Lucifer

Who wouldn't want to have a drink with that guy?


So folks, you may be wondering what this review is for.  I'll just tell you now it's a comic book.  But it's more than that too.

There's not a lot to the story of where this comic came from and how I hapened up on it.  In the classic Neil Gaiman work Sandman (which is an absolute must read for everyone) there's a story arc where Lucifer Morningstar, the fallen angel, decides he's tired of ruling Hell.  He shuts it down, asks Morpheus to cut off his wings, and hands over the key before turning his back completely on his "assigned" role.  The story continues and becomes pretty awesome in Sandman but Lucifer is not heard from agian.

An author named Mike Carey saw this story and became fascinated with it.  "Well what happens after he leaves?"

How about he opens a piano bar in Los Angeles?
Yes, that's as awesome as it sounds.

But for me there's a lot more to this comic than that.  While it starts rather simplistically and could be "Lucifers Adventures in the Mortal Realm," things begin to escalate quickly resulting in epic battles with all of existence on the line.  This book is fantasy, horror, character studies, and mythology/philosophy all rolled into one.  Its phenomenally paced and written and despite the ever-present Yahweh and other universal superpowers, there's very little "We wrote ourselves into our corner, fuck" throughout.

I'm not getting super detailed because honestly? I want everyone to read this.  Its such an interesting look at traditional Christian mythos with a tongue in cheek "but why?" behind every piece.  What if angels aren't perfect?  What if Yahweh knew Lucifer was going to be headstrong and question him and created him for that purpose?  Is our idea of Hell the torture chamber true...or even necessary?  I loved this book and it only took me so long because when I would start marathoning it, I'd get worried about finishing it and slow down or switch to another title.  If you like comics with mythology woven in like Fables, this is simply one you have to pick up.

-Oz