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G.O.D.S. (2023) #1-8
G.O.D.S.
Legendary writer Jonathan Hickman and superstar artist Valerio Schiti dramatically tear down the established celestial hierarchy of the Marvel Universe, and build it back up with fantastic new purpose!
At the core of the Marvel Universe there exists a pantheon of omnipotent forces that shape the very building blocks of reality! Many of these strange beings have been around since the earliest days of Marvel Comics, but befitting their roles in the cosmos, their motives and natures have been beyond reach and comprehension… until now!
These cosmic entities have faithful servants that walk among us as members of two opposing factions: the powerful mystics of THE-POWERS-THAT-BE and the brilliant scientific minds of THE-NATURAL-ORDER-OF-THINGS. For eons, they’ve clashed and schemed with all of reality hanging in the balance until they formed a fragile pact - all part of a complex system that keeps the universe in balance.
But that system is more fragile than anyone would care to admit, and there’s some among them who desire nothing more but to see it shatter! Now, a mysterious rogue agent by the name of Cubisk Core has shattered that uneasy peace, and this secret war will come out of the shadows for the first time!
COLLECTING: G.O.D.S. (2023) 1-8; G.O.D.S. variants, bonus pages
At the core of the Marvel Universe there exists a pantheon of omnipotent forces that shape the very building blocks of reality! Many of these strange beings have been around since the earliest days of Marvel Comics, but befitting their roles in the cosmos, their motives and natures have been beyond reach and comprehension… until now!
These cosmic entities have faithful servants that walk among us as members of two opposing factions: the powerful mystics of THE-POWERS-THAT-BE and the brilliant scientific minds of THE-NATURAL-ORDER-OF-THINGS. For eons, they’ve clashed and schemed with all of reality hanging in the balance until they formed a fragile pact - all part of a complex system that keeps the universe in balance.
But that system is more fragile than anyone would care to admit, and there’s some among them who desire nothing more but to see it shatter! Now, a mysterious rogue agent by the name of Cubisk Core has shattered that uneasy peace, and this secret war will come out of the shadows for the first time!
COLLECTING: G.O.D.S. (2023) 1-8; G.O.D.S. variants, bonus pages
272 pages, Paperback
Published August 6, 2024
21 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Hickman
1,224 books2,040 followersJonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
June 13, 2024
A truly misleading marketing campaign from Marvel hyped this series up to be “the Marvel Sandman” (not Flint Marko).
Did it perform a complete overhaul of the Marvel cosmology? Nahhhh.
Did Hickman still produce a unique and sincere work?
You bet!
I will most likely place GODS on a pedestal just above Ultimate Invasion (yes, I am a die hard fan of that book) but neither of these works really stands at the same height as Hickman’s past efforts with the New Avengers and Avengers. 2023/2024 was weird in that we are getting Hickmania, and it does seem like Marvel knows why you’re buying a book with his name on it. Quirky dialogues, big science and magic concepts, characters with clear motivations and philosophies. Which is what I love in a Hickman book - he distills the characters to who they are at that deep, fundamental level and that viewpoint is what is really fighting in these bombastic splash pages.
Did it perform a complete overhaul of the Marvel cosmology? Nahhhh.
Did Hickman still produce a unique and sincere work?
You bet!
I will most likely place GODS on a pedestal just above Ultimate Invasion (yes, I am a die hard fan of that book) but neither of these works really stands at the same height as Hickman’s past efforts with the New Avengers and Avengers. 2023/2024 was weird in that we are getting Hickmania, and it does seem like Marvel knows why you’re buying a book with his name on it. Quirky dialogues, big science and magic concepts, characters with clear motivations and philosophies. Which is what I love in a Hickman book - he distills the characters to who they are at that deep, fundamental level and that viewpoint is what is really fighting in these bombastic splash pages.
September 16, 2024
I was expecting to hate this, having not forgiven Hickman for what he did to the X-Men, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
The artwork was really good, for the most part, although the faces of most of the female characters in issue two were a bit… off.
Story-wise, each individual issue was good, sometimes REALLY good, but it didn’t hang together very well as a whole. This was probably deliberate, though, as this book, as long as it is, is clearly just a set-up for something bigger. I’m interested to see what that is and am really hoping Hickman isn’t going to do an almighty fart and leave the room again, like he did with the X-books…
The artwork was really good, for the most part, although the faces of most of the female characters in issue two were a bit… off.
Story-wise, each individual issue was good, sometimes REALLY good, but it didn’t hang together very well as a whole. This was probably deliberate, though, as this book, as long as it is, is clearly just a set-up for something bigger. I’m interested to see what that is and am really hoping Hickman isn’t going to do an almighty fart and leave the room again, like he did with the X-books…
November 14, 2024
Since this is written by Hickman, you already know there is a ton of stuff happening and a lot of world building. You have two factions, The Powers That Be and then you have The Natural Order Of Things. There are two characters, one from each camp, Aiko and Wyn. They have a history together that has to unfortunately change due to Aiko moving up in the ranks. You have some new characters like Cubisk Core causing havoc and older cosmic beings like the Living Tribunal and the In-Betweener making appearances. Hickman does cool things in here like talking about things you don’t know about…until you do when he shows you. Seeing the why and the how some of things come to fruition was a fun ride. Doctor Strange is also on duty helping out. Another new character, Mia has a very cool introduction that causes some problems between Wyn and Aiko which was very tragic yet really well told. There are a lot of interesting concepts and ideas that don’t get fully sorted out which makes me very excited to what else Hickman and Marvel have in store for these characters. Valerio Schiti’s art is freaking beautiful and Marte Gracia colors it all in perfectly. Can’t wait for more of this.
September 7, 2024
Three and a half stars.
Well, I enjoyed the story despite the ambiguity and the excess of allusions. Let's see if the series continues and it clarifies more things.
The drawing is excellent.
Well, I enjoyed the story despite the ambiguity and the excess of allusions. Let's see if the series continues and it clarifies more things.
The drawing is excellent.
June 20, 2024
I’m not so sure I understood that ending a whole lot but I’ve loved this comic. The art has been fantastic and the story the perfect amount of confusing and fun. I came to like these characters very quickly and I’m itching to see them again already. Hopefully this series gets an extension or reboots.
November 17, 2024
3.5*
Overall I don't think Marvel is doing much with the magic/mystical part of their universe. Apart from Doc Strange, most of the affiliated characters are either dormant or just making up the numbers.
So this reappropriation by Hickman is rather welcome. Relatively -ahem- clear, it defines a framework, an environment, forces at play that are ordered as only Hickman knows how- without diagrams, charts and whatnots, Thank God for small graces.
We follow archetypal but fundamentally likeable characters - Wyn as the nice guy Constantine in the first place, obviously. There are a few obscure passages - hey, it's Hickman! - some good repartees, some touching scenes - Dimitri in issue 7 - a perfectly constructed storytelling and a fine artistic section.
It lacks perhaps a hair of breath, an ounce of extra magic and a less rushed ending for a full 4* but it's still a recommended read
Overall I don't think Marvel is doing much with the magic/mystical part of their universe. Apart from Doc Strange, most of the affiliated characters are either dormant or just making up the numbers.
So this reappropriation by Hickman is rather welcome. Relatively -ahem- clear, it defines a framework, an environment, forces at play that are ordered as only Hickman knows how- without diagrams, charts and whatnots, Thank God for small graces.
We follow archetypal but fundamentally likeable characters - Wyn as the nice guy Constantine in the first place, obviously. There are a few obscure passages - hey, it's Hickman! - some good repartees, some touching scenes - Dimitri in issue 7 - a perfectly constructed storytelling and a fine artistic section.
It lacks perhaps a hair of breath, an ounce of extra magic and a less rushed ending for a full 4* but it's still a recommended read
March 18, 2025
Quando D.E.U.S.E.S. foi anunciado, a Marvel fez um estardalhaço com o novo trabalho de Jonathan Hickman. Disse que seria uma obra que mudaria inteiramente todo o universo cósmico da editora e que traria novos players para o tabuleiro das grandes entidades existenciais do Universo Marvel. Mas a coisa na realidade não é tão épica assim. Nem por isso esse deixa de ser um ótimo quadrinho. Foi ótimo eu ter sido surpreendido com algo que não esperava, porque já tinha torcido o nariz para a proposta. Hickman delineia novos personagens, arautos da Ordem Natural das Coisas e dos Poderes Que Regem o Universo, um baseado no raciocínio e o outro, na magia. Hickman traz um novo prisma para a cosmicalidade da Marvel, mas não a deturpa nem reinventa a roda, o que, para mim é ótimo. Time que está vencendo não se troca, se aprimora. E é isso que ele faz. Valerio Schitti também desempenha muito bem a tarefa de trazer outras imagens para essas potências. Contudo, ao saber que D.E.U.S.E.S. deveria ser uma série regular e não uma minissérie como acabou sendo, entendi a aceleração das coisas nos dois últimos números. Mas, ainda assim, acabou sendo uma das melhores leituras do ano.
March 14, 2025
This was even more confusing than the average Hickman book. Great art though!
January 12, 2025
Bit of an abrupt ending with some plot threads feeling unresolved, but I enjoyed seeing what Hickman did with the larger pantheon of cosmic beings original to the Marvel Universe. I don't think people will like how Strange and Clea are written here, but the new magical quartet here are a fun group, and I'd love to see them appear in more stories down the road!
August 26, 2025
La primera vez que leí los 8 números de esta historia tuve la impresión de no haberlos comprendido por una cuestión idiomática (los leí en inglés). Ahora que tuve la oportunidad de leerlos en español, comprendí que la barrera no es del idioma sino del conocimiento previo que se requiere para entender lo que acá pasa. Como historia independiente, me parece todo lo fallida que puede llegar a ser una historia en todo lo que pretende lograr. Lo peor que le he leído a Hickman, ever.
June 14, 2025
Here is my video review of this book. I really enjoy Hickman's writing and here is another example of great storytelling. https://youtu.be/BebWiJDt2Us
August 26, 2024
If only it had a longer run, say, 24 or 30 issues, it might have been a masterpiece...
Read
February 3, 2025When Jonathan Hickman retools existing characters, I rejoice. This doesn't apply only to his Marvel work, though obviously his Fantastic Four and mutant stories especially rank among the finest runs in those characters' long histories; my favourite of his creator-owned comics is The Manhattan Projects, which is pretty much a darkly humorous reboot of twentieth century science, and one of the reasons I didn't see any need to numb my arse with another, later telling of Oppenheimer's life that looked barely more accurate and far less entertaining.
When Hickman creates new characters, on the other hand...apart from what's implicit in the title, I can't remember a single thing about a single character in Decorum. And again, the same holds true when he adds to an existing universe, where he tends to create characters who have more structural significance than personality, cyphers like the Black Order and the mutants of Arakko, who more often than not have either an all-white or all-black look. And yes, on that cover – not one, not two, but three new characters all in white! Who, once we get underway, are revealed to be but representatives of a whole hundred! Oh, joy.
So what is G.O.D.S.? Well, if you're expecting the acronym ever to be explained, it isn't. Possibly because, having bequeathed his beloved data pages to the Krakoa office, Hickman is here operating without their support, bar one that sneaks in to the penultimate issue. The obvious answer would be gods, who have of course been knocking about the Marvel Universe since its foundation, but Thor et al are barely glimpsed. I'd been under the impression that it was a reworking of cosmic entities like Eternity, which had itself seemed like a bad idea when Al Ewing has not long since done the best work on them we're likely to see for at least a generation. Well, perhaps fortunately, it's not even really about them either, though we do get Oblivion knocking around in a manky woolly hat, a bit of the Living Tribunal, and a role for living Britpop earworm the In-Betweener.
Mainly, though, this is the story of the human representatives of the-Powers-That-Be and the-Natural-Order-of-Things. The former are magic and the latter science, kind of. Representing the interests of the first, Wyn, the guy on the cover who looks unhelpfully like a sexier Doctor Strange, especially awkward when Strange is here too; there's even a variant cover poking fun at the resemblance. For the other, the aforementioned hundred in white, the Centum, though mainly Aiko. Who, helpfully for dramatic purposes, is Wyn's ex. And that's the most unexpected thing here, that the more personal G.O.D.S. gets, the more rewarding it is. The cosmic angle that you'd think would be right up Hickman's street mostly ends up feeling vague and/or overfamiliar; the rival hidden forces on Earth are basically Unknown Armies minus the scuzz and bite. There are occasional great moments and images, sure, but it only reliably gets into gear once we're into the day to day of Wyn's weird fixer role, where he and sidekick Dmitri are somewhere between a more personable Sapphire & Steel and a PG John Constantine, wheeling and dealing, mixing the occasional deployment of real power with a gift for knowing just which small intervention to make when, who to ask for what favour. And then once you entangle that with the romance plot, it really starts to sing. It's not like Hickman has never done primarily comedic and interpersonal plots before, even if it's not necessarily the first thing you'd associate with him; look at the aforementioned Manhattan Projects, his delightful New Mutants, or the times his X-Men became the Summers family sitcom. But this was the first time I've found myself wishing he'd sacked off the ambitious superstructure altogether and just let that bit breathe.
When Hickman creates new characters, on the other hand...apart from what's implicit in the title, I can't remember a single thing about a single character in Decorum. And again, the same holds true when he adds to an existing universe, where he tends to create characters who have more structural significance than personality, cyphers like the Black Order and the mutants of Arakko, who more often than not have either an all-white or all-black look. And yes, on that cover – not one, not two, but three new characters all in white! Who, once we get underway, are revealed to be but representatives of a whole hundred! Oh, joy.
So what is G.O.D.S.? Well, if you're expecting the acronym ever to be explained, it isn't. Possibly because, having bequeathed his beloved data pages to the Krakoa office, Hickman is here operating without their support, bar one that sneaks in to the penultimate issue. The obvious answer would be gods, who have of course been knocking about the Marvel Universe since its foundation, but Thor et al are barely glimpsed. I'd been under the impression that it was a reworking of cosmic entities like Eternity, which had itself seemed like a bad idea when Al Ewing has not long since done the best work on them we're likely to see for at least a generation. Well, perhaps fortunately, it's not even really about them either, though we do get Oblivion knocking around in a manky woolly hat, a bit of the Living Tribunal, and a role for living Britpop earworm the In-Betweener.
Mainly, though, this is the story of the human representatives of the-Powers-That-Be and the-Natural-Order-of-Things. The former are magic and the latter science, kind of. Representing the interests of the first, Wyn, the guy on the cover who looks unhelpfully like a sexier Doctor Strange, especially awkward when Strange is here too; there's even a variant cover poking fun at the resemblance. For the other, the aforementioned hundred in white, the Centum, though mainly Aiko. Who, helpfully for dramatic purposes, is Wyn's ex. And that's the most unexpected thing here, that the more personal G.O.D.S. gets, the more rewarding it is. The cosmic angle that you'd think would be right up Hickman's street mostly ends up feeling vague and/or overfamiliar; the rival hidden forces on Earth are basically Unknown Armies minus the scuzz and bite. There are occasional great moments and images, sure, but it only reliably gets into gear once we're into the day to day of Wyn's weird fixer role, where he and sidekick Dmitri are somewhere between a more personable Sapphire & Steel and a PG John Constantine, wheeling and dealing, mixing the occasional deployment of real power with a gift for knowing just which small intervention to make when, who to ask for what favour. And then once you entangle that with the romance plot, it really starts to sing. It's not like Hickman has never done primarily comedic and interpersonal plots before, even if it's not necessarily the first thing you'd associate with him; look at the aforementioned Manhattan Projects, his delightful New Mutants, or the times his X-Men became the Summers family sitcom. But this was the first time I've found myself wishing he'd sacked off the ambitious superstructure altogether and just let that bit breathe.
December 9, 2024
First of all - I'm a Hickman fan, only missing Secret Warriors Omnibus and Ultimate Invasion, that I know of. I love his work since his Avengers/New Avengers run, up to Secret Wars. I read his work because I like how he does it, so I came to this book knowing what to expect.
As usual, he delivers.
I didn't know the hype behind G.O.D.S. (having discovered it just through Amazon), so I came fairly fresh to this tome. It isn't so much a "reordering" of the cosmic forces; it's more like a tour through a modernized version of the cosmic landscape. Think classic Doctor Strange, narrated by Jonathan Hickman. The concepts are complex and well thought-of, but they are shown through the eyes of the characters, be they deeply, painfully human, or otherwise.
The main characters - Wyn and Aiko - are so lovable that I had to search if they were established previously in other works (they weren't). I won't spoil it; suffice it to say, this is a love story about an avatar of Magic and an agent of Science.
Why not 5 stars? Being a limited series, I think it really lacked some kind of presentation to some of the cosmic forces that appear through the book; even some kind of appendix would suffice. Anyway, if I could, it would be 4.5/5.
As usual, he delivers.
I didn't know the hype behind G.O.D.S. (having discovered it just through Amazon), so I came fairly fresh to this tome. It isn't so much a "reordering" of the cosmic forces; it's more like a tour through a modernized version of the cosmic landscape. Think classic Doctor Strange, narrated by Jonathan Hickman. The concepts are complex and well thought-of, but they are shown through the eyes of the characters, be they deeply, painfully human, or otherwise.
The main characters - Wyn and Aiko - are so lovable that I had to search if they were established previously in other works (they weren't). I won't spoil it; suffice it to say, this is a love story about an avatar of Magic and an agent of Science.
Why not 5 stars? Being a limited series, I think it really lacked some kind of presentation to some of the cosmic forces that appear through the book; even some kind of appendix would suffice. Anyway, if I could, it would be 4.5/5.
August 12, 2025
-Algunas personas se toman todo personal.
Hay dos facciones en el universo Marvel, de las cuales yo no sabia nada, los Poderes Fácticos con su Avatar y El Orden Natural de Todo con el Centum y sus primordiales. La primera supervisa todo lo mágico y la segunda lo científico. 8 números que nos traen monstruos, magia, científicos locos, y un par de fines del mundo.
LO BUENO: Yo soy Hickmanista...disfrute todo su EAST OF WEST, FANTASTIC FOUR,X-MEN...y el tipo me lanza conceptos novedosos, diálogos afilados, buenos personajes, historias mas grandes que la vida, y acá, esta el Evento Babilonia, muerte y Armagedón por aquí y por allá. Las mil vueltas de los primeros números, el viaje a ver al tribunal viviente...El Olvido es un enemigo que da miedo...y súmale el arte de Valerio Schiti, que es una maquina, con unos diseños hermosos, paginas que te quitan el aliento y podrías enmarcar y dejar en cualquier museo el viaje en el tiempo...).
LO MALO: Como Hickmanista, se que el tipo a veces crea los megaconceptos y estos se quedan por el camino ( GENOSHA ,THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS y la que me duele en el alma, THE BLACK MONDAY MURDERS ) y esta se ubica en este grupo...¿Wyn aparecerá en un futuro?, ¿Qué paso con INBETWEENER?, esto no era para 08 números, era mínimo 12...o mas, y es una lastima, quería que se tomaran mas tiempo para contar los años perdidos, la guerra final quien gano...cosas así.
Hay dos facciones en el universo Marvel, de las cuales yo no sabia nada, los Poderes Fácticos con su Avatar y El Orden Natural de Todo con el Centum y sus primordiales. La primera supervisa todo lo mágico y la segunda lo científico. 8 números que nos traen monstruos, magia, científicos locos, y un par de fines del mundo.
LO BUENO: Yo soy Hickmanista...disfrute todo su EAST OF WEST, FANTASTIC FOUR,X-MEN...y el tipo me lanza conceptos novedosos, diálogos afilados, buenos personajes, historias mas grandes que la vida, y acá, esta el Evento Babilonia, muerte y Armagedón por aquí y por allá. Las mil vueltas de los primeros números, el viaje a ver al tribunal viviente...El Olvido es un enemigo que da miedo...y súmale el arte de Valerio Schiti, que es una maquina, con unos diseños hermosos, paginas que te quitan el aliento y podrías enmarcar y dejar en cualquier museo el viaje en el tiempo...).
LO MALO: Como Hickmanista, se que el tipo a veces crea los megaconceptos y estos se quedan por el camino ( GENOSHA ,THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS y la que me duele en el alma, THE BLACK MONDAY MURDERS ) y esta se ubica en este grupo...¿Wyn aparecerá en un futuro?, ¿Qué paso con INBETWEENER?, esto no era para 08 números, era mínimo 12...o mas, y es una lastima, quería que se tomaran mas tiempo para contar los años perdidos, la guerra final quien gano...cosas así.
November 4, 2025
G.O.D.S. by Jonathan Hickman is a reimagining of the cosmology of the Marvel comics Universe on a nerds version of the DnD alignment chart. Instead of good-evil and order-chaos it's good-evil, magic-science, and birth-death and there are gods for each. The book follows Wyn, an avatar for The-Powers-That-Be (I think they're the Magic god), who's wife becomes a Centivar for The-Natural-Order-Of-Things (The science god). These two gods had a war a long time ago but now there's peace.
These kinds of characters in comic-book universes have never really interested me. The big vague cosmologies of these universes just never clicked so while this book is really well written and all the characters are complex and likeable, I can't help but notice that the book which set out to rework the cosmology of the Marvel Universe avoided that almost entirely. A bunch of names like the above were thrown out and then usually ignored for more interesting plot lines.
I feel like if the gods factions in this book were changed out for some other kind of weird organisations the author would have been able to tell the exact same story without having to come up with another DnD alignment chart cosmology.
In short, it was a fun read but not it personally didn't seem worth the price of comics these days. However, some comic book readers really enjoy these kinds of stories so if you're a Doctor Strange/Scarlet Witch/Magic Marvel fan this book is made for you.
These kinds of characters in comic-book universes have never really interested me. The big vague cosmologies of these universes just never clicked so while this book is really well written and all the characters are complex and likeable, I can't help but notice that the book which set out to rework the cosmology of the Marvel Universe avoided that almost entirely. A bunch of names like the above were thrown out and then usually ignored for more interesting plot lines.
I feel like if the gods factions in this book were changed out for some other kind of weird organisations the author would have been able to tell the exact same story without having to come up with another DnD alignment chart cosmology.
In short, it was a fun read but not it personally didn't seem worth the price of comics these days. However, some comic book readers really enjoy these kinds of stories so if you're a Doctor Strange/Scarlet Witch/Magic Marvel fan this book is made for you.
January 20, 2025
A generous four stars. I got done with this and said to my partner, “I don’t know why I read this…” and that isn’t entirely untrue. I felt like I was devoid of a context I realize I was never missing out on because it doesn’t exist. As a new attempt to add in another layer of mythology and god-like powers to the Marvel Universe, I assumed this was grounded in some past briefly-mentioned characters but other than Strange, most of this seems generated from whole-cloth. That Hickman’s writing and characters are compelling enough to keep me reading when I feel like I’m not understanding is a testament to its effectiveness and provocativeness. I do think threading this into any of the current Marvel stories would have been more interesting — I kept expecting some crossover with the Eternals or the omega mutants or something. Wynn also seems so similar to King’s Mister Miracle or other recent “cool and always effective” heroes, but that his love was adrift didn’t seem like much of a setback for him. I also expected more with the Dimitri subplot — especially some sort of clarification about his handheld AI system and his relationship with his parents. What was there felt very rushed.
May 10, 2025
Gotta say I’m a little disappointed in this one. I love Hickman’s Avengers run and Ultimate Spider-Man, but I didn’t quite see what he was getting at here. The two “opposing” factions of the Powers-That-Be and the Natural-Order-of-Things spent a majority of the 10 issues working together, not in opposition.
Due to the short nature of the series, we never get a clear picture of what each faction really does. The Powers’ avatar Wyn seems more like a redraft of Doctor Strange with no particular skill set to set him apart. He fights magic evil-doers (often with Strange himself) without a solid goal in mind. He upholds a set of undefined rules while letting a coven of evil monsters continue to sacrifice homeless men to cosmic horrors.
Meanwhile the Natural Order spends its time doing… science, whatever that means. They don’t stop people from practicing magic, nor do they have a specific secret or formula they are attempting to unlock.
I have no doubt these ideas would have been fully explored and fleshed out had Hickman been given the opportunity, but the unfortunate truth is that he wasn’t, and the story suffers greatly because of it.
Due to the short nature of the series, we never get a clear picture of what each faction really does. The Powers’ avatar Wyn seems more like a redraft of Doctor Strange with no particular skill set to set him apart. He fights magic evil-doers (often with Strange himself) without a solid goal in mind. He upholds a set of undefined rules while letting a coven of evil monsters continue to sacrifice homeless men to cosmic horrors.
Meanwhile the Natural Order spends its time doing… science, whatever that means. They don’t stop people from practicing magic, nor do they have a specific secret or formula they are attempting to unlock.
I have no doubt these ideas would have been fully explored and fleshed out had Hickman been given the opportunity, but the unfortunate truth is that he wasn’t, and the story suffers greatly because of it.
July 31, 2024
If not for Doctor Strange, it'd be easy to class this as an Image book, honestly. Jonathan Hickman introduces two new massive concepts to help try and classify the way the Marvel Universe works, throwing in a lot of new characters and a universe ending threat along the way in only the way that he can.
It definitely feels like this was meant to be more than it was. There's a feeling, especially in the last two issues, that everything was being wrapped up quickly. There are still loose ends and characters out there, but I definitely think this didn't run as long as Hickman wanted it to. I guess people don't enjoy his high concept storytelling as much when it's not about the Avengers.
It does look beautiful though, because he snagged Valerio Schiti to draw these eight issues. Schiti's gone from strength to strength, and GODS is another in a cap that's essentially more feather than cap these days anyway.
Clever, probably even better on a re-read, and poignant. A classic Hickman book, just highly truncated, unfortunately.
It definitely feels like this was meant to be more than it was. There's a feeling, especially in the last two issues, that everything was being wrapped up quickly. There are still loose ends and characters out there, but I definitely think this didn't run as long as Hickman wanted it to. I guess people don't enjoy his high concept storytelling as much when it's not about the Avengers.
It does look beautiful though, because he snagged Valerio Schiti to draw these eight issues. Schiti's gone from strength to strength, and GODS is another in a cap that's essentially more feather than cap these days anyway.
Clever, probably even better on a re-read, and poignant. A classic Hickman book, just highly truncated, unfortunately.
August 15, 2024
G.O.D.S. started off strong, with great artwork and engaging writing but ended up not really going anywhere for me. The first four issues introduce the primary cast and place them in a high stakes story about a primordial being - who is a defining aspect of the universe - attempting to destroy reality. And then the last 4 issues tell character based tales that just sort of skip over that boiling pot of a storyline from the first half of the series. They resolve the story without ever telling it. And the more character driven stories lacked any real punch for me because I wasn't sufficiently invested in the characters. I'd only had 4 issues to get to know them and those issues were more focused on plot and mystery than on deep character development.
If this ends up being a prelude to a larger Marvel event that deals with the events from the first 4 issues, then I might revisit my opinion. But until then, I'm left feeling disappointed that something that started off with so much potential went nowhere.
If this ends up being a prelude to a larger Marvel event that deals with the events from the first 4 issues, then I might revisit my opinion. But until then, I'm left feeling disappointed that something that started off with so much potential went nowhere.
October 27, 2024
I love Hickman world building. I love weird one-off stories that would encompass entire seasons of television being used to make a singular point of motivation.
I love the idea of drawing back the curtain on the unspoken all-powerful that roam in Marvel's ethereal realms. I dig that shit and eat it up for breakfast.
Add in some career-defining artwork by Schiti and you have a recipe for something amazing.
But good god does the ending of this mini series feel rushed. It feels like the potential of Hickman's Decorum all over again as we have quick resolutions to things glossed over in a few panels, and a reset of the status quo leaving the reader wanting more.
And, unfortunately, Hickman has a tendency to leave a dead series where it lies, no matter the company behind it. I may have loved this series and had my fingers crossed it would run for another 40 issues, but thats an unlikely reality.
All the same, you could keep worse company than G.O.D.S. in 2024, and I'm quite pleased I have it in my collection.
3.5/5 stars
I love the idea of drawing back the curtain on the unspoken all-powerful that roam in Marvel's ethereal realms. I dig that shit and eat it up for breakfast.
Add in some career-defining artwork by Schiti and you have a recipe for something amazing.
But good god does the ending of this mini series feel rushed. It feels like the potential of Hickman's Decorum all over again as we have quick resolutions to things glossed over in a few panels, and a reset of the status quo leaving the reader wanting more.
And, unfortunately, Hickman has a tendency to leave a dead series where it lies, no matter the company behind it. I may have loved this series and had my fingers crossed it would run for another 40 issues, but thats an unlikely reality.
All the same, you could keep worse company than G.O.D.S. in 2024, and I'm quite pleased I have it in my collection.
3.5/5 stars
November 21, 2024
This is what I want from superhero comics. It's the feeling of being a kid absorbing the wild ideas of my dad's Silver Age comics, mixed with the new possibilities I got from Vertigo, etc. as a young adult, with a sensibility that works for me today.
Hickman is in full Big Idea mode here, with a new cosmology of magic and science. Amazingly, it doesn't require any background knowledge of other Marvel characters at all.
The only flaw is that it tries to do too much for just 8 issues, and it has to abandon some of it. The big epic promised in the first couple issues gives way to some personal plot arcs and one-off issues fleshing out the greater picture, and then it ties things off fairly effectively with a conclusion that doesn't leave too much room for future stories. But really, this means the "problem" is that Hickman is bold enough to take big swings without worrying about the risk of missing, and that he gives us one volume that feels like a summary of the 10-year epic that the market never would have let us have. I'm very glad to have this glimpse of it.
Hickman is in full Big Idea mode here, with a new cosmology of magic and science. Amazingly, it doesn't require any background knowledge of other Marvel characters at all.
The only flaw is that it tries to do too much for just 8 issues, and it has to abandon some of it. The big epic promised in the first couple issues gives way to some personal plot arcs and one-off issues fleshing out the greater picture, and then it ties things off fairly effectively with a conclusion that doesn't leave too much room for future stories. But really, this means the "problem" is that Hickman is bold enough to take big swings without worrying about the risk of missing, and that he gives us one volume that feels like a summary of the 10-year epic that the market never would have let us have. I'm very glad to have this glimpse of it.
February 2, 2025
GODS is basically Hickman wanting to write The Magic Order except he's under contract with Marvel, so he slots Doctor Strange into his pre-planned storyline. Mind you, it still works quite well. We follow Wyn, an avatar of the god of magic (or something like the god of magic). There's also a god of science (or something like that) who has a set of followers.
The eight issues are mostly standalones, the only overarching plot being a vague battle occurring with other godly figures, like the In-Betweener and the Living Tribunal. It's hard to make GODS sound good in a review, because it truly is disjointed and strange and barely tethered to the Marvel universe. But it's also Hickman at the helm and Valeri Schitti on the art, so individual moments and characters are fantastic and everything looks gorgeous.
I hope Marvel returns to this universe someday, maybe with a more straightforward plot. At the very least, bring back Wyn so he can keep being a sassier Strange.
The eight issues are mostly standalones, the only overarching plot being a vague battle occurring with other godly figures, like the In-Betweener and the Living Tribunal. It's hard to make GODS sound good in a review, because it truly is disjointed and strange and barely tethered to the Marvel universe. But it's also Hickman at the helm and Valeri Schitti on the art, so individual moments and characters are fantastic and everything looks gorgeous.
I hope Marvel returns to this universe someday, maybe with a more straightforward plot. At the very least, bring back Wyn so he can keep being a sassier Strange.
September 19, 2024
I hate to not love a Jonathan Hickman Marvel comic, but I did not love this.
But I'm not convinced that Hickman and/or Marvel knew what it was. It describes itself as a reinvention of the Marvel Universe cosmology, and it's very much not. Oh, we get a couple of the cosmic entities in new forms, but not many, and not in very complete stories. Most of it is just a trite: there's two organizations, one for magic and one for science.
It goes further than that: I'm not convinced there's a story here. It's certainly not cohesive, then #7 comes along and knocks the feet out beneath our cast (and not in a good way) and then #8 is a meandering mess. What exactly was the point? Where was the beginning, middle, and end?
There are some good new characters here, and I would have loved to see Hickman _actually_ reinvent the cosmology of the Marvel Universe. I honestly have no idea what this was.
But I'm not convinced that Hickman and/or Marvel knew what it was. It describes itself as a reinvention of the Marvel Universe cosmology, and it's very much not. Oh, we get a couple of the cosmic entities in new forms, but not many, and not in very complete stories. Most of it is just a trite: there's two organizations, one for magic and one for science.
It goes further than that: I'm not convinced there's a story here. It's certainly not cohesive, then #7 comes along and knocks the feet out beneath our cast (and not in a good way) and then #8 is a meandering mess. What exactly was the point? Where was the beginning, middle, and end?
There are some good new characters here, and I would have loved to see Hickman _actually_ reinvent the cosmology of the Marvel Universe. I honestly have no idea what this was.
June 13, 2024
This was cool. I've heard it billed as Marvel's Sandman but I don't think that's true. It's clearly setup for something much larger, probably some big event in the future. If I had to compare it to something, I think it might be a toned down Planetary. It's got that same operating behind the scenes vibe. Not as big in scope though. It's about Wyn operating on one side and his ex on the other side but neither side is really defined so it's not good vs. evil. Each issue is largely its own story and it kind of skirts around bigger things. This wasn't earth shattering but I did like it. Dr. Strange is in it throughout and some minor cosmic characters like the In-Betweener and the Living Tribunal. And it gave me some of those vibes from when Hickman started writing the Avengers. Valerio Schitti's art is really good.
August 15, 2024
Ever read something, finish, and then wonder what you just read?
This is that thing...times 10.
I'm only presuming Hickman has a plan for the cosmic entities/gods of the MU. Forget all that Silver Surfer mumbo jumbo from the 90s. Personifications are sooooooooo old money. This is supposed to be a chance to impress the new readers. Instead, you anchor the story around a mortal avatar of these beings...(think a more readable Gambit) and the love of his life...who just happen to have polar opposite duties with these universal beings. Forbidden love. We've heard that story before, right?
Follow their story of love, life , war, peace, and death...
-------
Bonus: Don't mind the cliffhanger. I'm sure Hickman is laying groundwork for something BIG
Bonus Bonus: Look! It has Doctor Strange. It MUST be about magics and universal constants, yeah?
This is that thing...times 10.
I'm only presuming Hickman has a plan for the cosmic entities/gods of the MU. Forget all that Silver Surfer mumbo jumbo from the 90s. Personifications are sooooooooo old money. This is supposed to be a chance to impress the new readers. Instead, you anchor the story around a mortal avatar of these beings...(think a more readable Gambit) and the love of his life...who just happen to have polar opposite duties with these universal beings. Forbidden love. We've heard that story before, right?
Follow their story of love, life , war, peace, and death...
-------
Bonus: Don't mind the cliffhanger. I'm sure Hickman is laying groundwork for something BIG
Bonus Bonus: Look! It has Doctor Strange. It MUST be about magics and universal constants, yeah?
October 4, 2024
Very interesting. It will be neat to see how this stuff plays out. I'd like to see more of Ser Reddwyn of the Worldtree or Wyn (there's a funny variant cover by Skottie Young that basically equates him with Dr. Strange, and I can certainly see the resemblance). There are echoes of The Sandman running through this story, with the ongoing battle or detente between science and magic, or the Natural Order of Things and the Powers That Be. I can also see the comparison to Planetary and to other Hickman Image works. I am a bit confused, though. I guess I thought this was going to be the re-setting of the Ultimates universe, but everything here suggests this is the regular Marvel universe. If that's so, that's a pretty big order. This is a big, ambitious book and the artwork is well-handled by Valerio Schiti. Definitely worth a read.
November 9, 2025
Marte Garcia does some of the finest, most vivid colour work in this book that I’ve seen in a good few years. Just a feast for the eyes, bringing Schiti’s stunning art to life. As for the story? Hickman brings a fascinating, if slightly bamboozling, tale to readers, challenging us to keep up with his high concepts, time jumps, and huge cast of characters. Like much of his work for me, it appeals to the mind rather than the heart. I enjoyed it nonetheless, but if you asked me to explain it to you, I’d surely struggle. I do give him huge kudos for his sheer audacity here—this is a huge, fascinating tale, and though I struggled at times to understand the significance of certain things, I couldn’t stop turning the pages once I got into it. Perhaps if I understood it all a little better, I’d give it 5 stars rather than 4.5.
September 6, 2024
I had eagerly awaited this book, having listened to interviews and heard the plan of how these would transform the Marvel myths. The first few instalments certainly started strong - beautifully drawn and coloured and an epic story unfolding.
But then it just disappeared. I felt completely lost in the second half, unsure what was happening or where we were going. Character led stories where you weren’t invested in the character yet and the main plot was left. And then a clumsily wrapped up ending that seems to put a lid on things without them ever getting started.
Hickman is a genius, but it feels like his wings were clipped here to prevent too big a change. Which is a shame, because this could have been great.
But then it just disappeared. I felt completely lost in the second half, unsure what was happening or where we were going. Character led stories where you weren’t invested in the character yet and the main plot was left. And then a clumsily wrapped up ending that seems to put a lid on things without them ever getting started.
Hickman is a genius, but it feels like his wings were clipped here to prevent too big a change. Which is a shame, because this could have been great.
October 26, 2024
GODs feels like Hickman’s version of Alan Moore’s Promethea with better storytelling—however, I am unsure if the addition these characters play enrich or just add a layer of unnecessary convulsion to the greater Marvel mythos. Were this a book published by Marvel but not set in the mainline continuity, GODS would feel more poignant to me as I would feel I could take the book solely on its terms instead of trying to rectify the implications of this story with the crossover events that tie into this. It is hard to know whether these characters will retain a key influence in Marvel comics or if they will become another example of a Marvel title that introduces some interesting concepts but fades into obscurity for all but the most diehard fans.
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