Lucifer: Devil in the Gateway (Lucifer, vol 1), by Mike Carey; graphic novel, fantasy, horror; 160 pages
No, I haven't become a devil-worshiper. I've been meaning to read this series for years, but only happened to pick it up be recent chance. This series is a spin-off of one of my favorite comic series (after Batman): Neil Gaiman's Sandman. In a pivotal story arc of that series, Lucifer, the Lord of Hell, resigns his position and turns the whole realm over to new ownership. The ramifications of this make up a big chunk of the subsequent story, but the end result is that the Lightbearer is free to do as he pleases--and apparently he pleases to open a swanky night club in LA with one of his female demons. Lucifer picks up where Gaiman's story left off: at the night club, with our protagonist accepting a deal to track down a mysterious new player on the divine scene. That story and the following arc show us a world not too distant from that of Sandman, where gods and demons walk among ordinary humans without our knowledge. It doesn't feel spin-offy, though; more like a natural continuation of a story about which I wanted to know more.
I have to say that one of my favorite elements of the story was how Carey never lets us forget who we're dealing with. Bad things seem to follow Lucifer wherever he goes; but none of those horrible tragedies affect him. If this were a more ordinary story, our protagonist would use his powers (both supernatural, and political) to heal, or stop violence, or even just to make sure that the bad guys get what's coming to them. Instead, he rarely even intersects with the events, or is even aware that they're occurring. Despite all that, I still find him a compelling character, and found myself rooting for him more often than not. I'm already half way through the second collection, so expect more soon.
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