The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 1: The Faust Act

The Wicked + The Divine is a comics series from Image, and this volume collects the first five issues. The concept behind it is that every 90 years twelve gods become mortal for two years. During that time, the gods manifest as celebrities, the ultimate in pop stars, and they entice, entertain, entrance, and inspire humanity in various ways. The tagline points to the way this series approaches the ideas of legendary gods and postmodern celebrity: "just because you’re immortal, doesn’t mean you’re going to live forever."

As you can see, these gods bicker, cavort, revel, and carry on in the ways lots of celebrities do. They also have to navigate and contend with the media coverage. The cast is a diverse one, culled from many pantheons. The main players are Luci (Lucifer), who is a hard-edged pop star (like P!nk maybe?); Amaterasu, who is sort of like Britney Spears or Taylor Swift; Baal, a Jay Z or Kanye type, Sakhmet (a catwoman); Odin, who looks like he's in Daft Punk, and the Morrigan, who is the gothest of goths.

The main plot revolves around a murder mystery, with Luci (naturally) being the prime suspect. Her acolyte Laura thinks she is being framed though, and lots of complications ensue when other forces and players enter into the picture. I have to say that I enjoyed the crisp, clean art, the various plot twists, and the cheeky humor, though there are times I feel there is a forced "coolness" (I am old, so I don't know what it's called today) where some of the characters just come off as being insipid jerks.

This book is the creation of Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matthew Wilson. Gillen and McKelvie have many credits in comics, and they have also collaborated on a number of other works, including the creator-owned Phonogram and Young Avengers from Marvel. Wilson has tons of comics credits and also is a host of the War Rocket Ajax podcast. All of the creators speak about their work on this series in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have leaned positive but with reservations.  Don Ventura was intrigued but called it "beautiful to look at while being uneven to read." Doug Glassman called it a "love it or hate it" book and wondered if it "would possibly make a better television series than comic book." Jean-Luc Botbyl generally enjoyed it and wrote that the series "has a lot of potential, but definitely has a long way to go."

The Faust Act is available from Image Comics, and they provide more info here. The series is ongoing, and is currently at issue 10. Issue 11 will conclude the storyline began here.

Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Volume 1

Thor the Norse god of thunder was largely portrayed as a great warrior, giant-killer, and carouser. He was also shown to be dim sometimes, prone to the tricks of his half-brother Loki, and as having red hair and a red beard. This blond, clean-shaven version of Thor is the creation of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, the original architects of Marvel Comics. As a back-up feature, this book contains the first two appearances of this Thor by Kirby and Lee.

There have been different versions of Thor over time, given that the character has been published since 1962, and this version does a good job combining the original feel of the comics series with a contemporary sensibility while making it a perfect introduction for new readers. This Thor is on Earth for reasons he can't remember. He is drawn to a museum display for some reason, but is throw out by the guards when he tries to break into a glass case. Later, Jane Foster, who works in the museum, happens upon him in the street as he is violently thrown out of a bar while defending a woman's honor. His attacker is shown to be a gigantic man calling himself Mr. Hyde. Jane takes Thor in, and eventually they have adventures and try to figure out why he is on Earth at all.

This charmer of a book was created by writer Roger Langridge and artist Chris Samnee, with colors by Matthew Wilson. Langridge first came to prominence for his work on his series Fred the Clown and then made an even bigger splash with The Muppet Show , which won the 2010 Harvey Award for best Original Series for Younger Readers. Samnee, who has drawn comics for all the major comics companies as well as the graphic novel Capote in Kansas, was nominated for the Eisner Award for best up-and-coming artist in 2006 and is currently one of the more sought after artists in the industry.

This book, part of Marvel's push to publicize Thor, the subject of an upcoming movie, has been largely well received. David O'Leary commented that this "gem" of a book comes about because of Langridge's and Samnee's strong story-telling skills. Comic Book Resources' Chad Nevett wrote that the series is full of "fun, great art, and dynamic character work." Scott Cederlund appreciates how this series takes an old concept and refreshes it with a shift in characterization.

Previews of a number of the chapters in this book are available starting here from Marvel Comics.