Welcome to the next installment of our Saturday Morning Panels special editions, our chance to pay tribute to those series that have had lasting impact on our staff as they reach important milestones.
Today, it’s a look back at some of the best moments from Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s “The Wicked + The Divine,” which concluded this week. If you have a series you’d like us to spotlight for a Saturday Morning Panels special edition later this year, make your case in the comments! Check back at the end of October for our special edition tribute to John Allison’s “Giant Days” (which also had its final regular issue drop this week)
“The Wicked + The Divine” #1: This was basically me when I saw Neutral Milk Hotel live. – Vince Ostrowski
“The Wicked + The Divine” #1: And my axe! – Matthew Meylikhov
“The Wicked + The Divine” #1: For what it’s worth, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie have a keener sense of the Internet Age and the Millennial than anyone else in comics. – Vince Ostrowski
“The Wicked + The Divine” #2: This happens to me all the time when browsing the internet on my phone.
– Matthew Meylikhov
“The Wicked + The Divine” #5: Oh gods no. – Matthew Meylikhov
“The Wicked + The Divine” #5: SHE SAID “DON’T,” DAMMIT, WHY DID YOU! – Matthew Meylikhov
“The Wicked + The Divine” #5: The big plot twist reveal is so expertly rendered from McKelvie and Wilson. It’s breathless and anxious and just superbly executed. – Matt Garcia
“The Wicked + the Divine” #6: Yo Prismo, where’s the hot tub? – Matt Garcia
“The Wicked + the Divine” #6: GPOY. – Matthew Meylikhov
“The Wicked + The Divine” #7: Let’s take a moment and pay attention to Matt Wilson’s work here. That portal is the brightest and most vibrant thing in this entire issue and it’s completely amazing. – Matt Garcia
“The Wicked + The Divine” #7: This is essentially how it feels for me at any convention. – Matt Garcia
“The Wicked & The Divine” #7: Remember how WicDic predicted the resurgence of Krakoa in 2015? Actually though, calling anything ‘the something that walks like a man’ gets me every time. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked and the Divine” #8: How do you stop a moving object? With a douche. – Matt Garcia
“The Wicked and the Divine” #8: I want that T-shirt.
– Matt Garcia“The Wicked + the Divine” #9: There are so many fantasy stories that feature this image, but my mind immediately went to “Buffy.” So.
– Matt Garcia
“The Wicked + The Divine” #10: Take me to church. – Matt Garcia
“The Wicked and the Divine” #11: This fish is up to no good. Big bad of the series? I’m thinking so.- Matt Garcia
“The Wicked + The Divine” #12: The life of a documentary filmmaker.
–Matt Garcia
“The Wicked + The Divine” #13: If you wanted a summary of this series…
–Matt Garcia
“The Wicked + The Divine” #14: It’s like choosing the records for the saddest set you can think of.
– Matt Garcia
“The Wicked + The Divine” #15: I’m not sure how I felt about the overall message of this issue, and the idea of “cultural appropriation” gives me some mega-mixed reactions, but no doubt these panels are impressive.
– Matt Garcia
“The Wicked & The Divine” #15: Still can’t believe they went for this. But I think they pulled it off. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #16: Goth icons. Legends. – Jake Hill
Continued below
“The Wicked & The Divine” #17: Cats DGAF. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #18: Not for the first time or the last time, but this panel took my breath away. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #19: Everyone has a friend like Hazel, and you should treasure them. The aren’t very bright. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #20: Having such a critical plot point hinge on an unexplained joke about Warhammer is pretty ballsy. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #31: Falling for the last time. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #32: When pop met art. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #32: I am vengeance! I am the night! I’m! Not! Kanye! – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #34: I’ll have what they’re having. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked and the Divine” #37: This whole sequence was a master class in storytelling through art and coloring. – Justin Beeson
“The Wicked + the Divine” #40: Cue My Chemical Romance – Elias Rosner
“The Wicked & The Divine” #40: Never forget how good the design in this series was. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #40: Don’t take the brilliance of this phone effect for granted . – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #41: A masterclass in comic book layouts. This sequence should be taught in schools – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #41: This effect uses the talents of every creator on the team, and is a perfect distillation of everything they’ve worked for in this series. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #41: The moment my heart broke beyond repair. After this page, nothing could hurt me. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #41: Luci has more game as a mutilated head than I do with a relatively able body. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine” #41: These looks are so sexy, the should be illegal. Actually! A godsdamn felony. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked + The Divine” #41: “God, how we get our fingers in each other’s clay. That’s friendship, each playing the potter to see what shapes we can make of each other.” Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury – Elias Rosner
“The Wicked + The Divine” #42: Minerva made a mess. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & the Divine” #42: Sacrifice! Sacrifice! – Elias Rosner
“The Wicked + The Divine” #42: I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1000 times, Jamie McKelvie draws the best phones in the comics biz. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & the Divine” #3: Couldn’t have said it better myself, narrative captions. – Elias Rosner
“The Wicked and the Divine” #44: I mean, there is still one more issue to go but I guess this story is over and I’m trying very hard not to pick any big spoilers but like every panel kinda is one at this point and thinking about that and this issue is making me sad and GOD DAMMIT KIERON, MCKELVIE, WILSON and COWLES YOU’RE MAKING ME CRY AGAIN. – Elias Rosner
We can’t forget our favorites from the various specials and one-shots
“The Wicked and the Divine 1373”: To steal the line from Kieron’s newsletter which he, in turn, found on the internet: Nun More Goth. – Elias Rosner
“The Wicked & The Divine: Christmas Special” #1: A reminder, at the end, that, in the issue that is all sexy times, Kris Anka drew sexy WicDiv and I cannot show you all the dong but there is all the dong and Kris Anka is a legend. – Elias Rosner
“The Wicked and the Divine 1373”: To steal the line from Kieron’s newsletter which he, in turn, found on the internet: Nun More Goth. – Elias Rosner
Continued below
“The Wicked & The Divine Magazine Special” #1: A magazine special is such a cool idea and every series should do one every year. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine Magazine Special” #1: This outfit horrifies me, but I can’t lie, I want those pajamas. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine: The Funnies” #1: This is the funniest 3 panels of a comic I have ever read. – Jake Hill
“The Wicked & The Divine: The Funnies” #1: I’m not giving you context. Just go read it and cry.- Ken Godberson III
“The Wicked & The Divine: The Funnies” #1: Who’s the true evil? Who is it? That’s right! You are! You are! Yesss, Ananke is. – Elias Rosner
“The Wicked & The Divine: The Funnies” #1: I bet this is how Fraction got Zdarsky onto “Sex Criminals.” – Elias Rosner
And finally, some of our favorite moments from the finale:
“The Wicked & The Divine” #45: Never did I expect to hear those two words out of Elanor’s mouth. Clearly the years have been kind to her and her killer sense of fashion. – Elias Rosner
“The Wicked & The Divine” #45: McKelvie’s subtle facial acting is just. . .just so good. . .I’m not crying, you’re crying! – Elias Rosner
“The Wicked + The Divine” #45: Part of me wants to be mad that this is how the crew decided to end things. But I’m not. At all. That’s all, folks. – Gregory Ellner
“The Wicked & The Divine” #45: IS A WHAT LAURA? A PEACH? AN EXISTENTIAL NIGHTMARE? A VOID? A. . .Ohhhhhh. – Elias Rosner
“The Wicked + The Divine” #45: I’m delighted that Kieron decided to end the series on a pun, and I’m even more delighted that he got to hand the honor of delivering the final punch line to Jamie and Matt. Classic. – Jake Hill
