A lot of comics come out every week. Some fall neatly in the the categories “DC” or “Secret Wars” — these comics don’t! Today, we’re discussing Darth Vader 9, Quake S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary 1, Outcast 12, and The Wicked + The Divine 14.

Darth Vader 9

Patrick: My favorite thing about Darth Vader has been Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca’s characterization of the titular anti-hero. He’s a brute, and one kick-ass weapon when he’s pointed at an appropriate target. Unfortunately for Vader, this doesn’t mean that he’s particular good at his job – he’s got no skills for diplomacy or detective work or anything that requires a degree of emotional maturity beyond a sword fight. Generally, the series has found that kind of savvy character in the form of Vader’s superiors — like General Tagge — or in his supplicants — like Dr. Aphra — but this is the first time we’ve really seen him team up with one of these more nuanced agents. Inspector Thanoth is an amazing line-up to the already stellar cast of supporting characters in this series, but I think what I find most attractive about him is the way he picks his battles with Vader. The issue opens on Vader stalking a small band of rebel soldiers on an desolate ice moon in the Anthan system. We don’t get to see the action — everything is implied with a flick of the “on” switch.

This is classic Vader: a pointless showing of his physical strength – and one that could leave him tactically vulnerable. But Inspector Thanoth lets the whole thing slide — even though Vader’s trip wasn’t properly documented! He knows that burdening the big lug with any administrative concerns is going to make him a less effect agent of the Empire. Once they’re in the the core of Anthan Prime, Thanoth more or less directs Vader and lets him off his leash. Their relationship is so casual and cool, both of them seemingly content to allow the other person to be awesome at what they do.Ultimately, Vader is keeping an enormous secret from Thanoth, but I love how Gillen is sort of preemptively ramping up the tension to their inevitable fall-out. Man, it’s gonna be big when they turn on each other!

Quake S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary 1

Shane: When I read this comic, I didn’t even make it to the first page before I was pulled out of the story. Finding myself instantly flabbergasted by the caveat “This issue takes place before Avengers (2010) #20” on the credits page, I had to wonder…why? This was a one-shot about a fairly minor character, and that was an issue in the middle of a fairly tame part at the tail end of Bendis’s run. What was the point to setting it there, rather than just letting this be a timeless issue? But my confusion was settled by page three, as I realized just when in Avengers history this took place. See, for the brief period of half a story arc before Avengers vs. X-Men upset everything, Daisy Johnson was actually a full-fledged Avenger. It felt weird then and feels weird now, with Quake agreeing completely that she’s totally out of her depth as a member of the world’s greatest heroes.

But perhaps that’s precisely why Matthew Rosenberg and Patrick Kindlon set the issue when they did. Of the incarnations of Daisy Johnson, Quake in the comics is very different from Skye in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television show, and in attempting to reconcile the two the writers get to tell a story of not just character exploration, but validation. By taking a brief snapshot of Daisy’s history, when she was so outside her comfort zone, they get to prod into aspects of the character that remain consistent across both continuities, including the sense that, while she may be a highly trained secret agent, she’s still trying to figure out where she stands. Here, that’s contrasted against every Avenger, with the writers smartly placing each character into an archetype — and eventually allowing Daisy to fall into one, as well. Bringing in the Inhumans helps to bridge the gap even further, including a pretty surprising reveal that I don’t want to spoil for anyone that hasn’t read it…but at the very least, it’s a great easter egg for fans of the show.

It’s not a perfect issue — I took issues with a few parts (including Red Hulk landing on an AIM agent and flat out killing him, with blood splattering everywhere — he’s supposed to be an Avenger, on an Avengers mission!) — but it’s fun, with expressive art by Daniel Warren Johnson that can equally sell an interrogation scene and Captain America being covered in Inhuman vomit. That’s my kind of comic.

Outcast 12

Drew: If I had to write a log-line for the first 12 issues of Outcast, it would probably be “The Exorcist via True Detective,” which is certainly enough to hook me. Kyle and Reverend Anderson’s tense partnership has been as central to this series as the demonic possessions, grounding the series’ epistemological questions in the voices of two well-defined characters. Of course, borrowing the pacing of a police procedural (and a particularly meditative one, at that) necessarily bound Kyle and the good Reverend as reactionary players in this series — the most proactive thing they’ve done is resolve to follow up on old cases. All of which makes the final pages of this month’s issue, where Kyle lays out a game plan going forward, all the more thrilling.

That’s a big leap, but writer Robert Kirkman leads Kyle there as procedurally as ever by putting his sister in danger. “This time, it’s personal,” so to speak. He vows to save her (after poignantly reminiscing about saving her the first time), but he’s only moving forward on his terms. No more religious mumbo-jumbo: Kyle is approaching this like a science now, and this issue finds him collecting and compiling vital data.

It may help that this newfound agency comes when Reverend Anderson is at his most doubtful. Kyle’s arrival might be the sign the Reverend was looking for, but it could also mean he needs to let Kyle take the lead. It’s not clear how he’ll take this new direction from Kyle, but its hard to refuse the decidedly harder evidence Kyle is providing. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

The Wicked + The Divine 14

“You’re not stupid, are you? Just evil.”

Cassandra, The Wicked + The Divine 14

Spencer: I know that pulling this quote isn’t exactly original — writer Kieron Gillen even features it on the issue’s back cover — but that doesn’t make it any less significant; it perfectly sums up Woden in two succinct sentences. Woden is somebody who is inherently cruel, selfish, and cowardly. He understands how the world works, and knows that he’s not entitled to anything; he simply takes things because he can. He knows the world’s broken, but also knows that, if he helps fix it, he won’t be alive to enjoy it, so instead he exploits the broken world to his own ends. He helps Ananke carry out unthinkable acts because he’s scared of her. Perhaps most worrisome, Woden knows he’s the bad guy, leading him to loathe himself and, thus, embrace his worst impulses even further. It makes him incredibly dangerous.

This issue spends most of its time revealing how deeply involved Woden’s actually been with the events of the past 13 issues, allowing us to relive those events through his twisted point of view. The art makes that quite literal; Jamie McKelvie illustrates the issue by piecing together and rearranging images from the previous 13 issues (give or take a panel or two borrowed from Sex Criminals), which colorist Matthew Wilson then twists and distorts until we can see these moments as Woden does (and there’s no doubt some irony in the fact that Woden, who is quite likely the most self-aware member of the Pantheon, is the one whose actual vision is distorted). It’s stunning how much McKelvie and Wilson can accomplish with this method; my favorite moment is the spread that pays tribute to the fallen members of the Pantheon while simultaneously showing that Ananke’s tempo is picking up, and that it won’t be long until there’s another headless corpse to deal with.

There’s so much to discuss in this issue, but considering all the revelations and clarifications Woden clues the audience into, I’m perhaps most interested in digging into the new questions they raise. Out of all the Pantheon, why is Dionysus the one Woden considers an enemy? What’s this upcoming war between the Pantheon? Does the fact that Ananke may be trying to stop this war mean that her motives are more benevolent than we once thought (even if her methods are still reprehensible)? Who is the Valkyrie Woden warns on the final page, and what significance does she have? It’s gonna be agonizing waiting to find out.

The conversation doesn’t stop there, because you certainly read something that we didn’t. What do you wanna talk about from this week?