issue 20 // volume 42

 

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Comic Corner: The fame machine

> ‘The Wicked and The Divine Vol. 1: The Faust Act’ review

yet complex at the same time.
In a fantastical modern world,

Brittney MacDonald
Life and Style Editor

believe their very existence is a
hoax. Throw in a murder mystery

 

OOGSS

ver hear the term “idol

worship?” The Wicked
and The Divine by Kieron
Gillen brings that idea
to a whole new level.

The plot is rather simple,

The art of war

> Martial arts and entertainment

Adam Tatelman
Arts Editor

12 people claim their place as
reincarnated gods, granting
them limitless fame and power.
But there is always a catch. In
this case, all that esteem comes
at the cost of their lives, as the
reincarnated gods only live for
two years. Machinations come
into play as each of the gods
compete for power with one
another and the world. Some

and the ultimate fangirl, and the
stage is set for an all-out war.
The idea for the narrative is
compelling, but the execution
is a little lacklustre. Things
move too quickly, so nothing
really stands out as a key
moment. As you read through
it you constantly feel like
youre missing something
because elements blend

 

M any people think of the

term “martial arts” as an
oxymoron. After all, the purpose
of martial arts is to dedicate one’s
body and mind to a discipline
that evolves through combat,
both simulated and actual. One
would think that this makes
martial arts inherently violent,
and yet many civilizations across
the globe celebrate traditions
of martial arts as performance
and competitive entertainment.
This paradox raises a number
of interesting questions about
the martial arts in relation
to other arts, and even their
status as arts in the first place.

First, it is important to put to

bed the idea that martial arts are
only a sport. While it is true that
they have a sport application,
the focus is not solely on the
athletes in competition. In
arenas like televised boxing,
wrestling, or MMA tournaments,
more attention is certainly paid
to things like win/loss ratios,
sponsorships, and fan-favourite

 

fighters. This resembles any
organized sport, all of which
could be charitably described as
forms of make-believe combat
ritual organized under a different
set of rules. But this is only
one aspect of martial arts. It
would be an error to judge an
ancient tradition by its modern
commercialized incarnation.
This is not to say that sport
is somehow inferior to art. On

the contrary, it is quite noble for
athletes to push their physical
limits and build camaraderie
for the sake of entertainment
and self-improvement. But it
must be recognized that sport
is not necessarily art. There

is a reason why “artist” and
“athlete” are not synonyms. An
artist must be actively trying to
express some idea larger than
merely an individual experience

together. As such, the end of
the novel doesn’t really feel
justified. Instead, it becomes a
convenient plot device to explain
everything that preceded it.
Art-wise, this book is
beautiful. Gifted to us by the
hands of Jamie McKelvie, the
art actually left me wanting
to read the next installation
of this series. To put it very
bluntly, it is perfect. Both
epic and intimate, it conveys

   

Image via projectyourself.com

of training, victory, or loss.
Sport can be the subject of art,
but not the medium. That is
purely a matter of its function.
Compare martial arts with
another hybrid of sport and art:
dance. While there are martial
traditions which evolved out
of dance (and vice versa), their
origins make them very distinct.
Practitioners of either style
may be called both athletes

 

arts // no. 9

*

Image via 4thletter.net

emotion for the plot when the

plot itself fails to pause and

acknowledge its own characters.
I, for one, will probably

read the next volume with

the hope that the current

narrative issues will be fixed.

As for my recommendation,

I would encourage people

to read this if they want

something a little different

and appreciate beautiful art

in their comics off the wall.

and artists, even undergoing
similar training. Some martial
traditions, like Chinese
Wushu, even have exhibition
tournaments, which are decided
on the basis of technique,

just like dance or acrobatics.
The primary difference is

that no dance tournaments
are decided by submission or
TKO, because dance was not
created for self-defence.

Art, however, is not
evaluated through either of these
methods. When an audience
goes to see a show, they will
typically call the performance
good, bad, or sort of okay. This
is not the same as evaluating a
win or loss, even though there
are many rules of presentation.
This is the arena in which martial
arts finally become artistic: when
they are practiced for their own
sake, and others are permitted to
be entertained by that practice,
or not, at their leisure. Sport
statistics are an objective goal.
Whether or not I am impressed
by a painting, a song, or a martial
exhibition is totally subjective to
me, and the people watching with
me. That is the distinction of art.