The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 9: "Okay"

I blazed through the back half of this series over the course of three hours today. I don't know that this final volume is necessarily the one that made it break through to my "fundamentally altered me" fifth star, or if it's the series overall as a complete unit, but goddamn if it didn't do that for me. A triumph of storytelling.

It's not this book's fault per se, but there was really no way I could enjoy reading the last six issues of a 45-issue comic book series on their own. I tried at first to work out who all the characters were from the chart in the front, but there were too many of them in too many guises and it wasn't really helping me enjoy it. Maybe someday I will have time to read them all, but not now!

added April 2023:
Perhaps it is the book's fault, because now I have read the preceding 39 issues and I guess I understood it but I didn't care that I understood it. And now I hated the epilogue, which was unnecessarily indulgent even by the standards of these things.

I've complained about it in earlier reviews, but I can't help but feel there's a much show more more interesting version of The Wicked + The Divine out there somewhere, one that works with the actual premise of pop stars as deities that this one largely used as scene setting for uninteresting characters in an overly convoluted plot. show less

On the back cover artist Jamie McKelvie is quoted as saying, "I've been drawing this book for five years, the least you can do is read it." It's meant to be funny, but at this point it truly is the only reason I bothered to read this book through to the end. The story lost me a few volumes back, and getting meta this go-round doesn't win me back.

Here's hoping McKelvie spends the next five years applying his gorgeous artwork to something more worthy of it.

A great end to a mostly enjoyable, if somewhat meandering and confusing series. Issues #42-45 are excellent, and have some of my favorite scenes and writing, and a particular scene that just tore my heart, involving a character I definitely hated a couple books ago. I'm not sure what lesson the story is trying to impart, other than that the secret is for you to live and not try to get shortcuts and fame is usually pretty overrated. Life is worth it, I guess. That's not a bad lesson.

The art's great, as usual. The finale was pretty great. I think this series took its finale bow at a good time.

Hugo 2020 Nominations (Best Graphic);

Stars: 3.5
(but I feel like it's cheating it to round down on this one)

Another 'so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye' homage. I wasn't expecting two of these, or to end up reading the two Hugo ending-of-a-story pieces back to back. There's definitely a different kind of feeling to the arc that wraps up an epic, and beyond that, the issues which wraps up the ending, the whole story, and the future.

I don't feel like this was the best ending, and I still have a lot more questions about this universe and the ish it spins around than I do truly having answers. I felt the Minerva wrap up went incredibly too fast, and that the result of that storyline wrapped up too neatly the sins of both of 'the show more fallen' who passed directly out of the story with the fall.

I still love the idea of this universe so much, even if I feel like the age and drag of the length taken to tel the story shows in the work needed to pull this volume together, and in how it still feels unfinished. There was too much in this about the series needing to save itself from it's earlier failures, but I still appreciate the glorious show it put on the stage trying. show less

I actually read this one a while back, and I failed to note it or record my reactions at the time (I'm claiming I read it in June, but I'm not sure). So, from memory - this is a great ending to a convoluted and sometimes confusing serious. I loved the whole series, although not always unconditionally (there are issues, but also some of the characters are shitty people, so sometimes what I'm seeing might just be good characterisation. I'd have to go back and look to see, having revisited the rest of the story).

Wicked The Divine elicited mixed feelings from me as a series. Some hits and misses. Most of the home runs were in the latter part of the series. Overall, I'd say it was worth powering through the beginning to get to the end.

The premise leads to intriguing developments. The characterization took time, but was well-realized by the end. However the premise could have been explored even further when all is said and done. The first volume laid the groundwork, but the following volumes meandered a little. By the time we start to see how godhood and resultant death effects our teenage leads, several volumes have elapsed. Even then the excellent vignettes are slow-burns that only congeal in the final 2 volumes. Good pacing would have made the show more most of this great idea.

Characters like Baal and Baphomet had depth. Baal was a great blend of flaws and strength, with some of his strengths becoming flaws when pushed to far. He felt the most human of the entire cast and his decisions added weight and impact to the story in my opinion. Baphomet was just as interesting. He started and ended the story in two different places and his journey and final decision were believable. It is hard to say as much about other characters. Laura has her moments and she is good in the last 2 volumes. But as a main character, she did little for 2/3 of the story, with only one decision having any weight. I like to see characters live with their decisions, but without stretching it to the point of melodrama.

The art is impressive overall. And it compounds dynamically as the story progresses. The coloring, ink, and line work all work together to make a pleasing aesthetic that is expressive and kinetic. The art does a lot of the heavy lifting whenever the writing fizzles.

The themes come through, thankfully, in the last few volumes. The series concerns itself with the nature of the stories we tell ourselves and how we let them influence us. The best volume was Mothering Invention, where the themes of realizing our weaknesses and regressing to progress are communicated exquisitely. Elsewhere the themes are buried by some unrealistic dialogue, scenes, and side plots.

The Wicked The Divine starts slow, but finishes strong. Not a comic for kids. But its depiction of excess serves the plot. Some shock value and an increasing artistic flair are other reasons to recommend the series. Or not. Depending on your taste. show less