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‘The Wicked + The Divine #42:’ Advance Comic Book Review

The home stretch is upon us, as we are now at the final four issues of this series. It’s been a strange, intense ride over five years of god-based insanity, ridiculous specials, more musical references and/or puns than any one series should have, and so much beautiful art. Over the past forty issues, we’ve seen the gods of the last few generations die, betray each other, die some more, kill each other and a lot of other people, come back to life, and die some more. In between all of this dying and resurrection has been a mystical soap opera of backstabbing, love, loss, and some really crazy things. That being said, it’s all been glorious, and this issue is no exception.

We’ve seen our fan favorites return thanks to some incredible resurrection, and with it comes the near entirety of our twelve gods moving, once again, to stop Ananke, their former leader and current tiny child going by the name Mivera. There’s a lot to this story that I’m not mentioning here for two reasons: One, it would take way too long, and two, this is a book that is an experience. This series has been an immense journey of mystic excitement, and spoiling it would be a disservice to the glory that is this title.

I will say this, however. This book is really good, and it’s only gotten better as it’s gone on. While not every issue in the series has been excellent, this one is, as we see the tiny, nearly imperceptible threads of plot and character relation come to life and bring this story to what is looking like a brilliant conclusion.

Writer and co-creator Kieron Gillen has been leading us on this journey for years, building and building upon this tragic story of life, rebirth, protection, bad decisions, and even worse consequences. As we’ve gone on, these consequences have come to light, and in this issue we begin to really see what some of those are and of what’s to come. It’s also got some pretty hilarious chapter titles which has been par for the course.

As brilliant as Gillen is with his verbal storytelling, comics are a visual medium, and there is none better than Jamie McKelvie at being a visual artist. There are very few books out in the world that look as visually stunning as this one with bold, clean line, vibrant colors from colorist Matthew Wilson, and some of the most beautifully rendered sequences to ever grace the pages of the comic medium. While this was a more plot-forward issue, the pacing has been excellent, and regardless of tone or setting, this book looks amazing.

With only a few issues left to go, it’s interesting to reflect back on this series and how far it’s come. As it comes to a close, each look at the latest issue hearkens back to its past and the story that brought us to this point. It’s been quite a journey, and if, for some reason, this is being read and the series isn’t, please go and read it. Then, read it again and continue to enjoy this gift being given to us by a group of brilliant creators.

Creative Team: Kieron Gillen (writer), Jamie McKelvie (artist), Matthew Wilson (colors), Clayton Cowles (letters)
Publisher: Image Comics
Click here to purchase.

Russ Pirozek, Fanbase Press Contributor

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