Customer Reviews

Lucifer Vol. 4: The Divine Comedy

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After making it clear to everyone, that 'the strong one is most powerful alone' Lucifer is finally reaping the fruits of his arrogance in the 'Paradiso' and 'Purgatorio' story arcs. When he only survives by the skin of his teeth he finds himself indebted to some characters that he used to treat pretty much like cockroaches in previous encounters.

Truly a masterful parable about power and arrogance that may have a lot of meaning in this day and age. However it is again the short interludes where the genius of Mike Carey shines most brightly. 'The Writing on the Wall' is not only a masterful story in itself (... thousand years are but one day ...) but also a prism shining light on the greater story arc. (Re-read the first page about the importance of communication after you know the whole story and be amazed!)

This installment of Lucifer is perhaps the best of the series, so far. Mike Carey's writing is brilliant, depicting biblical fantasy like no other. One of the reasons for this is not the overall story, but for the stand alone stories that focus on the people who are affected by the titantic struggle between Lucifer's desire for freedom, on a personal and universal level, and those that seek to curtail his bid for liberty. The story about the young centaur girl who crosses oceans and worlds in a vain attempt to warn the Lightbringer of the impending doom about to befall his new kingdom is heartbreaking in its tragedy. Balancing out that story is one at the end with the hilarious squabbling sibling fallen cherubim Guadim and Spera who attempt to traverse the realms of pain with shoddy merchandise. Still, the star of the show is Lucifer, and the cataclysmic battle between him an implacable foe that wants his newly created world for himself is exciting, bringing back characters long absent, and featuring a cameo from a beloved character from the Sandman universe. For those missing Neil Gaiman's seminal work and those looking for a fresh take on weighty issues, look no further.

Mike Carey, Lucifer: The Divine Comedy (Vertigo, 2003)

I'd thought the third volume wrapped up a story arc or two. I was wrong. Carey had more up his sleeve here as Lucifer, the Lilim, the Basanos, and Elaine Belloc all converge on Lucifer's alternate universe for a big, nasty struggle in which Lucifer finds himself help from a few places he didn't realize it was coming, the Basanos try to take over the world (so what else is new?), and the Lilim keep whining. Meanwhile, Michael may be back in Heaven, but it seems he learned some things down on Earth that don't have his boss all that pleased... once again, Carey takes the legacy of Neil Gaiman, runs with it, and comes up with a winner. Fantastic stuff, this. ****