Lucifer #18 - A Review

Lucifer has managed to repel an attack by his son. Unfortunately, he's running short on allies as a treacherous attack seems to have killed his lover, Mazikeen, and his brother Gabriel has been teleported to the fare end if reality. Throw in the selfie-snapping sorceress with a drug habit and things are looking pretty bleak for the rebellion.


The story of Lucifer is as strong as ever but the artistic pacing of this issue is a bit off.  Scenes stop and start in the middle of pages and the backgrounds do little to convey a sense of location. Indeed, the opening fight scene makes it all but impossible to determine where Lucifer moves to with his "portal trick" until we see the other characters present. This isn't a bad comic but it's far below its usual standard.

Final Analysis: 7 out of 10.

Lucifer #17 - A Review

Lucifer has come to expect a certain degree of turmoil in his life. After all, he's organizing a new rebellion against a God that has been reborn as a fascist out to destroy Free Will. The Japanese goddess of the underworld (who he once lay with) is plotting to place their son (who wants to kill him) on the throne of Hell, which is nominally under the rule of his ex-girlfriend, Mazikeen. And his most reliable allies are his idiot brother Gabriel, a junkie sorceress and a pair of tween girls who are bonded to a Tarot deck that can rewrite reality. Yet as strange and varied as his enemies are, Lucifer did not anticipate having his nightclub, Lux, foreclosed upon by the City of Los Angeles...


I know I said last month that I would probably stop reviewing Lucifer. I still suspect I should. There seems little point in reviewing a book that - due to the legacy it draws upon - is entirely inaccessible to new or casual readers. That's usually a big sticking point with me and why I don't write reviews of long-running titles like Knights of the Dinner Table.

When it comes to Lucifer, I've felt at times I've been doing little more than finding new ways to say"This is awesome, but you need to have been reading from the beginning of the saga to understand it." every month. Yet when I read this book, I can't help but want to share how amazing it is.

Take that appraisal for what you will. What Richard Kadrey, Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela present in this issue - and every month - is a worthy continuation of what Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey and the many artists who worked on the original Sandman and Lucifer series created. If you've read those classic series, you'll love it. And if you haven't, you really should.

Final Analysis: 10 out of 10.

Lucifer #16 - A Review

This will probably be my last review of Lucifer for the foreseeable future. This is not because I don't enjoy the book. Indeed, it's one of my favorite monthly comics. Unfortunately, it's become all but impossible for me to review on an issue by issue basis.

Drawn as it is from the mythos of The Sandman, Hellblazer and the original Lucifer, this series has a LOT of backstory. If you're read those previous works, you'll find this series to be a wonderful continuation of the saga. Unfortunately, what makes this series so wonderful to a fan of classic Vertigo like myself also makes it inaccessible to 95% of the comics-reading public. Just summarizing the subplots in this issue outside of the context of the larger saga would require six or seven paragraphs!

Every issue of Lucifer is proof that good comics can be fine art. Richard Kadrey is a worthy successor to the legacies of Moore, Gaiman, Ennis and Carey. The artwork by Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela perfectly matches the gothic tone of the story. This is a fantastic book, but you can't just pick it up and jump into it.

Lucifer #15 - A Review

Even The Devil has his limits and Lucifer only has so many hours in the day to directly work on every aspect of the new war on Heaven and the new free-will hating God. To that end he enlists the help of a chain-smoking ex-beauty queen turned magus named Arabelle Crane in locating the long lost heart of the archangel Gabriel. Elsewhere, Gabriel searches for his lost brother Raphael alongside Raphael's lover - vagrant teen Lorin Hammon - as Lorin's friend Lula heads west in search of him.


Lucifer was already awash with subplots and my summary above ignores some of what this issue covers. Let it not be said that Richard Kadrey thinks small!  He continues on from where Holly Black started, yet has begun to add into the tale himself with this issue's reintroduction of Lula into the action of the story and Arabelle Crane a.k.a. "I Can't Believe It's Not Constantine!" The book is still as engaging as ever, thankfully, despite the new management.


The art team continues to flourish. Lucifer remains one of Vertigo's most atmospheric titles, with Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela continuing to impress me with every passing issue. This is another must-read series for all fans of the classic Vertigo Universe and anyone anxious to see more done with the characters created by Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis and Mike Carey.

Lucifer #12 - A Review

Faced with a darker, more sinster Yahweh, Lucifer is ready to do the unthinkable. Before confronting his father, Lucifer will release the power of The Basanos - a sentient Tarot Deck that can alter reality - through the heir to its power, Noema Presto.

Mere words cannot express my love of this book. Every issue is a love-letter to a shared Vertigo universe I thought long dead. Like Lucifer himself, however, this series never fails to surprise me even as I recoil in horror at what it does.


If all you know of Lucifer is from the Fox TV series, prepare yourself for a magnificent treat. I still suggest starting with Neil Gaiman's Sandman and working through Mike Carey's Lucifer for full effect. Still, one can begin with the first volume of this series well-enough as Holly Black does a fine job of drawing upon the mythology and explaining it for newcomers. And every panel by Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela looks fantastic.

Lucifer #11 - A Review

There is much to admire about this issue, but - if asked to choose only one page to hook you all as I have been hooked - I would have to choose the image below. In it, The Guardian of Hedgehogs explains the history of Lucifer's life. I should perhaps mention that one of the characters in this series is a goddess whose only job is watching out over hedgehogs. If that fact doesn't make you want to read this book, I don't know what will.


I'm increasingly afraid that I won't be able to review Lucifer. It's a shame because I love this book. Holly Black has continued the original stories by Neil Gaiman and Mike Carey perfectly and the artwork by Lee Garbet and Antonio Fabela is some of the best to come out of Vertigo Comics in years.

So why can't I review it?  Because the enormity of this series is so grand and intricate that my simple reviews cannot do them justice. There is no way for me to easily much less eloquently summarize the multiple subplots and story-lines this series contains.  Lucifer is no more comic book - this is a legend.

Lucifer #10 - A Review

The battle for control of Hell has been postponed by the arrival of a new God. Yes, God is back. And he is pissed, to put it mildly. And the first thing up on the chopping block for the universe is any sense of choice or self.



It's hard for me to discuss this issue in any detail. Indeed, that seems to be the case with most of the new Lucifer series. There is just so much backstory and history involved that it defies easy summation. It also doesn't help that the cover gives away what I believe was meant to be a surprise at the end of the issue.

I can say this much. Holly Black, Lee Garbett, Antonio Fabela and Veronica Gandini have crafted a worthy successor to the legacy of The Sandman and the first Lucifer series. This is a great book and it is one you should be reading.

Lucifer #9 - A Review

The duel for ruler-ship of Hell is nigh! And Lucifer has accepted the invitation to watch his former lover and current Queen of Hell Mazikeen fight his son by the death goddess Izanmi-No-Mikoto. Yet there is more to the duel than meets the eye and more than even Lucifer could have predicted occurring at the same time in Heaven...


This series continues to be an exciting and surprising continuation of the saga first started by Neil Gaiman and continued by Mike Carey. In a relatively scant number of issues, Holly Black has utilized one of the richest mythologies in modern literature to excellent effect and made her own mark upon it. And the artwork by Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela is some of the finest to come out of Vertigo Comics in recent memory.

Lucifer #8 - A Review

Medjine - on the run from her foster family and hiding in her brother's closet - has begun to see demons in the world around her. More importantly, she has made a new friend - another girl (with the unlikely name of Noema Presto) who also sees demons . And as a battle over who will rule Hell begins to brew, Lucifer entertains a most amusing confession from the angel Raphael.


With every issue of this series Holly Black finds new ways to surprise me. I had not expected to find Jill Presto from the original Lucifer series getting a nod nor did I expect to see her daughter making an appearance. Such is the beauty of Black's scripts that she builds upon that which came before in a way that acknowledges the past without making that history inaccessible to new readers.


The artwork continues to match Black's amazing scripts. Lee Garbett's artwork astounds on every level and the colors by Antonio Fabela perfectly complete his pencils and inks. If you aren't reading this series, you're missing out on one of the best books Vertigo has published in years.

Lucifer #7 - A Review

Lucifer is returned to his Los Angeles night club. Yet the events set in motion by his investigation into the murder of The Presence continue. And as the archangel Raphael enlists the aid of reformed drug addict Lorrin Hammon in an investigation of his own, a war for control of Hell is brewing between the current queen Mazikeen, who holds much of Lucifer's power, and Lucifer's bastard son by the Japanese death goddess Izanami-No-Mikoto, who would rule over two afterlives by proxy.


This new Lucifer series continues to impress with every passing issue. Holly Black has taken the complex mythologies crafted by Neil Gaiman and Mike Carey and expanded upon them masterfully. The artwork by Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela proves equally astounding.

Lucifer #5 - A Review

One of the problems with being an avid reader is that occasionally a title can pass you by on a busy week. This is how I missed out on getting Lucifer #5 two months ago - something I didn't notice until picking up Issue 7 this week, when I realized I seemed to have skipped a chapter of the story. It's an oversight I'll never make again.


Holly Black's tale continues Vertigo Comics' fine tradition of supernatural thrillers and it comes to a most pleasing conclusion in this issue. The artwork by Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela astounds throughout. Really, there's no excuse for you not to read this series apart from being an absent-minded critic with too much on his plate. ;)

Lucifer #4 - A Review

Trapped in The Dreaming after their meeting with Lilith, Lucifer and Gabriel are in need of a way out. Lucifer believes he has one but it will require their journeying through a backdoor into the Japanese underworld, where Lucifer has many enemies still suffering from the last time the met him as an honored guest. And in Norman, Oklahoma, a girl named Medjine ponders the demon in a bottle that drove one woman to madness and murder as well as an escape from her abusive adoptive family.

With this issue, the seemingly unconnected subplots of this series have begun to lock together like puzzle-pieces. Holly Black has done a fine job of giving the readers just enough information to hold their interest without stretching out the mystery of this opening arc. And we get to see some old familiar faces from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman in this issue as well.



The artwork for this issue proves equally impressive. I predict Lee Garbett will one day be held in as high esteem as Peter Gross and the many artists who worked on The Sandman. And the color art by Antonio Fabela is just as skillfully done.

Lucifer #3 - A Review

The search for God's murderer leads Lucifer and Gabriel into The Dreaming. There they will seek information from Lilith, who may know something of another fallen angel capable of doing the deed. One who, even now, is causing mischief on Earth...


The artwork for this series is, in a word, amazing.  Lee Garbett's style is a perfect match for the classic Vertigo aesthetic. And the colors by Antonio Fabela are uniformly well chosen, with a good deal of visual contrast between various elements, such as the coloration for Eve and Lilith.


With this issue, Holly Black's story is beginning to take shape and we can see the edge of things to come. I commented in my review of the last issue that I wasn't quite sure what to make of the subplots set in the mortal world. I still can't guess where things are going with this series' ensemble cast but the whole affair is reminiscent of Gaiman's Sandman and Carey's Lucifer. As such, I'm content to enjoy the ride.

Lucifer #2 - A Review

God is dead and The Devil is the prime suspect. But Lucifer is not guilty and has himself been the victim of an attack with a strange weapon, the likes of which he has never seen before. To prove his lack of guilt (for Lucifer could never be said to have been innocent of anything), he will partner with his brother Gabriel and the two will journey to the one place where many may be found with motive, means and power enough to slay both God and Devil - Hell itself! Yet even now events play out on Earth that may hold even direr consequences for Lucifer...


Lucifer is a gorgeously Gothic work. Lee Garbett's utilizes a streamlined style that is light on details and heavy on the inks. There is an inherent darkness to Garbett's work that suits this series well. The colors by Antonio Fabela are mysterious and moody. And the letters by the legendary Todd Klein are as grand as one would expect.


Holly Black does not do things by halves. Within the span of two issues, she has perfectly captured the essence of the characters from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and Mike Carey's Lucifer and begun telling a tale that is familiar yet unique. It remains to be seen what may come of the subplots involving various mortals, including a school-teacher who finds a bottled demon in her parents home that may be familiar to long-time Vertigo Comics readers. All I know is I cannot wait for next month's issue!