evybird's review against another edition
2.0
I see that the problem a lot of reviewers had with this volume was the art changes. For the most part, I actually didn't mind that (except for one reservation, which I'll get to in a minute). Each issue in this volume had a different guest artist, since, as a note in the back explains, the main artist Jamie McKelvie was away for this arc. I found all the different artists' styles to be attractive though, and it was actually kind of fun never knowing what to expect visually from one chapter to the next.
However. I could not follow the plot at all, and I have no idea what is going on in the story anymore. There are tons of characters, and the writer does not do readers any favours in jogging our minds to who's who when someone has not been around for a while. This is where the varying art really doesn't help, as characters change visually from one chapter to the next, which I found made it even harder to keep track of them all.
It probably would have helped if I'd gone back and re-read the first two volumes, but I unfortunately just didn't care enough. This series is just so plot-focused that it has failed to create characters I find compelling. There are a lot of interesting characters, but none whose futures/well-beings I particularly care about. The plot jumps around from character to character in each chapter, and I felt like just as I was growing to understand a character and wanting to know more about them, the focus would shift to someone else. Unfortunately, instead of making me feel like reading more, I just got fed up. The second the plot seemed to be stabilizing around a new central character, it would jump to someone else (along with a new art style!), and along with that a completely new plot thread (or no plot thread? Sometimes there seemed to be no plot at all and the chapters simply elaborated back stories. It was also hard to keep track of what was past and what was present).
Like I said, probably I would have enjoyed this a bit more if I remembered much of the plot from the first couple of volumes, and if I'd kept better track of which character was which. On the other hand, I certainly didn't feel compelled to try very hard to remember. Three out of five stars is feeling generous now that I've written this review.
However. I could not follow the plot at all, and I have no idea what is going on in the story anymore. There are tons of characters, and the writer does not do readers any favours in jogging our minds to who's who when someone has not been around for a while. This is where the varying art really doesn't help, as characters change visually from one chapter to the next, which I found made it even harder to keep track of them all.
It probably would have helped if I'd gone back and re-read the first two volumes, but I unfortunately just didn't care enough. This series is just so plot-focused that it has failed to create characters I find compelling. There are a lot of interesting characters, but none whose futures/well-beings I particularly care about. The plot jumps around from character to character in each chapter, and I felt like just as I was growing to understand a character and wanting to know more about them, the focus would shift to someone else. Unfortunately, instead of making me feel like reading more, I just got fed up. The second the plot seemed to be stabilizing around a new central character, it would jump to someone else (along with a new art style!), and along with that a completely new plot thread (or no plot thread? Sometimes there seemed to be no plot at all and the chapters simply elaborated back stories. It was also hard to keep track of what was past and what was present).
Like I said, probably I would have enjoyed this a bit more if I remembered much of the plot from the first couple of volumes, and if I'd kept better track of which character was which. On the other hand, I certainly didn't feel compelled to try very hard to remember. Three out of five stars is feeling generous now that I've written this review.
talon1010's review against another edition
4.0
It's a good book in a fantastic series and all, but I'd also say it's a low point.
For context, this book has all guest artists, and if not a guest writer, then something like it. It seems the main artists had to take time away, and the team didn't want to continue telling the same story in guest-illustrated issues, so there is a nonzero amount of filler vignettes featuring smaller characters.
They certainly aren't all bad, and I would say to skip it if it weren't somewhat important. We meet Tara, which is a really well-done, if not pleasant, time. The bit with Woden is very interesting, and my favorite moments in the collection are issues 15 and 16, illuminating some very compelling dynamics around Amaterasu and equally intriguing (and well-illustrated) background on Morrigan and Baphomet, respectively.
However, the reason I so emphasize the guest artistry is their flaws. Issue 12, the first part, stands out as especially lackluster, though I'm also not terribly fond of 17, despite its weighted plot. But they can't all be hits!
For context, this book has all guest artists, and if not a guest writer, then something like it. It seems the main artists had to take time away, and the team didn't want to continue telling the same story in guest-illustrated issues, so there is a nonzero amount of filler vignettes featuring smaller characters.
They certainly aren't all bad, and I would say to skip it if it weren't somewhat important. We meet Tara, which is a really well-done, if not pleasant, time. The bit with Woden is very interesting, and my favorite moments in the collection are issues 15 and 16, illuminating some very compelling dynamics around Amaterasu and equally intriguing (and well-illustrated) background on Morrigan and Baphomet, respectively.
However, the reason I so emphasize the guest artistry is their flaws. Issue 12, the first part, stands out as especially lackluster, though I'm also not terribly fond of 17, despite its weighted plot. But they can't all be hits!
sannareads's review against another edition
3.0
“The Wicked + The Divine: Commercial Suicide” is the third volume about the celebrity gods.
I did enjoy the story of this volume more than the previous one. I found it interesting to get to know the rest of the Gods better as we both saw snippets of their past and present. But I have to admit that I missed Laura, it felt strange that she wasn’t a part of this book.
While I did like this book more than the previous one I found it very confusing when the art kept changing. It made it hard to recognized the characters and made the book a bit...messy? But that’s only my opinion.
The story is still very interesting and unique but I’m not sure if I wanna continue with the series.
⭐️ “The Wicked + The Divine: Commercial Suicide” gets 3/5 stars from me!
I did enjoy the story of this volume more than the previous one. I found it interesting to get to know the rest of the Gods better as we both saw snippets of their past and present. But I have to admit that I missed Laura, it felt strange that she wasn’t a part of this book.
While I did like this book more than the previous one I found it very confusing when the art kept changing. It made it hard to recognized the characters and made the book a bit...messy? But that’s only my opinion.
The story is still very interesting and unique but I’m not sure if I wanna continue with the series.
⭐️ “The Wicked + The Divine: Commercial Suicide” gets 3/5 stars from me!
thunderbolt_kid's review against another edition
3.0
Volume drawn by guest artists. And I still liked it. There was a bit of problematic (racist-reading) content in that a black female character is portrayed as animalistic with seemingly-insatiable sexual appetites. I don't know, really, how to deal with that.
bookishstone's review against another edition
3.0
2.5
I wasn't a fan of the guest artists each issue. It threw me out of the story.
I wasn't a fan of the guest artists each issue. It threw me out of the story.
joemacare's review against another edition
5.0
This is where this series gets really, really good and lives up to its promise, I think.
shantelldanielle's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t enjoy this volume. It was disappointing for me. The art was different from the first two volumes and changed several times throughout the book. The storyline could have been more interesting. After the cliffhanger at the end of volume 2 (which was a great volume) I think I was simply expecting more.
paragraphsandpages's review against another edition
4.0
While I loved the story just as much (things are really building up), I personally wasn't a fan of the guest/alternating artists. I really love the original style, and while I also liked half of the art styles that were in this volume, there were also some I didn't like at all (like volume 17's).
artsymusings's review against another edition
3.0
The team basically decided to abandon half of what it has going for the series (aka the art) and for what? Moneys? I don't get it. Commercial Suicide really is a fitting title for the volume then.
Issue #12 is okay story wise, sucked art wise. Issue #13 is the most intense and I appreciate that they put a spotlight on the hateful side of humans. All those vitriolic tweets meant for Tara were disturbing to read. Issue #14 is the most normal despite the fact that it was apparently a remix issue. But god, Wōden is such a perverted creep and I wasn't even surprised about his revelation. I did like his comments on patriarchy and that's as far as I could stand him. I can get behind issue #15 because Stephanie Hans art is the best out of the all the guest ones. Still, it didn't really gel with Amaterasu's aesthetic in some of the panels and reminded me of Hans' work in Angela's comics which is way superior to this. Issue #16 almost ruined The Morrigan and Baphomet for me because again, the art just didn't do any favors to their backstory. Issue #17 definitely has the worst art which did ruin Sakhmet for me since it didn't suit her character even a single bit. How can they choose that art style for a god with the feline aesthetic? What the hell?
Story wise, things didn't move forward as much as the focus is more on the backstories of some of the gods. Not a whole lot of meta, but the references are still great. There are quite a few reveals, though that I really enjoyed. Still not sure if I actually like Ananke. It's more of a love-hate kind of thing at this point, I guess. THAT ENDING, THOUGH. If they keep doing this, I might just have to shift to issues because who can wait for months.
Favorite quote: 'What? Do you think we're going to fight? Fuck! Who do you think we are? The culturally appropriate Avengers?'
Issue #12 is okay story wise, sucked art wise. Issue #13 is the most intense and I appreciate that they put a spotlight on the hateful side of humans. All those vitriolic tweets meant for Tara were disturbing to read. Issue #14 is the most normal despite the fact that it was apparently a remix issue. But god, Wōden is such a perverted creep and I wasn't even surprised about his revelation. I did like his comments on patriarchy and that's as far as I could stand him. I can get behind issue #15 because Stephanie Hans art is the best out of the all the guest ones. Still, it didn't really gel with Amaterasu's aesthetic in some of the panels and reminded me of Hans' work in Angela's comics which is way superior to this. Issue #16 almost ruined The Morrigan and Baphomet for me because again, the art just didn't do any favors to their backstory. Issue #17 definitely has the worst art which did ruin Sakhmet for me since it didn't suit her character even a single bit. How can they choose that art style for a god with the feline aesthetic? What the hell?
Story wise, things didn't move forward as much as the focus is more on the backstories of some of the gods. Not a whole lot of meta, but the references are still great. There are quite a few reveals, though that I really enjoyed. Still not sure if I actually like Ananke. It's more of a love-hate kind of thing at this point, I guess. THAT ENDING, THOUGH. If they keep doing this, I might just have to shift to issues because who can wait for months.
Favorite quote: 'What? Do you think we're going to fight? Fuck! Who do you think we are? The culturally appropriate Avengers?'