GODDESS was a 8 issue mini-series published by Vertigo in 1995, finally collected into a trade paperback in 2002.
Written by Garth Ennis and art by Phil Winslade, the comic has a European feel and British 1980s sensibility about it.
Rosie Nolan, a wee Irish girl who suddenly manifests the unlikely ability to perform impossible feats of telekinesis, as well as having an uncannily empathic relationship with animals. After saving the life of sad-sack narrator Jeff at the zoo, Rosie hooks up with him, her overzealous environmentalist friend Mudhawk, and his ticked-off ex-girlfriend Sam. Soon after, the group is on the lam from a rogue CIA agent who wants to capture Rosie’s power for the betterment of the United States’ government, and a really rogue police constable who has a more personal agenda: bloody revenge.
It’s a deep, complex story by Ennis, that thoroughly fleshes out the four major characters, all the while expanding on the subtext of environmental issues and human nature.
Winslade art is extraordinary! Full-painted art, full of magical moments, superbly detailed faces, and highly explicit moments of violence. A lot of the art reminds of the fantastic stuff often seen in Heavy Metal magazine.
This is the kind of off-beat, one-of-a-kind, comic series that Vertigo is best known for. Certainly over-the-top and quite raw!
It’s a great book, but I’d be the first to admit it ain’t for everyone. I found it easier to read it in patches, one or two chapters at a time, rather in one or two big sessions, which I normally do. It’s 256 pages, so it’s going to take some time to get through!
I would love to re-read it one day in a hardcover format, on better paper, and perhaps larger size dimensions.
7.5 out of 10.
