If we just rated comics on how shocking they were, this issue would get a perfect score. It contained not just one of the most shocking panels in an ongoing comic series, it had three. Beyond that, “The Wicked + the Divine” #33 fired on all cylinders: it was emotionally gripping, moved the plot along, and was finely executed. This is the perfect example of an issue that sends you back to reread the entire series, and a great argument for reading comics month to month. As such, there’s going to be a ton of spoiler talk here, so if you are looking for an opinion, it’s a good one. Go read it! When you come back, we can talk about this wild ride.
Written by Kieron GillenCover by Jamie McKelvie
Illustrated by Jamie McKelvie
Colored by Matt Wilson
Lettered by Clayton Cowles‘IMPERIAL PHASE II,’ Conclusion There’s only one thing all Imperial Phases share. They end. Ours does too.
You’re back? That was crazy right? Our last issue ended with a frustrating cliffhanger, not showing us what was behind the secret door in Woden’s lair. Long-time readers were owed a heck of a reveal, and we sure got one. I’m going to sort the twists into my three reactions: “Woah!” “What!?” and “Holy crap!”
First was the reveal that horrid shithead Woden is not Jon Blake as we have been led to believe the whole series- he’s actually David Blake, his father. David has been around since the second arc of the series, outside of his Woden persona, and we learn here that he’s been keeping Jon- who’s the embodiment of Mimir of the Vanir- as a decapitated head who helps him build things. Woah!
This changes everything. Woden has always been a creep, but this escalates things to preposterous levels. Who’s got two thumbs and a dozen teenage Asian girlfriends? This disgusting manipulator and middle-aged man. Going back through the series every word said by and to Woden has a different meaning, not to mention Blake. “Patriarchy isn’t rule by men, it’s rule by fathers,” Woden said. “Sons just get sacrificed to keep the old man in port and cigars.” We didn’t realize he was speaking from direct experience.
The flashback sequence that reveals the Blake family drama is the best drawn sequence in the comic. Seeing David’s face on the familiar body of Woden was jarring enough, but within just a few panels his son Jon- who we are meeting for the first time- is incredibly likable. In a comic full of exotic beauty and theatrical goth kids, its impressive that McKelvie can make Jon look so normal and likable. And Matt Wilson does wonders with the digital effects of Woden and Mimir’s magic. The pixelated clouds especially are breathtaking.
The sequence also has the one moment of incongruous art. We see Ananke in a sweater, and her wrinkled face looks completely unnatural. There’s no way anyone would believe she’s anything other than an immortal witch.
Laura/Persephone and Cassandra/Urdr are trapped in a cell with Jon/Mimir and the two women, arguably the main protagonists of the series, finally have a heart to heart that’s been brewing for some time. It turns a lot of subtext into text concerning Laura’s guilt and Cassandra’s concern. It also links Laura’s promiscuous behavior to her self-destructive tenancies- and her identity as The Destroyer- in a big way. This sequence is well written to be sure, but is sold by the facial expressions, which are big when they should be, and subtle when they can afford to be. Screaming and crying will always be easy to draw, but sidelong glances full of heartbreak and understanding are trickier.
The conversation never just feels like a bunch of talking heads. It’s staged cinematically, with more zooms and “camera” sweeps than you’d see on a similarly dramatic TV show. There’s not an action scene in this issue, but that doesn’t mean that McKelvie and Wilson don’t put their all into the quieter moments of conversation. Effectively drawing these characters is an old trick at this point, but the framing of them within the panel is peak comics. The issue doesn’t do anything flashy with panel arrangements, but what’s within the panels is meticulously rendered.
Continued belowThen we hop over to Minerva, who’s dealing with the death of Sakhmet. She’s talking to someone off panel and she sounds… more menacing than we’d expect her to. It becomes more and more apparent that she’s still carrying out the Ananke murder conspiracy, which would be shocking enough, but then she says “I don’t work with Ananke. I am Ananke.” What!?
This is another twist that makes a lot of sense in hindsight. After the Pantheon supposedly rescued Minerva from the machine, she started acting differently, dressing differently. They attribute this to trauma and teenage hormones, but it’s pretty clear that some body-swapping shenanigans have been afoot.
Then we get hit with the final whammy, the final panel of the issue, the arc, and the series this year. Minerva/Ananke is talking to three severed heads- the heads of the first three murdered gods. Luci, Inanna and Tara are- well not alive, but not quite dead either. Holy crap!
Not only have they been brought back into the series, but there is a fourth place to mount a severed head, which doesn’t spell out Ananke’s plan outright, but it confirms a lot of what has been implied. You’ll never be able to read the recurring four-count in this series again.
That’s this issue overall. The twists land because they they’ve been so effectively foreshadowed. They’re masterfully done, and the whole creative team deserves kudos. Kieron Gillen obviously did a lot with his writing, but Jamie McKelvie and Matt Wilson have been implying these things through character posture and background details the whole time. I’m wowed.
“The Wicked + the Divine” is a tremendous comic book, obviously one I love a great deal. What this issue lacked it action, it more than made up for in nearly every other way. Character beats were stunning. Plot points were staggering. Everyone brought their A game. This far into the series, we’re more concerned with ending things than beginning new ones, and WicDiv #33 sets the stage for a grand finale.
Final Verdict: 9.8 – Woah! What!? Holy crap!
