The Wicked + The Divine #23

Writer: Kieron Gillen
Art: Kevin Wada
Writers: Various
Publisher: Image

For the past year, every issue of The Wicked + The Divine has felt like a victory lap. Gillen, McKelvie, Wilson & Cowles have established a unique style that define the series but they're also doing a lot of different things and what's amazing is how willing they are to relinquish control and let other people build on their foundation. This month's issue comes in the form of a magazine, with many guest writers, most of them culture journalists, writing profiles about the Pantheon with illustrations by Kevin Wada.

The fourth wall breaking is a bit much for me and sometimes the writers try to be a bit too clever (I had to put down the book for a minute after reading the Eleanor Rigby thing) but I just can't get over how wonderfully different this is There's a balancing act between what the readers know IRL and what the people in WicDiv's universe know, but at the same time, this issue isn't a recap. The book keeps moving forward, establishing a new status quo of sorts with the interviews.

It is also in this format that the book peeks into one of its most mysterious psyches with a Woden interview. Written by Laurie Penny, it is by far my favorite segment in the book because it kind of pokes at the limits of the book and especially the limits of this format by telling a story within itself. Profiles do that sometimes but it works really well here as this is a fictional book. Fleshing out Woden is also something that the series had to do eventually and that is perfectly executed here, while heavily referring to the fandom aspect that's always present in The Wicked + The Divine.

Kevin Wada's art is a fantastic fit with the “Pantheon Monthly” format. He high fashion outfits for all the featured characters. Since the art that he does here is essentially pinups, the book could feel boring but he keeps that from happening. There's a sense of motion to his pictures which isn't there too often in high profile articles about celebrities and of course, his sense of fashion is really good. There's just an instant rush of happiness when you see art by him.

The Wicked + The Divine #23 is a really daring issue and the WicDiv team almost effortlessly pull off a format which could've gone wrong in any number of ways.