The Wicked + The Divine #11: Wic + Div Re-Read
By Alex Batts — We’re back with another installment in The Wicked + The Divine Re-read Project with this week’s issue bringing us to #11, the final issue in the second arc of the series, “Fandemonium”. This issue is a pretty major turning point for the series and so even though all of my articles have contained spoilers due to the nature of the series I’m going to go ahead and give an extra spoiler warning here.
With that said, let’s dive into this week’s issue!
The Wicked + The Divine #11
Here’s the official solicitation text for the eleventh issue from June 3, 2015:
The end of Fandemonium. The end of Ragnarock. The end of the arc. The start of something else. Everything’s going to be okay.
This solicit is especially serious in comparison to every other solicit we have seen. The meta-humor isn’t here and there’s a striking lack of detail about what actually happens in this issue… for good reason. The cover paints a rather brutal picture of just what is in store for us at the end of this arc…
The Cover: Another issue, another portrait cover… sort of. This portrait cover is lacking, well, a portrait. Instead of a beautifully rendered mugshot of one of the various characters that fill out this series we get a brutally rendered image of a headless body from the shoulders up. The body is a striking white which contrasts brilliantly with the red that’s left behind from whatever happened to this poor souls’ head (we can assume it was an explosion, based on past events in this series). Sometimes less is more, this is one of those times.
The First Page: The first page is very much a calm before the storm. We’re with our main protagonist, Laura, as she walks through a park with her thoughts to herself. She says that she isn’t a god and was delusional to think she could be. But on the last panel, she shakes herself out of her self-pity and begins snapping her fingers again, refusing to quit and give up hope. The sequence is quiet and soothing, with nice cool tones and a sense of defiance from Laura at the end that helps build her character. She’s been through so much already, has accepted her fate, and is hopeful in spite of it.
On-Page Action: The next few pages follow Laura on her walk home as she continues to snap her fingers and reassure herself that she’ll do everything she can to help make the other gods' lives less terrible, given their impending doom. The sequence ends with her stepping into her backyard for a cigarette and being confronted by Ananke, who is easily the last person she expected to see there. This scene gets wrapped up at the end of the issue (I promise, you’re not ready for the twist) but for now, we cut to…
Baphomet is stalking Inanna at one of Inanna’s afterparties which, in case you were wondering, is essentially a giant magical orgy (because why wouldn’t it be). Based on the last issue we know that Baphomet is out to kill other gods to extend his own life sentence and he’s picked his next victim. But again like last issue he’s having trouble stepping up to the plate and summons his own “devil on his shoulder” self to help convince him that this is the right move.
His evil side reiterates all the “logical” reasons that Baphomet should go through with the murder. “The Pantheon already wants you dead”, “He’s (Inanna) only got a year left, this is as good as it gets anyway”, In the end – him or you?” and so on. By the end of the devilish pep-talk, Baphomet is ready for some godly slaying.
The next handful of pages are an immaculately and vibrantly rendered fight between Inanna and Baphomet that I’ll get to more in the art section. The fight between them is relatively brief but incredibly satisfying to see unfold. It ends with Inanna being crucified, upside down and all, and telling Baphomet that taking his life will not make a difference. Baphomet snorts and says of course it will, but Inanna responds, “You don’t get it. For six months, I was happy, I wasn’t afraid, and I lived life exactly how I wanted. You? You’re petrified. You can kill me; you can live a little longer… doesn’t make you any more alive.” Which is one of the best quotes in the entire series, and then Baphomet responds in anger by striking and blowing the entire building up.
With that exciting drama out of the way, we jump back to Ananke and Laura. Ananke tries to tell Laura that she should be thankful, she dodged the godly bullet. Laura knows how much divinity will take from the Pantheon and that she escaped it… and yet Laura still wants it. Laura hates herself for it and says she feels stupid, to which Ananke responds, “If it’s any comfort, I feel stupid too. It’s taken so long to find you.”
Cue a two-page godly transformation sequence of Laura joining the Pantheon. You read that right, Laura is a god after all. Enter: Persephone.
Laura thought there were only twelve gods, but Ananke reassures her that now they both know better and encourages her to sing. Beaming with joy, Laura turns and begins to do what she’s always wanted. “The plasma in my head cracks my skull. It flows out of me, and I don’t understand it and I don’t know where it’s from, but it’s there and it’s undeniable and mine and I get to share it. I get to share it with everyone. This? This is as good as it gets.”
Unfortunately for Laura, as good as it gets doesn’t last very long. As she’s talking about how incredible this moment is, the panels pan behind her head and we see Ananke getting ready for a signature godly finger “kklk” which only means death. “I don’t remember anything after that. I guess I’m grateful.” And then we see Ananke covered in blood, a burning body on the ground in front of her.
Laura’s parents rush out of the house to see the mess, Ananke says some deaths are necessary and others are not, these she deems are not, but she kills Laura’s entire family anyway, blowing up the house in the process. Then we cut to the last title page, “It was never going to be okay.” And end the second arc of The Wicked + The Divine.
Deeper Meaning: The underlying theme that hits me the most in this issue comes from Inanna’s conversation with Baphomet. His point that just because you live longer doesn’t mean you’re more alive is something that I think can be applied to the way everyone lives. Quality of life is more important than it’s longevity, and it’s important to make sure you’re living the life you want to lead.
The other theme is to be careful what you wish for. This one is somehow both subtle and blatantly obvious. Since the beginning of the series Laura has wanted to be a god and we’ve seen the negative impact that desire and the results of that wish coming true have had on her and the people around her. In this issue, she finally gets her wish but is immediately met with death. Careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
The Art: I’ve said this a couple of times already, and I’ll say it again, but the art in this issue is some of the best in the series. The opening scene of Laura walking home sets a perfect calm before the storm tone and invites you into a safe-space before the following battle and subsequent twist and cliffhanger leave you shocked to your core.
The fight between Inanna and Baphomet is, like all the battles between gods, incredibly displayed. McKelvie always makes their actions throughout the environment crystal clear, while bringing exciting movement throughout the panels in various page layouts. Then Wilson comes in and adds that extra layer of flair with luminous colors that make the entire sequence pop of the page. It’s a visual wonder to look at.
Then the final scene of the issue is perhaps the most important in the series, and certainly the most important so far. It changes everything and you can tell there was a tremendous amount of effort put into making it look perfect and believe me, it does look perfect. Laura’s facial expressions are worth a thousand words, her character design as Persephone is probably my favorite in the series (even beating out Morrigan) and is a perfect reflection of her personality turned godly.
The two-page sequence of her going to sing before Ananke’s dastardly move is cinematic and powerful, and the cut to black after the snap is profound. The white panel borders become colored and the background behind Laura comes to life with vibrant hues. The entire scene just works, and the immediate fall-out that results in the death of Laura’s parents adds another layer of “wtf just happened” that makes this one of the best cliffhangers in comics.
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Jamie McKelvie
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
The end of Fandemonium. The end of Ragnarock. The end of the arc. The start of something else. Everything’s going to be okay.
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