The Wicked + The Divine #20

Written by: Kieron Gillen
Art by: Clayton Cowles, Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson
Published by: Image

After ending The Wicked + The Divine #19 at a fever pitch, Gillen and McKelvie take a step back and start off issue #20 bringing one of the first relationships established in the series back into focus. We see Urdr and Persephone, previously Cassandra and Laura, meeting each other for the first time since the latter ascended to the Pantheon. The series has shifted gears again, what at first seemed like a fairly straightforward story of popstars-as-gods turned into a thriller with all of the twists and misdirection that entails and now it seems like we are about to see the climax of the conflict between gods the last few issues have been exploring.
 

I really appreciated how the creators framed these issue as a meeting of Urdr and Persephone, as the latter narrates (through weird god-tentacle things) what has happened since issue #11, where Laura/Persephone ascends to the Pantheon and seemingly dies immediately afterwards. During the first arc Laura and Cassandra served to contrast differents attitudes of people towards the Pantheon, while they also formed a unique and close friendship. Their relationship being brought back to the forefront from the first page of this issue is a callback of sorts to the start of the series, where we saw everything through their perspective. As they ascended, we were separated from their point of view and we started seeing the story be told through the other members of the Pantheon. The dialogue between both of them in the last third of the book is heart-breaking, and contrasts the cynicism of Urdr and the idealism of Persephone from a different angle to what we had been exposed previously. The fantastic character-building that the series has had since the very beginning allows Gillen to swiftly write a great set-up for the next issue.
 

The art is always outstanding in this series, but Matthew Wilson does a especially great job with the colors here. Most of the issue is dominated by the purple that identifies some of the gods and the dark blue of the Underworld. Going back and comparing the art on issue #11 with the same scenes portrayed here made me so happy, being able to watch the same action from different perspectives really highlights how great McKelvie's art has been. Ananke becomes so much more imposing during this issue through the way the action is framed. We also get to see another “You are of the Pantheon” scene, something which is always welcome.
 

While this is not as action-packed as last issue, it does a perfect job tying up some loose ends from the previous arc and it sets up what should be a great issue next month. I already can't wait for it.