Issue 7
It is difficult to jump into issue 7, but there are plenty
of contextual clues to help me understand. Laura is distant and quite upset,
she is really struggling with the things going on at the expo, and the loss of an important friend. More so she is
tired of all the shenanigans. Everything is brightly colored, the gods all have
different colors for their text bubbles. There is a mystery to the fanatic that
could potentially cause a lot of trouble for Laura, and the other Gods that
have not died yet. I can't wait to see if she tracks down the murderer and if any of the Gods die in the next floppy.
Issue 8
The next issue is where the party takes place. It is all really brightly colored, and the panels are very rigid in their design. When Laura is invited into the warehouse for the party she is on the outside of everyone while the party goers are on acid, or some version of drug that creates the same affect. It comes from the God, one touch to forget all fears and worries. The characters are all running away from an ominous force, and choose to forget those feelings be being in an induced state of happiness. While Laura is on “drugs” there is a consistent count of 1.. 2.. 3.. 4.. throughout the entirety of her episode. These sections are extremely bright and show her lost in the feelings. One of the heaviest moments is when the whole party crashes, or comes down from the stuff in their system. The mood changes, the atmosphere is gone, the color, everyone is slouching and confused. All until it get started up again by the touch of the God running around. His background seems to hold a lot of pain for him, not sleeping, never being alone with his own thoughts. He will not face his fears while he can be in an induced state of happiness. Everything in contrast is grey and gloomy, the colors are dark and upsetting. The author touches upon many prevalent ideas about the drug culture and the way it affects its users during its height. It does not however show the after affects as clearly. There is not much time spent on it besides the colors that are used to contrast the episodes. Laura is caught up in the twisting storylines and seems to find herself in these dangerous and thrilling encounters.
Issue 9
The next issue changes perspective as it begins to follow a reporter, someone that the audience has seen with Laura previously. This story line predominantly takes place at a temple of sorts with a lady by the name of Headmistress. She seems to not be a God, but takes care of them and guides them. She has powers still but is not one of the twelve. This importance of this section is the reporter Cassandra is at the temple to interview the Headmistress and find answers for deaths. There is a major twist as the Headmistress reveals Cassandra’s identity to herself as the missing God that was lying dormant inside of her. She was the last one to complete the circle. There are lots of moments of self-awareness and discovery. This comic series plays on the ideas of death and loss. It is in strict contrast with the issue previously but still shows the development of the characters. Cassandra turns into Urdr, the last God, and Laura ends the issue on the couch crying that everything has gone terribly wrong. This series plays on the emotions of humans and Gods alike, revealing a sense of empathy for the characters. Especially as all of their lives are ticking time bombs for the next two years as the pantheon is currently complete. The pantheon is represented in the circle of twelve.