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The Wicked + The Divine #4 (2014)

by Kieron Gillen(Favorite Author)

4.29 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Image Comics

series

The Wicked + The Divine

review 1: Ultimate fangirl Laura and her “journalist” friend Cassandra’s search for the killer of a judge leads them to Baal, a Kanye West clone, who swears he didn’t do it. Speaking for the group of gods, Ananke refuses to help Luci out of prison and that’s when Luci decides not to take this crap anymore - she’s gonna bust out with or without their approval. But don’t play with me ‘cos you’re playing with fire…The issue as a whole is very fun but the best part was easily Kieron Gillen’s Baal, whom he clearly enjoyed writing as this super-arrogant rapper. It’s hard not to like that ridiculously high overconfidence and it’s easy to see why teenager Laura would crush hard on him. It’s good to catch up with the other gods who’ve been relatively quiet up ti... morel now, though I’m not sure why they were all sat in a Tron-themed room - I guess, just because? Baal has the cash and maybe he just liked Tron and thought, why not? Also, I don’t know why the other gods get to be young while Ananke remains perpetually an old woman. Maybe because she’s the boss god or the oldest god of them all? Maybe its her choice and she can’t do with sexy looks from others?I love that Gillen picked out Play With Fire by The Rolling Stones as the song of the issue - haven’t listened to that since after I watched The Darjeeling Limited several years ago, and it’s still this uber-awesome, goosepimples-on-the-skin song. That it’s Luci’s breaking out of prison tune is perfect too, it’s so charged and menacing but lo-fi and not loud because it doesn’t need to be. This is another incredible looking issue with Jamie McKelvie’s art and Matthew Wilson’s colours seeming god-like on the page. That look on Luci’s face when she lights up her first smoke in ages and plugs in the Stones - that was quite something. Every panel looks wonderful and Wilson’s colours for the Tron room are unbelievably good. The Wicked + The Divine is seriously one of the best looking comics on the market right now. Things look like they’re headed to a pleasingly destructive finale in the next and last issue of this arc thanks to the way Gillen swirls together the threads so elegantly in this issue. The Wicked + The Divine #4 is a terrific comic with solid work from everyone involved - definitely the best comic of the week!
review 2: What do I think? I went into this issue looking for answers, and I got them more or less, with a lot of awesome-ness in between.First let's look at Baal. In last month's preview we got a snapshot of his arrogant, but ultimately wise nature. This issue fleshed him out some more and I have to say he's a love-hate kind of person. The Kanye inspiration shines through as you alternate between praising and loathing his brilliant truths and openly acknowledged ego. I hope to see more of him, and the lightning bolt necklace Woden made him.Woden - actually more pleasant than I imagined. I expected him to more pompous, like Baphomet but with dubstep. Maybe some of his humility comes from the nature of his ability. He's a maker and he describes making objects for people to use - definitely more constructive than finger snapping combustion. Sakhmet seemed a bit more engaged this time, and her suggestive comments make her a little suspicious. She's definitely has more to her than just the sex kitten routine of Issue 1.The answers were provided by Ananke of course. Though she's one of the least impressive gods (besides Minerva) her dialogue hints at many potential plot points: the Recurrence as something humans control (maybe through belief and worship), the purpose of the Recurrence in providing inspiration, and prior times the Recurrence went wrong (1920s to Great Depression and WWII?).This issue heavily juxtaposes having power but being powerless. Baal states this early on, and Ananke and the rest basically confirm it when they decide it's best to do nothing on behalf of Luci. Therefore, I have to agree with Luci's decision to break out of (blow up) jail. Though she tip toes around declaring her innocence or guilt, its apparent she is genuine in her lack of control of the situation. We see in her that remorseful side to Satan we see in Neil Gaiman's the Sandman, a self reflecting entity that hopes to be more than just "the Adversary" someday. So Luci is on a rampage. I hope she either goes to the the coffee shop like she mentioned or decides to sleepover at Laura's. But I expect she'll run into some opposition from the other gods. Til next time, and we'll miss you finger cuffs. less

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