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‘The Wicked + The Divine 1373:’ Advance Comic Book Review

As we gear up for the last arc of The Wicked + The Divine, we get one more of these interesting and illuminating one-shots featuring the gods we’ve come to know and love during one of their previous runs in the world. This time, we go to 1373 during the time of the Black Plague. While we don’t see too many of the gods we’ve met before, but we do get a look at a long-gone member of the Pantheon, our beloved Lucifer.

This one-shot highlights the birth of the Plague and its rampant destruction throughout Europe in the 14th century – the long-term repercussions of which were felt throughout the world as many died. While the real cause and effect of the plague is highly unlikely to be brought upon the world by a dozen gods and their handler, they were massive nonetheless.

Lucifer, or Luci as they went by during the modern-day reign of the gods, is the star of this one, and its a breath of fresh air. As one of the most beloved characters of all of them, her loss has been felt throughout the series as the one god who left us far too soon. Getting to spend some more time with Luci was a major relief and a huge boon to this issue.

Without giving too much away, we get a lot of both Luci and Ananke in this issue, along with some huge revelations that affect the world on a total scale. There’s a lot to digest in this one, and these revelations make it one of the more effective one-shots of the entire series.

Gillen really brought it for this last one. Going back in time to explain some of the gods’ past lives can be tough, and, personally, it’s been pretty hit or miss for me with a lot of these one-shots. This one, however, hit some major plot points from the onset, giving it a bit more to stand on than the others for me.

Aside from the usual stellar writing, we get a break from the illustrative dominance of Jamie McKelvie and get a refreshing dose of the incredibly talented Ryan Kelly who illustrates this issue. While it’s not as bright and vibrant as McKelvie’s work with Matt Wilson, there is a more realistic and grounded approach to this issue. Given the content, that’s probably a good call.

With one final arc to go, The Wicked + The Divine is breaking out their biggest stops. This, the strongest of the one-shots, proves this. With strong writing, stronger art, and an interesting concept, The Wicked +The Divine 1373 finishes this series out strong and gets things really amped up for the final phase of this epic journey.

Creative Team: Kieron Gillen (writer), Ryan Kelly (art), Matt Wilson (colors), Clayton Cowles (letters)
Publisher: Image Comics
Click here to purchase.

Russ Pirozek, Fanbase Press Contributor

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