In a lot of ways, Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti’s G.O.D.S. is like the beloved novel Dune. In its first issue we’re introduced to an exciting new character who is our gateway into giant worlds that have been secretly hanging over everything for some time. The ideas are huge, the concepts complex, and the names for things obscure and seem to harness droves of information behind them. We just need to keep reading to figure it all out, for better or worse. That’s especially clear after reading G.O.D.S. #2.
At times, G.O.D.S. #2 feels like homework. Right off the bat, the issue drops us into a new location with three characters talking about gods, detailing rules and history we’ve yet to learn. The dialogue is heavy and somewhat confusing as we try to wrap our heads around what a Prime or Centivar is. While it feels enlightening and deep in is lore, it’s also difficult to penetrate its vast tapestry.
I gave this issue two reads. The first one tried my patience and forced me to contemplate its layers as if bending my arm back. It felt like a challenge. The second read felt much more forgiving as details had already marinated and things started to make sense. That aspect of the reading experience is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the story and how it is unveiled in large swaths of dialogue tries the patience and can feel impenetrable. On the other, there’s clearly a huge world being unlocked here and fans of details and vast mechanisms have a ton to uncover and explore. I think both are true of Dune as well.
I love Dimitri’s gizmo.
Credit: Marvel
If you can get past that barrier, there’s a lot to like in this second issue. Aiko is largely the main character of this issue as she takes Mia, who is a surrogate for the reader, on a tour of the Library of Worlds. This tour is excellent, with pitch-perfect art by Schiti revealing different imaginative rooms and colorful characters that populate each one. On that tour we learn her her people look at magic from the perspective of science. As part of The-Natural-Order-of-Things her tour helps distinguish what her role is all about. Mia is also a compelling character who many will like right off the bat.
There’s also some intersting stuff going on with Wyn and Doctor Strange. It’s becoming clearer Doctor Strange is a kind of stand-in for the Marvel reader. He knows things, but this new world G.O.D.S. is unveiling is largely new to him too. A crazy sci-fi idea of a Skinner Box is introduced that is the perfect amount of innovative and advanced for modern sci-fi fans to chew on.
Schiti and Marte Gracia are putting some of their best work into every panel, which is evident from the smallest to the largest of panels. In one panel among five on a page, we see our characters following a man on all fours. To the left of them are some rats on boxes, perfectly capturing the rundown nature of the location. In another sequence, I don’t think I’ve ever been more enthralled by a library in a comic thanks to the perfect atmosphere and the way we’re drawn in following Mia walk about.
I’d argue this issue could have used more hand holding, or at least given more context to what’s being explained. There’s also a two page scene with Mia and her roommate Emily that seems overly long. It hammers home the point that Emily is rich while Mia isn’t, and it makes a compelling point about privilege, but did it really need two pages? It’s especially true when there are single panels with so much dialogue and explanation – one can imagine visualizing some of these ideas could have aided the readers experience.
G.O.D.S. is a fascinating read. Longtime Marvel fans will be intrigued by the potential for new developments and the uncovering of a vast system connecting the cosmic of Marvel. Casual readers will find it harder to penetrate, but if you’re a fan of hard sci-fi, you’ll gravitate towards the structures that hold it all up. G.O.D.S. #2 felt challenging, especially for a Marvel comic, yet in that challenge is so much promise that it’s hard not to be extremely excited about where it could all be going. G.O.D.S. unlocks something that sci-fi fans are always searching out, but rarely find.
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