By Alex Batts — Having reached the end of the first arc of The Wicked + The Divine, it’s now time to jump into the second arc! This week we’re taking a look at The Wicked + The Divine #6, paying close attention to the direction the story will take after the bombastic events of the first arc. Let’s get into it!

The Wicked + The Divine #6

Here’s the official solicitation text for the sixth issue from December 17th, 2015:

THE FAUST ACT is over Welcome to FANDEMONIUM. The second arc of THE WICKED + THE DIVINE begins in its traditional manner (i.e. a ludicrous pun.) We'd say something like "nothing will ever be the same again" but if you think about it, you can say that about literally everything, ever. Er...also some comic story. Probably.

There’s that meta-humor that I’ve come to love from these solicits. This solicit doesn’t give anything away about the contents of this issue, but I like it that way! It keeps the intrigue up while still maintaining that back and forth with the audience that the solicits have so far achieved.

The Cover: Another issue and another portrait. This time it’s Inanna, and he looks absolutely dazzling. McKelvie continues to render immaculate portraits and Wilson brings bold and bright colors to the cover. There’s a brilliant mixture of warm and cool hues that keep your eyes lingering on the image. Inanna’s eyes themselves are pure white, which is oddly not off-putting. The star around his left eye also reflects his personality and the multicolored hair works in that area as well.

The First Page: Here we have a silent first page (probably my favorite type of first page, I’m a sucker for strictly visual storytelling). We see Laura walking down the street wearing an Inanna shirt, which happens to be how this issue continues showcasing the cover image on the first page as well. We see Laura with a new haircut (which looks fantastic) and a look of shock on her face as two people approach her on the sidewalk. The pair are too far out to discern what their shirts look like exactly, but the page turn broaches that mystery.

The Wicked + The Divine #6 First Page.jpg

On-Page Action: This issue is a bit of a slow-down compared to the previous few, but it’s a very welcome change of pace to re-establish the state of things after such gargantuan events. The second page shows us what the two teens (young 20’s maybe?) who were approaching Laura have on their shirts. It’s a new tee that reads “Lucifer died for our sins” with the words arranged in an upside-down cross. Laura’s reaction is to immediately vomit in the nearby dumpster. However, upon reflection, Laura notes that Lucifer would’ve loved the shirts. During their brief interaction, the two teens ask Laura if she got tickets to Ragnarok, to which she replies that she didn’t and that she’s seen enough. This is a small bit of dialogue but it speaks volumes to Laura’s mental state regarding the gods.

This issue takes place roughly a month after issue #5, with the date being February 28th, 2014. We get a brief update on the Pantheon’s immediate reaction to Lucifer’s death with Baal and Amaterasu appearing in interviews on television. Amy mourns Lucifer while Baal projects his anger at the situation. We also get some insight into how Laura is dealing with things. Last we left her she had miraculously ignited a cigarette with the snap of her fingers and has since been trying to replicate the deed, to no avail. She’s a bundle of anxiety and doesn’t know what her apparent miracle means for her life.

There are two particularly striking pages in the issue in which Laura rants to her mother about how she really feels (but doesn’t actually) and another which showcases the contents of Laura’s bedroom. I’m particularly fond of the page showing off her bedroom for its use of perspective and also uniquely providing information, but I’ll get more to that in the art section.

The other big event of this issue is Laura meeting Inanna. She gets a call from him that informs her of a letter left for her with an address and a time, to meet him there, and to dress inconspicuously. Naturally, Laura shows up. The location is Lucifer’s grave, a somber and serious location, where Inanna then shows up dressed very clearly not inconspicuously. This lack of awareness about what is and isn’t inconspicuous speaks to the nature of his character and from his very first words, he’s instantly recognizable.

He acknowledges what Laura must be going through and does his best to console her while giving little tidbits of character insight to himself through the way he speaks. It’s all subtle but helps form his character wonderfully. More importantly, though, he offers the plot a new direction. He mentions a past Ragnarok (which we now learn is a convention dedicated to the gods and their recurrence) he explains that he remembers Laura attending that convention. This transitions into him saying he realized the police never identified the men who shot at Lucifer, and that he has divine options of discerning the truth. Cut to him “breaking” (is it really breaking if you materialize into the building?) into the morgue to examine the bodies. The line of thought ends with him telling Laura that the people who shot at Lucifer were fans and that he thinks it’s up to them to find out who they were. Thus, the mystery deepens and receives a shot of adrenaline as we now have a new target.

The final pages of the issue show Laura debating sending a tweet out about making convention appearances (she now has over 30,000 followers) with her finally deciding to do it. In the amount of time, it takes her to walk into the store, purchase some cigarettes, try a finger flick light, and finally light it normally, her phone has blown up with interactions on the tweet. She’s going to be going to a convention.

Deeper Meaning: The aftermath of trauma is a big staple of this issue. Laura has been through some severe events since the series started, some no one could ever imagine going through. The ups and absolute downs she felt have laid heavy on her. She seems to be going through the motions while simultaneously unsure of what everything that has been thrust upon her means or what to do with it.

It’s again commented on that she reached peak celebrity status, which she previously aspired to have, but she’s very clearly unhappy with the situation and doesn’t know how to cope with it. Finding a purpose again is a major step forward for her following the death of Lucifer.

The Art: Most of this issue is fairly low-key, lots of talking in rooms, walking down streets, and just standing around, but that doesn’t stop the out from remaining one of the standout features of this book. Perhaps more than anything McKelvie’s grasp on facial expressions carry the series. You always know what a character is feeling by looking at their face, and this helps sadness and comedy land equally. Throw in Wilson’s colors that perfectly highlight what needs to pop while subtly expanding the negatives and you’ve got a match made in heaven.

I’ve said it previously, but the page layouts stay interesting throughout the issue, with two notable standouts. The first being the page where Laura imagines telling her mom about all of her issues. The page is primarily white, with no panel borders (save for the one image that actually happens) which helps the feeling of unreality when Laura has her mental outburst. The other standout page is the very next one, where Laura’s room is showcased. The page features a perspective drawing of her room as if you were looking at it from the outside like in a game of Sims, with numbers on different objects throughout the room and a table of contents underneath the drawing elaborating on each item. It’s an incredibly visually interesting way to establish a ton of character traits in very little page real estate. It’s a singular page but we learn an exceptional amount about Laura from it. Besides that, it just looks awesome and gets points for standing out.

The final major visual I have to touch on for this issue is Inanna himself. His style is over the top but it fits him wonderfully, and when he materializes you believe the man truly is made of stars thanks to Wilson’s impeccable colors.

The Wicked + The Divine #6
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