Everyone has been suggesting The Wicked + The Divine to me. I’ve got the full run sitting in my subscription box, but I decided to try the first issue digitally. I’m definitely intrigued. There’s a risk to doing modern gods in that current memory holds The Sandman as the standard measure. Kieron Gillen wisely moves that comparison out by introducing a very fallible female Lucifer early on.
In The Wicked + The Divine the gods are reborn every ninety years into already living human bodies. Two years later, they die. For the time they’re present their challenge is to reassert their divinity. They are feared and worshipped in equal measure. Issue one is set in a modern alternate universe. The endnotes suggest other issues take place in alternate times, again setting up a potential is-this-Sandman-or-is-it-not cage match.
The creative team behind The Wicked + The Divine makes it clear from the beginning that this is a book concerned with intersectionality. Cultural appropriation is raised as a concern almost immediately by a cynical reporter. The gods are as diverse physically as the cultures they rise from. It’s an intriguing series I plan to catch up on quickly.
Issue one is free digitally at ComiXology as I write this, but may have been returned to full price. If you’re new to digital comics you can kick both of a a $5 credit through this link.
