Goddess [Paperback]

Garth Ennis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

Meet Rosie Nolan, a London zookeeper. She's a Goddess, one of eight planetary deities, only she doesn't know it just yet. She gets an inkling of her potential when her psychic powers activate accidentally and she causes a geographical rift between England and Scotland. Unfortunately, this somewhat overt display of god-like powers brings all manner of weirdos and sociopaths out of the woodwork, all looking for a piece of Rosie. Join Rosie and her unstable allies Jeff and Mudhawk as they embark on a bloody and apocalyptic quest for enlightenment...and try to evade certifiable maniacs like Constable Dixon and the Butcher Bruvvers. Unmissable!

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Garth Ennis is the multi award-winning writer of Preacher, Hellblazer, Hitman, Just a Pilgrim and Punisher. Much in demand for his hard-edged, wickedly humorous style, he is returning to 2000 AD this year for a special 12-part Dredd epic. Other recent wor includes Spiderman: Tangled Web and Just a Pilgrim. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563897350
• ISBN-13: 978-1563897351
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,399,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Garth Ennis is the award-winning writer of Hellblazer, Hitman, Punisher, Preacher, Pride and Joy and War Stories. He is much in demand for his hard-edged, wickedly humorous style.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Over the Top fun, February 17, 2008

By 

Steve Fuson "comics geek" (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Goddess (Paperback)

I'm surprised at the mostly negative reviews for this book. Garth Ennis likes to write over-the-top stories, and this book is no different. It's not as epic as Preacher, it's more lighthearted like The Rifle Brigade. Our protagonist Rosie develops strange and erratic powers, which attract the attention of CIA agent Harry Hooks, whose violent overreaction in turn attracts the attention of Police Constable George Dixon. Caught up in running from the CIA are Rosie's friends; the irresponsible take-life-as-it-comes-until-someone-pisses-you-off-then-kick-them-in-the-nuts Mud, Mud's ex-girlfriend Sam, and the whiny and suicidal Jeff. And who could forget the homicidal, mentally retarded twins, the Butcher Bruvvers? The story takes Rosie and her firends and enemies on a literal world tour, leaving chaos and blood along the way.

The real draw here (pun intended) is the art by Phil Winslade. Pencilling, inking, and coloring, it took Phil over three years to illistrate this book, but boy was it worth it. The level of detail is amazing. Take a second to look at the little things, like the engine of Mud's motorcycle, or the undercarriage of the fighter jets. The range of things that Mr. Ennis gave Mr. Winslade to draw is excruciating. Tigers, sharks, whales, polar bears, high powered telescopes, arctic military bases, fighter jets crashing into buildings, ships dropped onto apartment buildings, skyscrapers teleported to the north pole, guns falling apart in people's hands, not to mention exploding heads, people pulverized by machine gun fire, corpses in space, and the queen of England. Where it would have been easy (not to mention sane) to take shortcuts, Winslade never backs down from a challenge, and boy did Ennis give him a lot of them. But there's no generic interiors, no cookey-cutter background characters, no objects falling into silhouette. Go look at that cover picture above. Do you see the little details under Mud's tongue? I literally thought "Wow!" as I stared at every single page.

I admit, On the surface this book really just seems like goofy violence; excessive blood for excessive blood's sake. But really stop and look, and I guarantee you'll appreciate this book a whole lot more.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Ennis' Best Work, But Still Entertaining., July 24, 2002

By 

Daniel V. Reilly (Upstate New York, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Goddess (Paperback)

In one of the strangest over-reactions of the time, DC/Vertigo postponed the publication of Goddess in the weeks after the September 11th attacks. The book contains some strong images of eco-terrorism, but the violence is SO over-the-top that it's hard to imagine anyone being offended....The story itself is simple- Young Irish lass Rosie Nolan begins to display strange, seemingly limitless powers. Finding herself pursued by a crazed C.I.A operative, she goes on the lam with 3 friends. Horrific violence ensues.

Ennis' script will offer no surprises to longtime fans- We've seen this kinda thing before in Dicks, Hitman, and Preacher before. 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....

4.0 out of 5 stars Good & bad points to it..., October 25, 2008

By 

ChibiNeko "Sooo many books, so little time!" (Whereever I go, here I am.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Goddess (Paperback)

It took me a while to appreciate Goddess. The first time I read it, I was ultimately bored. None of the characters were likeable, and the bad guys were almost indistinguishable from the good guys at times. The pacing of the comic book is awkward at times as it'll range from drama to action in less than half a page.

The story begins as Rosie Nolan discovers her powers & seperates Scotland into it's own private island by accident. The story then jumps to several of the other key characters in the story to give us a bit of character development for them. We meet Jeff who's more of a loser, but means well. We also meet the infamous Mudhawk, a eco-terrorist who's more than willing to shed human blood to save an animal's life. We also later meet the villains of the piece, although the only ones that stand out are the incredibly brutal "Butcher Bruvvers", homicidal maniacs with the minds of children. From there Rosie has to travel with her friends in order to stay ahead of people who want her dead or to study her as well as try to discover who or what she exactly is.

Like other reviewers said, none of the characters are that overly likeable & at times the themes seem to be non-existent in favor of gratuitious violence. At times it seems like there's no real difference between the "heroes" and the villains of the piece. Both are more than willing to murder, albeit Rosie does it more to survive. (Mudhawk on the other hand? He seems to do it more for thrills.) In the end I was left with the image that Rosie could become just as harmful as the people who messed up the Earth if she's not careful, which may have been Ennis's whole lesson.


I would have to hesitate on recommending this unless someone's read it first, unless you can get a good deal on it. There's a lot of people who won't like this comic book, even after a few readings to get past all of the over the top gore & violence. Still, there's good reading in the book if you're willing to look for it.