Review: GODDESS MODE #6

What“s the difference between garbage and trash? If you don“t know the answer to this critical question you might not have been reading Zoe Quinn and Robbi Rodriguez“s GODDESS MODE on DC/Vertigo Comics. GODDESS MODE“s main character, Cassandra Price is a junior artificial intelligence support assistant (AISA) for Azoth, an omnipotent networked application/program that has nearly wiped out disease, provides clean air and open access to all human knowledge while simultaneously connecting every human being on the planet. If this sounds scary to you given that our real world is ruled by Facebook, Google, and Amazon, then you might be one of the ideal readers of this fascinating series.

In the world of video games, “God Mode”“ is the term used to describe the cheat codes for a game that allow the player to be all-powerful and/or invincible. Playing a game in “God mode”“ isn“t just cheating; it“s a way for the player to experience the game from a completely different point of view. “God mode”“ provides a user experience that is distinct from regular game play and in some ways reveals the essence of the game from a creator“s viewpoint. Quinn“s GODDESS MODE is a powerful play on this concept as the main character wrestles with what it means to create and/or destroy a world and the various ways in which innovations in technology ”“ and in this case magic as well ”“ might facilitate one world“s end or another world“s completely new beginning.

GODDESS MODE blurs the distinction between magic and technology. At least early on in the series. Cassandra argues that magic is “just nanotech, tricking our brains into sensing things that aren“t there.”“ While this might be true, Cassandra“s experiences inside of Azoth require her to use her magical powers to fight daemons and figure out some way to re-integrate Psyche ”“ the all-knowing artificial intelligence that polices Azoth and terrorizes both the real and the virtual worlds of the GODDESS MODE universe.

Cassandra doesn“t fight these battles alone. She is joined by an incredible cast of unforgettable characters ”“ mostly women ”“ and all badass. They are “oracles,”“ but not exactly in the traditional mythological sense. GODDESS MODE proffers a new mythology ”“ one that is entrenched in our tech-dominated reality but also fully enmeshed in a fantastic world where technology and magic are inextricably linked. Issue #6 is the culmination of the series“ first story arc. Many questions are answered here (no spoilers of course), but readers will find themselves wanting more of this world ”“ even if its fantasies continue to look more and more like our realities. 4.5/5!

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(W) Zoe Quinn (A/CA) Robbi Rodriguez