Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act

It is certainly pretty and the characters are interesting, but I’m still a little confused about the concept and some of the language used. Will keep reading to see if it starts to connect…

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tinysierra's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.25

Not sure what was happening most of the time but the art was pretty

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1wingedbalrog's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A so-so start to an amazing series

Kieron Gillen was a critical darling since forever, but had a somewhat narrow "rep" when this book launched. He got his start doing mature, music-related indie comics with a heavy British sensibility and then spent a few years as a mid-tier Marvel writer, picking up series like Thor and X-Men after big name writers departed. Here he teams with his old indie partner Jamie McKelvie to combine those two identities together. It's a book that feels like a spiritual successor to their old series "Phonogram" but with a more colorful and mainstream design and set up, almost like superhero fiction.

The premise of old god pantheons literally being pop music stars today is so pitch perfect that I'm amazed it isn't an overused trope by now (let alone an idea that seems to be unique to this comic). Gillen is also a seasoned enough writer not to let the book coast on premise alone. Almost immediately we're thrown into Laura's perspective and witness the book's initial mystery unfolding before her eyes. All the while she must shove down her feelings of teenage inadequacy next to the pop gods of the pantheon. The series covers a lot of ground in showcasing the diverse array of YA themes, though it's every bit as entertaining for older readers. Laura is mixed race and the pantheon reflects the diversity of Britain in ways that many other UK-set fantasy series like Harry Potter don't. Though not established here, there are gay, bisexual and transgender main characters.

McKelvie's art may honestly be the big pull factor in this first volume. He's always had a knack for impossibly clean lines and humorous beat-by-beat story telling. This time his musical characters get an extra layer from colorist Matt Wilson, who provides wonderful overflowing colors to the pantheon. The two of them range in demonic and godly variants on subcultures from soul to goth to 80s diva.

So, what's my complaint? The central mystery, which closes out the first chapter and isn't resolved in this volume, grows weak very quickly. But by the end you've also stopped caring because so many pantheon members have been introduced and so many characters around them (I remember having to go back and reread who Cassandra was twice) that you realize the whodunit to make it seem as though there's tension in Laura going around meeting everyone when it's really a tour. There's action but little reaction and the final tease reads more like a post-credits stinger.

All that being said, I did keep reading and now that I've read the whole series, I'm gonna recommend that you do to.

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