By Chris Fenn
This will be the first Image #1 I’ve ever reviewed. Pretty much every Image comic I own I’ve gotten because @InterComics or @intercomicspod has suggested it – Saga, East of West, Nailbiter, the list goes on – and they have all been brilliant titles.
The Wicked + The Divine was suggested to me by @InterComics and I thought it sounded appealing. The concept of Gods on Earth is something that always appeals to me, and when it’s done right (Seven Soldiers of Victory: Mr Miracle or Wonder Woman) it makes for a fantastic read.
The story starts with five nameless characters on New Year’s Eve 1923. Not much is explained about these characters; there is a large table with skulls in front of empty seats and four people sitting down. Now I did become a bit of a Wikipedia warrior for this; Susanoo is the Shinto God of Sea and Storms, and in this comic he is the young lad with the lightning bolt cuff links and tie pin. Based on this, and the obvious conclusion to this beginning segment, the four seated people are all Gods who had to die, or go away.
When we get to the present day we follow the story of Laura, a normal human. When she goes to a concert she ends up meeting three Gods who all seem to be ‘disguised’ as mega successful pop stars. We are introduced to a woman who is cynical and disbelieves the fact that these people are Gods, however after an attack on their lives we witness some of the power of Luci (a.k.a Lucifer).
Now I had some questions and some things I pieced together. I think Laura, our everywoman seventeen year old, is or will become a God. It’s stated that Laura is seventeen, which is the same as Amaterasu, and every other God has looked very young. Also Laura gets brought along to an interview with three mega celebrities, which is something that doesn’t typically happen to a fan who passed out in a concert.
Another thing I observed is all the Gods are from different religions, which is very unusual. When I mentioned Wonder Woman before they are all Greek Gods, and Mr Miracle is all New Gods from The Fourth World. This is a really interesting take on things, and I observed that one of the ‘terrorists’ who shoots at Lucifer is wearing a silver cross. I think it will be fascinating to see how humanity responds to their own Gods.
This issue ends with a not so typical ‘whodunit’ as we see a judge murdered in the same way that the terrorists were murdered. With Lucifer being the only person seen to use the ‘head explosion’ click the obvious answer is it’s her, however Laura, and the reader, know it isn’t.
At the start of each time period we saw a circle with twelve symbols; in 1923 eight of those symbols were skulls, which tied to the skulls around the absent seats on the table. In the present day there are no skulls and we have only met three Gods so far. I for one will be back for the second issue of The Wicked + The Divine, and I can see this being something special to read.
For more comic views and reviews follow Chris on Twitter at @fenneth1989
Posted on June 20th, 2014
Category: OUT OF THE LONG BOX, REVIEWS
Tags: Chris Fenn, Image Comics, Jamie McKelvie, Kieron Gillen, Lucifer, Wicked + The Divine #1 Review