For centuries, a warrior has reincarnated over and over to combat threats even the gods could not defeat. Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Devi #1 awaits!
DEVI #1
Writer: Siddartha Kotian
Penciler: Mukesh Singh
Inker: Mukesh Singh
Colorist: Nanjan J
Letterer: B.S. Ravikiran
Editor: MacKenzie Cadenhead
Publisher: Virgin Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $3.00
Release Date: October 7, 2006
Previously in Devi: In the 2nd century of mankind’s arrival on Earth, the gods of light took up arms against one of their own. Bala, a fallen dark god, had rejected the old ways of the pantheon and sought to impose his dominion over mankind. Feeding off the forced worship of men, Bala grew too powerful for the pantheon to combat alone. So, the pure gods each sacrificed a part of themselves to create a powerful entity, fierce feminine warrior stronger than the gods themselves, she is reincarnated into the body of a human woman each time a great threat faces the Pantheon. She is Devi.
Our story proper beings in the Second Century.
It’s a scene right out of The Ten Commandments, or possibly Diablo III, but as the most powerful army ever assembled prepares to breach the fortress of the wicked Lord Bala, Bala himself is unimpressed. His godly brethren have united with the humans to fight off his army, but he believes that even the gods themselves have nothing to oppose his personal strength. When told of the Devi by his most trusted lieutenant, Bala sneers that no “mere woman” can oppose his might.
Taking to the battlefield personally, Lord Bala squares off with the chosen warrior, ready to rip her apart in front of god and man alike.
On the one hand, I’m not a fan of making antagonist characters into reprehensible jerks in every aspect, but Bala’s sexism and jackwagonry get an immediate response when Devi flexes her own mystical might.
Not gonna lie, it’s pretty satisfactory.
Empowered by ALL the gods, Devi possesses sufficient power to bring him down, remanding him to his father for punishment. Bala is dissipated, but the gods refuse Devi’s offer to return the power they have given her, instead warning her that she must be ever vigilant for his possible return.
Singh’s interior art feels like it would be at home in a Dynamite or Zenescope comic, including some impressive vistas and backgrounds. The figure work is somewhat stylized/elongated, but it does avoid some of the stretchy/bloopy/squishy grotesqueries that pop up in other independent publishers of the era.
After Lord Bala is exiled, we cut forward 1800 years or so, where another woman warrior is making a name for herself in present-day Tokyo.
Known as an assassin, Kratha is a bit surprised to find that a voice on the other end of the phone is aware of her dirty little secret: She isn’t human at all. And she’s able to fight off an army of ninjas and murder her target without even putting down her cell phone, which could bode ill for whoever is on the other end of the phone.
I mean, we all see where this is going, yeah?
What’s interesting to me about this first issue is that we don’t get even a hint of Devi’s modern host/incarnation, Tara Mehti, in these pages. The story does give us a lot of time with Devi herself, though, implying that there may be a Billy Batson/Captain Marvel thing going on in the coming months.
The story of Virgin Comics is one of synergistic hope, formed as it was out of a collaboration between new-age guru Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, millionaire polymath Richard Branson, and the largest comic publisher in South Asia, Gotham Entertainment. With Devi as one of their core titles, Virgin made a splash in 2006, serving to bridge the pop culture of the U.S. with Indian comics and culture, seeking to pull, by their own description, “a global audience.” The Virgin imprint was renamed and restructured in 2008, Despite that lack of permanence, my assessment of this individual comic is that Devi #1 is a pretty solid bit of comics that ends up feeling a little bit slight due to the pacing but rounds out to 3.5 stars out of 5 overall.
As a casual fan and someone who was working in a comic book store during part of Virgin Comics’ run, I always thought that the painted covers stood out from other titles on the stands, but didn’t necessarily make it easy to differentiate individual issues of their titles from one another. Combine that with this issue’s very deliberate pacing, and I can understand some of the difficulties Virgin Comics experienced in finding traction with audiences, despite the interesting content and approach.
Dear Spoilerite,
At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.DEVI #1
As first chapters go, it's got potential, but I wonder if the pacing contributed to the short run.
-
Writing7
-
Art7
-
Coloring8