Comic book reviews for The Wicked + the Divine #10, The Wicked + the Divine #11, and The Wicked + the Divine #12 by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Kate Brown
Average rating: 4.3/5 stars
The Wicked + the Divine #10 by Kieron Gillen
Art: Jamie McKelvie
Interesting that Cassandra was working with David Blake, who Laura doesn’t trust. Of course, David is not young like the other pantheon followers that Laura would connect with; he’s an academic.
Not so sure about Baphomet trying to kill Cassandra (Urdr) and the other two Norns in order to gain more years on his life. The issue before this seemed to have Ananke giving him the idea (even if he might’ve thought of it already).
The Morrigan protecting Baphomet from Ananke worked as a great reminder that they are young adults under all that power. That they’ll do stupid things out of love and affection. (Or perhaps smart things given Ananke’s style of punishment.) Baphomet seemed like he was a troubled person before he got his godly powers.
Ananke pushing the humans aside was pretty entertaining. I like how she’s just resigned to let Laura trail them and hang around. Also it seems to me that she pretty much let The Morrigan leave with Baphomet.
Poor Cassandra. She can’t deliver her intended message to fandom because they’ll always love her. Her and Laura’s hug was perfect.
The Wicked + the Divine #11 by Kieron Gillen
Art: Jamie McKelvie
Holy shit! This books make me have all the feels. Gillen definitely has upped the stakes in this entire series. We just found out that there can be more than 12 gods, and it really seems like Ananke can just make whomever she wants into a god. There are far less rules here than we’ve previously been told. Of course, our eye has always been with Laura, who was on the outside of the pantheon, and arguably, the other gods — with the exception of perhaps Urdr (who possibly was getting too close to a truth and had to be goddessed) — are so young they don’t know any truth. Plus, they’re dealing with their own issues.
Who is going to be there to walk us through this world without Laura? Or will the next issue take us to the underworld (Persephone) or let us join in wherever it is that the gods go when they die?
Seems like Inanna could’ve blinked himself out of there with his powers. I loved what he said to Baphomet before Baphomet blew up the building holding both of them. (Does that mean they’re both dead? What does that mean for Ananke? She’s lived for a long time. How? And how did she break the cycle and continue on into immortality? Will there be punishment for her killing Laura’s parents?)
I cannot wait for the next issue.
The Wicked + the Divine #12 by Kieron Gillen
Art: Kate Brown and Jamie McKelvie
Gillen writes in his letter at the back that changing artists can be killer for a book, but they’re doing it with purpose. In that McKelvie will do a one-page and work on Phonogram and they picked artists with thoughtfulness, not just random assignments by desperate editors.
I do admit that I was thrown off this book. But it didn’t have anything to with Brown or McKevie. Instead, it was the lack of Laura and Laura’s point-of-view.
One day, I may enjoy Beth, Cassandra’s clear groupie with a twist of being fired and not becoming a god. But today, I’m still loving the world and am in no way going to give up on the comic. But will she be our window now into this world?
I did enjoy Baal breaking down and admitting that he loved Inanna. And the fight with the Morrigan was pretty good. All rage and grief until Woden broke it up. (The bifrost looking mightily out of place there.)
Of course, we know Ananke killed Laura, and we also know that she’ll gladly turn humans into gods to kill them when she can’t otherwise touch them. If Beth is the next human to find this out, I feel sorry for her.
Get your chance to be a god in The Wicked + The Divine Volume 2: Fandemonium.
