Lucifer

E.Vi.L.

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I finally finished this serie and it is the greatest saga I have ever read.

I can't recommand this enough.

Lucifer is a 75 issues series by Mike Carey.

It takes it root in the character introduced by Gaiman in The Sandman #4. That issue was... mediocre. It's not really useful except as a footnote. I heard great things about The Sandman but most admits that the first issues weren't very good. All that can be said is that Lucifer is introduced as the Miltonesque devil, the angel whose sin was pride and who would rather rule in hell than be a slave in heaven (though Lucifer himself would comment ironically on that statement in the serie).

Later, in issues #21-28 Gaiman wrote "Seasons of Mist" which lay the foundation on which Carey would build. Many characters who would play a peripheral role in Lucifer are introduced but I still enjoyed Lucifer for most of the serie before getting the occasion to read this. Seasons of Mist is much better than issue #4 and tempts me to read the rest of The Sandman.

The most important thing to note is that in this arc Lucifer resign his role as gatekeeper of hell before he finally sees that this is just one more role that God wanted filled. He wants out of God's plan.

And that's where Carey comes in. First with the mini : "The Morningstar option" in which God temps Lucifer back into service of Heaven for a short mission in exchange for a letter of passage out of creation. And then with Lucifer, the 75 issue chronicles of Lucifer quest for freedom and self-determination. Even though I read seasons of Mist, liked it on its own merit and appreciate the background it provides to this saga, I only consider Lucifer to begin with this book. Carey really "get" Lucifer. Gaiman was only focused on Morpheus, the Sandman and what we see of Lucifer under his pen is but a pale reflection of the Fallen Angel that Carey brings to life.

But it goes beyond Lucifer. He is the star around which a myriad of secondary character orbit.

Lucifer himself is never lovable but often admirable. His will impose respect and his mind is sharp as a razor. Even though at the height of his power he is second only to God, he will face many peril armed with his wits alone, being brought to the brink of destructionl by situations far more diverse and interesting than a bucket of Kryptonite!

But you'll also meet Lilith, the first woman, before eve, the one who wouldn't submit. As a result she was betrayed by heaven and in turn would betray everyone.

Mazikeen, fierce and loyal to her Master, her dedication would shame anyone who ever knew doubt.

Christopher Rudd the damned who will change Hell forever in his quest for redemption.

Archangel Michael, brother to Lucifer and who will go through his own moral crisis.

Ellaine Belloc, a sweet 12 year old, the most compassionate voice of the serie whose ultimate destiny is as big as her heart.

And Mona, Gaudium, Briadach, Remiel, David Easterman, Cal, Jill Presto...

Oh, never have I read such a rich cast in comic book history. Each with their voice and dreams and hope. Many an issue do not even feature Lucifer and focus on the people affected by his quest. It's a long and incredibly satisfying trip between the beginning of Lucifer's second rebellion against his creator and its conclusion.

I liked it more than V for Vendetta. Yes, you read that right.

5/5

Read this. If you have any pretension of being a connoiseur of fine comics, read this!
 
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I just downloaded this entire series (immoral I know, but I already spend the most I possibly can on comics...I'll buy it someday!), and judging from the first couple arcs, its great. A really great way to explore the universe of Dream of the Endless more extensively.

"Satan quits his job and bums around for a while" is a great way to start a story.
 
So you read the first arc with the Basanos?

It's a great arc and Carey will even revisit to great effect two of the minor character of this arc much later in the series (Janesh and the blond neo-nazi).

As for Jill Presto, you won't get a chance to miss her ; she's one of the major player in the saga. I'm thinking she's meant to be the everywoman, up to a point. A feisty cabaret singer dreaming of fame isn't exactly the average person, but in this cosmic saga she is the closest thing to normal you'll get amongst the major actor.

Top notch stuff.
 
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Wow.... I just finished this, and wow.

This was such a great story... I still have no idea how Carey was able to get me to sympathize with Lucifer, with Michael, with hell, with the heavenly host, with the Lilim, with God, with Elaine...

I mean all of these characters were at various points on different sides of the issues, but they were all so well fleshed out that you could really feel for all of them.

5/5 !!!!
 
Wait...Evil liked something better than V for Vendetta...

I must read this series

And shouldn't this be in the DC forum?
 
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Ultimate Houde said:
I must read this series

Yes. Yes you must.

Ultimate Houde said:
And shouldn't this be in the DC forum?

...

Huh... If it doesn't feature a man in a cape with a silly background, I say it belongs in the general comics discussion forum!
 
It does. I have it finished but I havn't started it yet. I really look forward to. If this is anything like Carey's Hellblazer run, I'll be happy.
 
E.Vi.L. said:
Huh... If it doesn't feature a man in a cape with a silly background, I say it belongs in the general comics discussion forum!

DC Forum is for DC comics and all subsidiaries, including Vertigo, which printed this series. Therefore, it needs to be moved.

Lucifer is one of the greatest series I've read... It perfectly explores the blurry edges of Judeo-Christian Mythology, and the world introduced in Gaiman's the Sandman.

The reason why Sandman #4 is so convuluted was because DC Comics was trying to keep the series rooted in DC Mythology (In fact, Lucifer, Cain, Abel, Lucien, and Destiny were all pre-existing characters in the DCU, from their old Horror comics). At that point in time, the DC version of Hell had three rulers of which Lucifer was only one. After a failed effort to further integrate Hell into DC, the editors decided to pretty much nix Hell as much as possible. Gaiman was given more lee-way into the character of Lucifer, made him infinitely more powerful than the demons, and created the connection between the demons and Lilith... He rooted the character in actual myhology, as well as in what DC had used it for up to that point. You'll notice that whenever they go into hell these days in the comics, they never use "Satan" or any supposed Ruler of hell, because technically Lucifer and Sandman are continuity...

Despites all its greatness, I still prefer The Sandman... But i'm excited of any sort of miniseries or ongoing that might spin-off of this (as Mike Carey said would probably happen in the year following #75).
 
Wait...so
Elaine Belloc
is god in the DCU, and
theres no longer a devil
in the DCU????
 
See, that's why they only handle God from the perspective of characters like Zauriel and the Spectre, and don't actually deal with the big fellow himself.

God is known as the Presence in the Magical hierarchy of the DCU, which is what such beings wield their authority to... But as
Elaine has immersed herself with the world,
it shouldn't be contradictory to anything we have right now.

And as I said, DC comics deal with high-ranking demons in Hell, and not with the big guy on top.

Its basically just unexplored. Yes, they are technically connected (especially since Dream has shown up in JSA every so often in the past few years), but no it will not be explored.
 
Dr.Strangefate said:
See, that's why they only handle God from the perspective of characters like Zauriel and the Spectre, and don't actually deal with the big fellow himself.

God is known as the Presence in the Magical hierarchy of the DCU, which is what such beings wield their authority to... But as
Elaine has immersed herself with the world,
it shouldn't be contradictory to anything we have right now.

And as I said, DC comics deal with high-ranking demons in Hell, and not with the big guy on top.

Its basically just unexplored. Yes, they are technically connected (especially since Dream has shown up in JSA every so often in the past few years), but no it will not be explored.
So I was diggin through my LCSs 50 cent box and found an old Kirby Sandman with Brute, Glob, and Jed. It was pretty cool.

I'm about half way through Lucifer. I found the first 5 trades on eBay for $5 each. They were good, but not quite amazing. I think I'll dig up the rest once they put ot the last TPB.
 
I'm up to issue 17.

This series is freakin amaxing and very creative. I love that he created his own big bang and creation. I love that this focuses on a lot of characters besides Lucifer himself.

The giant mutant baby was awesome.
 
I finished it all....

Wow.

I can't express in words how much I love this series. Carey weaves a mutil-layered complex story that leaves no plot thread unanswered. Not a single moment or issue is filler. Everything that happens is important. It is one huge story arc. Every character is great and exciting. Even the throw away characters that appear for one issue(especially the worm assassin.)

I beg all of you to keep an open mind and read this series...

better than Punisher

Daredevil

New X-men

Authority

Sandman

and anything else I ever read.

The ending was everything I hoped it to be.
 
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I just finished re-reading the series with all the trades I got.

This still the best thing I ever read.

I want more people to read this. Come on now. I like the same books as most of you.


This is really ****in amazing.
 
I bought this today because i read this thread and because i always loved the devil :p Can't wait to read it ...thx for the recommend!
 
I bought this today because i read this thread and because i always loved the devil :p Can't wait to read it ...thx for the recommend!

YES!

Someone will read it.

Like any good series the first few issues are all setup. It just builds and builds and gets better and better.
 
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So I've been re-reading the TPBs I have of this (first 5) and enjoying it more than the last time. Unfortunatly I'm right at the point where it started to slip for me last time. The whole soul in hell becoming hellish nobility or whatever goes on. I didn't enjoy it last time and I don't have high expectations this time. So tell me TOG. Should I get the other 5? Does this part that I greatly dislike build into something great or is it a minor bump in an otherwise good series?

Well?
 

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