Turns out there ARE ghosts, in all the machines. But whose job is it to fight them? Your Major Spoilers review of Goddess Mode #2 awaits!
GODDESS MODE #2
Writer: Zoë Quinn
Artist: Robbi Rodriguez
Colorist: Rico Renzi
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Editor: Andy Khouri
Publisher: Vertigo/DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 16, 2019
Previously in Goddess Mode: Dragged violently into a secret world of monsters, magic, and metadata, Cassandra is asked to join the group of superpowered girls who saved her in their fight against the mysterious Daemons. But Cassandra has so many questions of her own to answer first: Why was she attacked? What is the omnipotent Hermeticorp up to? And most importantly, who are these girls anyway?
“A MONSTER TRIES TO EAT ME, SO… I ATE IT BACK?”
Moments after the end of last issue, we open with Cassandra Price, who was attacked by a strange monster being dragged away from the scene of her transformation by three other glowing, possibly super-powered woman. The explanations come hot and heavy from that point, as we find that they’re INSIDE the Azoth Network (which seems to be like an immersive internet) and that the creatures attacking them are Daemons. More than that, when Cassandra successfully defeated the one that would have eaten her, she became more than human, transforming into ‘The Oracle of Trash.’ One desperate race later, they’ve returned to reality in a sleazy dive bar, where the introductions take place: Farrah St. Germaine is the Oracle of Overflow, Tatyanna Cole the Oracle of Noise and Mary Levy the Oracle of Interpretation. Their explanations send Cassandra into a panic, but Mary manages to snag her long enough to explain that, now that she’s an Oracle, she kind of doesn’t have any choice about fighting. Case in point, all four Oracles are once again summoned into their digital world, with a really shocking final page.
WILD, CREATIVE VISUALS
Visually speaking, I love Rodriguez’ art throughout the book, giving us strong character designs not only for the Oracles but for their normal human forms. The use of deep pinks and purples and hypercolor production enhance the story being told and give a retro 80s feel fitting the story. The story’s use of the language of early cyberpunk could have been too familiar, but there are enough twists here to make it feel fresh fresh, and I really enjoy the voices and dialogue of our characters. The sheer amount of words on the page is also reminiscent of the comics of the 1980s, but it works for me as a reader. This issue (and #1 as well) suffers a bit from having SO VERY MUCH world-building to do and so much information to reveal, as the creators have clearly spent a lot of time establishing the rules and characters of the Azoth Network and associated dimensions.
BOTTOM LINE: A LOT TO TAKE IN, BUT IT ALL SEEMS INTRIGUING
Weirdly, this book successfully takes a lot of the bits and pieces that I DIDN’T like in ‘Ready Player One’ and uses them in different, enjoyable ways. Goddess Mode #2 is full to the brim with interesting information, dialogue and character beats, and reads smoothly with top-notch art and a bright color palette combining to make every page a visual explosion, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. I don’t know if it’s a book for everybody, but I can tell you that there’s a lot to love, and it’s definitely a book for me.
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GODDESS MODE #2
Wild, inventive and visually fascinating with perhaps a bit too much story for the number of pages given.
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Writing7
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Art8
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Coloring7
