The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 5: Imperial Phase I

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 5: Imperial Phase I by Kieron Gillen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SPOILER ALERT!!

There's so much going on in this one, I actually had to read it twice. Some of my questions have been answered, but none of them in full.

First of all, the Great Darkness is apparently real, and is these large shadowy beast things that can manifest and steal people. Also, Baal and Ameratsu have know about them for ages, and they are what killed Baal's father. I still don't know why Ananke needed to sacrifice the goods, especially Minerva, to keep the darkness at bay. We get a bit of a flashback to the night everything went down, but still, nothing makes much sense. Ananke seems regretful, but who was she writing that letter to? Baal? And did she know she would die?

Let's talk about Persephone the Destroyer. Ananke seemed to think she needed to die. Her powers don't hurt the darkness creatures, but help it grow. And then you have her systematically destroying her relationships, because she thinks she is bad for them. I liked her with Baal, and I y agree that Minerva was being a little too judgey with her.  It's not fair to expect Persephone to fill Innanna's shoes for anyone, even Baal. And if Baal was with Persephone because she reminded him of Inanna, that's not exactly fair either. I'm sad to see her distance herself from him, as I think he was a good influence on her.  Hooking up with Sakhmet on the regular, whatever was going on with Ameratsu, and then dragging Baphomet into a situation that puts him at odds with the Morrigan, who basically treats Baph like her slave - none of those are particularly sound decisions. I just hope she can figure things out in time to help in the final battle.

Dionysus: Something is majorly up with this guy's energy levels. He never sleeps and it is definitely starting to effect him. Not good!

Wooden: woah, we learn some very interesting family history here. Does knowing Wooden grew up knowing all about the gods because of his dad change anything? Maybe. You could infer that he knows more about the darkness than the others, and about the various history of different reincarnations.

Ameratsu: girl is legit starting an actual cult. Where is she going with this? Definitely seems a little crazy.

Sakhmet: A LOT crazy here. Obviously she's pro-anarchy, but she has an irrational murder streak that we're only seeing the start of. She's paranoid and irrational, and managed to turn an orgy into a bloodbath. Are they going to be able to cover this one up? Or will Baal step up and take out the one who is out of control, like he promised?

The Norn: she is trying to make sense of everything so hard, and it's just not working. Sigh. If she could figure out that machine, it would surely hold some answers, but no luck so far, and it doesn't seem promising.

Once again, I can't wait for the next volume, and am sorely tempted to pick up reading in single issues, even though I know I enjoy that less. I don't know. We shall see.

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