron Gillen this month, most readers will be pretty pleased with the end result. “The Wicked + The Divine” #12 picks up half a week after the deaths of Inanna and Laura, even as the world reels from the sudden, violent nature. Baphomet has gone into hiding, even as he’s been falsely accused of slaying Laura and her family. Cassandra’s former assistant Beth tries to put together a documentary on the departed and, as we quickly see here, the apple did not fall far from the tree at all. The issue wisely s

“The Wicked + The Divine” #10 pulls multiple elements of the “Fandemonium” arc together, as Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie take recent events to their logical conclusion. Just because we now know who killed Lucifer doesn’t mean that everything is hunky dory for our characters — not by a long shot. Cassandra’s transformation into Urdr of the Norns meant that, logically, the question of who killed Lucifer should have instantly been resolved. Sure enough, that’s exactly what Gillen does. After all, when the three Norse Fates are part of the Pantheon, those sort of moments should be instantly cast bare. What’s great about how this is handled, though, is the deliberate deflation of both and the reader’s expectations. There’s no big flourish of reveal, no continual hunting, no character who’s been a suspect (or at least a presence) all along. Instead, it’s simply laid out on the table and we’re given a revelation that — on some level — is almost disappointing. Except, really, that’s life