Having read all of Sandman in more or less one go, I'm now on to Lucifer. This is going to be my first full reading of Lucifer, and I'm looking forward to it. This is a good beginning. ( )

I got into this via Neil Gaiman's Sandman. I always liked the idea of exploring the Heaven & Hell thing. This is one story-teller's attempt to explain WHY Lucifer rebelled. . . and what his current attitude about it all is. ( )

[My cynicism here has a lot to do with the fact that I'd just read a whole string of crappy Vertigo stuff.]

Wow, a Vertigo book that doesn't suck. I was beginning to think those didn't exist any more.

This is the finally-created spinoff from Sandman of Lucifer, once the head of Hell (retired). Gaiman notes he was trying for years to get someone to do this, and Mike Carey took the ball and ran with it, unafraid of the consequences of writing the Prince of Lies. (I will be honest, I never thought about that having potential risks.)

It's definitely worth the wait as Carey writes a set of stories that mesh well with the Sandman-Books-of-Magic Vertigovserse, combining just the right touch of magic, menace, and manipulation that it seems like DC can't do anymore in its "adult" books.

Lucifer is a man with no wings and a bar. When wishes start coming true, Heaven asks him for help. He reluctantly agrees, and we're off on a journey with the devil as our guide. And we must keep in mind, he's a very unreliable narrator.

The best part about this series is that Carey manages to make Lucifer a likable character while still writing him as a son of a bitch. That's not easy to manage. The tricks that he pulls to get what he wants are completely logical and I love the fact that, despite no longer being the ruler of Hell, he still has the ability to mete out punishment. (A man accuses Lucifer of deviance and is rewarded by losing his sexual prowess, for example.) However, Carey is not tipping the entire hand here--we have no idea at the end of this set up just how much power Lucifer still holds, what his plans are (beyond being a thorn in the big guy's side), and how it's going to play out when the big guy tries to pull one over on the master of deceit himself.

The first issues are the most Gaiman-like, dealing with myth and its re-imagining within a modern context. I love stuff like that so it was my favorite part. But the start of the regular series is also very strong, as Lucifer works out his place in the world and deals with other angels living on earth (apparently, there are more than you might think). The mystical elements mix with a very human story told alongside it in an almost seamless blending and the idea of a sentient tarot deck is inspired. Along the way, Carey's many artists handle the art chores well, making things realistic with just a bit of extra shadowing and good expression. There is of course the obligatory Vertigo nude woman, but this time the rest of the story is good enough to make me not be annoyed.

This one looks like it's gonna be a nice ride, I can't wait to read more. ( )

This is volume one of the Lucifer spin-off from Gaiman's Sandman series. I was a little apprehensive about reading a series focusing on one of my favourite characters which wasn't written by Gaiman, but I needn't have worried. This was well-written, and full of Lucifer being cool and witty while running a piano-bar in LA. The artwork is pretty, and I even prefer it to a lot of the artwork that featured in Sandman. The last story felt a little out of place - maybe due to its shortness, and the comparative lack of the title character. Still, well worth the read; and as with most things, I presume it will kick into gear fully in the next volume.
( )

Lucifer's rebellion against Yahweh was a personal rebellion, though it got out of hand and affected an entire Universe. But in our time, Lucifer quits his job as Lord of Hell, takes a hiatus as a nightclub owner in LA, and schemes to become at last free of his maker's will, free of predestined roles, free of attachments. *spoiler* -- Lucifer fails in the end. He makes his own creation, but rejects the responsibility. He unwillingly mentors Yahweh's replacement when Yahweh, too, quits his responsibilities, but refuses any closeness with her. He rejects his lover and servant, and bears the scar she cuts into his face for honor's sake, not love. And when in the end Yahweh offers the exchange of memories and a merger of being, he rejects that, too, to fly off alone into the void between the universes. But there is nothing there. ( )