A war has been raging between the gods in a far off land. But now that fight has come to earth. Your Major Spoilers review of Ordinary Gods #1 from Image Comics, awaits!
ORDINARY GODS #1
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Artist: Felipe Watanabe
Colorist: Frank William
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Michael Busuttil
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 7th, 2021
Previously in Ordinary Gods: The Luminary. The Prodigy. The Brute. The Trickster. The Innovator. Five gods from a realm beyond our own, leaders in the “War of Immortals.” At least, they were, before they were trapped, sent to a planet made into a prison, forced into an endless cycle of human death and reincarnation.
I PREDICT MORE THERAPY IN THE FUTURE
Ordinary Gods #1 opens up in Japan in the middle of what appears to be a hit on a yakuza boss. A single man chases down his target, eventually wounding the boss’ bodyguard. The assassin tries to explain he’s not there to kill him, but before he can his own bodyguard kills him. After this the comic then bounces back and forth between two plots, one set in the past and one in the present. In the past plot, it explains that there is another world that’s broken up into lands based on personality traits. Each land is controlled by a god, and the gods are controlled by The One King. Five of the gods lead a rebellion against the others and The One King. Eventually they create Earth as a prison for the gods but it winds up being used against them. In the present plot, a boy named Christopher attends therapy. Afterwards he takes his sister to get a book at the mall. There he’s approached by a self-help group worker. The next day he’s approached by the same group while doing his job. That night he tells his family what happened and as he does this, his sister attacks.
TWO PLOTS DISTRACTING FROM EACH OTHER
One of the first things to be noticed about Ordinary Gods #1 is just how much it’s trying to do in this issue. It tries to tell the backstory, it tries to introduce a handful of characters, it tries to establish a conflict going forward, it tries to show the core gimmick of this series. But ultimately it doesn’t do any of these things exceedingly well. This is primarily due to the two plotlines going on at the same time. The problem is that because the issue splits its attention between two focuses, some things get left out. For example, it’s never really explained what the group that keeps approaching Christopher is called or if he knows them. They make a vague reference to them later in the issue as if they’re a well-known entity in this universe, but it’s all very unclear. Now, normally I would attribute this to trying to keep a few things close to the chest and adding some intrigue, except the solicitation for this one spells everything out. With all that being said, and considering what is in the solicitation, this is pretty fun concept for a comic, it just gets a bit bogged down here under its own weight.
God Design
The little we do see of the gods in this issue shows that the approach to their design is very superhero inspired with some light mythological flourishes here and there. It’s a good mix. It’ll be interesting to see more of them.
Bottom Line: The Man Who Chases Two Rabbits, Catches Neither
Ordinary Gods #1, introduces readers to a unique take on the “gods living among us” trope. Unfortunately its attempt to fit both the backstory and the current plot into one issue leaves both lacking. 3 out of 5 stars.
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Ordinary Gods #1
Ordinary Gods #1 suffers from trying to do too much with its first issue. But even with a shaky start, the premise is good and shows promise.
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Writing4
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Art8
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Coloring6
At a young age, Jonathan was dragged to a small town in Wisconsin. A small town in Wisconsin that just so happened to have a comic book shop. Faced with a decision to either spend the humid summers and bitter winters traipsing through the pine trees or in climate controlled comfort with tales of adventure, horror, and romance, he chose the latter. Jonathan can often be found playing video games, board games, reading comics and wincing as his “to watch” list grows wildly out of control.