Lucifer Vol. 5: Inferno [Paperback]

Mike Carey (Author), Peter Gross (Author), Ryan Kelly (Author), Dean Ormston (Author), Craig Hamilton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Yes, it's that Lucifer Morningstar—former ruler of Hell, now a free agent dealing with the messy internal politics of his former domain—who is the protagonist of this Sandman spin-off comic book. Writer Carey is as irreverent as they come, but he also knows his theology inside and out, both Judeo-Christian and otherwise: King Solomon turns up, appropriately enough, in a hard-boiled detective role, and a few of the Norse gods put in memorable cameo appearances near the end of this volume. Lucifer himself is portrayed as a dapper man-about-town who can rip people's faces off when necessary. However, Inferno doesn't quite hold together as a book, since it collects three separate story lines, two of which are greatly indebted to other volumes in the series, and each drawn by different artists. (The third, "Bearing Gifts," is a short, stand-alone fable in which Lucifer doesn't actually appear, featuring the best art of the volume: squiggly, wobbly work by Dean Ormston that nicely gets across its sense of the uncanny.) "Inferno" itself is a mess of a story that picks up partway through with a cleverly metaphysical duel between representatives of Hell and Heaven, neither of whom are playing entirely according to the rules of their own side. "Come to Judgment," a cynical parable about the difference between justice and vengeance, features a witty twist on some fairy-tale conventions. The book has more than a few memorable moments, but new readers may be mystified.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (February 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401202101
• ISBN-13: 978-1401202101
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.4 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Basanos' mega saga is pure genius, September 15, 2006

By 

R. Benardes "www.maquinariodanoite.blogspot.com" (Bahia - Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lucifer Vol. 5: Inferno (Paperback)

With the four part story arc titled Inferno, ends one of the most ambitious and extraordinary dark fantasy sagas of modern fantasy.
Comprising of about thirty two numbers that began on the first trade The Devil in the Gateway, Carey's epic of power and ambition ranks among the best theological/urban/dark fantasies ever written.
Carey is a master of continuity, allusion, indirectness and oblique multilayered narrative, metaphor and arcane religious symbolism.
Like the majority of comic book writers, Carey's visual imagination(sometimes disturbingly surreal) and plotting are strong, unlike them his attention for style, characterization, tone and atmosphere is remarkable.He is a literate who chose the comic book medium to express his vison about power, arrogance and ambition.
It's the many levels of significance that puts Lucifer apart of other comics books.
I wouldn`t do the book justice if I didn`t mention the excellent artwork and coloring of the artistic team.Regular artists Peter Gross (story arcs) and Dean Ormston (single issues)did an excellent job; the equally excellent artist Chris Weston left the book early.
Gross` drawings on the first issues seems to me rather crude and sketchy but in later issues gets much better.Ormston's disturbingly creepy gothic drawings gives the perfect mood for the single issues, I love his work.The colour pallete is rich; sometimes dark and moddy, sometimes bright and colourful.
For the true conoissieurs Lucifer is an indipensable comic book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Duel, The Wings, The Loan, March 17, 2006

By 

Princess Eilonwy (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lucifer Vol. 5: Inferno (Paperback)

Inferno marks the conclusion of a major story arc: whatever happened to those blasted wings of Lucifer? Last seen in the possession of Susano-O-No-Mikoto, they left the battlefields as the Basanos committed suicide, apparently into the mists of time (or whatever passes for cryptic walking- off- into- the- sunset in Lucifer's world anyway.)

Lucifer duels with Amenadiel - that duel promised in Lucifer #2, Children And Monsters (p.196), but sends his deputy to deal with the wings. Along the way, she meets... someone from her past. A Lilum like herself, which would technically make the union incest, but hey, this is 'Lucifer', after all, and there are no taboos.

The duel fought and won (sort of, on a technicality), Lucifer ends the book by taking on a loan from Loki, setting the stage for Lucifer #6: Mansions of the Silence.

As usual, there's a kooky laugh-at-it story within this collection as well: look out in particular for the bizarre-bittersweet "Bearing Gifts", with Dean Ormston's distinctive art.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm the first to review this? C'mon people!, February 6, 2004

By 

N. Miller (Warminster, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lucifer Vol. 5: Inferno (Paperback)

Anyone familiar with Neil Gaiman's legendary "Sandman" books is doing themselves a disservice if they haven't picked up the "Lucifer" story. This ongoing (as of Feb 2004, anyway) series concerns the mechanations of the retired Lord of Hell as he sets his sights ever higher. Remarkable characters, plot twists, literary/historical references, and dialogue are all hallmarks of this series.

Lucifer: Inferno is the fifth trade paperback in the series, and it covers issues #29-#35. Previous titles (in ascending order) are "Sandman Presents: Lucifer," "Children and Monsters," "Daliance with the Damned," and "The Divine Comedy."

My advice? Buy 'em all. Right now. You'll save on the shipping costs.