| Title | : | The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 4: Rising Action |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1632159139 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781632159137 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 168 |
| Publication | : | First published October 5, 2016 |
| Awards | : | Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Best Coloring (for Matt Wilson) (2017) |
The fourth volume of the award-winning, best selling series from acclaimed creators KIERON GILLEN, JAMIE McKELVIE and MATT WILSON is the most explosive yet.
Collects THE WICKED + THE DIVINE #18-22
The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 4: Rising Action Reviews
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So Gillen tells all that this going to be the most action packed volume of the series, and lo and behold it's a thrilling and on tenterhooks volume - so much for my adult and mature interpretations of comic book story telling! This a super 'chickens comes to roost' volume with all the secrets and lies forced out into the open forcing everyone to finally reveal theric cards, the result.. carnage!
There's not really much to add, the still secret to most of the cast antagonist needed a fourth God to be sacrificed for their supposed greater good; a rebellion is built around Baphomet and co. It's thrilling stuff, but I can see why I rarely score a 9 out of 12 for any individual comic book issue of this series - it's the powers, there's no real transition; how did they acclimatise? What can they do? How does using them affect them? - maybe it's my Marvel Comics brain needing explanations and faux science. All-in-all a mostly satisfying arc setting up very interesting times ahead. 8.5 out of 12.
It was during the original printing of the comic books in this volume that a Google survey by the creator revealed some thought provoking facts about readers of this series: so many women (40%), young people (65% under 30!) and non-binary (12%) read it, proving that generic superhero books (unfounded?) claim that most readers are 40+ white males is more a reflection of their own output? To find out more check out the
#wicdivsurvey on digital platforms. The White male over 40 creative team must be so proud of how their creation has such inclusive appeal. :)
2019 and 2023 read -
When I read the last volume of this series I was about to give up. The story was all over the place and the art had become blah. I was willing to give it one more chance. I am so glad I did - this volume brought things back to where they used to be.
While there was still some confusion in the story, I think that is most likely a side effect of the last volume going off the rails. After about 1/3, I was back into it. Glad to say that the uniqueness, action, magic, and mayhem are all here -’ hopefully to stay!
One of the biggest things that drew me to this series was the art. I loved the way the faces looked and the vibrant use of color. That was completely gone with the last volume - which, if I recall correctly, they let a bunch of different guest artists do. Here's a tip - don't ever do that again! This art is great the way it started and, like the story, is back to where it belongs.
If you stopped after the last volume because you felt the way I did, it is worth another try.
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This was my favourite volume so far. For once I actually understood everything that was happening and the artwork was back to its usual standard! There were also a few crazy revelations that made things interesting! I finally feel like this comic is really going places and I'm excited to see where it goes. I would recommend this series.
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Actual rating: 3.5 Stars
The Wicked + The Divine contains such a unique storyline that it’s impossible to ignore. The individual issue covers are stunning in themselves, but the story within is just as fantastic. However…even with the alluring title “Rising Action”, this volume wasn’t the best for me. It was slightly hard to follow at time and when I finally got into it…it kind of just ended.
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What I Liked
The rising action. They weren’t kidding with this title. This fourth volume of The Wicked + The Divine definitely picked up in terms of the action sequences. It was super fast paced and shit went down.
The art. After the third volume tried something a little more on the experimental side, The Wicked + The Divine: Rising Action decided to bring it back to the normal art styling of Jamie McKelvie & Matt Wilson. I’ve loved the art ever since I picked up the first volume so it was definitely a bit of a bummer to see that it had been changed within the third volume. I was so glad to see it return to normal this time around.
The characters. I’ve always loved the characters within this series. They’re all pretty diverse and interesting with their own individual character traits and god-like special abilities. Obviously, I like some more than others, but they’re all still interesting and intriguing in their own unique way.
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What I Didn’t Like
The confusion. It took me until almost half-way through this volume to get a grasp on what was going on. With the flashback type storyline of volume 3, we didn’t get the answers to the cliffhanger ending of volume 2 until now which made it especially difficult to remember what had even happened. I technically could have re-read the existing issues before picking up this instalment, but even so, I think the opening to volume 4 felt pretty vague until we started to get a few answers about half way through.
The ending. It was pretty underwhelming. There wasn’t really any kind of cliffhanger or anything that has be hyped up for the next volume. I’m usually left with the anxious feeling of being unable to wait for the next volume…but not this time around.
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As mentioned, this wasn’t my favourite volume, but it also wasn’t terrible. Something was just lacking this time around for me. I do love that the art was back to normal and I’m still loving all of the characters, but it was just lacking a little bit of je ne sais quoi. I’m eager to see what will happen next, but I’m not exactly in any hurry.
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Initial Post Reading Thoughts:
While this was definitely the most action packed volume to date, I found it a little hard to follow at times. It didn't really come together and make sense until about half way through. I did, however, absolutely love the art and the colouring as it is now back to normal. It was visually amazing! -
Yesss! Back on track and back to the amazing artwork.
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Rising Action is an appropriate title. The s#!t hits the fan as all the animosity from the previous volumes boils over into a bubbling cauldron of fighting and death. I have no idea where the series is headed from here. Jamie McKelvie is back and his art is fantastic.
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There comes a time in every reader's life where you just don't care anymore.
The art is pretty, the story line has such potential..
..but you are just so confused most of the time and lost in what happened when in the plot, that you just have to set the book down, take a look at your life, and realize you can be reading anything else that doesn't go over your head.
I'm probably just stupid, and the story might be so great that I just can't comprehend, but I'm moving on. -
Glad we have the original artists back.
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Very happy to be back to the regular artist and storyline. Even if this story was garbage (which it isn't) it's worth it for the art porn. Easily my favorite art in comics right now.
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Wow, this is back in form. As bad as the last one was, this one is that good. They story is working again, the art is excellent and the story went somewhere. Laura is back.
I am excited for the next issue. I think I am also ready for this series to be wrapped up and brought to an end and it has been a great series. Persephone is pretty kick-ass.
If you gave up after vol. 3 because it was terrible, give this a chance and pick up vol. 4. They made up for the previous issue. -
The main plot is still vague but at least the "Rising Action" is not a lie.
And no experiment in drawings anymore. -
Actualización 27/06/2018
Mi segunda lectura de este cuarto volumen y me encanta, es sorprendente esta serie. La voy a seguir recomendando siempre (?
Febrero 2017
Hasta ahora el mejor volumen de todos los 4 volúmenes de esta serie de novelas gráficas. No puedo dejar de recomendarla, aunque el tercer volumen fue una piedra en el camino, esta serie no deja de mejorar y mejorar.
Reseña completa próximamente -
Also available on the WondrousBooks blog.
Yes! Thank the Pantheon, the art disaster that was
the last volume has been put to an end. I couldn't be happier to have the beautiful art back. Having read as many comic books as I have so far, I think that Jamie McKelvie's art is up there at the top for me.
In every single frame the art is so astoundingly beautiful that I am even willing to forgive some of the flaws in the plot.
This volume convinced me that The Wicked + The Divine is following a simple story arc, using simple art (in the sense that there aren't millions upon millions of layers, textures and so on), and following a pace that is neither too slow, nor too fast. While I think that this is a very safe recipe, it also makes it easier to follow through with the plots and to not create a mess of story lines that go no where. At the same time, the story does draw the reader in and keep their interest.
There are two things that I support, and at the same time, would not mind if they changed a bit:
1. As I said, thanks to the medium pace, the story lines get resolved. However, 4 volumes in, we haven't moved that much forward in terms of the plot. The character development is more vigorous, but the general aim of the book is somewhere in the distant future, because only at the end of this volume, do we see the end of the first act. Ananke's words at the end of Rising Action are ominous and predict that there is going to be a completely different big arc in the book, and one that will have a much bigger adversary.
2. The character interactions: The characters have a set of relationships with each other worthy of a soap opera, but it's actually really hard to find the motivation for their actions. Why these two hate each other and those two don't is usually determined by the alliances and enmity which serve the author. Also, taking into consideration that they are in a constant war, they don't actually have that much time to interact.
Thank being said, I love Laura's team. But not Laura herself. He-he.
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Individual issue reviews:
#18 |
#19 |
#20 |
#21 |
#22
Total review score: 2.4
I don't know, guys. I don't know what happened here. I felt my interest die along with the characters. -
Wow oh wow
It definitely was nice to be back in this world, but even nicer to be back to the original artwork. I was so disappointed in the last volume because we kept changing artists from each issue and the artwork is what captivated me originally.
In my opinion the story is finally starting to make sense. In the earlier issues we were stuck with this whole concept that gods were reincarnated every 90 years into regular human beings and then lived for two years before dying again. It was an interesting backdrop, but I had no idea where they were going with this and how Laura fit into the bigger picture. After the mass confusion associated with the last issue I wasn't sure whether the plot was ever going to make sense or whether I was even going to continue with the series; however, the writers proved me wrong and now I understand where we're going.
A word of advice to individuals who are just starting this series: it might be a good idea to actually look up the names of the gods and goddesses associated with each of these characters. They come from different cultures and can sometimes be confusing if you've never heard of them before. There are a few that I am familiar with because of my own interest in mythology and gods and goddesses, but there were others that I definitely had to look up. This definitely does help in understanding the personalities of each of the characters as well.
Now that we have some stronger plot lines I'm really interested in seeing where the story is going to go next. We have this major shift in power at the end of the comic and I think there's going to be more trouble ahead. I may get too impatient to wait on the next volume and start reading this comic issue by issue haha. -
Following the guest artist-infestation and lack of plot from Volume 3, The Wicked + The Divine presents its most explosive volume with what’s left of the twelve gods at odds with each other. As the subtitle “Rising Action” suggests, this is the most action-heavy Wicked has been so far, with super-powered action sequences, reminiscent of what Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie did during their Young Avengers run. As this volume sort of jumps right into the action, some of the character drama gets lost and certainly there wasn’t much of an explanation in the aftermath of Volume 2’s shocking cliffhanger. Speaking of which, Gillen knows how to end an issue and the conclusion of Issue #22 can somewhat change the game, whether for better or worse for the series.
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Now THAT was a comeback! Loved this one! After the questionable volume 3 (which I didn't really like all that much), I started to worry about the series, but volume 4 reassured me that was just a temporary setback. Not only do we have the stunning art back - we also get some of the confusion about previous events and motivations cleared up, the story arc itself is interesting and fun, AND this is the most action packed volume to date. Yes, action-packed, not just fast-paced. It's pretty much everything I wanted it to be. If you were thinking of giving up on the series because of volume 3 - please, give volume 4 a chance, it's very likely to change your mind.
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The gods are at war, and thank Ananke they are! Volume 4 and it's rising action had me at the edge of my seat. WicDiv has matured as a high-concept series, and I feel like it's now paying off in spectacular fashion. I am following the mystery and the mythology which makes me feel so contentedly smart, and I know there is still so much more to be uncovered. With the way this volume's ending just hangs there waiting to be unraveled, it's no fun having caught up with the series in the trade volume editions.
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3.5 stars. Much better than the previous one. Very action-packed a la Avengers: Civil War. I love the coloration here, the bold pastel colors, especially everytime Dionysus appeared. Probably my fave god now, he's chill. The story is still a bit confusing but at least it teases of another bigger conflict in later volumes.
The author made a Spotify playlist for the series:
bit.ly/WicDivPlaylist If you don't like the series, you might still want to check out the playlist, it's pretty sick. -
Man. The first 2 of these were so freaking good... what is happening? At least the original artist is back. Much better lines and styles for sure. Less comic-y and more artistic.
Overall, I am still intrigued by where this super original story is going to go! -
I will be talking some spoilers for the whole series as well as for this volume, although I won't try to give away anything too important. Still, beware.
I am a fan of WicDiv since issue #2, and have been following the series month-to-month ever since. I even really liked the third volume, the one with guest artists, which many people hated. But I have to say, this fourth volume, 'Rising Action', is probably the weakest in the series so far, and the first one I could say I didn't like.
So, two major comebacks in this arc. First of all, Laura. Yeah. That incredible twist at the end of Volume 2 was all for nothing. I hate when writers do that. Killing off major characters just to bring them back right away is a really cheap way to get some thrills, and it ruins an important and emotional moment. Who's next? Luci? Inanna? How can I trust the writer when he does things like that? Sure, it's all neatly explained in a convenient flashback, but it's annoying nonetheless. So, right away, one of the major plot points of the whole volume is a disappointment.
The story overall is pretty thin, actually. Laura is back and she wants revenge, Ananke is going to kill somebody again, then gods fight, music video-style. For some reason, even though Ananke used to kill everybody in a matter of moments, with a finger snap, this time she takes all of five issues to set up some giant killing machine, so that the heroes would have enough time to save the victim.
Now, I don't want to say that it's all bad. The volume just feels too middle-of-the-road, with lots of fights, lots of exposition and explanations, but without any real revelations. The cliffhanger at the end was intriguing, and I definitely want to know what's coming next. I am just a bit more wary at this point.
There is a second comeback in this volume, and probably the most important one: Jamie McKelvie is back as a regular artist for the rest of the series (except for one-shots and issue #23, which will be drawn by Kevin Wada). Gillen wrote somewhere that Jamie really wanted to change the way he draws, he wasn't entirely satisfied with his work. And you can see some difference, for sure, although I can't say if that's a good thing. I can't quite catch what is different in his drawing style now, but I just don't like it as much. Smaller scale drawings got less detailed, and the faces are kinda... I don't know, man. They're different. Still, Matt Wilson's back, too, and even if McKelvie's style doesn't deliver as it used to, Wilson's colours sure do. There are a lot of splash pages and shiny effects, as this is mostly a fighting volume, and those scenes look as gorgeous as ever. Wilson for Eisners, etc, etc.
So. Volume 4. You have disappointed me in more ways than one. I still am a fan of the series, but I really start to get worried about how this is going to end. Does Gillen know what he's doing here? I sure hope so. -
Re-review to come.
Rating - 4/5
★★★★
There is a link to my original review of Rising Action
here! -
Loved this one! Bummed I have to wait until the summer to find out what is going to happen next.
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Very good! I'm happy to say this volume gets things moving again and isn't a filler volume like 3 was; and Jamie McKelvie is back as the artist!!!! So aside from everything good about this series coming back, this was a pretty fast paced volume; no lurking in the shadows plotting against one another, its just gods beating the shit out of other gods! So the story for this one sees an old fan favourite character return and leads a revolution against Ananke's reign, and a civil war amongst the gods breaks out. Right from the get go this volume goes straight into the action and doesn't waste time; we've seen the gods have a few scuffles here and there in previous volumes, but here its full on fights, that look both spectacular and trippy thanks to Jamie McKelvie's artwork! This volume basically does everything I've been wanting to see happen since vol 1; and although its fast paced action the writing is still sharp, and fun to read! You will probably finish this one much quicker then other volumes because of how fast paced it is compared to the others. But overall this volume did everything I wanted to coming out of a mediocre Volume 3; and has a satisfying pay off at the end, that I cant wait for volume 5!
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It was better than volume three, but this is really a 2.5 star book. I want to give it 3 stars, I really do, but I can't. It's sad, the series started out so strong. But this volume was still confusing (as was volume 3, though this wasn't as extreme) and there were large sections that were just wasted space. I couldn't understand what was going on during fight scenes or during scenes. There were other sections where I'm sure they thought it was dramatic but where nothing happened or moved the story forward. It made the entire book feel flimsy and frusterating. i know that for me that feeling was exacerbated by having finished
Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening, a very complex and satisfying story, immediately before starting this. But the comparison couldn't have been more stark. The art is really bold and striking and often really special. But sometimes it adds to the confusion as well. Overall it just wasn't great and by no means did it live up to the promise of volume one. Sorry! -
*4.5
spoilers for volumes 1-3
This series is definitely looking up.
My main complaint about the previous volume was the deaths of Laura and Inanna. They were both really interesting characters, and killing them both off so early on in this series seemed unfair. However, volume 3 did end with a hint that Laura was alive, so I liked seeing that pan out. Laura's come far from the desperate fangirl in volume 1. Also, seeing a glimpse of Inanna again was great.
Seeing the gods and goddesses team up with and against each other was really cool. I felt like the plot was moving along much better, and the consistent art style was a relief. I'm really looking forward to volume 5. 4.5/5 stars for this one. -
After the utter disaster that was volume three (which I'm still pretending doesn't exist), I was extremely nervous with this new instalment. But holy fucking shit, this volume absolutely DELIVERED; hands down, the best volume of the series so far. Not only did the story move in a terrific direction and the relationships between the characters become more gripping, it was the artwork that was unquestionably the best aspect of this volume. It was explosive, precise and unbelievably dazzling. And now, I have no idea where this series is heading, because shit, what an ending. Perfection.
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*4.5*
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O.W.L.s Read #3:
Completes Herbology - Read a book with a plant on the cover.
Actual Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
10 times better than the previous volume!
This one is packed with action and it was quite entertaining. I really did miss this series! -
I’m in a minority in not considering WicDiv amongst Gillen & McKelvie’s best work, and maybe less of a minority in not considering the epic superhero smackdowns which dominate this volume to be amongst WicDiv’s biggest strengths. But even given all that, this was a lot of fun. Working with celebrities* I dislike for many of the character templates of their all-too-mortal divinities, they’ve nonetheless turned them into much more interesting gods than they ever were humans – and really, isn’t that how myth is meant to work?
*And I think that’s part of my problem – that particularly someone like Baal’s inspiration, Kanye, is now more a celebrity than a creator. Gillen has said this series is inspired largely by questioning what it means to use one’s little time on Earth in making art. Some of the issues I have with this, which I hope will be resolved before the book is done, concern the ways in which the ephemerality of what the gods do doesn’t entirely seem to map to the way art exists in our world (vita brevis, arsque brevis?). But beyond that…I just don’t like most of the big stars of the moment. A comic in which the gods were modelled on FKA Twigs and Awkwafina and Tove Lo, now that I’d love…but it wouldn’t sell for shit, and having done their cult phase with Phonogram, I can entirely understand why they chose a path where they can afford things like food. Besides, Kieron is now punctilious to a fault about getting the drinks in, so I can’t complain too much.
