The Wicked + The Divine Series by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I posted this on my Twitter, but I've been in a reading slump lately and have turned to comics and graphic novels in an attempt to overcome it. One series I've picked up recently is The Wicked + The Divine created by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. I've heard a lot of hype about this series and have been intrigued for a while, and now that I've read a couple of volumes I can totally see why!

Even though I have only read the first two collected volumes (The Faust Act and Fandemonium) I can tell this is a series I will continue to enjoy (and as such have bought more of the series to get around to ASAP). The Wicked + The Divine is all about twelve gods (including Lucifer, Baphomet, Amaterasu, and more) who come to earth every 90 years incarnated as humans. But they're not just any humans, they become pop stars. They are both fanatically loved and deeply hated, but in two years or less they die.

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Again, I can only speak to the first two volumes, and I can't say too much without spoiling anything, but I absolutely love the characters so far. Lucifer is phenomenal, with an attitude and swag I can only aspire to have. Laura's loyalty is fierce and unwavering. Baal is just plain hot. I loved seeing the personalities of all the different gods. One thing to note is that there are a LOT of characters, which can sometimes get a little confusing. It does get easier the more you read since you start to see the same characters over and over again and they all get more developed storylines. 

There's a mystery element that begins in the first story, so in addition to learning about the gods and the history of their incarnations, you also get to try to figure out a little whodunnit along the way. I love that there's both internal and external dialogue. And the artwork is just GORGEOUS. It's colorful and vivid and everything I want in a comic. The panels were easy to follow and the font was completely legible. I really like the simplicity of the covers, and the way the chosen images describe just enough about the volume without putting everything out there right on the front. The covers also gradually darken from white through the various shades of gray from volume to volume.

I'll be sure to post continued reviews of this series as I make my way through the various collected volumes. There are 6 currently, with a 7th set to come out this fall.

The Faust Act (Volume 1) Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Fandemonium (Volume 2) Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars