by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matt Wilson & Clayton Cowles
collects WicDiv #29-33
volumes four | six | seven | eight | nine
I would imagine the sixth volume is tough for a lot of comic book runs. At this point, if you’re in it, you’re in it, and there’s no going back (and if you’ve lost interest, or you missed the first couple of volumes, it’s hard to just jump in – maybe not for episodic books, but definitely for a story like this.) But volume #6, like most second-of-two-parters, brings us huge revelations – and seriously heavy losses.
And admittedly the fifth volume was rough, especially with the magazine section that felt like filler. Plus, with the aftermath of losing Ananke (read: the Pantheon learning that Ananke was behind killing the other gods, and Persephone murdering her to avenge her family), the Pantheon was left rudderless – and this slowed the narrative down quite a bit. The Pantheon held a vote in the wake of the Great Darkness, and the group was split three ways: fight the Great Darkness (Baal, Amaterasu, and Minerva), study (Cassandra, Dio, and Woden) and anarchy (Sakhmet, Morrigan, Baphomet, and Persephone with the tiebreaker).
I mention this because in volume five, it was a welcome opportunity to focus on certain gods’ relationships with each other. In this volume the first two groups pretty much stayed together (aside from some talk after the fallout with Sakhmet) and became the two main arcs of the story, while the “anarchy” group drifted in and out of both. It was an interesting way to include the entire cast without any cast member overshadowing the others (aside perhaps from Persephone), and continue developing those relationships, such as Baal’s fatherlike relationship with Minerva, Cassandra and Woden butting heads (plus her friendship with Dio, which took a turn), and of course Persephone finds someone else to sleep with. But both storylines have their own tragic outcomes with some very unexpected losses. If you’re at all emotional about any of these characters, have some tissues ready – or at the very least be in a place where you can gasp aloud.
WicDiv feels a lot like Orange is the New Black, in the sense that I’m less interested in the main character, who tends to be rather whiney (Laura/Piper), and way more invested in the supporting cast (Cassandra, Baal, Dio – but mostly Cassandra. By god, I love Cassandra). Each of the gods continue to be strong personalities in their own right and while they’re all convincing and very compelling in their own way, one might attribute certain teenager stereotypes to them – but honestly that’s okay, because who isn’t a bit of a stereotype as a teenager? (Except one, who we learn is actually not a teen at all.)
Regardless, everyone has chosen a side – except for Sakhmet, who’s gone completely off the rails (but it was a long time coming), and Woden, whose secrets start to come to light. While the climax of the issue isn’t necessarily over the top, there was so much revealed in the final one or two issues, including an additional retcon, a huge villain reveal, and everything going completely out the window in that final panel – it was almost as if the slow burn in Part 1 as just a little too slow. That’s the other parallel to OITNB – sometimes the burn is so slow that you wonder if there will ever be a payoff. (And unfortunately, some readers or viewers are likely to drop off along the way.)
McKelvie continues to impress with his gorgeous art – particularly Sakhmet’s brutality, Woden’s pixellated effect, and Dio’s fight scenes interspersed with numbers (I believe a reference to his ‘breathing to ten’ mantra earlier). Admittedly though, at times it feels like most characters have the same facial features and expressions. McKelvie is a master at high-energy and high-tension moments, and it’s hard sometimes to pause and appreciate a panel when you’re excited to see what happens next. Wilson’s coloring really brings everything to life – from the bright yellows and reds of Amaterasu, to the shades of black in the Underground with Baphomet and Morrigan, and the psychedelic colors of Dio’s dance scene. (This should be no surprise as he’s also behind the colors of Paper Girls.) There are also some really nice lighting moments – Baal’s face darkly shaded, the lighting of Sakhmet watching TV – that added a whole atmosphere to the book, along with different shades and gradients to show flashbacks.
And I don’t often talk about lettering. Even though, it’s of course a huge part of comic books – no lettering, no dialogue – it’s not usually something I think about enough to comment on, and that’s on me. But Clayton Cowles’ lettering just really stands out in this series, particularly because Cassandra, Woden, Amaterasu and Dio all have different lettering styles (there’s three of them, plus regular lettering, in the page above). It of course adds a different sense of godliness, emphasized by their different abilities (aside from Woden who is under a mask) – yet it’s never once distracting. (I’ve never even thought about how placement of the speech bubbles is so important as it overlays the art. I’m a little ashamed but also have a totally new respect for letterers in comics.)
WicDiv is one of my favorite comics right now, and I’m highly anticipating volume 7 with the cliffhanger this one left us with. I am fascinated to see how the “two years and you’re dead” – a fact we learned from Ananke, but we’ve never actually seen anyone hit that two year mark – will play out, if our gods all die in the conclusion regardless, or if some will survive. Part of me is concerned that the series is starting to run out of steam – there can only be so many more revelations – and I expect 7 or 8 to be the final volume. But as our Pantheon knows only too well…nothing can last forever.
Reading Art 