God is Dead #8 (Avatar)

writer: Mike Costa
artist: Juan Frigeri, Rafael Ortiz

First off, that cover looks an awful lot like an Age of Bronze (Eric Shanower's Trojan War epic) cover, but of course it is not.  This is a Jonathan Hickman concept, which he launched himself, and has since passed on to Mike Costa.

Now, obviously if you've read enough of this blog you know I love Costa (I made some fairly creepy comments last time I brought him up in a somewhat funny manner!), though it's been hard finding him in best form in something other than the recently concluded Cobra comics over at IDW.  Part of that is because he hasn't really done much else.  There was his Blackhawks at DC (which, to my own regret I managed to criminally underrate to the point where I waited until after it was cancelled to properly sample), and also Smoke and Mirrors (which for some reason I also chose to skip; I can't explain).

Finally I went for broke and had a look at something well before it disappeared.  And I'm mostly glad I did.  God is Dead is kind of like Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods from the perspective of the gods.  Coming eight issues in, I wasn't really lost, which is a good thing.  I can't say I would go out of my way to read the series again, but it's not really anything to do with whatever Costa did in the issue so much as...basically, Hickman.  Hickman, to my mind, has become notorious for grappling big concepts without really knowing what to do with them.  Maybe Costa can salvage it.  If anyone can, it's Costa.  He's kind of a master of that craft at this point.  Which is almost an argument to have another look, see where he takes it.

So yeah, that's my judgment.  Word to the wise: if for some reason you're considering reading this for yourself and you think you might casually share it with a kid (just go with me here), you may want to think twice.  There will be boobies.

(In some alternate universe, I've just launched a new blog, and it has a name that will bring in a million visitors instantly.)