I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of The Wicked + The Divine #3, especially considering that cliffhanger at the end with the Morrigan and Baphomet. I wasn’t too disappointed. Let me premise this by saying that I wasn’t disappointed at all. Still, the third issue of WicDiv was probably the slowest yet. Considering the fast paced nature of the comic, that’s not a bad thing.
SPOILERS!!!!
Proceed at your OWN peril…
Okay?
Last chance…
Alright! Let’s get started.
The Wicked + The Divine #3 picks up right where the second issue left off. Laura and a gang of hipsters are in an abandoned subway waiting for the Morrigan when Baphomet appears out of nowhere holding her severed head by the hair. What nobody was counting on was the fact that the head started to talk, and say a bunch of ridiculously over-the-top positive things–in the most crass way of course–about Baphomet. Come to find out this was just an illusion, and the real Morrigan is not happy about it. Just as they are about to kill each other, Laura steps in and says something that gives them pause. How they didn’t kill this kid, or go the hell off on her considering how amped up they were, I don’t know. Still, they must know she’s down with the “god” homies, so they cool it a little. That’s when the cops show up…
One cop puts a rubber slug in Baphomet’s back, which was all the excuse the wicked little snot needed to use his special powers. With one click of his fingers, the cop is literally cooking in his riot gear. That would’ve been a skill that would’ve come in handy during the Ferguson protests, amirite? Anyway, the Morrigan–who you MUST know can change her appearance from glorious, firey red curls, to black waves, to bald-headed with a tiny soul patch on the scalp–shows up in a hippy, peaceful, vegan version of herself and resuscitates the dead cop. The cops then proceed to beat the shit out of the concertgoers when Laura makes a run for the Morrigan down a dark subway tunnel. In a slightly unhelpful exchange, the Morrigan tells Laura that Baphomet could not have killed the judge because they were too busy making love. Good to know, girl!
Laura takes this information–after posting bail, because the cops arrested her–to Laura, the journalist, and they start to run through all the different gods that could be framing Lucifer. The best part of The Wicked + The Divine #3 was the juxtaposition of the conversations between Laura and Cassandra as they run through the different gods for suspects, and Luci’s thoughts on each of them. Unfortunately, when they decide that Baal is the prime suspect they do so out loud. Loud enough for Baal, who is standing behind them, to hear. And you can imagine how pissed he is.
I don’t have to tell you how awesome the inks and pencils are in WicDiv #3. Let’s put it like this, I’ll tell you when the art ever looks crappy, but don’t hold your breath. Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson have made it so that for three issues straight I’ve found makeup inspiration from comic book characters. That’s a big deal, guys. Though the story slowed down a little, Kieron Gillen was still able to keep the story flowing, setting up the fourth issue nicely. This is one hell of a whodunit. Pun intended.