Review: The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 3

Summary

After the detonation of FANDEMONIUM the gods-as-pop-stars of THE WICKED + THE DIVINE try living in the long dark shadow. The series continues in the only way it knows how: darker, weirder, faster. Don’t worry. It’s going to be okay.

My thoughts

The long awaited third volume of The Wicked + The Divine is finally here but I have very mixed feelings about it. The story was great as always but I was very disappointed in the art. The idea behind Commercial Suicide was great but the result sadly wasn’t.

The story

In Commercial Suicide, every God gets their own story and I loved that. Finally we get to know more about each of them. I especially liked getting to know more about those who didn’t get a lot of attention before and have been more like side characters.

We already knew that some sinister game is being played and we only very slowly get to know what is happening behind the backs of the gods. Commercial Suicide offers some new answers and gives as more hints. I liked that I finally got some answers regarding my favorite character.

Commercial Suicide ends in the same fashion as the previous volumes did: with a cliffhanger. This one wasn’t as evil as previous ones and it made me look forward to the next volume for very different reasons than volume 2 did.

The art

I chose to read The Wicked + The Divine because of its art style. I am very selective with comics because the most common styles just aren’t for me. Hence I’m always insanely happy when I find a comic that combines a story with a style that I like which sadly, doesn’t happen all too often. 

I was massively disappointment when I found out that Commercial Suicide would work with guest artists. I love The Wicked + The Divine‘s art even more than I love the story. The art style is one of my favorites out there. Naturally I had a problem when I suddenly had to read a story with completely different art styles, and not just one, but five different styles. My problem wasn’t just the switch of art styles, I wish it had been, but I didn’t actually enjoy any of the styles by the guest artists hence I did not enjoy this volume as much as I could have. Sometimes I didn’t even recognize some characters right away which took all the fun from reading this comic.

Overall

This volume was such a let down. I’m really disappointed in the latest issues. The art of the comic plays such an important role and it doesn’t matter how good the story is. I can’t enjoy a story when the accompanying art is horrible. Of course I will keep reading and I can’t wait to find out what happens next, especially after yet another cliffhanger. I already know I will appreciate Jamie McKelvie’s work even more after reading Commercial Suicide.