Lucifer

Lucifer 56-61

If Lucifer was an arc of Dragonball Z, this would be the part where Goku and Piccolo stare at each other for 30 minutes and charge up their chi as rocks float around them.  A ton of set up for the upcoming final battle, but nothing really interesting happens in the meantime: Lilith usurps command of the Lilim from Mazikeen. Elaine Belloc learns to control the godly powers passed along from her father, the Archangel Michael.  Jill Presto, realizing that she’s got another Basanos child in her womb, tries to kill it before it can be born. (She doesn’t succeed.)

It’s all pretty skippable, but at least Mike Carey does a nice job of building up the anticipation for the second War in Heaven.  I don’t really care about the outcome, but I am curious to see how it all turns out. Is everyone but Lucifer going to die? It’s entirely possible.  

This isn’t the first story I’ve read where God’s abandoned Heaven.  He memorably deserts His throne in Preacher by Garth Ennis, but with different consequences.  In Preacher, nothing really changes, even after the Saint kills Him.  That God doesn’t really have much effect on His universe unless He actively chooses to, so His Death (along with all of the angels in Heaven), leaves the universe no worse off.  

In Lucifer, God’s departure will eventually lead to the unraveling of His creation.  So higher stakes. Of course, there are already two other creations existing parallel to His, so, it wouldn’t be the end of everything if this one poofs.  This God has also been unseen up to this point.  He’s been defined entirely by his absence. His motivations are completely invisible, leaving everyone else to scramble in response.

Carey also returns to Karl and Jayesh from the first issue of the title, the burgeoning neo-Nazi and the man who loved him.  Jayesh is recovering from the brutal beating he received at the hands of the Nazis Karl sicced on him. Jayesh is also dating Karl now, who’s living with the guilt of his previous actions.  (In addition to instigating the attack, he also sodomized his now-boyfriend with a broken bottle.) To top it all off, it’s suggested at the end of the issue that deep down, Jayesh knows everything.  Which would add another level of trauma to this already-stacked layer cake of messed up. If nothing else, this issue stuck in my mind for longer than most.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Fine (Nice for 61)