Publisher: Image Comics
Released: September 21st 2016
Received: Own
Rating: 
1831 is a short story that belongs to the world of the Wicked + the Divine; though the setting and cast (well, most of the cast) are different. It’s set in nineteenth century (you may be shocked to hear that it was likely set in exactly 1831), with a different set of humans showing us the reincarnated gods. Everyone with the exception of Ananke is different, and not every god/goddess is shown.
This was a really interesting take for a prequel. It doesn’t exactly tell us anything new, but it does shine a light on some things we may have previously glossed over. It was fun seeing the gender swapped gods (well, gender swapped again in some cases?) and the slightly different temperaments and hobbies taken up.
I read this slightly out of order, but I still have some passing theories about the story that was told here. There are a couple of potential theories we can run off of. One theory is to look at this as further proof that Ananke does whatever she wants – and that she has been plotting something for centuries. The other way to look at this? The potential creation of the Destroyer perhaps? We know something new was created; though up until this point I actually had the feeling that the Destroyer was something Ananke had been dealing with for quite a bit longer than this, but time is funny like that.
I wouldn’t mind seeing more short stories like these, even if the endings will all likely be as depressing (kind of hard to avoid the bit where they all are supposed to die after two years). It’s fun seeing the world through a new artists’ eyes and a slightly different interpretation.
