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The Wicked + The Divine
The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 5: Imperial Phase, Part I
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Graphic Novels & Comics (2017)The gods are free to do whatever they want. Inevitably, they do. Collects issues 23-28 of the series, including the critically lauded Kevin Wada magazine issue.
200 pages, Paperback
First published June 7, 2017
About the author
Kieron Gillen
1,384 books1,832 followersKieron Gillen is a comic book writer and former media journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 662 reviews
June 8, 2023
What do you do when your main protagonist is dead and the first four volumes are concluded? Read this and see? The Great Darkness as forewarned by the aforementioned protagonist turns out to be real, so what do the Pantheon decide.. anarchy!
Without the steer of their mentor the Gods are at odds to determine their next steps.... save the world or save themselves? This story of power corrupting and mortality goes a bit awry, but deservedly so as ultimately at heart they are young people with seemingly finite lives that have to balance making the most of their limited time, saving the world and/or saving themselves. What's a God to do? This volume for me was a 7.5 out of 12, very strong Three Stars.
2023 and 2019 read
Without the steer of their mentor the Gods are at odds to determine their next steps.... save the world or save themselves? This story of power corrupting and mortality goes a bit awry, but deservedly so as ultimately at heart they are young people with seemingly finite lives that have to balance making the most of their limited time, saving the world and/or saving themselves. What's a God to do? This volume for me was a 7.5 out of 12, very strong Three Stars.
2023 and 2019 read
July 21, 2021
The first issue is a lifestyle magazine featuring interviews with a half dozen or so of the gods. Interesting concept but it was all just boring and vapid. I felt like I wasted my time even bothering to read it. Then we start to move on and the Great Darkness is set up as the big bad. But then that flounders because the gods basically quit giving a shit, the story is all over the map, and all of the characters become less and less likable. At this point, the art is really the only reason I even keep coming back for more.
June 30, 2017
It's like watching a television show that you really enjoyed in the beginning but now it's the fifth season and you have no idea what's going on but you stick with it because you're in too deep and you want to find out what happens and see it through to the end.
July 17, 2019
I don’t think that is possible
Oh, but I will!
I am not sure what happened to this series, but I am done. This volume was just a confusing mess of disjointed randomness. I could barely find any coherent continuation of the storyline beyond a few panels here and there.
The art is still pretty good, but that does not make up for the time I spent on this. I just cannot see myself wasting any more time with this series when there are so many other great books and graphic novels out there I could be spending my time on.
Unless someone insists this gets better (and you would have to be very convincing), I am done. After 5 volumes – with many ups and many downs – I feel like I know enough to let this one go. I am not even interested in finding out what happens. And, I am not ever sure I know anymore what I am waiting to find out!
This may be a book that some will enjoy, but I cannot recommend it.
April 24, 2017
3.5.
I thought this volume was a little slow and boring but I enjoyed it overall.
The first issue deviates from the usual comic's structure and it's told in a magazine format. There are articles about some of the gods where the gods do photoshoots and give interviews and there's also advertisements where the gods endorse products like phones and cologne. On the one hand, I liked it because it was something different, the pictures were absolutely stunning, I thought it was done very well because the columnists were actually real journalists but on the other hand, I personally don't enjoy reading magazine columns. I didn't enjoy reading the columns and I was looking forward to it ending so I could get the usual comic back. The rest of the volume was what you'd expect from the series. The art in this comic series is probably my favourite out of any series I've ever read. The drawings and the colours are just amazing like they get a 5/5 from me every time. The story was a bit slow and I guess it's just preparing for Phase 2 where I hope some messy stuff hits the fan.
Also The Morrigan is no longer my favourite because of reasons and I don't really like Amaterasu anymore. The only character I do like is Woden...
I would recommend this series.
I thought this volume was a little slow and boring but I enjoyed it overall.
The first issue deviates from the usual comic's structure and it's told in a magazine format. There are articles about some of the gods where the gods do photoshoots and give interviews and there's also advertisements where the gods endorse products like phones and cologne. On the one hand, I liked it because it was something different, the pictures were absolutely stunning, I thought it was done very well because the columnists were actually real journalists but on the other hand, I personally don't enjoy reading magazine columns. I didn't enjoy reading the columns and I was looking forward to it ending so I could get the usual comic back. The rest of the volume was what you'd expect from the series. The art in this comic series is probably my favourite out of any series I've ever read. The drawings and the colours are just amazing like they get a 5/5 from me every time. The story was a bit slow and I guess it's just preparing for Phase 2 where I hope some messy stuff hits the fan.
Also The Morrigan is no longer my favourite because of reasons and I don't really like Amaterasu anymore. The only character I do like is Woden...
I would recommend this series.
August 19, 2020
3.5 stars
January 6, 2019
I’m a large fan of the series so far. I really loved the inclusion of the other writers as interviewers at the very beginning. That was cool. As the story has gone on though, I've found that I'm not as invested as I was at the beginning of the series. It seems that it's going to be very messy plot-wise going forward, but I'm hoping I'm wrong.
February 25, 2018
Another good volume. The first chapter is bazaar. It is like a newspaper or magazine interview for several of the characters including Lucy. It also didn't seem to do much for the story either.
You can tell they don't have a leader and they are simply spinning out into chaos. The art is the same style continued as previous volumes. There are some bloody and mature scenes in this.
I think I am ready for an end to this. I hope they have a good one in mind. It needs to have a direction now. I feel like it's beginning to lose a focus or direction. I hope the next one can wrap it up. It is a most interesting story. Not for everyone and I enjoy it.
You can tell they don't have a leader and they are simply spinning out into chaos. The art is the same style continued as previous volumes. There are some bloody and mature scenes in this.
I think I am ready for an end to this. I hope they have a good one in mind. It needs to have a direction now. I feel like it's beginning to lose a focus or direction. I hope the next one can wrap it up. It is a most interesting story. Not for everyone and I enjoy it.
November 19, 2020
3.5 rounded up.
I did not particularly like the magazine style of the beginning of this volume. It was sort of interesting but I came for a comic book not magazine articles. The art continues to be absolutely beautiful. The colours, the outfits, the hair styles... all gorgeous and make me envious.
I’m still enjoying the story but it’s not as clear as it could be so at times I was a little confused.
I did not particularly like the magazine style of the beginning of this volume. It was sort of interesting but I came for a comic book not magazine articles. The art continues to be absolutely beautiful. The colours, the outfits, the hair styles... all gorgeous and make me envious.
I’m still enjoying the story but it’s not as clear as it could be so at times I was a little confused.
July 2, 2017
The story is so much clearer now than in the first few volumes.
Read
August 13, 2017I need a TV show, stat
June 17, 2018
Also available on the WondrousBooks blog.
Well... this was not good. Considering that WicDiv has had ups and downs before, I hope that it will still get better. However, what I see is that the story is getting closer to its end and I feel that the writers are getting tired. Even the characters seem to have exhausted their fun potential and are becoming more and more unpleasant.
The Great Darkness plot is generally worthy of a main story-line, but unfortunately, it seems to be relying entirely too much on the characters, rather than the actual force of evil that's threatening them. This entire issue was about the characters reacting to their impending doom and them growing, or not, in the face of danger.
I can say that I honestly don't like Laura. She was kind of annoying at the beginning of the series, but now she's openly a pain in the ass. All of her shenanigans seem kind of pointless because the only person she ever hurts is herself. Yet, she seems driven to be a bad person every single time.
On the contrary, I used to dislike Baal and to often see him as an useless accessory to the story, but in this volume I found him a lot more likeable. Same goes to Cassandra who was basically the only person making any kind of sense in Imperial Phase.
I'm pretty sure I will continue reading, as I want to finish the series, but I will keep my hopes up that it will get better, because the current situation is not good.
* As always, the art was amazing.
Well... this was not good. Considering that WicDiv has had ups and downs before, I hope that it will still get better. However, what I see is that the story is getting closer to its end and I feel that the writers are getting tired. Even the characters seem to have exhausted their fun potential and are becoming more and more unpleasant.
The Great Darkness plot is generally worthy of a main story-line, but unfortunately, it seems to be relying entirely too much on the characters, rather than the actual force of evil that's threatening them. This entire issue was about the characters reacting to their impending doom and them growing, or not, in the face of danger.
I can say that I honestly don't like Laura. She was kind of annoying at the beginning of the series, but now she's openly a pain in the ass. All of her shenanigans seem kind of pointless because the only person she ever hurts is herself. Yet, she seems driven to be a bad person every single time.
On the contrary, I used to dislike Baal and to often see him as an useless accessory to the story, but in this volume I found him a lot more likeable. Same goes to Cassandra who was basically the only person making any kind of sense in Imperial Phase.
I'm pretty sure I will continue reading, as I want to finish the series, but I will keep my hopes up that it will get better, because the current situation is not good.
* As always, the art was amazing.
June 28, 2018
Nunca decepcionan estos tipos.
July 23, 2017
I don't understand the pacing of this series. Just when it seems things are picking up, everything comes screeching to a halt. The longer it goes on the less I understand what's going on and the less I care about any of the characters. It certainly looks nice though.
June 26, 2017
The magazine issue was a slog. The dialogue in this series has never been particularly strong, but at least it was sparse--primarily moderately-clever quips punctuating all the flashy spectacle. That doesn't carry a wall of text, let alone a full issue of them. At least the art was good.
Unfortunately it didn't get much better after that. The whole point of this volume is that the godkids are squandering their final(?) days in an ugly melange of hedonism and nihilism, which is not nearly as fun to witness as it should be. Not much significant seems to happen in the way of plot, so the whole volume just feels like a waste of time.
A few characters get just enough added background to saddle them with a new label, but there's not any actual exploration of those identities, so it's as if the creators are just trying to complete some "diverse representation" checklist. Probably there's some benefit to simply acknowledging a label, but the better part of representation is specifically telling the stories of the represented group, which definitely isn't happening here.
Let the characters be awful for a while if you must, but can we also get on with the fighting and mystery-solving, please?
Unfortunately it didn't get much better after that. The whole point of this volume is that the godkids are squandering their final(?) days in an ugly melange of hedonism and nihilism, which is not nearly as fun to witness as it should be. Not much significant seems to happen in the way of plot, so the whole volume just feels like a waste of time.
A few characters get just enough added background to saddle them with a new label, but there's not any actual exploration of those identities, so it's as if the creators are just trying to complete some "diverse representation" checklist. Probably there's some benefit to simply acknowledging a label, but the better part of representation is specifically telling the stories of the represented group, which definitely isn't happening here.
Let the characters be awful for a while if you must, but can we also get on with the fighting and mystery-solving, please?
July 3, 2017
Goes in depth into each God's perspective. The extra art is genius and a new battle to fight! Awesomeness
August 27, 2017
I think I might like the art more than the storyline.
July 19, 2017
Decent. Jamie McKelvie's art honestly never gets boring, its just so amazing to look at! Story wise this was fine, its "Imperial Phase Part 1", the 'Part 1' meaning not really much happens in this one, it just lays ground work for Part 2 where the real story will happen. Never liked the Part 1 & 2 thing in books or movies. This isn't as filler bad as Vol 3, but its not as good as vol 1, 2 or 4.
June 16, 2017
Although I liked the idea behind the first issue in this volume, which features magazine-style articles about some of the gods interviewed by real-life journalists, the interviews themselves weren't that interesting to me and I was eager to go back to the usual comic book format. However, the information in the articles somewhat helped me to remember and to better understand the characters and events in the previous four volumes, so I can't complain too much :)
The rest of the volume is great. It is true that the pace is a little bit slower comparing to the previous volume, but for me it's only a plus because I wasn't a fan of all that (seemingly pointless) supernatural fighting and chaos in the last volume. Also, even though it feels more like a setup for the next volume than a separate story arc, this volume fleshes out the previous events and adds depth to the characters, which makes me care about the story and the characters more. As a result, I am once again eager to continue with the series!
Also, Jamie McKelvie's artwork and Matthew Wilson's colors are back to their usual gorgeousness, and I couldn't be happier :)
The rest of the volume is great. It is true that the pace is a little bit slower comparing to the previous volume, but for me it's only a plus because I wasn't a fan of all that (seemingly pointless) supernatural fighting and chaos in the last volume. Also, even though it feels more like a setup for the next volume than a separate story arc, this volume fleshes out the previous events and adds depth to the characters, which makes me care about the story and the characters more. As a result, I am once again eager to continue with the series!
Also, Jamie McKelvie's artwork and Matthew Wilson's colors are back to their usual gorgeousness, and I couldn't be happier :)
August 13, 2017
Be prepared for a lot of reading - the first collected issue is a lifestyle magazine in the world of the Wicked + the Divine, so heavy interviews with several of the gods. It's an interesting approach and definitely provides more insights than you would get from a regular issue, but it is a lot of text. The rest of the collection focuses on the group as they try to recover from the events of the last volume, and determine where they should go moving forward. The sense of time passing becomes a much more pressing element here, as the days of their second year start getting shorter. The lack of direction, the secrets being exposed, and the conflicts erupting are all amping up in intensity, and there's very little here that is pleasant - these people are all doomed (or are they?), and they look to be taking the world down with them. Some of the layouts in a few of the issues get a little confusing, but the artwork is still as distinctive as ever, and there are some action sequences that are very impressive (Persphone and Woden I especially liked). It's as intense as the last volume, but for different reasons, and it feels like a tightening noose, in the best of ways.
January 29, 2024
This volume opens with mock magazine articles about a few of the Gods with The Morrigan, Baal, Woden, deceased Lucifer, and Amaterasu getting shout-outs. Then the creators have a bit of fun featuring IRL artists and writers in this fake magazine.
There is FINALLY way more character development with all the remaining Gods moving in and out of each other's lives, and Baal stepping up to be a father figure to Minerva. Alliances are formed and then broken, as they prepare for “The Great Darkness” while their former mentor Ananke’s motives are still extremely suspect. Some of the Gods are trying to understand the bigger picture around them, while others give themselves to anarchy and extreme hedonism. The ending remains anyone’s guess.
My review for Volumes Four and Five can be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2018/01/1...
There is FINALLY way more character development with all the remaining Gods moving in and out of each other's lives, and Baal stepping up to be a father figure to Minerva. Alliances are formed and then broken, as they prepare for “The Great Darkness” while their former mentor Ananke’s motives are still extremely suspect. Some of the Gods are trying to understand the bigger picture around them, while others give themselves to anarchy and extreme hedonism. The ending remains anyone’s guess.
My review for Volumes Four and Five can be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2018/01/1...
September 9, 2017
A definite improvement over the previous volume, particularly with the deepening mystery of exactly what Ananke's goals were. The experimental issue that takes the form of a celebrity news magazine is interesting, particularly because the interviews were about as real as an interview with a fictional character can be, but I'm glad it was a one off thing.
June 23, 2020
"No, there totally WAS a story all along, and not telling you is what we call a 'twist!' But first, orgy porgy!"
Seriously, the art is great but each of these characters has had to be tortured to the point they don't make any sense, and I hate all of them. Just admit this is porn and sketch the naughty bits, no one is satisfied with the porn intro and the family drama denouement.
Seriously, the art is great but each of these characters has had to be tortured to the point they don't make any sense, and I hate all of them. Just admit this is porn and sketch the naughty bits, no one is satisfied with the porn intro and the family drama denouement.
December 30, 2017
Well I understand nothing and I need vol 6 now!
But this is so good and confusing and full of twist and gooosh I just love it.
But this is so good and confusing and full of twist and gooosh I just love it.
August 24, 2020
spoilers for volumes 1-4
This series is a mess.
I mean, the artwork... this series is 100% worth reading purely for the artwork. Seriously, just flip through one of these books at some point (but not volume 3). This volume started off with several magazine interviews with various gods, but the majority was the regular beautiful art style and colors so that worked fine.
These characters are still kind of interesting, but they are just all over the place now. Baal and Minerva were still cool, and so was Cassandra. And Amaterasu. Woden's... interesting. But the most interesting character is Sekhmet. She has no real ties, no loyalty to anyone... she's not evil or good, just looking out for herself and her sex life.
Dionysus, though, I really liked him. It was a cool addition that he's asexual - he just throws these raves, that's his whole thing. And, since Innana's been gone, he seems like one of the few genuinely good gods.
3/5 stars. The plot is making a little more sense, but the characters and their relationships are messy and confusing as all heck. This volume was pretty intense interms of the characters, and so lots of stuff happened. The artwork is still stunning as ever, though.
This series is a mess.
I mean, the artwork... this series is 100% worth reading purely for the artwork. Seriously, just flip through one of these books at some point (but not volume 3). This volume started off with several magazine interviews with various gods, but the majority was the regular beautiful art style and colors so that worked fine.
These characters are still kind of interesting, but they are just all over the place now. Baal and Minerva were still cool, and so was Cassandra. And Amaterasu. Woden's... interesting. But the most interesting character is Sekhmet. She has no real ties, no loyalty to anyone... she's not evil or good, just looking out for herself and her sex life.
Dionysus, though, I really liked him. It was a cool addition that he's asexual - he just throws these raves, that's his whole thing. And, since Innana's been gone, he seems like one of the few genuinely good gods.
3/5 stars. The plot is making a little more sense, but the characters and their relationships are messy and confusing as all heck. This volume was pretty intense interms of the characters, and so lots of stuff happened. The artwork is still stunning as ever, though.
January 8, 2018
Imperial Phase I (23-28). After something as climatic and horrific as the previous volume, you need a bit of a lacuna, and that's what V5 is. We see how life goes on for our cast. It might not be as much of a thrill-ride as the previous volume, but we've come to know and sort of love these characters, and so it's an interesting piece. It's particularly great seeing how Persephone has changed since his ascension and what's happened to Minerva since the last volume. That's all not to say that there aren't notable events: we get a hint at a Big Bad and we see one of the least stable gods let loose. But those are minor; it's the character work that's important.
The magazine issue (23) bears some discussion. I usually hate this all-text pieces because comic writers are notably bad at figuring out what makes straight text interesting. Gillen cut through this Gordian knot by giving in-character interviews to real journalists, and then letting them write up those interviews. The result is interesting, but ultimately not very important for the series as a whole.
The magazine issue (23) bears some discussion. I usually hate this all-text pieces because comic writers are notably bad at figuring out what makes straight text interesting. Gillen cut through this Gordian knot by giving in-character interviews to real journalists, and then letting them write up those interviews. The result is interesting, but ultimately not very important for the series as a whole.
Read
April 27, 2017Form follows context, as the blockbuster comic shows its surviving protagonists on top of the world – pretty much literally given the enormous flat in the Shard. But increasingly I enjoy WicDiv less for the plot than for the interactions of its leads, most of whom are terrible people but all of whom make very entertaining company for an issue a month. And this time around many of them are in full rock’n’roll decadence mode, which is generally the best way to spend your twenties even if you’re not a short-lived godling. You know how, very occasionally, a band will make a cocaine album that doesn’t suck? This is that.
June 23, 2017
I absolutely love this series in theory but when I read I feel like it's just all over the place. The more I read the fewer characters I actually like, and the ones that I do like seem to get almost no page time. Oh well, at least Persephone is front and center! Also if they think I'm going to start feeling sad for Woden they are sadly mistaken. In general I feel like this series just keeps piling on more and more mysteries and we never actually get any answers to ANYTHING. I just want to know what's happening even mildly but as it goes on I just get more confused. Also while the magazine issue was a cool idea, I really hate it when comics do issues that is all just block-text like a book. I'm usually reading a comic because I'm feeling too ADD to sit down and read an actual book, but the art for it was gorgeous
June 26, 2017
This is the most recent one in the series and I looooved being able to dive straight into this after the 4th one as I was feeling refreshed and interested in the plot and characters. The art is, as ever, amazing, but I think the real gem of this one was the magazine issue at the front which really helped the god characters to fully come to life and allowed the reader to empathise and connect more with the gods. I have been waiting for the connection to truly come with this series, as it's undeniably good, but I wanted more...this issue gave me that :) 4.5*s
July 2, 2017
Interesting, but I think before I read the next volume I'll need to reread the others. Too much time elapsed so there are things I didn't remember for this one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 662 reviews