Every ninety years twelve gods return as young people. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are all dead. It’s happening now. It’s happening again.
Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson (Phonogram, Young Avengers) continue their modern fantasy where gods are the ultimate pop stars and pop stars are the ultimate gods.
The continuing story in The Wicked + The Divine continues to be interesting, but this was probably my least favourite volume to date. It wasn't terrible, but there are a few clear reasons I didn't enjoy it as much. The first was the changing art between issues. I understand this was somewhat out of the creators' hands (the need for alternate artists), but I didn't like the sudden changes. That's not to say the art was bad in this issue, I just prefer the continuity of a single artist (I mean, it annoys me when Marvel does it too). Among other things, it makes it easier to keep track of characters.
The other thing I didn't love was that I found this volume a bit harder to follow the story of. This is partly related to the art, I think, but also to the large number of flashbacks. I got slightly confused as to what was the present and what wasn't, and wait is that the same person as that? On the other hand, I do think that if I'd reread the first two volumes immediately before reading this one, I would have been less confused. This is a series I would like to read all in one go once it's finished, I think. In the meantime, I will continue reading volume-by-volume.
Those criticisms aside, this is basically what you expect from The Wicked + The Divine, if you've read up to this point. The book has a non-zero mortality rate, the plot progresses, ulterior motives are exposed (to the reader) and back stories are developed further. My favourite thing in this volume was learning more about Tara, the most mysterious of the gods until now (much debate over which Tara god she is, with someone in Vol 1, I think, suggesting that she could even be Tara from Buffy, a favourite line of mine).
If you've enjoyed the series to this point, definitely keep reading. I personally will definitely be picking up Volume 4 when it eventually comes out. I quite like this series and I recommend it to all fantasy/gods among us fans. It is pretty great.
4 / 5 stars
First published: February 2016, Image Comics
Series: The Wicked + The Divine Vol 3 of ongoing series, collecting issues #12–17
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley (but I also intend to buy the trade)
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