The Wicked + The Divine #11

[laughing_tree]

"We’re planning action sequences that make Young Avengers look like a slice-of-life comic about collecting nail clippings. There'll be formalist art-as-comics-comics-as-art playfulness that makes Phonogram look like the most derivative and graceless phoned in piece of shit on the shelves. When we need to, we’ll push all the dials into the red. (Not that we’ve ever been known to over-promise.)" -- Kieron Gillen

Comments

[informationgeek]

"This is worth it."

Laura, have you been paying attention this entire series?! Why would you want these powers and this life? I've seen nothing but death, torment, destruction, and misery with these gods. Sure, they are livin' up now, but in recent months, everything sucks for these people!! Why subject yourself to it?!

Also, is there anyone normal in this comic anymore?

[nyadnar17]

This comic seems to take the infatuation some teenagers have with living in the now to a whole new level. I was never that way even as a teenager so I am having a very hard time relating.

[quatoria]

Like I said in another post - I'm not sure I'd count Laura out yet. Remember who she's the avatar of, and their story.

[captainbellman]

Exactly my thoughts. I mean, it's right there in the name. And the skull necklace.

[quatoria]

Yeah. Gillen could have made her the avatar of anyone he wanted - he chose Persephone. And I don't think it was just to have a cool costume created for one scene.

[captainbellman]

"Humph. That's a 'we haven't seen the last of her!' if I ever saw one..."

[long_silence]

With the connections that Lucifer and Inanna have with the underworld in mythology I wouldn't be surprised if we haven't seen the last of any of them.

[lencannon]

KIERON GILLEN IS A MONSTER

[doodleboy]

Well a couple of things.

Wicked and the Divine is a comic that forces you to engage with the worldview of it's characters. It seems whether you like the book or not is contingent with whether you see the Gods as doing something worthwhile or not. I say that because I get Laura. She's the acting major waiting tables on hollywood trying to get an agent. She's the writer working all hours trying to get something published. She's the comic artist working for crappy page rates trying to make it in an industry that offers no stability or health insurance. She wants to create something great and meaningful in the world and despite knowing how difficult and unforgiving that path is.

And no Laura's worldview is not a good one. It's can be narcissistic, awful and self-absorbed. But I get that desire she has. Despite the hell that all the gods go through, they get to communicate what's personal to them out into the world. They get to make great art, which not everybody gets to do.

Most of these characters are pretty awful though. Even Cassandra, who dislikes what the Gods and their fans represent so much that she responds to Lucifer's rampage on the street with laughter. I think Kieron said that Cassandra's a shithead in a cast full of shitheads.

I think that's where most people start disengaging with this comic. It's worldview on the creation of art. And that's honestly a valid way to see the comic. A bunch of people who'll die in two years for the sake of being vapid entertainers. I get why people will find that silly.

Also like how these first two arcs are structured. Both in circles in symbols/phrases. The circle that represents the God's and Ananke's line "Once again we return", the fact that it's called a "recurrence" and "cycle". But also in the structure of the plot of both arcs. Both ending in a god's death by Ananke, both having the same blank page representing Laura's thoughts of the immediate aftermath. Both dealing with a new god being created. It's nice to see that kind of writing craft. Kieron is ripping off Watchmen's obvious formal structure, but in his own way.

And lastly if the comic doesn't ever visit the murder of the judge again, it seems pretty clear that Ananke was the one who killed the judge. Ananke wanted Lucifer off the table and didn't want to resort to killing her. Of all the characters in the series she's the only one that seems to have the motive and the ruthlessness.

Yeah, after this arc I like this comic alot more now.

[informationgeek]

You explained probably most of my major problems with this series, the characters themselves. I think the story has merit, but the characters drive me nuts.

Also, the major problem I take with this series is the dialogue. It often ranges somewhere in pretentious to stuck up teenage brat to finally trying too hard to be hip and kewl. I'm not sure if it's all of Gillen's work, but his dialogue is pretty bad a lot of the time. One of the bigger reason why I do not like Gillen's New Avengers (though that series has a nice dose of ham & cheese dialogue instead of the stuck up teenage dialogue).

[nyadnar17]

Thank you for this post. I feel like I understand Laura and the other gods more clearly now. I don't know that I like them any more, but now I think I can at least empathize with them.