Put it like this, The Wicked + The Divine #2 is a head above the rest. From blown heads in the first issue, to severed heads in the second, the gods are having trouble keeping good heads on their shoulders. Alright, that was cheesy. Let’s start the review. Spoilers ahead, so stop now if you’d rather not know.
After Lucifer gets hauled off to jail for allegedly murdering the judge, fangirl Laura springs into action to help figure out what to do next after she overhears Luci tell Amaterasu to to get Ananke. Several other gods like Baal, who’s a rapper, have given statements to the media in Luci’s defense, but she tells Laura, who’s come to see her in jail, that anyone of her fellow deities could have blown the judge’s head off. They all have the capability to do so.
Luci goes on to tell Laura who Ananke is, how they met, and how she went from being a regular semi-rebellious teen stealing her mom’s Marlboros, to being Lucifer. This is when readers find out who that masked old woman from The Wicked + The Divine #1 is. She’s like a god-sitter, and she takes care of them. Laura is so starstruck by all of this, that she decides to be Luci’s connect on the outside. Lucifer does mention this would make Laura a demon, but if you were hoping to see her spout some horns like Hellboy or something, don’t hold your breath.
Laura catches up with the reporter with an attitude from the first issue when everyone got shot up, and after insulting each other and some tense words, they come to some sort of an agreement. The reporter decides to look into the possibility that someone else with Luci’s powers may have been the actual person popping heads off while Luci takes the blame for it.
Later, Laura’s investigation leads her to an underground concert in a decrepit, abandoned subway station where another god from Irish mythology, The Morrigan, is supposed to be performing. She’s extremely elusive, and apparently likes to keep it that way by terrifying the hell out of people if they take her picture. After combing the subway tunnels with a gaggle of The Morrigan’s fans, and waiting a half hour for her to show up and perform, a mysterious guy with fangs, and a pompadour that would make any greaser proud, appears out of nowhere. I mean, this guy looks like a hipster Danzig fan. He snaps his fingers and the whole tunnel is lit by flames. He introduces himself as Baphomet, the new King of the Underground, as he holds up The Morrigan’s severed head by the hair.
Talk about one hell of an ending. Now, this is where things get even more interesting. If you’re familiar with Christian theology, you know that usually Baphomet is associated with devil worship and the Church of Satan. I am really interested in seeing how he will coexist with Luci, if at all, considering they’re supposed to be associated with one another. Thus far the writing has been brilliant, and clearly comes from good research. I doubt they would overlook this.
Writer Kieron Gillen continues to suck me in, and his writing showed no signs of slowing down in The Wicked + The Divine #2. In fact, it looks like the third issue, out tomorrow, is going to be just as exciting and intriguing. As for the art, Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson continue to bring these vivid characters to life colorfully, and in a most amazing way. From Laura’s curly hair with green highlights, to Luci’s couture attire and black streak in her platinum blonde haircut, the life they breath into these characters is freaking awesome. Once again, I was left reeling for more.