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aceinit's review
4.0
Every now and then, I get the urge to go back and re-read Lucifer from the beginning. This is my 4th or 5th re-read, and the Mike Carey-helmed Sandman spinoff is still one of my favorite series out there.
“Devil in the Gateway” isn't one of my favorite individual volumes in the run, but it lays the groundwork for so many things to come. Take the world's most famous fallen angel, remove him from the realm of Hell, set him up as the proprietor of a piano bar in LA, then send him on one last task from God--with the promise of a letter of passage from God himself as the reward for a job well done. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
If you're reading the series for the first time, there are a lot of memorable faces introduced here that you need to keep your eye on: Mazikeen, Lucifer's mysterious, half-masked faithful servant; Jill Presto, a magician's assistant who becomes the host for a living Tarot called the Basanos; Meleos, angel living on earth and the creator of the Basanos; Amendiel, angel living in heaven with a grudge against Lucifer, and (most importantly) Elaine Belloc, a pre-teen girl with the ability to see ghosts, who accidentally attracts Lucifer's attention while trying to summon a demon to avenge a murdered friend.
Two separate stories are contained here: the mini-series “The Morningstar Option,” (aka Sandman Presents: Lucifer) and the first four issues of the ongoing comic run. In the Morningstar Option, Lucifer is given his task from Heaven, to stop an ancient deity, long-forgotten by humanity, from the seemingly harmless act of granting wishes. The reader is introduced (or, if you’re read The Sandman, reintroduced) to a charismatic, strong-willed, cunning and intriguing titular character as he undergoes a shamanistic journey to the heart of creation (hint: it’s in New Mexico). His guide: a California teenager who has accidentally murdered her disabled brother by wishing him dead in a fit of rage, and who believes that assisting Lucifer will result in her being unable to do the harm she has inflicted.
The second story, made up of first three issues of the ongoing series, concerns the fallout from Lucifer seeking to find out more information about his reward from God, in effort to determine whether or not there’s a hidden catch. Traveling to Germany, he visits Meleos, an angel turned chronicler of humanity, to consult a living Tarot deck Meleos has created. The deck, unfortunately for everyone involved, has a mind of its own.
And in the final, stand-alone issue, Lucifer meets Elaine Belloc. You’ll want to keep an eye on that kid. Trust me on this one.
This installment is, again, mostly setup for bigger and better things to come—the opening salvo in what is, essentially, Lucifer’s second war against God. Though a few references to its parent series, The Sandman, are made, mostly pertaining to various members of The Endless (Lucifer’s initial abdication of Hell also occurred during Sandman’s “Season of Mists” arc), being unfamiliar with Gaiman’s masterwork will not detract from the current series.
“Devil in the Gateway” isn't one of my favorite individual volumes in the run, but it lays the groundwork for so many things to come. Take the world's most famous fallen angel, remove him from the realm of Hell, set him up as the proprietor of a piano bar in LA, then send him on one last task from God--with the promise of a letter of passage from God himself as the reward for a job well done. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
If you're reading the series for the first time, there are a lot of memorable faces introduced here that you need to keep your eye on: Mazikeen, Lucifer's mysterious, half-masked faithful servant; Jill Presto, a magician's assistant who becomes the host for a living Tarot called the Basanos; Meleos, angel living on earth and the creator of the Basanos; Amendiel, angel living in heaven with a grudge against Lucifer, and (most importantly) Elaine Belloc, a pre-teen girl with the ability to see ghosts, who accidentally attracts Lucifer's attention while trying to summon a demon to avenge a murdered friend.
Two separate stories are contained here: the mini-series “The Morningstar Option,” (aka Sandman Presents: Lucifer) and the first four issues of the ongoing comic run. In the Morningstar Option, Lucifer is given his task from Heaven, to stop an ancient deity, long-forgotten by humanity, from the seemingly harmless act of granting wishes. The reader is introduced (or, if you’re read The Sandman, reintroduced) to a charismatic, strong-willed, cunning and intriguing titular character as he undergoes a shamanistic journey to the heart of creation (hint: it’s in New Mexico). His guide: a California teenager who has accidentally murdered her disabled brother by wishing him dead in a fit of rage, and who believes that assisting Lucifer will result in her being unable to do the harm she has inflicted.
The second story, made up of first three issues of the ongoing series, concerns the fallout from Lucifer seeking to find out more information about his reward from God, in effort to determine whether or not there’s a hidden catch. Traveling to Germany, he visits Meleos, an angel turned chronicler of humanity, to consult a living Tarot deck Meleos has created. The deck, unfortunately for everyone involved, has a mind of its own.
And in the final, stand-alone issue, Lucifer meets Elaine Belloc. You’ll want to keep an eye on that kid. Trust me on this one.
This installment is, again, mostly setup for bigger and better things to come—the opening salvo in what is, essentially, Lucifer’s second war against God. Though a few references to its parent series, The Sandman, are made, mostly pertaining to various members of The Endless (Lucifer’s initial abdication of Hell also occurred during Sandman’s “Season of Mists” arc), being unfamiliar with Gaiman’s masterwork will not detract from the current series.
witherskeleton's review
3.0
Pretty good overall. Got a little uninteresting at times but it was well done.
mhshokuhi's review
4.0
خب، بالاخره بعد از کلی وقت عقب انداختن شروعش کردم.
برای شروع لازمه یه مقدار خوب از سندمن و دنیاش خبر داشته باشید، بعد میشه سراغ این رفت.
شماره اول شامل ۴ جلد کامیک هست که ۳ شماره اول شروع داستان هست و شماره چهارم یکجور داستان جدا اما خب با پیوندهایی به داستان که بعداً به کار خواهند اومد جلوتر.
لوسیفر همینطوری هست که باید باشه و کم نمیگذاره از کارهاش، تلاش برای عجیب و غریب نوشتن مزکین هم جالبه، چندبار باید با دهن نیمه بسته (مثل خود مزکین) متن رو بخونی و از صدایی که میشنوی متوجه بشی که داره چی میگه، حالا اکثر اوقات اوکیه فهمیدنش، بقیه کاراکترها هم جوری جواب میدن که مشخصه حالا چی داره میگه، تجربه باحالی بود کشف کردنش :دی اول سعی کردم برعکس بخونم، یا حالت آناگرام مانند، تا دیدم نمیشه و سرچ کردم دیدم باید اینطوری بخونم و حدس بزنم، کلا جالب بود.
شماره چهارم با اینکه بهش نمیومد یه غمناکی غریبی توش داشت، خیلی خوب/بد بود :(
برای شروع لازمه یه مقدار خوب از سندمن و دنیاش خبر داشته باشید، بعد میشه سراغ این رفت.
شماره اول شامل ۴ جلد کامیک هست که ۳ شماره اول شروع داستان هست و شماره چهارم یکجور داستان جدا اما خب با پیوندهایی به داستان که بعداً به کار خواهند اومد جلوتر.
لوسیفر همینطوری هست که باید باشه و کم نمیگذاره از کارهاش، تلاش برای عجیب و غریب نوشتن مزکین هم جالبه، چندبار باید با دهن نیمه بسته (مثل خود مزکین) متن رو بخونی و از صدایی که میشنوی متوجه بشی که داره چی میگه، حالا اکثر اوقات اوکیه فهمیدنش، بقیه کاراکترها هم جوری جواب میدن که مشخصه حالا چی داره میگه، تجربه باحالی بود کشف کردنش :دی اول سعی کردم برعکس بخونم، یا حالت آناگرام مانند، تا دیدم نمیشه و سرچ کردم دیدم باید اینطوری بخونم و حدس بزنم، کلا جالب بود.
شماره چهارم با اینکه بهش نمیومد یه غمناکی غریبی توش داشت، خیلی خوب/بد بود :(
rocketiza's review
4.0
This is a really fantastic series that gets over-shadowed just because it came out of Sandman. The only thing that I didn't really like in the first collection is the pretentious that carried over from having to be of Gaiman, but other than does a really great job of establishing itself as its own story right up front.
readingtheend's review
2.5
hmmmmm okay this was not the MOST promising start to this series. I didn't hate it, but it felt very like... early 2000s in its sensibility (quelle surprise), with weird gendered nastiness and just general disinterest in non-normative people and their lives and identities. hope it gets betterrrrrr
magnetgrrl's review
4.0
Over time the Lucifer series keeps getting better and better to me the more I read it. At first, I always thought Carey was just kinda running with what Gaiman created for Lucifer in Sandman and that it was always going to be lesser, just OK. But over time this series really goes somewhere and the characters have enough depth and growth to rival the storyline of Sandman. Or maybe I just love tragic (anti)heroes. Plus there is Mazikeen - one of my all-time favorite fictional characters.
It's such a tragedy that the TV adaptation of this series is SO UTTERLY HORRIBLE.
It's such a tragedy that the TV adaptation of this series is SO UTTERLY HORRIBLE.
jcschildbach's review
4.0
I didn't realize they were turning this into a TV series when I picked it up, and haven't watched any of the series yet. This basically turned up in recommendations because I was looking up the recent 'Sandman' book. All that aside, this is pretty great. It keeps the same basic tone of the Sandman books--hopping around to different places and cultures, referencing different elements of spirituality and magic, different artists and illustration styles for each new story, and all with that undercurrent reminiscent of old, episodic horror comics. Fans of Gaiman's Sandman will almost certainly be into this as well.
psykobilliethekid's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0