Title: The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 4: Rising Action
ISBN: 9781632159137
Price: $14.99
Publisher/Year: Image, 2016
Artist: Clayton Cowles, Jamie Mckelvie, Matthew Wilson
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Collects: The Wicked + The Divine #1-22
Rating: 3/5
Volume 4 of The Wicked + The Divine continues the high standards of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s pop-rock fantasy series. McKelvie returns from his sabbatical while he concentrated on the final volume of Phonogram, and between them they work on the most action-packed volume of the series so far, a volume which they themselves admit has strong echoes of their past work on Young Avengers. A character thought dead turns out not to be dead after all, and we find out why they’re not dead. The motivations of Ananke are revealed. Hints are dropped concerning what actually lies behind the Recurrence, hints which will undoubtedly be explored in future volumes. It all ends in what is, basically, a good, old-fashioned superhero fight, as different gods line up against each other. McKelvie clearly has great fun drawing this.
After four volumes, it’s hard to find much new to say about The Wicked + The Divine – superlatives are starting to expire. Gillen and McKelvie maintain a high standard, and it’s fair to say that McKelvie’s return lifts Gillen back up to the level of the first two volumes, after the slight coasting of Commercial Suicide. Gillen’s writing zings off the page; McKelvie’s art continues to look splendid. As ever, Matthew Wilson on colors and Clayton Cowles on letters enhance the experience considerably. If this isn’t quite as good as the very best of volumes 1 and 2, it’s only because the straightforward action-based nature of the story doesn’t leave as much room as previously for subtleties. And it’s necessary to remember how very high the standards set previously are. If you like The Wicked + The Divine, then you’ll love this, and in any case, it is an essential purchase, since the story remains a continuous one.
This collection is rounded out by various alternative covers, some of which are particularly memorable (David Aja’s stands out), and some script pages and early stages of the creation of the artwork that give an extremely useful input into Gillen and McKelvie’s creative process.
Role playing and collecting comics since age 10, I'd like to share my experiences and insight of RPG's. I hope that my reader's will also feel free to contribute their thoughts and feelings alongside my own. I'd like to keep the pen-and-paper in roleplaying games. [Formerly known as RPG4EVR] A non-biased place where you can read reviews of graphic novels and trade paperbacks. I also give my opinions and reviews of pop culture and events. [Formerly known as Zanziber's Point of View]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Rose City Comic Con 2024 - My Experiences
September 6-8, 2024 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon 2024 marks the 9th year in a row where I have been honored to be able to cover...
-
September 6-8, 2024 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon 2024 marks the 9th year in a row where I have been honored to be able to cover...
-
There will be many shorthand and terms used throughout this blog. I will explain them here as best I can: DM: Dungeon Master – Common term a...
-
As mentioned previously, I started consuming A LOT of YouTube during the pandemic and I came across a multitude of different channels that...
No comments:
Post a Comment