The Wicked+ The Divine review by Joe David Thompson
The Wicked + The Divine is the new book from Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, the creative team behind the excellent series Phonogram (you have read Phonogram, right?).
The Wicked + The Divine is the new book from Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, the creative team behind the excellent series Phonogram (you have read Phonogram, right?).
The Wicked + The Divine is built on the
intriguing conceit that every 90 years our culture is impacted by the
reincarnation of twelve gods into human hosts...with one catch. In two years,
they die. To quote the press materials: "Just because you're immortal, doesn't
mean you're going to live forever." Their latest recurrence, in 2014, find the
gods reborn as pop stars, playing huge concerts and giving interviews in posh
hotel suites.
Our point of entry is Laura, a suburban girl
from south London on a quest to rebel, if only her parents wouldn't be so
supportive. Laura hops a train to a Amaterasu concert, where fans black out
from sheer ecstasy at the performance of the Stevie Nicks styled surrogate.
Laura suffers the same fate, only to be woken up backstage by Luci, otherwise
known as Lucifer (a Beatles fan!) and we're off to the races. Luci whisks Laura
to their suite, where Amaterasu is entertaining a very belligerent journalist
until things take a dramatic and violent turn.
The book sparkles with Gillen's trademark love
of pop music, something that seeps into the pacing and plot. Even the dialogue
crackles with the energy of a great single. Gillen is heir to the Joss Whedon
throne when it comes to writing witty, human characters. As a first issue,
Gillen handles the exposition duties with skill. Necessary information is given
through either the images or the same dialogue that introduces us to some of the
characters. The world of this story feels rich and I cannot wait to learn more
about these other characters, who we don't get to spend too much time with yet,
and the various recurrences throughout history. Luci becomes the "star" of this
issue, coming off a little like Loki from Gillen & McKelvie's Young Avengers
(you are reading Young Avengers, right?). Jaime McKelvie has drawn a simply
beautiful book. He delivers uncluttered panels that allow us to focus on the
story being told. His attention to detail is stunning, especially when he
captures the emotion on these character's faces. The team is rounded out by
rich colors from Matthew Wilson and the clean lettering of Clayton Cowles.
The Wicked + The Divine dropped its first issue this week via Image Comics and it comes highly recommended. This will sell out.
Joe David Thompson has been doing media reviews for websites such as Red Carpet Crash and the 405 Music Blog. For any questions or comments for Joe David Thompson, you can email him at jovid52@me.com and follow him on twitter @jovid52
