Apotheosis. Still thinking.

The closer I come to the end, the more difficult it is to think of the individual volumes rather than the whole.

Can't. Wait. To finish. Volume 11. ( )

And so it ends.

Or does it ?

When Mike Carey took one of Neil Gaiman's supporting cast from Sandman he always said that the series was going to have a defined length, much as Sandman did, and as Lucifer thunders towards its conclusion you can't help but see a little similarity between the conclusions of two of the greatest comic series ever written.

Pretty much every character from the entire ten book run of Lucifer makes an appearance in this volume, all the plots, sub-plots, side treks and machinations by all the involved parties are brought to fruition or destruction by the final pages.

The army of the Lilim, under command of Lilith (first wife of Adam) are gathering to storm the gates of Heaven where the Host wait in trepidation without God to help them, a renegade second Host created by Lilith and the angel Sandalphon has joined them. In Hell, dead man Christopher Rudd holds sway over dead souls and demons alike after Duma the silent angel spoke and gave him the key to Hell. Lucifer and Elaine witness the birth of Jill Presto's child, the rape baby of the Basanos. Fenris the wolf stalks the plains of Armageddon and the Archangel Michael has shed his blood into the roots of the World Tree. The powers then are all gathered, and war awaits.

I don't want to give away any more spoilers, the book is as beatifully written as ever, characters twisting and turning, fighting and backstabbing or remaining utterly loyal as their desires or dedication demands. The artwork, handled again by Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly, Marc Hempel and Ronald Wimberly, is wonderful and evocative.

The storytelling throughout has been fantastic, patient and always building towards this point, you'll find yourself thinking "Ah, so that's what was going on in book 2 (or 6, or 4, or 7......) as finally all the plots and alliances are revealed. Carey has maintained a very high level of storytelling through the entire series with all the strands weaving themselves into one vast, coherent story arc.

Also included in Morningstar is a one off featuring Gaudium in a story that serves to remind us just why Hell was so full, and what the consequences of power really are for the stupid and shallow.

Typically, the book doesn't end as you thought it might, Yahweh does make a belated appearence, many people die, some are brought to great power, The Great Power, and it might not be who you expect. The series could have ended here, on the last page of Morningstar everything seems to make a kind of sense, and it would have been no bad thing for the series to conclude as it does here, but Carey is a tidy sort of bloke, and he wants to sort out a few of the loose endings, so be prepared for this....

Lucifer : Evensong, January 2007. ( )

This is really wonderful, what I assume is the climax of the series. There's got to be one more volume to tie up the loose ends, of course, and I'm looking forward to it, but that's it. I really hope Vertigo allows the story to end after this, or at least lets it rest for a while.

Note: this volume won't make much sense if you haven't been following since the beginning.