Are There Lesbians? Yes

What Happens?
Persephone’s back and there’s hell to pay

The Verdict:
It’s all go in the most recent volume of The Wicked and The Divine. Both covers and content are starting to get darker, and that’s really something considering The Faust Act killed my favourite character – but Kieron Gillen is on a role so the body count is really starting to pile up with friends and foes alike (no I’m not still bitter about Journey into Mystery, why do you ask?). If the last volume – “Commercial Suicide” – felt like a bit of a reprieve, then it was one that we needed because I doubt there’ll be much of one after this.

Laura is back and is taking absolutely no shit from anyone. She has returned from the dead as Persephone in her role of the Goddess of Death – there is no Kore here, although it would be good to see this dual aspect of her personality turn up, especially as it’s something the series has set a precedent for in its trifold representation of The Morrigan. She is single-minded in her determination to execute Ananke, something we have seen before, but with a ruthlessness that we haven’t. Given what has happened to her, it is not surprising.

For some reason the return of Persephone also has me hoping that we might get to see Luci again, there is a feeling of things coming around full circle, and after all – if one character can come back from apparently being dead, why can’t another? This is probably a futile hope but, hey, a girl can dream right?

I’ve mentioned previously how much I love this series, both for its themes and the rampant inclusion of LGBTAQ+ and POC characters. It is also simply one of the few consistently good comics out there, I am always on tenterhooks waiting for the next volume and you are never given so much convoluted plot that you need to go back and read the previous volumes every time a new one comes out. I can also never get enough of McKelvie and Wilson’s wonderful art, it’s just so delightfully colourful and really helps to get one in the mood of all the magic and mayhem!

Looking ahead, Ananke’s death is definitely going to have repercussions, but is an act which will hopefully provide us with more answers than questions, especially to pre-existing questions like “why is Ananke killing all the gods before their time?”, and “seriously, who is Woden?” because, I am 95% certain he’s going to be someone we’ve seen previously. I’m also very excited for what’s about to go down next – is it because I am partly expecting some type of Elder God/Cthulu situation? Yes… a little bit, but also because “Rising Action”, as implied in the name, is really building up momentum for a final act, and I can’t wait to see what it is.