Welcome, @ObscurityofDCClub and other members of the DC Community! Welcome to Week 54 of Obscurity of DC’s Ultr-Obscure Book Club! This week, we’ll be focusing on…
Synopsis from dcuniverseinfinite.com: Don’t miss the start of a new series by Hugo Award nominee Zoë Quinn and Spider-Gwen co-creator Robbi Rodriguez! In a near future where humanity’s needs are provided for by a godlike A.I., it’s one young woman’s horrible job to do tech support on it. But Cassandra Price’s life changes forever when she discovers a hidden digital world beneath our own, one where a group of super-powered women are locked in a secret war for the cheat codes to reality.
Now that that’s over with, here are some discussion questions:
The concept of merging technology and mythology is a central theme in “Goddess Mode.” How do you feel this blend was executed, and did it enhance or complicate the storytelling for you? Explain.
“Goddess Mode” explores the impact of technology on society and the potential consequences of a tech-dominated world. How relevant do you find these themes in today’s context, and do you see any parallels with real-world issues?
The art style in “Goddess Mode” is vibrant and unique. How did the visuals contribute to your overall experience, and did they enhance the futuristic and fantastical elements of the story? Explain.
The relationship between mythology and technology raises questions about power dynamics. How do you think this theme plays out in the interactions between characters and factions in the series?
The series incorporates elements of cyberpunk and speculative fiction. Which aspects of these genres did you find most intriguing, and how did they contribute to the world-building?
Do you have an interest in exploring the unknown? Do you like discussing comics? Do you like pineapple on pizza? If so, The Obscurity of DC Club is the club for you! Join HERE if you’re interested!
I adore this title and its absolutely one of my very favorite Vertigo reads of the last half-decade (as of today, Christmas Day, its been 5 years and 13 days since #1 came out).
My favorite cover (all hail Stjepan Sejic and his artistic grandeur):
Sits back and makes a tsk-tsk-tsk sound ala Dr. Nichols in 1993’s The Fugitive, then leans forward, also like Dr. Nichols in said movie.
“Richard is innocent.”* I’d say…“unofficial” is a better term.
After all, Vertigo reads are always warranted.
Turns up the volume on Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” to 11, then turns back to the conversation.
Mmmm…cherry pie, the song Cherry Pie and Vertigo. Great tastes that rock together.
*Doctor Nichols was correct in that Richard was innocent. Its rather ironic that one of the people who actually was behind the death of Richard’s wife (no spoiler warning as the movie’s 30 years old) would tell the truth of Richard’s innocence to Gerard and his team.
Hate to throw terms around but looking on how technology controls everything even the air and whether you get ads in a restroom. It appears to be a hyper capitalist society where big tech dominates society. I think it’s slightly exaggerated and even to a extent cartoony, but it’s still a interesting society. People even got the ability to essentially go nanotech incorporal forms to travel to places.
I’m feeling the society is becoming more reliant on artificial intelligence and that Goddess Mode exploring a world dominated by less social interactions but digital ones is just as frightening. Parallels are getting dangerous close with overgrowth of A.I. and the cyprocurreny. They even have one of the characters, Mary Lev, a social media star with billboards and everything. Think Tiktok or YouTube became big celebrities and It’s exactly the same.
Honestly when I was reading the book I got the idea this is like Matrix, but more vibrant…And Better. The idea of escaping into a world felt mundane in the Matrix, but in Goddess Mode the world of Azoth is “magical” where the girls are able to become their best selves and champions of ideals, and yet ine where Daemons are corruptions and bad human impulses. This is league better in covering what a world on the web does to people and how both are influenced by each other.
Something about the tech world and how Azoth is run is influenced by magical girl elements, like their unique superpowers seem like they are fantasy when in reality. They are only playing by the rules of this high tech society. It’s is less focused on the rules of said world, but it does show how the technology is used to describe how the world influenced the characters and vice versa.
Big tech. Elon Musk/ Steve Job inspired tech company giants ruling the world. Most of our heroes are part of that gig economy where we get to know our protagonist Cassandra price is working with the most powerful company on the planet and is still seen as a small part of it, they don’t mind risking her father life by threatening termination. It defines this world as previously mentioned vibrant, but also cruel. In it’s bureaucracy.
Should it be their prerogative, I imagine one can have replies that are made in drafts stricken from the thread by a moderator before a thread goes live, so as to have the thread be (to quote the Beastie Boys) “fresh” and reply-free once its made publicly-available.
I thought they did a decent job of merging the mythology with the futuristic elements. The mythology did add some impact to the themes of control and deception by those in charge of the technology.
I think that today’s lives are dominated by phones and social media and virtual realities are becoming more and more realistic, so this theme is very relevant and timely.
The art is very much enhancing of the futuristic setting and themes. Not usually a preferred style for me, but I liked it for this story.
Ultimately, there are god-equivalents controlling the world and people’s perceptions. The oracles are battling for both the lives of those attacked by the daemons and the freedom of people in the analog world.
I am not very familiar with cyberpunk. I did find the ideas of technology basically controlling everyone’s lives believable.
Goddess Mode 
