A new chapter begins in this month’s Lucifer, but it’s the same plots, betrayal, magic and (thank God) (sorry, Morningstar) the same artist I like so much. See below for a review of Lucifer #14.
(Minor spoilers below.)
The story’s getting a little complicated. Mazikeen was in charge of Hell but she wasn’t happy with the arrangement (she sat on the throne because her hands were nailed to the wood.) Lucifer’s son tried to take over, but he’s gone over to Heaven’s side only because they’ve promised to help him kill his father. His mother (Lucifer’s former…somethingorother, demonic baby momma? Sorry.) is holding a lot of power in Hell, but his dead-now-ghost girlfriend (the son’s girlfriend, not Lucifer’s) is talking with Mazikeen and it’s anybody’s guess how that will turn out. But Lucifer’s not as concerned with his son, former girlfriend, current girlfriend, or any other family member as much as his own father: God. Who he wants to kill. Who wants to kill him right back. And is possibly insane. Or possessed.
It’s complicated.
Richard Kadrey seems to be doing a good job with the deliciously tangled reins that’ve been handed over from Holly Black. I thought the issue spelled out a lot of the dangling plot lines without getting too exposition-heavy, which is tricky with a story like this.
Lee Garbett is back doing the art, and I’ve gotten to like his art just a smidge more than the art in the original Lucifer series by Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly, and Dean Ormston, and that’s saying something because I loved the art there. There’s just something in Garbett’s work that’s really appealing, a little Andy Kubert-esq in the the eyes sometimes. The angular lines and the shapes of faces are just a little more attractive than the art of the original series. Just a little. (Though Ormston did the art in the Centaur story in volume 4, and nothing’s topped my love for that one.)
I do have to ask though: who is Arabelle Crane? I swear, when she first appeared I was convinced it was a gender swapped John Constantine: blonde hair, cigarette, trench coat, sarcasm and badass magic. Just, not male. My google fu isn’t turning up anything, is she completely new? She seems familiar, but I’m sure my second guess isn’t right either; she’s probably not Jonathan Crane’s daughter. Though wouldn’t that be cool?