The Wicked + The Divine Volume 9: Okay

by Kieron Gillen

[Quirky Cat]

It’s here. The final volume of The Wicked + the Divine. I’m not going to lie – I let this volume sit on my table for a week before I got brave enough to actually pick it up and read it. But can you blame me? We all knew that this was going to be an emotional – yet revealing – conclusion to the series.
The final volume has been titled The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 9: Okay which is more than a little bit alarming. That one word carries with it a lot of weight and raises even more questions for us desperate fans.
The Wicked + the Divine is set in a world where gods are real, but can only appear for a set period of time, and follow strict rules. That summary really doesn’t do the series justice, however. What follows is a chaotic tale, as our dynamic leading characters (gods and goddesses alike) try to solve the mystery of Ananke, and hopefully save their lives in the process.
This is without a doubt, one of the most character-driven series I’ve been reading as of late. I’ve come to love the twisted and warped characters of this series. And I’m already sad to have to say goodbye to them all.

The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 9: Okay was the most heartbreaking and heartwarming volume of the entire series. But I think we all sort of expected that. It was the end of the series, after all. We all knew that the series would go out with a bang, right? Even if that title sort of indicates the opposite.
The twists and turns and revelations in this volume were unparalleled. There were moments where I quite literally gasped out loud at a revelation or the implications that went with it. Honestly, it was impossible not to feel shocked or horrified at times.
And yet…there was such a hopeful and inspiring tone to this volume. Seeing the surviving heroes team up together was something else. In many ways, I think it was the end that we all needed and deserved.
However, it wasn’t actually the end, was it? The final issue in this series was perhaps the most unexpected of them all. And I’m not going to ruin it by talking about it too much. I will say that I spent an insane amount of time flipping the pages back and forth as I puzzled through a thought or two.
I have to give Kieron Gillen all sorts of credit for this series. Not only was the entire series a blast – the conclusion was brilliant. Ending a series must be tough, yet Gillen didn’t shy away from it. And the conclusion quite possibly exceeded the entirety of the rest of the series.

And that artwork! The Wicked + the Divine has long been one of my favorite series, thanks heavily to the artwork within. Jamie McKelvie and Matt Wilson are geniuses through and through. Seriously, look at that artwork and try to tell me otherwise.
The dynamic covers have always been eye-catching (I’m pretty sure that’s why I started this series in the first place). But the pages inside met the promise made by the covers. They were every bit as bright and dynamic. And they brought the intense and sometimes insane plot to all new levels.

Man, it’s hard to believe that the Wicked + the Divine is all over now. I honestly didn’t want to see this series end. But I respect the creative team in their decision here. I would much rather a series end when it should than drag on beyond the point of reason. We’ve all seen that happen and lamented it.
The Wicked + the Divine going out with a bang was the right call. They told the story they wanted to hear. And of course, there’s always the opportunity to delve into past versions, should the creative team ever find themselves missing this world.

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