The Wicked + The Divine Volume 9: Okay

Well, here we are: the finale of The Wicked + The Divine! Unfortunately the Comics Plus app didn't have Volume 9 on it, so I had to snag the physical copy from the library.

 

I had no idea where the story was going, beyond a few hints from Ananke's sister that the Children would have to find their own way out, and the ending she suggested to Ananke was false. Volume 9 also finally explained how Ananke (and Minerva) worked - Minerva appeared when the other Children's powers appear. They are basically the same person, but their consciousness splits until one of them dies. 

I was also really happy to see that reading Volume 8 was necessary: some of the things that happened with earlier pantheons (specifically the last two pantheons) directly came up in this book. 

I was really excited that some of the characters who were sidelined earlier by Ananke got new bodies! And Baphomet/Nergal made an amazing sacrifice that no one saw coming (not even the other characters). 

Laura Wilson managed to find her way out of the cycle first, at the end of Volume 7: she realized she wasn't a god, but still had her powers. It just took practice to make them work. When everyone confronted Minerva, she was the one who helped everyone end the cycle. It wasn't an exciting climax (in an action way), but it was a very fitting end for the whole series; you don't realize at the beginning how it's about the birth and death of stories, but that's honestly what The Wicked + The Divine is, at its heart. Not only their birth and death, but their power.

After that, the story wraps up with Laura accepting the punishment of her crime for murdering Ananke back in Volume 4. Then the book ends many years later, at the funeral of Cassandra, who comments on the good that the remaining members of the Pantheon have wrought now that they've broken free of the story and were able to live out their lives as themselves, not gods. 

All in all, Okay is a fitting end to The Wicked + The Divine. I'm glad I decided to reread/finish the series. While it is often quite brutal (there's a lot of gore, which I found very uncomfortable), the story is good; overall I enjoyed it.

The Wicked + The Divine Volume 6: Imperial Phase Part 2

Just a short one this time. The Imperial Phase, Part 2 was a quick read. Lots of backstabbing in this one, lots of death, and lots of drama. Cassandra, Dionysius, and Woden put together a show to power up the machine to try to figure out what it's for. Woden tries to use it to mind control all of the attendees. Meanwhile, Baal and company are hunting Sakhmet after she rampaged when she found out the Pantheon had lied to her. 

But the biggest surprise came at the end: it seems that Ananke may not be so dead after all. And she's trying to get one more head from a god or goddess to stave off The Great Darkness...

I definitely can't wait to see where things go from here!

The Wicked + The Divine Volume 5: The Imperial Phase, Part 1

Well, here we are: the first new (for me) The Wicked + The Divine story that I've read since starting the series back in 2016! The Imperial Phase, Part 1 had a hard act to follow (the crazy ending of Rising Action). I wasn't sure where the story would go (and honestly, it kind of felt like the creative team wasn't 100% sure what to do with the first issue after Ananke's death, though I imagine that was on purpose to show how the Pantheon has to figure stuff out now without the Goddess who guided them for millennia). 

This volume opens as a magazine with pieces about different members of the pantheon. The back pages of the book explain how this was put together, and it was really neat: the creative team got their writer friends to do an email exchange with Gillian, who stayed in character as whoever they were interviewing. Then the writers took that email exchange and crafted an article. I thought that was a really neat idea, and it was fun to read one of the actual interviews in the back pages.

The Pantheon are trying to figure out what is true and what is false from what Ananke told them (as well as what the purpose of her crazy machine is), when there starts to be attacks from the Darkness that she warned them about. But rather than working together, they are now split in three: those who primarily want to stop the Darkness, those who want to research everything about their existence (especially with their second year closing in on them), and those who don't care about any of it. But the attacks are increasing, and research is slow going....

I can't wait to see what Part II will bring.

The Wicked + The Divine Vol 1-4 Rereads

I was browsing on Comics Plus, a comic reading app my local library offers, and found most of The Wicked + The Divine is available on it. I never did read any more after finishing Volume 4 back in 2016, so I decided to start it again and see what I think now. I honestly didn't remember much of what happens in the first 4 volumes. But I think I enjoyed them a lot more this time around. 

I just reread what I wrote about these volumes back in 2016. I didn't find the dance party of Dionysus as bad this time around (it was still a bit confusing, but I wasn't trying to follow it super closely either this time - they were partying, and that was good enough). I also just looked up the god Nergal, and he sounds pretty interesting - I'm not sure why Baphomet lied about who he is. I also didn't really get why people didn't like the Goddess Tara so much (but I also didn't read the pages of terrible social media posts about her, so maybe there was something in there?) 

Needless to say, I'm quite enjoying the story this time around, and can't wait to see where things go now that Ananke is dead...

Die Volume 2: Split the Party and Volume 3: The Great Game

 Huh, I didn't actually write about Die Volume 2: Split the Party on here before now. So I guess this post will have to remedy that!

This weekend, I finally sat down to reread Die volumes 1 and 2, and to read volume 3, The Great Game, for the first time.  The first time I read Volume 2, Split the Party, I wasn't really a fan of it, other than the fact that it was leading into something awesome based on the way it ended.  But last time, I read it without rereading Volume 1, Fantasy Heartbreakers.  But this time through, I read them one after the other and I liked Split the Party a lot more.

After defeating Solomon (and learning what happens to players when they perish in Die), the party splits.  Isabelle and Chuck lead the people of Glass Town away through a portal opened by one of the gods who took Isabelle's request literally: they are now the farthest away from Glass Town where they can be (and in a wasteland with no food).  Meanwhile Ash, Angela, and Matt make their way to Angria where they attempt to build allies.  Isabelle shows up to crash that party, admitting to everyone that the party is responsible for the destruction of Glass Town.

Split the Party has a lot more character development of the other characters other than Ash in it, so when read by itself it is a bit slower than the first volume.  But I found this wasn't the case when reading it right after Volume 1; it added a lot of missing context of what was going on in the world and in the lives of the characters, while not actually slowing down at all.

Then Volume 3, The Great Game happens.  With Isabelle's help, Ash has taken over Angria thanks to forcing Zamorna to marry her.  She intends to discover what exactly Eternal Prussia is doing in Glass Town.  Unfortunately, the people of Little England, who were eternally at war with Eternal Prussia, aren't too happy with Ash on the throne and declare war.  Meanwhile, Angela (who left after Ash was going to leave her in prison "for her own safety") joins up with Matt and Chuck.  They decide to travel to the Fair to get some answers.  Unfortunately the Fair are next set to appear in the Game Master's realm, a perilous journey far away.

The Great Game has some fantastic escalation of the story, as well as finally giving us some answers about just what is going on. I finished it feeling super excited to read more, but sad that it's not out yet.  I'll probably have to wait until either the fall or next winter to see how it all ends. :(

Die Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker

I discovered Die on the same day as We Stand On Guard.  Like that other book, I'd never heard of Die before.  Die was by Kieron Gillen, so I was definitely willing to give it a shot.  It also had a really interesting premise: "In the nineties, six teenagers disappeared into a fantasy role-playing game. Only five returned. Nearly thirty years later, these broken adults are dragged back to discover the game isn't finished with them yet..." (that's from the back of the book).  I'm sold!

And wow did Die deliver!  The art is gorgeous, and the story was fantastic.  The idea of 40-50 year olds being pulled back into the game from their teens that messed them up...and them now bringing the emotional baggage that they have gathered with them over their lives was fascinating.  The world itself was fantastic - it was a a familiar enough setting for a fantasy rpg, while also being uniquely different - I was super glad Gillen's essays on worldbuilding this comic were included!  I also loved the character classes - again similar enough to things you might know from D&D while being unique.  I loved the whole thing and can't wait for volume 2 (which is currently expected in about three months).

The Wicked + the Divine Volumes 3 & 4

I managed to get The Wicked + The Divine Volume 3: Commercial Suicide through interlibrary loans last week.  I can't remember the actual day that I read it, but I know it was around a week ago.  And I have to say, it was really, really hard to care about it.  After the crazy ending of Volume 2, Volume 3 felt like a big waste of time.  And it really sort of was.  With Laura, the main character, seemingly dead, this volume sort of waltzed around with no real meaning.  We had one Goddess commit suicide (with the help of Anake).  And a bunch of random other things that I can't really remember.  The only thing that had any impact on me was the ending, that a Persephone seemed to have a gig booked at some place.  It was a cliffhanger that was really too little too late in my opinion.

But then while wandering through Chapters aimlessly, I found Volume 4: Rising Action was already out.  So I figured, what the heck?  This would be the last chance I gave to the series.  And now I'm really not sure what to make of it.

Yes, Laura is not dead.  That was solved in the weirdest flashback scene ever.  Apparently Baphomet (who is really Nergal) didn't kill Inanna.  Instead the two of them went looking for Laura in time to see what was about to happen with Ananke.  Inanna saved Laura but died himself, and Baphomet brought Laura into the underground.  Ananke burned Inanna's body to make it unrecognizable just in time for Laura's parents to show up.  Laura has spent the last while moping in the underground with Baphomet, but finally got roused into action in time for this volume.

I have to admit, it was weird and kind of lame, but I knew something like this would be used to explain how Laura wasn't dead.

So now Laura and company are trying to unite the pantheon against Ananke.  For her part, Ananke seems dead set on murdering Minerva, the youngest member of the Pantheon.

This volume is really action packed.  The climax leaves off at a place where like anything can happen.  But I'm still left wondering if I care?  Laura murders Ananke (after it looked like the rest of the Pantheon talked her out of it) and says they can do whatever they want.  But it didn't seem like enough of a hook to keep me reading.  Of course I said that last time, so who knows what will happen when Volume 5 eventually comes out?

The Wicked + The Divine Volume 2: Fandemonium

The local library didn't have The Wicked + The Divine Volume 2: Fandemonium. So I ordered it (and Volume 3) through interlibrary loan.

Fandemonium starts out pretty much where The Faust Act leaves off. Laura is trying to figure out what happened with Luci. Unfortunately her efforts are hampered by her being sick every time she even thinks about how Luci died.  But she teams up with Inanna in an attempt to find out exactly what went down.  Laura has also become famous in the aftermath of Luci, so she uses that fame to get her into speaking engagements at cons and the like to get closer to the other Gods.

There's a lot of things happening that are sort of drawn out (like the pages and pages of hard to follow party (of Dionysus I think?).  Cassandra (the journalist) turns out to be the 12th Goddess (Urdr, one of the three Norns).Laura is upset because she was hoping she would be the 12th.  Baphomet has decided to try going on a killing rampage to steal extra years for himself from the other Gods and Goddesses.

And then there's the ending....



...Laura IS one of the Pantheon.  She's the 13th member.  And she gets killed by Ananke!  What a cliffhanger!

I hope I can get my hands on Volume 3 soon to see the aftermath of this!

The Wicked + The Divine Volume 1: The Faust Act

Continuing the graphic novel craze I have been going through (and unwittingly continuing reading stuff by Kieron Gillen), I've just finished The Wicked + The Divine Volume 1: The Faust Act.  I actually found the very first issue of The Wicked + The Divine in my comic box (I think I got it for free from my comic shop) and read it a few days ago.  I was super happy to see that the library had Volume 1, which meant I was able to read a bit more and see if I like it.  The very first issue was enough to interest me, but it wasn't enough to really explain what was going on.

In this world, every ninety years twelve gods come back.  They live for two years and then they die.  In the modern day, the gods are superstars for those two years.  And Laura is their biggest fan. 

She wakes up after a concert and finds herself face to face with Luci.  Luci, who just happens to be Lucifer, the God of Lies.  Lucifer brings Laura backstage to meet the others, who are giving an interview.  When snipers attack them, Luci uses her divine power to deal with them, landing her in the mortal courts.  While sassing the judge, his head explodes in much the same way that the snipers' heads had (what is it with Gillen and exploding heads???)  So Laura, convinced that Luci is innocent, sets out to find the real murderer.

Yes, this is ridiculously intriguing.  Apparently Mercury Heat was not a one-off; I find myself a very big fan of Gillen's writing.  I'll be looking for the next two volumes of this series (and volume 4 is coming out in the fall!!!)

Mercury Heat

And here's one more from the library: Mercury Heat.  I saw this go by several weeks ago and was really intrigued by the premise.  Mercury is ridiculously hot on it's sun-facing side, and ridiculously cold on the other side.  Between the two there's a temperate zone where it's right around Earth-temperatures.  So Mercury has been colonized by a nomadic workforce who has to keep moving to stay alive.  They're building solar panels to trap the sun's energy, which is then transported to Earth.

Meet Luiza Bora.  Her personality-type, 57B, made her dreams of being a police officer on Earth impossible.  So she's moved to Mercury.  Her first assignment is to investigate the death of someone.  It could have been an accident.  But as more and more people try to kill her the more she investigates, it suddenly strongly smells of murder.

If you like a strong, sensibly-dressed female-action hero and aren't offended by seeing people's heads kicked in, Mercury Heat is for you!  I honestly can't wait for volume 2!