COMIC BOOK REVIEW: The Wicked + The Divine #1

Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Jamie McKelvie
Publisher: Image Comics

Think of a particularly engaging experience. Now try to beautifully piece it out into say, a pop song, an upbeat tune, a string of vibratos, a calming crescendo, and pepper in a bit of repetitive melodies. Now add some snaps, some crackle, and then make some heads pop. That’s The Wicked+The Divine for you.

Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s latest collaboration is a story of fame and grand power possessed by these modern day pop stars who are actual, living and breathing gods, or at least that’s what they say they are. However, these god-ships come only with 2-year tenures. After which, they disappear into their century-long slumbers. Without giving too much away from the story, the debut issue of The Wicked + The Divine is the epitome of the perfect first venture. It’s something that tends to hit all the right notes courtesy of Gillen’s perfectly paced writing. Despite being just the first issue of what will undoubtedly become a massive series, Gillen is able to create a world that perfectly encapsulates the essence of the story’s concept. There was an impressive amount of world building incorporated in the story, which was not in any way just blatantly thrown into the readers, and the characters Gillen have created are both compelling and unique. But hey let’s not forget about the art. McKelvie’s character designs are impressive. The first few pages alone exemplify how a good artist like McKelvie can create unique looking characters that do not seem like rehashes of his/her past designs. McKelvie has got to be one of the artists with the most clean looking outputs, none of those grungy scratches that the likes of (Jim) Lee and (Tony) Daniel seem to like so much, nor the squiggly lines sprouting from every crevice a la (Frank) Quitely, (Aaron) Kuder, or (Nick) Pitarra. McKelvie however has the tendency to muddle up details for characters/scenes/things that are not in focus. While a lot of artists do this, it feels like this kind of takes away the keen attention to detail that should be expected from McKelvie’s art.

The Wicked + The Divine #1 is the epitome of a perfect debut issue. The writing is witty and engaging, the art is vibrant, the colours are gorgeous. Everything about this book is beautiful. If you only had enough money to pull 1 new book, make it this. It’s everything the title says it is. It’s wicked. It’s divine. I have nothing but praise for this book.

10/10