The Wicked + The Divine #41 published by Image Comics and written by Kieron Gillen, with art by Jamie McKelvie, colors by Mathew Wilson, letters by Clayton Cowles, and flattened, a process that prepares the inked or sketched comic book page for the colorist with digital art software, by Dee Cunniffe.
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After narrowly averting the killing of 20,000 people by Baal in the previous issue, as he believed it was necessary to further his plan for defeating The Great Darkness, Laura moves to capitalize on her advantages and heads out to spring the heads of the gods that are being held prisoner by Baal to further frustrate his agenda and reunite with some long separated friends.
The Wicked + The Divine #41 is all about speed, as one event after another propels the reader along. From the first page’s emotion-filled exchange between Woden and Baal to the last pages determined resolutions, in a blitz of escapes, evasions, and information drops. And while I enjoyed the kinetic feel of the story, I had to stop a couple of times and reread what had been said, as a lot happens in these pages, and all of it feels very important.
Once Laura and the captured gods have escaped plans are put into motion to restore them to their full bodies, with some cost, and then how to challenge their greater advisories. This setup definitely leaves you feeling an urgency and need to get that next issue and see what develops from here.
Writer Gillen handles the speed of the story with conciseness and precision, while still giving plenty of emotion to the characters as big reunions and complicated interactions are laced through the fast-paced series of interactions. It carries with it the weight build up and history from many issues. Each character in The Wicked + The Divine #41has their own uniqueness that contrasts well with each other, making the dialogue interesting both on a personality level, as well as in its impact on the plot.
The art does a great job of conveying emotions and giving the images a sense of closeness to the subjects it follows, letting the reader feel like they are truly among the characters they are observing, though in some ways it does this to a fault. Many pages are filled with the classic nine-panel comic grid set-up with every panel showing shoulders up shot of a talking head. While there isn’t anything wrong with this approach, I would’ve appreciated a little more variety in angles or views to keep those dialogue pages fresher. The only other issue I had was the lack of surroundings in many panels as flat color or overly simplified backgrounds are most prevalent in panels. In a story where the characters feel so rich, I would’ve been interested to see a little more of that personality in their surroundings.
When all is said and done, the issue moves the plot along to a resting point that feels like a deep breath before a plunge into what will truly be a conflict of gods that will shake the world as they know it.
The Wicked + The Divine #41 is out in comic stores and online retailers everywhere.
The Wicked + The Divine
TL;DR
When all is said and done, the issue moves the plot along to a resting point that feels like a deep breath before a plunge into what will truly be a conflict of gods that will shake the world as they know it.
