The Wicked + The Divine

The Wicked + The Divine
Promotional Launch Image. Art by Jamie McKelvie.
Publication information
Publisher	Image Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Dark fantasy, contemporary fantasy
Publication date	June 2014 – present
Number of issues	22 (As of August 2016)
Creative team
Writer(s)	Kieron Gillen
Artist(s)	Jamie McKelvie
Letterer(s)	Clayton Cowles
Colorist(s)	Matt Wilson
Creator(s)	Kieron Gillen Jamie McKelvie
Editor(s)	Chrissy Williams
Collected editions
The Faust Act
Fandemonium
Commercial Suicide
Rising Action

The Wicked + The Divine is a contemporary fantasy comic book series written by Kieron Gillen, illustrated by Jamie McKelvie, and published monthly by American company Image Comics. The series is largely influenced by pop music and various mythological deities. Gillen's core inspiration for the series came after his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and includes the themes of life and death in the story.

The narrative follows a young teenage girl, Laura, as she interacts with the Pantheon, a group of twelve people who discover that they are reincarnated deities. This discovery grants them fame and supernatural powers, with the stipulation that they will die within two years – part of a ninety-year cycle known as the Recurrence.

The Wicked + The Divine has received positive reviews, and was the winner of Best Comic at the 2014 British Comic Awards. It has also been noted for its diverse portrayal of ethnicity, sexuality and gender social roles.

Author Kieron Gillen's original and core inspiration for The Wicked + The Divine was his father's diagnosis with terminal cancer. For this reason, Gillen considers the story to be "about life and death." Further inspiration for Gillen comes from pop music and various pop idols; the Pantheon is based on pop idols, and Gillen has created a playlist of songs to accompany the comic book.

The series was announced on 9 January 2014, and the first issue was released in June 2014. As of April 2016, there have been 18 single issues released, three trade paperbacks, and one hardcover trade. The series is ongoing, intended to run for between 30 and 60 issues.

The television rights have been optioned by Universal TV.

The narrative focuses on a group of people with superhuman powers known as "The Pantheon". Each member of The Pantheon was at one point a normal person before being chosen to merge with the spirit of a deity. It is said that each cycle of The Pantheon will not live past two years from the start of the series, and that every 90 years the Pantheon is reincarnated. This cycle is known as the Recurrence. It has currently not been revealed how which deities are chosen to be reincarnated in each occurrence. To the Gods that are resurrected, it feels as if no time has passed since their death in the previous Recurrence, when they are awakened by Ananke. It would also appear that the person who is the next reincarnation of a particular God does not get the opportunity to refuse becoming one. Each issue is accompanied by a quote from a character, acting as a surrogate name for the issue.