The Wicked + The Divine

• Title: The Wicked + The Divine #25
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Kieron Gillen
• Artist: Jamie McKelvie

The infighting within the Pantheon is still going strong in The Wicked + The Divine #25 as Laura and Urdr confront Woden about his complicity in Ananke‘s crackpot murder schemes to keep “the Great Darkness” at bay and control the cadre of selfish and self-serving gods with short lifespans.

There are a couple big takeaways from this issue. First, Laura can be scary as fuck when she wants to be, and even her fellow gods are concerned and frightened by the level of her powers. Second, aside from all her maneuverings and murders, it appears Ananke was working to prevent something worse… and now we’re going to get to see just what that might be.

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• Title: The Wicked + The Divine #14
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Kieron Gillen
• Artist: Jamie McKelvie

Writer Kieron Gillen’s attempt at a “remix issue,” The Wicked + The Divine #14 is a pause before the storm covering the major events of the series from an alternative point of view. From the perspective of Woden we see larger plans of Ananke unfold as the issue confirms the head of the Pantheon was responsible not only for Lucifer‘s death but also for framing the god for the very public murder of a judge.

Along with giving us a look into the demented mind and sexual perversions of Woden, the issue also foreshadows a tiny rebellious sliver of the character who may yet turn out to be more than just Ananke’s pet.

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• Title: The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 1: The Faust Act
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Kieron Gillen
• Artist: Jamie McKelvie

Written by Kieron Gillen in an attempt to “turn the most confusing and upsetting two years of [his] life into a pop song,” The Wicked + The Divine is an odd, often messy, but always entertaining, series. Volume One: The Faust Act (earning points for the pun) collects the first five issues of the ongoing series centered around 12 gods reincarnated into the bodies of teens and twenty-somethings every 90 years. The catch? The gods live these new lives for only two years before dying out and waiting most of a century before their next reincarnation.

The story is presented through the eyes of an uber fan girl Laura who views the gods not unlike the pop stars and celebrities of our world. Being in the right place at either the right or wrong moment (depending on your perspective) allows Laura to meet Luci, the mischievous current incarnation of Lucifer who is arrested for a pair of murders she committed (in self-defense) and a very public third death that only Laura believes she is innocent of.

Jamie McKelvie’s art deftly brings Gillen’s world (filled with pain, hope, ego, despair, envy, and exploding skulls) to life. It’s definitely worth a look.

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