September BotM Discussion - The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 1

[Kate]

What did you think of The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act? If you hadn't read it before, did it live up to the hype for you? If this was a reread for you, how was the reading experience different the second time around?

For those who have read farther into the series, please remember to refrain from spoilers for anything past Vol. 1!

[Tia]

Yay! This is my favorite book. Just accept that it's a long game and not everything is explained at every arc. After the 4th arc and the 1831 one-shot out next week, most of the Faust Act is explained but like 75 more mysteries have come up.

[Kate]

Jamie wrote: "I'm surprised by the severe lack of comments here.
Did anyone else read it?"

I've been reading this series in trade since the first volume came out and own a copy. I've been meaning to do a re-read all month, but life has not been cooperating. I'm hesitant to post much about the story before doing a re-read, because I don't remember where in the story volume 1 leaves off and it's definitely a story that's easy to spoil.

In general, I remember being really glad that I had a plot synopsis from a friend (the one who recommended the series to me) before reading it, because it was a bit confusing at first with so many characters to keep track of in addition to all the world building.

While the concept and story are great, the art is the real high point of this series for me. Jamie McKelvie and Matt Wilson are an absolute dream team, and I will read basically anything the two of them partner up on.

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 4: Rising Action comes out on October 5th, and I can't wait!

[Tia]

Yeah I'm pretty disappointed too. I am happy to discuss any and all things you want! What do you make of the mystery?

[Mike, Host & Producer of IRCB!]

My favorite part about this first volume is how incredibly important Lucifer becomes to this whole series.

[Phil]

Mike wrote: "My favorite part about this first volume is how incredibly important Lucifer becomes to this whole series."

I enjoyed this book a lot. The appearance of Lucifer was off putting at first because I had just finished reading Mike Carey's Lucifer series, which is fantastic by the way. Once I got past that, things took off. The mystery was done well and sets a nice hook for volume 2. The art is great too. I can't remember if it was this volume or one of the later ones, but there are some great panel layouts that are different from the expected.

[Jen]

I'm new and haven't posted in the 'introductions' yet but wanted to answer since I voted for this volume! I read it and have the second one checked from my library right now. I liked the art more than anything; I agree it was gorgeous and will continue this series if only for the art. But the story was decent also, very much a set up and I wish we could have learned more about the other gods/goddesses.

[Jen]

I just finished volume 2 (no spoilers!) and I have to say I feel the same about volume 2 as I did the first volume. The art is great, but I feel like there was some information missing that should/could have been explained to the reader. They were both very trippy, and I still want to continue with the series. Volume 3 is on it's way to my library! Lol.

[Kate]

Jen wrote: "I just finished volume 2 (no spoilers!) and I have to say I feel the same about volume 2 as I did the first volume. The art is great, but I feel like there was some information missing that should/..."

I think this "missing pieces" aspect is one of the reasons this series has so much fanfiction. There is an absolute goldmine of opportunities for expanding on character's backstories, off screen interactions, motivations, etc. etc.

[Kate]

I just finished reading The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 4: Rising Action and it was fantastic. I didn't have time to go back and reread V1-3 beforehand as I'd hoped, which was unfortunate because there were definitely moments were past events were discussed and I couldn't remember if that had happened in previous volumes, or if we were only suppose to be hearing about it now. I think a lot of the more emotional stuff will also hit harder when I do a full series reread, because setting down characters for several months lessens my attachment to them (unless it's something I've spent a lot of time with and they're seared into my heart). My favorite character is still The Morrigan.