On The Rack: The Wicked + The Devine
Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie are the superstar creative team behind Young Avengers and Phonogram, and now they are embarking on a new ongoing series The Wicked + The Devine. The premise follows gods who are reincarnated every 90 years into the spot light. They live as stars for two years; they are loved, they are hated, then they die. The story is told through the eyes of Laura, a fan of Amaterasu, who gets pulled into their world after one of her concerts.
The gods reincarnate as pop stars; Amaterasu resembles Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine, and Lucifer or Luci is a David Bowie duplicate. They are everything that superstars should be. Gillen writes them as egotists, eccentrics, and drama queens. While the first issue doesn’t really have enough material to develop any of the characters, it is difficult not to fall in love with Lucifer. Luci has the largest role and is the catalyst in setting up the events of this first book. She reaches out to Laura, she exposes some of the rules of the world through conversation, she gets the ball rolling and won me over because she is such an edgy and subversive character. If the tone set by Luci is any indication, The Wicked + The Devine will balance its strong social commentary with a dynamic storyline that will include supernatural elements and a fair amount of action.
McKelvie’s art is a great compliment to Gillen’s story. While the panels are laid out in a very linear fashion, this simplicity is a compliment to the rest of the book. Each of the panels features unique and vibrant characters; expressive gods and pop stars who really emote through the page. The art and story set a precedent for the rest of the book, and I have no doubt that the world will develop and the plot will become more complex, leaving readers feeling very rewarded.
