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A review by spiringempress
God Is Dead, Volume 1 by Di Amorim, Jonathan Hickman, Mike Costa
1.0
Wow. This was absolutely horrendous on multiple levels. Just to be clear, I have never read anything else by Jonathan Hickman, but I am hoping that his other titles are better. This graphic novel starts when four groups of gods, but only four regions/culture, appear on earth again. We are also introduced to a group of human scientists, who are attempting to stop this divine takeover. *spoilers* These individuals are able to do so by injecting themselves with divine blood and effectively become gods themselves.
First off, the art style lacks imagination. It strongly reminds me of the comics that my dad used to find at the PX, a retail store on an army base, on free comic book day; the style is basic and overly drawn. Beyond that, I am insulted by the representations of Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca. Just a little background, I have studied aztec codexes, as well as, Latin American representations of gods, and these are pitiful in comparison. The gods are literally animal heads slapped onto human bodies whereas the real pictorial depictions are colorful, extravagant and rich in detail; they are normally very rectilinear, defy a realistic anatomically correct portrayal and generally, are way more badass than Di Amorim's renderings.
Same goes for the Hindu gods, I recently finished Sita' Ramayana, where the artist, Moyna Chitrakar, reworked traditional scroll style to imbue the work with an authenticity and dynamism. It is entirely different than any art style seen in American titles and really conveyed a feeling of the culture and their gods. However, the portrayal of these gods was lazy and doesn't even attempt to capture how these powerful deities were seen by their respective cultures. If you're going to choose gods from underrepresented cultures, this is an opportunity to showcase the unique styles that are foreign to our eyes and not blatantly butcher them into weird Marvel looking characters.
However, the art style was not the only issue, but the story was also lacking. In the course of the first volume, we are introduced to the four core god groups, their human counterparts, a plan to take over the earth, a plot to stop the gods, an epic battle between the gods and then a confrontation between the two warring groups. What could have been a story that lasted for several volumes instead was completely slapdash; there was no pacing, no sense of risk, or even a chance to become acquainted with the characters. I mean, what was up with Gaby's x crop top??? Overall, the story moved too quickly, barely focused on actions that should have taken up a whole volume, made it seem too easy and the story ended as soon as it started. I read the final page and thought "okay so?? what happens next that there are more volumes? also, why do I care about this random human, who became an awful looking red satyr with boobs??"
I'll probably read the next volume mostly out of curiosity and also because I love torturing myself.
First off, the art style lacks imagination. It strongly reminds me of the comics that my dad used to find at the PX, a retail store on an army base, on free comic book day; the style is basic and overly drawn. Beyond that, I am insulted by the representations of Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca. Just a little background, I have studied aztec codexes, as well as, Latin American representations of gods, and these are pitiful in comparison. The gods are literally animal heads slapped onto human bodies whereas the real pictorial depictions are colorful, extravagant and rich in detail; they are normally very rectilinear, defy a realistic anatomically correct portrayal and generally, are way more badass than Di Amorim's renderings.
Same goes for the Hindu gods, I recently finished Sita' Ramayana, where the artist, Moyna Chitrakar, reworked traditional scroll style to imbue the work with an authenticity and dynamism. It is entirely different than any art style seen in American titles and really conveyed a feeling of the culture and their gods. However, the portrayal of these gods was lazy and doesn't even attempt to capture how these powerful deities were seen by their respective cultures. If you're going to choose gods from underrepresented cultures, this is an opportunity to showcase the unique styles that are foreign to our eyes and not blatantly butcher them into weird Marvel looking characters.
However, the art style was not the only issue, but the story was also lacking. In the course of the first volume, we are introduced to the four core god groups, their human counterparts, a plan to take over the earth, a plot to stop the gods, an epic battle between the gods and then a confrontation between the two warring groups. What could have been a story that lasted for several volumes instead was completely slapdash; there was no pacing, no sense of risk, or even a chance to become acquainted with the characters. I mean, what was up with Gaby's x crop top??? Overall, the story moved too quickly, barely focused on actions that should have taken up a whole volume, made it seem too easy and the story ended as soon as it started. I read the final page and thought "okay so?? what happens next that there are more volumes? also, why do I care about this random human, who became an awful looking red satyr with boobs??"
I'll probably read the next volume mostly out of curiosity and also because I love torturing myself.