Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The ancients arguably had a better idea of what makes Humanity tick than the so called enlightened era in which the notion of one deity, in which ever guise you prefer to believe in, sits in judgement or peace loving affection you care to mention. Whether through the inter-changeable Gods of Rome and Greece or the Gods of Norse mythology and British Paganism, there was personal God for everybody and whichever one you believed in surely stoked the fires within you.
The average horror novel will sometimes delve into the world of vengeful God or divine spirit, Indian cinema is replete with the texturing of such stories and at times there may be the odd nod to the Devil, in which ever guise which comes out of the British and American film industry. Films such The Omen, Devil and The Devil Rides Out are a staple for those wishing to indulge in fighting a dark side to cinema. Even in graphic novels, a God and their counter balance may appear but these are usually the heroic, testosterone type and they are portrayed as being so when adapted to the big screen.
Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez bucked that trend in the astonishing Locke and Key series and it is further enhanced in Kieron Gillen’s The Wicked and The Divine.
The Wicked and The Divine is slightly unique in centralising the first part in and around London rather than the still largely popular areas of America for such story telling. London on the face of it is not a natural breeding ground for evil to show its face but one only has to look underneath the surface to see the heart can be easily corrupted. Arguably one of the best places for the intrigued of London’s vast network of stitched together villages is that of Whitechapel. You don’t have to dig too deep to find a wealth of stories and events that have taken place there and so London, above say the so called but thrilling streets of Harlem, of the Bronx or the equally historic underground of Paris, is the main setting for a group of Gods to live for a couple of years and influencing certain members of Humanity into discovering how far they can be pushed.
What is enjoyable in The Wicked and The Divine is the way that Kieron McKelvie portrays Lucifer herself. A woman of cunning and desire wrapped in a skirt that’s just a little too short but for whom corrupting Humanity isn’t really the name of thr game, insurrection maybe, rebellion as a game yes but as a means to destroying the Human race – it all seems too much effort when Humanity is doing such a great job itself.
The richness of story-telling is coupled with the artistry of Jamie McKelvie to the point where the beauty overflows off the page and rises up as if Poseidon had found himself had come up for air in the River Thames. It is a huge boon to the world of Graphic Novels and perhaps owes a lot to the original ideas contained in D.C.’s Wonder Woman of showcasing strong minded women in positions of power and self reliance that male readers can appreciate and place high on their lists of reading material, whilst more importantly showing that the misconception of certain ideas that certain books are only ever made to stroke the male ego are a thing of the past.
The Wicked and The Divine is a book of eloquence and steely resolve in which boundaries are shifted and a sublime look in the manner of life and death and the way popular culture aids and abets all manner of Gods.
The Wicked and The Divine is available to purchase from Worlds Apart, Liverpool.
Ian D. Hall