The Wicked + The Divine #10: Wic + Div Re-Read
By Alex Batts — Welcome back to another entry in The Wicked + The Divine Re-read Project! With this installment in the series we reach a new milestone…we are in the double digits! This week the spotlight gets put on the tenth issue of the series, and we see the great Ragnarock (the concert, not the end of days). Now that the intro is out of the way, onto the issue!
The Wicked + The Divine #10
Here’s the official solicitation text for the tenth issue from May 6th, 2015:
Ragnarock is finally here. The show to end all shows promises to be a lovely experience for all the gods...wait. Oh noes! Jamie and Matt have drawn Baphomet drenched in blood on the cover. What a hilarious internal communication error. I’m sure it’s a mistake and nothing to do with the story whatsoever.
This solicit gets the main idea for the issue out there, we’re going to see Ragnarock and Baphomet is up to… something. The meta-humor I refuse to go a week without acknowledging is present here and I love it. If you didn’t already think Baphomet was up to no good just from looking at the cover the solicit is here to reaffirm you that he is, indeed, up to no good. Speaking of covers…
The Cover: As mentioned in the solicit Baphomet takes center stage on this portrait cover and it’s a brutal one. He’s got a killer smile, his hair is perfectly imperfect, and oh yeah he’s drenched in blood with fire behind him. It’s a stunning cover, McKelvie never misses a beat rendering these portraits and Wilson’s colors accentuate the subject perfectly and set a dangerous mood. The red hues draw you in, the smile sends a chill, and the eyes implicate the danger within.
The First Page: The first page is quite a contrast to the cover. Instead of warm tones, the page is mostly black, with cool blues to accent the characters. We see The Morrigan and Baphomet in their shadow-filled Underground, with Baphomet sulking and Morrigan inquiring what’s wrong. We get a small insight into their history, as Baphomet says Morrigan doomed him because she doesn’t care, to which she retorts, “I doomed you because I care.” Baphomet says this is all he ever wanted, but he wants more. While flicking his fingers to ignite a devilish spark. Based on what Baphomet learned about being able to kill a god and extend his life this doesn’t bode well for the rest of the Pantheon.
On-Page Action: The issue opens with a great conversation between Laura and Inanna in Laura’s backyard. She opens up about the miracle she experienced after Lucifer died and how she had hoped to be one of the gods. In doing so she explains that she wanted it in the hopes that saving others might help her save herself. She thought finding her place on the Pantheon would help her find her place in life and that maybe she wouldn’t hate herself so much. We’ve seen so far that her desire for fame hasn’t done her mental health any favors but this opening up is a good first step for her finding her way.
Inanna immediately goes to hug her when she finishes talking, then quickly apologizes and says he should have asked. Laura chides him and says he doesn’t ever have to ask, and then Inanna magically whisks the two of them away to see Ragnarock. Every time these two interact it does so much for their character development. Everything feels so genuine and heartfelt between them and the sincerity bleeds through the text.
We get a fantastic double-page spread that establishes the locale for Ragnarock (which I’ll dive into more in the art section) and get to see Inanna dropping Laura off as Baal runs up to greet them. Laura comments to Baal that she hasn’t told Inanna anything and Baal retorts that Inanna wouldn’t care about that. Though Baal wishes Inanna would. This brief exchange confirms a few things that had already been hinted at. There’s a rift between Inanna and Baal because they were an item and Inanna didn’t exactly see them as being exclusive, which angers Baal. It also confirms that at the end of issue #8, Baal and Laura most certainly went back to Baal’s place.
Baal also just casually mentions that Urdr deduced who the gunmen that shot at Lucifer were. We then get a title page, which establishes that this issue takes place two months after the previous one (we’re now at August 2nd, 2014, approximately eight months after Lucifer’s death). Laura is going to confront Cassandra/Urdr about her discovery but is interrupted by David Blake outside of Urdr’s trailer. David Blake is the researcher that Laura had gotten into an argument with at the previous Ragnarock.
He then explains how he and Urdr were able to narrow down the list of suspects in the Lucifer attack to two deranged superfans attempting the Prometheus Gambit. The explanation reminds me of something straight out of true-crime with a bit of mythology thrown in and the way McKelvie and Wilson present the art from the pages help distinguish that what we’re seeing is a flashback. At the end, though, Laura asks if it was all a big conspiracy and if the two had anything to do with the Judge’s death (that Lucifer is blamed for) to which David responds, “Not that we’ve found. My guess? Occam’s razor suggests Lucifer killed the judge. But we’ll never know for sure. I can guarantee academics will be arguing about it forever. You’re smart. Maybe you’ll be one of them.”
As their conversation finishes, Urdr and her friends burst through the trailer doors and begin their walk to the stage. As they’re beginning to perform, we see Baphomet watching from a distance. After a moment he summons a metaphorical devil on his shoulder, though it’s literally an evil talking head of himself, to convince him to go through with his murderous intentions. As he is leaping to slay Urdr he’s intercepted by none other than The Morrigan. This brings us one of my favorite Morrigan pages of the issue and triggers Baphomet vs Morrigan round 2.
Their battle is cut drastically short by interference from Ananke (boo!) considering they are still in a crowd of roughly 100,000 people. While Morrigan and Baphomet end up escaping to the Underground the sequence provided some interesting development for Baphomet. We saw how previously unhappy he was with his impending doom and now he’s decided that if he has to die, he’s going to bring everyone else with him. Morrigan, however, won’t let him and feels an obvious sense of responsibility for him.
Before a full-scale riot breaks out in the park Urdr steps up to perform, absolutely stunning the crowd with a performance so unlike any of the other gods. She shouts that everything is meaningless, the void is endless, that it’s all for naught, and they only have each other but that’s not enough. In the end, the crowd erupts into cheers. This leads to Urdr storming off stage. To her, the crowd didn’t get it.
The next scene is an extremely heartfelt exchange between Cass and Laura, as the latter tries to comfort the former. Cass is furious and disheartened by the crowd’s lack of understanding. Laura again opens up about her wishes for godhood but relents that she’s happy that Cass received these powers and argues that Cass has more to say. And though not everyone will understand her message, some will, and that’s what matters. In tears, Cass asks if Laura is even happy about the dying part, to which Laura replies, “Except for that.” As she embraces her.
The final page of the issue is eerily similar to the opening, as we find Morrigan and Baphomet in the Underground. This time Morrigan is searching endlessly for Baphomet as his evil-self whispers in his ear. The final panel ending with a sinister snarl, fire in his eyes, and the words, “Inanna’s a nice guy.”
Deeper Meaning: There are a couple of big things addressed in this issue. One being Laura’s confrontation and openness about her problems. You can see that her talking with others about how she feels is genuinely helping her work through her emotions and come to terms with her situation. Things have not gone the way that she wanted, and maybe that’s okay. She’s not 100% okay (who really is?) but she’s actively working towards it, and that’s the most one can do.
Urdr speaks directly on the notion that nothing has any meaning (heh, a bit contradictory to this part of the article, eh?) and that the void (presumably death) is endless. But even in this despair, she notes that we have each other, which is what matters. After all, the gods are here to give people an experience, and what people choose to do with themselves after is up to them. For better or worse, we have each other and we have to choose how we build from that.
Then there is the issue of Baphomet. Violent, resentful, and spiteful Baphomet. He’s the epitome of being unsatisfied with his lot in life and in his disdain is on a mission to drag everyone down with him. He’s on a complete path of self-destruction and outwards annihilation.
The Art: Aside from the usual boxes checked by this art team, dynamic page layouts, exquisite character expressions, and fully formed environments, there’s a couple of standout artistic flares in this issue. The first one being the double-page spread that establishes Ragnarock itself.
The beauty of Inanna and Laura forming in their fairy-dust like neon pink state is impressive enough, but then you see the sheer scale of the venue and it’s jaw-dropping. The venue is impressive enough, but the effort put into making it all look authentic is staggering. There’s a behind-the-scenes process of this page (see below) that shows-off the 3D model McKelvie made to get the perspective right and it’s stellar.
Look at that, I took up an entire paragraph on one spread (and that was cutting it short). Besides that, the flashback scenes are another standout. It’s recontextualizing some images from the series we’ve already seen, Laura at Ragnarock last year, Lucifer murdering the gunmen, etc. but they have a completely different coloring style in comparison to the rest of the issue that immediately distinguishes it from anything happening in the present. Another major standout (with admitted bias) is the splash page of Morrigan as she’s got her crow wings and murder of crows surrounding her. You can feel the power she commands and then the page zooms in for two closeups on her as she delivers her lines. The transition sells her calm but stern demeanor. The colors on this page, and the entire fight with Baphomet in general, pop off the page as is usual when the gods use their powers.
The final page I want to note is when Urdr performs. I mentioned earlier that it’s unlike any of the other gods’ performances and this page highlights that with visual perfection. It’s stark black and white, straight lines, and scattered text that conveys a primally powerful feeling over the page.
The Wicked + The Divine #10
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Jamie McKelvie
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
Click here to read past installments of the Wic + Div Re-Read.
Alex Batts is from Texas. A lifelong comic book enthusiast and movie lover, if he’s not talking about comics, he’s probably not talking. You can find him on Twitter by following @BatmanFiles