Review — ‘Deicidium Vol. 1: The Returned’ Is A Tour De Force Of A Debut For Ram V And Evan Cagle’s New Sci-Fi Saga

Working on Johnathan Hickman’s Substack experiment, 3W3M must have certainly inspired writer Ram V, because what you get in the first volume of his own futuristic sci-fi is a fully realised world that, as a reader, you are thrown into with little in the way of a compass to help you navigate. And, as such, it took me a little bit of time to get up to speed with the various scenarios, situations and sprawling cast of characters we meet over the course of Deicidium Vol. 1: The Returned, this highly immersive graphic novel. Like much of Ram V’s output, he challenges the reader, but once you do become familiar, like I did, with the surroundings, you’ll be hooked. 

In the future Ram V builds, the corporations have taken over. Not too original a concept to comics, admittedly, but these high-tech corporations have achieved this partly due to embracing religion. Or rather, commodifying it, repackaging it, and, in doing so, colonising everything they survey. But not without some fights back from the downtrodden and oppressed. And there’s plenty of them.

Over the course of this first volume, we meet our main cast of characters. And it’s no spoiler to reveal that these characters, through their various plans and machinations targeting the corporate overlords and their religious leaders, become something greater than their individual parts. They become the ancient gods that have been forgotten and stand ready to fight back for all of humanity. It’s a meeting of old and new, ancient forces versus big business.

There’s the well-organised terrorist group led by the enigmatic Professor, a god-emperor, and a potential problem for business, as well as Nic, a street punk stealing for fun but frustrating the local constabulary. Who also happens to be the security arm of the omnipresent corporation rolling the future. The one decent officer forced to punish Nic at the command of his master, and a right piece of work. A seemingly religious man dressed modestly, but with the cruel mind of a hard-nosed business leader. A walking contradiction but a fascinating villain in the making. Oh, and then there’s the biker gang. A group of goths with bikes straight out of Akira, and a nod to the Shōnen manga that is clearly a huge influence on this book’s narrative and entire aesthetic for this brave new world unfolding.  

Ram V’s writing is always a delight to read, and I enjoy the challenge. Having quickly swiped through it once again for the sake of this review, it’s a much more rewarding read the second time round. And why wouldn’t you return to such a satisfying read? Especially when you gaze in awe upon the artwork of Evan Cagle, who blends inspirations that include manga and more European styles of artwork (especially in some of the more humouroulsy exaggerated faces of some of the characters populating this book) as well as the delicate, detailed line work of Gustave Doré. His use of grey tones throughout, and the introduction of colour for specific reasons, which you’ll discover when you pick up a copy yourself, really elevates this graphic novel, almost demanding a readership beyond the usual comic book fan base. Arguably released more in the tradition of the European bande dessinée than a graphic novel, this first instalment in a nine-volume sci-fi epic is both epic in scale and ambition and very prescient in its themes.

Deicidium is a tour de force; it’s thought-provoking, welcomingly challenging and exceedingly exciting, with each new page bringing more and more amazing, well-written characters and museum-level art. After witnessing the well-paced, perfectly realised birth of a new pantheon of old gods, I can’t wait for the next volume. Like any good first chapter, it engages and entertains, but has you wanting more!

Deicidium Vol. 1: The Returned is out now from Image Comics.