Goddess TP Garth Ennis Preacher Phil Winslade 1st print The Boys

Description

Goddess Paperback
by Written by Garth Ennis; Painted art and cover by Phil Winslade (Author)

Goddess tells the story of Rosie Nolan, a wee Irish girl who suddenly manifests the ability to perform impossible feats of telekinesis (such as splitting Scotland off from England and moving it a hundred miles north), 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 C.I.A. 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. From there, the chase takes them, courtesy of Rosie’s uncontrollable, godlike powers, around the globe and up to the Arctic Circle, with mayhem and strangeness trailing in their wake. There, the startling truth about Rosie’s abilities is revealed. But who will be left alive to hear it?

Paperback, 256 pages
Published by Vertigo

This is, I believe, Phil Winslade’s first published work as a comic artist. It is unbelievably detailed and lushly hand painted with watercolors over his pencils and inks. The amount of detail is simply astonishing. Long after I read the entire story several times I continue to go back and stare at the illustrations, trying to take in every detail.

The story is very good, I always enjoy Garth Ennis’s gratuitous violence and perversion used as humor. If you like Preacher and Hitman, you’ll love Goddess!

But the star of this show is Winslade, who pulls off a miracle. Every illustation is so detailed, and the details have details. And the details are carefully observed realism in perfect perspective and foreshortening, and given an extra punch of illustrative distortion to create movement and mood.

And if that weren’t enough, every time we enter the world of the Goddesses, the art becomes a perfectly designed homage to the 1920’s “nouveau” movement exemplified by guys like “mucha”. A style perfectly suited to Winslade’s endlessly seamlessly flowing yet carefully, proportionally designed precision.

The art by Phil Winslade is great; You can actually see the progression of his talent as the book nears it’s conclusion. The book picks up after a slow start, and the end is truly original. The book also has a new introduction by Winslade, and a gallery of his sketches and unpublished art. Overall, not a bad package, and it’s hard not to fall for the loveable Rosie….

Collects Goddess 1-8. Near mint, 1st print.