THE WICKED + THE DIVINE

    I'm not a complete stranger to graphic novels, but I've never picked up a recent issue of a currently running series before. This is the first issue of the series and it is about how 12 gods incarnate as humans every 90 years.The incarnated gods try to save the world using music but there is someone trying to stop them. This comic is published by Image and was created by Gillen McKelvie and Wilson Cowles. Reading this issue was completely different from any novel I've read before, especially knowing I had to wait until the next week to find out what happens next. Naturally, I did grab the second issue since the ending left much to be desired.

    What I loved most about this idea is that it comments on celebrity culture in the real world. People idolize  musicians and actors and they become more than human in our minds.The gods in this comic are only alive for 2 years then the human host dies along with the gods and the cycle has to occur again in 90 years. This also comments on how musicians are only truly "alive" in the consumers minds when they are producing something of value to them. Most of the gods in the comic look like musical icons such as Lucifer or "Luci" who has similar style to David Bowie. This is an example of intertextuality since the reader can identify this allusion to Bowie.

 
      The reader can relate to the protagonist, Laura, because she is a normal girl and a fan. When Laura becomes involved in a conflict with the gods, we see how the gods lose their aura of superiority with Laura as if we are learning and getting to know the gods along with her.
 
    The grid is mostly regularized and the panels are clearly defined except in some cases when the gods are in the panel. At one point, they transcend beyond the panel and into the above panel (see below). This mirrors the narrative in the sense that the gods are seen as superior and with egos hard to contain in the panel.

 
    The art style is very clean with defined hard lines. The colour palette is very vibrant which reflects the story since the gods have bold personalities to match the vibrancy. The superstar image is enhanced with the bold colours and draws the reader's interest.

    Braiding is seen through the issue since the reader begins to associate the finger snapping with power and destruction. This same image is used at the beginning of the issue and towards the end. It is almost always associated with violence since it is how the gods display their powers and someone always dies after it. 

Tamara Latinovic