The Wicked + Divining Comics # 23
Annotations of THE WICKED AND THE DIVINE # 23
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In the early 2010s, Image comics began one of its most prolific, critically acclaimed, and high selling eras since its founding. High-profile creators began beloved series like SAGA, BLACK SCIENCE, DEADLY CLASS, EAST OF WEST, SEX CRIMINALS, BITCH PLANET, and more. One of those series was THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, from writer Kieron Gillen, artist Jamie McKelvie, colorist Matt Wilson, and letterer Clayton Cowles. It was one of the first series I got into during college, when I actually had money to spend for myself.
Last year marked the 10-year anniversary of its publication, and I wanted to commemorate my love of this series with a gift only I could provide: too many words. I'll be annotating the entire series with the end in mind, so SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW. You can show your appreciation for this hard work and get me to write more consistently by supporting me on Patreon or giving me a one-time tip here. I was recently laid off, so anything you can do is even more appreciated than usual. Issue 23 is the first issue of the fifth arc, Imperial Phase Part One. In this issue, we get to read an in-universe magazine profiling several gods. As always, thanks to Kieron Gillen for providing his Writer's Notes that have been a major source for these annotations.
Corrections and Addenda from last week
An addition for you: as I was researching this issue, I found a couple of fun behind-the-scenes things from the 1831 special that I wanted to add. First, at Thought Bubble 2016, Stephanie Hans was on the WicDiv panel and talked about her process. You can watch that video here:
Relatedly, on the panel she says she did a livestream of her working on the cover for that issue that was 3 hours and 40 minutes. I can only find this half-hour version, so if you know where the full one is, please let me know!
Trade Dressing
The title "Imperial Phase" is a phrase in music attributed to Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys to describe them hitting their commercial and creative peak simultaneously. The Roman Numeral I, in addition to the imperial theme, also makes this a double-album, aka when rock artists become self-indulgent in excess.
Obviously, this is a reference to the political concept of an empire, where a central authority lays political claim over a number of separate, outlying, peripheral states enforced via military strength. This ties in to the image on the cover of the trade, a scarab. This beetle was regarded as sacred in Ancient Egypt, arguably one of the first empires in history. Pop stars are being positioned as the modern version of the mighty men and women of old, the great Pharaohs, Caesars, and mythological heroes.
"IMPERIAL PHASE I," Part One
Welcome to the November 2014 issue of Pantheon Monthly. Exclusive interviews with all your favorite gods. Plus! The first photographs of the Morrigan ever!
The November 2014 date is important, as the prior arc ended on September 24 and the next issue will begin on December 31, 2014 / January 1, 2015.
Covers
A Cover - Jamie McKelvie Baal
This is the new cover design for both halves of the Imperial Phase. You can see how it comes as an evolution from the prior model of the "fashion shoot" era. The god takes front and center, with a depiction of their powers in the back. Here, Baal's lightning powers are very contained, fitting both their in-universe fictional nature and Baal's persona as the one who has things handled. We also get a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at the process of making this cover, with the flats, final colors, and "page furniture".
B Cover - Kevin Wada Morrigan
Interestingly enough, this feels like it should be the main cover as it fits the aesthetic premise of this issue being a magazine. You can hear Kevin Wada share his thoughts on this cover while being interviewed by Gillen and McKelvie at ThoughtBubble 2016 (I've skipped to the relevant portion for you, but the whole video is enlightening for this issue and I'll likely return to it).
If you are too lazy to click through, Wada was given the direction "Vanity Fair," from which he naturally was drawn to photographer Annie Liebovitz. Gillen notes that, as Morrigan had never been photographed before, this is probably the first image anyone has seen of the Morrigan in universe.
Recap Page
There isn't one this issue!
Overview
As an in-universe magazine, the process behind creating this wasn't traditional. It involved Gillen role-playing as various gods in mock interviews with real features writers, who then wrote the pieces we see in the issue (subject to revisions from the creators). Kevin Wada, as we will see, proposed several page layouts and sketches for various spreads. Gillen made a flatplan, which is a proposed layout for the whole issue.
Finally, designer Sergio Serrano took everything and put it together, designing it like actual magazines from the time.
Page 1
This is an in-universe advertisement. Gillen swears that McKelvie came up with the "lightning in a bottle" pun. These adverts are also some of the only drawings that the usual art team of McKelvie and Matt Wilson did for this issue. Baal, being the pragmatic one, would of course want to make sure the pantheon stayed on top of money needs.
Table of Contents / Editor's Note
The ToC is of course standard, but with the punny titles of each interview. I'll talk about them each in their turn. The editor's note is a fun bit of meta humor. In the universe of THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, Kieron Gillen is a magazine editor working for Pantheon Monthly. This joke pays off on the final credits page, as you'll see.
The Morrigan Interview
As mentioned, for each of these interviews, Gillen role-played as the god with a real writer, who then wrote up the piece as if they were a real interview. In the writer's notes, portions of these interviews are provided. Gillen stresses that these are very much NOT canonical. The Morrigan piece was written by Leigh Alexander.
[5:06] You get there, as instructed, 12 minutes before the last train south. It appears, to Morden.
[5:06] And goes.
[5:06] There’s a flicker on the board as another train appears.
[5:06] Morden flickers to Morrigan, like something out of the Ring.
[5:07] An empty train pulls in and the doors open.
leighalexander [5:09 PM] Right, right. What… branch? Okay, it doesn’t matter what branch, right? It’s not like I’m from here anyway – where I come from we like an empty train. I wore a nice jacket and I brought my laptop, but I wore flat jellies that don’t match the outfit. It’s because I’m afraid of The Gap. Anyway, I get on.
wicdiv [5:10 PM] It’s November, and chill, but the train’s air is a few degrees beneath the platform outside. Your breath is visible in front of you.
[5:10] The doors shut sharply and with a low screech, the train heads into the tunnels.
leighalexander [5:11 PM] I’ve seen a lot of PR stunts. This was probably the sort of thing I was expecting. I mean, we weren’t going to meet in an office or a hotel suite. She doesn’t seem like the type.
wicdiv [5:12 PM] The train lurches when it’s in the dark, and the lights flicker out for a second.
[5:12] By the time they come back on, the Morrigan is standing in front of you, a couple of inches too close for comfort.
[5:12] “Hello.”
[5:13] “You wished an audience, woman of words?”
As you might imagine, a large portion of these role-played interviews are devoted to scene-setting, the type of thing which would be unnecessary for an actual interview.
I'm not sure what the title is punning on here, if indeed it is more than a quote that Morrigan gives in the interview. If you know, write me in the comments.
As for the interview itself, there is an interesting line of thought when the Morrigan is asked if she chose her triple-goddess nature. This gets in to some of the big themes of the series and the complicated nature of the pantheon. My interpretation, though I don't know if it ever is confirmed, is that the gods chose their incarnation the same way the damned in Dante's INFERNO choose their punishments. It is somehow both their free will and an inevitability because of who they are. As Morrigan goes on to say, "Not even as gods do we escape ourselves."
She mentions being a fan of Elephant and Castle, and for my fellow Yanks, that's a region in South London. Morrigan references and twists the Churchill line of "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma," originally referring to the Soviet Union. There is also a line forecasting Morrigan becoming "a triple-corpse," which she indeed does.
Gillen mentions in his notes and Wada mentions in the aforementioned ThoughtBubble panel that his goal was to emphasize Morrigan's gothness without dressing her only in black. He also drew her for the variant cover of issue 4, so he mentions feeling more comfortable with drawing her than with some of the other gods.
I'm not sure what the title is punning on here, if indeed it is more than a quote that Morrigan gives in the interview. If you know, write me in the comments.
As for the interview itself, there is an interesting line of thought when the Morrigan is asked if she chose her triple-goddess nature. This gets in to some of the big themes of the series and the complicated nature of the pantheon. My interpretation, though I don't know if it ever is confirmed, is that the gods chose their incarnation the same way the damned in Dante's INFERNO choose their punishments. It is somehow both their free will and an inevitability because of who they are. As Morrigan goes on to say, "Not even as gods do we escape ourselves."
She mentions being a fan of Elephant and Castle, and for my fellow Yanks, that's a region in South London. Morrigan references and twists the Churchill line of "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma," originally referring to the Soviet Union. There is also a line forecasting Morrigan becoming "a triple-corpse," which she indeed does.
Gillen mentions in his notes and Wada mentions in the aforementioned ThoughtBubble panel that his goal was to emphasize Morrigan's gothness without dressing her only in black. He also drew her for the variant cover of issue 4, so he mentions feeling more comfortable with drawing her than with some of the other gods.
The first drawing, of Morrigan in a dressing room getting her hair and makeup done, she is wearing a dress designed to look like the stained glass of a church, complete with haloed saints and a Holy Spirit dove. This image is a fun one in line with many themes of the series because of its pretend candid nature. Even the "getting ready" is part of the performance, something still relevant today in the era of TikTok influencers. The photos on the mirror also allow Wada to draw Morrigan's other forms (and be cheeky about how she never had been photographed before now) when it wouldn't work narratively for Badb or Gentle Annie to pose for an interview.
In an interview with Comics Alliance, Wada says the gold dress Morrigan comes from a McQueen dress worn by Cate Blanchett, combined with a medieval Catholic ritual of adorning skeletons in ornate gowns and jewels. The skull also calls to mind the memento mori motif in classic art.
Baal Interview
The Baal interview was written by Dorian Lynskey. Here is the portion provided in the Writer's Notes:
dorianlynskey [4:17 PM] Have you been thrust into an almost parental role with Minerva and Persephone? They’re gods but they’re also orphans now.
wicdiv [4:18 PM] \
[4:20] “Minerva, yeah. Persephone… it’s different I feel like… a guardian, definitely. I feel like that for most of the pantheon, even the ones who don’t want it. I’ve been doing the god thing longest. I was the only one of us who was alone, dealing with this. It’s a job. I always saw it like that, but now? Even more so. Someone needs to make sure everyone is okay. Someone needs to put people back in line when they’re not.”
[4:20] “But a lot of us are orphans. Or at least lost a parent.”
[4:21] (Sorry - realised I should have said that)
dorianlynskey [4:23 PM] You’ve been grieving too. Who’s there to help you?
wicdiv [4:23 PM] “It’s my job to deal.”
[4:25] “In some ways it… helps. I’ve always been directed. This gives me direction. I’m not the sort to spend all day listening to sad songs and staring out on the South Bank, y'know?”
[4:25] \dorianlynskey [4:26 PM] Is that why you’ve always been the one to speak to the press? Like, if you don’t who will? wicdiv [4:26 PM] “But persephone? Yeah. She’s been good to me. She was close to Inanna. We sort of help each other, a little.” [4:26] \< laughs and jumps on the question. Definitely is more comfortable with this line of questioning> [4:29] “I guess on a scale of 1 to 10, I’m the 10 on the big mouth scale. I see something that gets me? I want to say something. Most of the gods aren’t like that. They’re self-enclosed. I like people to understand… or at least, I like people to understand how I feel, and what I think of THEM if I disagree.” [4:29] “And I know more than most, so my opinion is better. Sakhmet was second, but she’s never really paid any attention to the duty of the job. I take it seriously.” [4:30] “I worry what’ll happen after I’m gone. I came first so I’ll be gone first. Not sure if anyone could do what I do…” [4:30] \
[4:30] “Maybe the Norns.”
[4:30] “But they’d get it all wrong, so I better make sure it’s all cleaned up before I go.”
[4:30] \
dorianlynskey [4:32 PM] \Do you think that being the first and feeling a responsibility to hold things together made it hard for you to realise what Ananke was doing? Like maybe your instinct was not to doubt the person who brought you all together?
The title for this piece subtly lets you know how to correctly pronounce Baal, though there probably should be a stutter between the two As.
This interview is the first reveal that the gods are now mostly housed in the Shard, a real tower in London and one of the tallest in the country that has residential levels, a hotel, restaurants, and offices. Gillen was initial unsure of that setting, when McKelvie independently suggested it. The suit Baal is mentioned wearing is presumably the same one on McKelvie's cover. There is also a lot of space given to Baal being the first god to return, something that might not be entirely true given Ymir. The two year timeline weighs heavy on this arc, as do Baal's actions with Ananke before the other gods came. It's also interesting to get Baal's perspective on Minerva, who is having to manage pretending to be upset at the death of her supposed parents. Finally, we also get the confirmation that Baal and Persephone have returned to dating after being enemies upon her return.
In the panel interview, Wada says his choices for Baal were picking up on the Kanye, Drake, and Jay-Z style that McKelvie had already been using.
The second drawing is so joyous, seeing Baal in the various poses. As Gillen notes, "we rarely see Baal have fun." The final drawing, one which Gillen requested after Wada said he would like to draw Inanna, is also a touching reminder of things lost and a setup for the final Lucifer interview.
Woden Interview
The Woden interview was done by Laurie Penny. Here is the provided portion:
pennyred: You’re a master builder. How could you possibly not know what she was asking you to make?
[6:22] [suddenly aware that I’m alone in a room with this guy]
wicdiv [6:23 PM] I’m not expecting pity. I’m… trying to be honest and see what happens. It’s not exactly usual for me.
[6:23] \wicdiv [6:23 PM] presses a button in his wrist, “Hey, Eir, get us back.” wicdiv [6:23 PM] \
[6:24] \
[6:25] Laurie Penny: you don’t know my job. You don’t know how it works. It isn’t like being an engineer. It is very much an art rather than a science. And I know if I went on any more you’d accuse me of mansplaining miracles, I’ll leave it at that.
[6:25] Anything else?
[6:25] \
[6:28] Possibly. My desire to have this pantheon of my own made of beautiful women I’ve selected? That’s about control. That’s about fear. That’s about fear of power.
[6:29] And Persephone is powerful in a way I just don’t understand.
[6:29] I’m petrified of her.
[6:29] Everyone should be.
The title here is playing off of the already referenced "Sympathy for the Devil," but with a twist. Instead of the devil, we get the "nice guy", the oft-maligned IRL meme of the misogynist loser who complains about their inability to attract women despite being such a nice guy.
There is an interesting bit about Woden meeting Ananke while at university. This definitely implies he's much younger than he is, but isn't entirely a lie. David Blake is in fact a professor. I guess it is easier to twist the truth than to keep track of all of your lies. One lie (I think) is that he made a machine to try and perform like the other gods, implying that the wears the mask to avoid being stared at. This is pretty much stolen from Doctor Doom's origin story, of course, which he then references. It isn't stealing if you cite your sources.
There is also an interesting bit about Woden doing what he does to literally dehumanize himself. There are some interesting philosophical undercurrents here. Because there are two ways for a person to become dehumanized. One is for them to be treated as less than, subhuman, as an animal. The other is for them to be divinized. Woden does the former to all the people (especially the women) around him, while trying to do the latter to himself.
I don't remember what Woden's new machine he is so anxious about is. It might have to do with surveilling Mimir, or perhaps he is being honest about an anti-Persephone device. Sound off in the comments if you remember what this was.
I know the line, "I'm going to die before [Game of Thrones] ever ends. I mean, it's deeply problematic. But who isn't?" is supposed to be interpreted as "who isn't problematic?" but I like to interpret it as "who isn't going to die before Game of Thrones ever ends?"
Wada says in the interview that his goal for Woden's outfits was to "make him look douchey, but still attractive."
Part of the fun of the Woden outfits is that he could wear pretty much anything, as long as the helmet is still there. That's the power of iconography. His tented fingers in the first drawing is one of his go-to poses.
Lucifer Interview
In universe, this Lucifer interview was done before she died, obviously. The explanation is that it was held up in legal battles because it outed Baal as Inanna's partner. It was done with Mary HK Choi, and the Extras hardcover actually provides the full transcript.
The title is, as you might suspect, a reference to the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," but given a fitting devilish twist. The song was most famously covered by the Jackson 5 and the Ronettes, but it was first recorded by Jimmy Boyd.
In the interview, we get confirmation of Lucifer having slept with Sakhmet and Inanna, the latter being the impetus for the Baal breakup and the former being an event we see in the Christmas special, I believe. The end of the interview also contains the first mention of Lucifer and Amaterasu being friends from before they were gods.
Amaterasu Interview
The Amaterasu interview was written by Ezekiel Kweku. Here is the provided portion:
ezekiel [4:34 PM] well, thank you. let’s change the subject, shall we?
wicdiv [4:35 PM] smiles, “If you wish.”
ezekiel [4:37 PM] a slight frown plays over my face. I’m clearly annoyed with myself. I smile again. “It’s clear that you have a deep reverence for the god you’ve become. Did you have a connection to Shinto before becoming Amaterasu?”
wicdiv [4:41 PM] is excited by it, “Always. I was always interested in myth and legend and fantasy, but he had all these old books, and I loved reading them. There was this one set of translations I read over and over. When I was 8, we went to Japan and went to so many shrines. It was was just so peaceful, so beautiful. It got so much calmness from it.”
wicdiv [4:42 PM] “My mother wasn’t as interested, but daddy would always make me pay attention, pointing things out…”
wicdiv [4:42 PM] lets it drift off, in a reverie.
wicdiv [4:42 PM] “It means a lot to me,” she finishes
ezekiel [4:43 PM] so the blurry pictures and tweets are true, then? You still go to Japan regularly, now, as Amaterasu?
wicdiv [4:45 PM] thinks about it, “Yes. Quietly. There’s… problems if I go during the day, especially with what happened at Hiroshima. But I go quietly, when no-one else is around. I pay my respects for the living and the dead and to my Father.”
ezekiel [4:46 PM] what happened at Hiroshima?
wicdiv [4:46 PM] (This would be a public event - issue 15, when she was in a fight with Cass and transported there and became a huge burning fireball above the city.)
[4:47] (Before Cass told her DUDE! THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA!)
ezekiel [4:47 PM] (I remember! just re-read this issue last night in prep. trying to draw her out)
wicdiv [4:47 PM] (Ah, sorry. Doh)
wicdiv [4:48 PM] frowns, “I made a fool of myself. That’s what happened.”
wicdiv [4:48 PM] “I was so into showing her what I was I just… acted badly. She doesn’t believe in me. I was talking to her, and didn’t really think about anyone else.”
wicdiv [4:49 PM] frowns, “She’ so good at shouting at people it can make you forget there’s other people.”
ezekiel [4:51 PM] She doesn’t believe in you… but she was the first person you went to when you were in your place of deepest need… does it provide a kind of clarity? To not believe?
wicdiv [4:52 PM] stops, frowning. It’s possible that she’s never thought of this before.
wicdiv [4:53 PM] “She doesn’t believe in anything… but she’s so sure of it. She believes in nothing. She BELIEVES in nothing, if you see what I mean…”
[4:54] “So in her own way, she believes in order. We’re the same like that. And she’s the one who is most like an adult. If my mum was a god, I’d have gone to her. Instead, we get Urdr.”
wicdiv [4:54 PM] doesn’t look like she quite likes her answer.
The title is a reference to the Kate Bush song, "Cloudbusting." Kate Bush is one of the major visual inspirations for Amaterasu. It also is an apt title given her sun-based powerset.
Amaterasu's response to the death of Minerva's parents, which she witnessed and then cowardly fled from, is tragically funny. It is always a bit stunning to remember she is only 17 years old, which, perhaps intentionally, is the age Kate Bush was when she wrote "Wuthering Heights." And in another plot detail revelation, we learn Amaterasu and Lucifer met on Pantheon fan forums. The relation between fandom and celebrity is of course a repeated major theme in this series.
Death in Valhalla
The difference between what is known to the public and what we the reader knows is key to this page. Woden didn't "recover" this memory, he was given it by Ananke and was supposed to delete it. It was also intentionally recorded by Ananke as part of her plot. Similarly, it is ambiguous as to if Ananke "overlooked" Beth and the documentary team who caught her murder of Minerva's parents on camera or if that too was part of her plan so as to avoid suspicion of Minerva. Amaterasu's fleeing is also overlooked.
Credits
The journalist's credits are all real, of course. The fun bits, playing off of the opening editorial, are the comic book creators. Wada is, in this universe, a photographer. Gillen is the magazine editor and McKelvie the advertising artist. In this universe, they worked on PHONOGRAM together, but never made comics again. This also calls back to issue # 16, when copies of PHONOGRAM are seen on a pre-godhood Baphomet's floor.
No Life Left
This mini-comic is actually also drawn by Jamie McKelvie in a much stripped-down style from his usual. This is done in the style he used for an editorial comic for OFFICIAL PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE called SAVE POINT.
It sets a tone for the gods behavior this arc.
Backmatter
None this issue
Back Cover
In lieu of a normal quote, we get another in-universe advertisement. Here Persephone is seen with a new phone, finally. Her old phone was repeatedly shown with cracks. The name, Eleusinia, is a reference to the Eleusinian Mysteries. These were initiations into the cults of Demeter and, aptly, Persephone. They would symbolically reenact Persephone's descent via abduction, searching within Hades, and ascent every spring. There may be some relation between the city this ritual was based in, Eleusis, and the Elysian fields of the Greek afterlife. The story also directly ties into the pagan concept of the mother-maiden-crone that is often referenced in this series.
In the panel, McKelvie says this is an over the top ad for a phone, as they always are.
And that is the conclusion to my annotation of THE WICKED + THE DIVINE # 23. Did I miss anything in those 2900 words? Are you named Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matt Wilson, Clayton Cowles, Hannah Donovan, Chrissy Williams, Sergio Serrano, OR Kevin Wada, Leigh Alexander, Dorian Lynskey, Laurie Penny, Mary HK Choi, or Ezekiel Kweku, and would like to correct the record on anything? Comment below! I will issue any corrections in the next annotation and add a note on this one. See you soon for issue 24.