Excellent climax! ( )

Despite the fact that the centerpiece of this volume is the final battle on the plains of Armageddon, Lucifer's true greatness continues to show in the way it handles issues of scale. There are big battle scenes, but they are balanced against tiny, intimate moments, until finally, the fate of the universe rests in the hands of Elaine Belloc and depends on the lessons she learned in "The Yahweh Dance". Throughout the series, God has been the nemesis, both in terms of his relationship with the titular character and in the consequences of his absenteeism. So it's wonderful that Carey, even this late in the story, can shift our perspective on him so easily. ( )

The structural similarities between The Sandman and Lucifer continue: the climax of Lucifer comes in its second-last volume.  Most of this volume is given over to the epic story "Morningstar," where everything comes to a head.  Lucifer decides to save the universe from Fenris, and in doing so, must return to Hell to convince the new ruler of Hell, Christopher Rudd, to side with the Silver City and not against it.  The story has its moments (Lucifer, Mazikeen, and Elaine Belloc are all badass), but too much of it is again generic fantasy without much in the way of apparent rules.

It all picks up when Elaine sits on the Primum Mobile, placing herself at the highest point in creation, and making contact with God, who is outside it.  The conversation between Elaine, Lilith, and God over the fate of the universe is great, as is Elaine's journey into Lucifer's universe to save all three creations from destruction.  The end of the book, as Elaine sits in ascendancy over the remaining combined universe, is fantastic.  (I also amazed when Elaine reverted to the age she held at the beginning of the series when she sat on the Primum Mobile.  I hadn't realized how much she'd aged since then; the artists have done it very gradually, which is quite clever.)

Despite the epic events of this volume, Carey still finds time for two side stories.  The first, "The Wheels of God," is another featuring Solomon, and I didn't see the point of it, besides wrapping up the fates of some of the random side characters I'd long forgotten about.  It still has its moments, though.  The second is "The Beast Can't Take Your Call Right Now," which tells what happens when a magician summons the most powerful demon in Hell... only Rudd's taken them all out and so only Gaudium and Spera are left.  Hilarity ensues (except that though Michael Kaluta's art is good, it took me too long to figure out who Gaudium actually was).

Lucifer: « Previous in sequence | Next in sequence »

Apotheosis. Still thinking.

The closer I come to the end, the more difficult it is to think of the individual volumes rather than the whole.

Can't. Wait. To finish. Volume 11. ( )

And so it ends.

Or does it ?

When Mike Carey took one of Neil Gaiman's supporting cast from Sandman he always said that the series was going to have a defined length, much as Sandman did, and as Lucifer thunders towards its conclusion you can't help but see a little similarity between the conclusions of two of the greatest comic series ever written.

Pretty much every character from the entire ten book run of Lucifer makes an appearance in this volume, all the plots, sub-plots, side treks and machinations by all the involved parties are brought to fruition or destruction by the final pages.

The army of the Lilim, under command of Lilith (first wife of Adam) are gathering to storm the gates of Heaven where the Host wait in trepidation without God to help them, a renegade second Host created by Lilith and the angel Sandalphon has joined them. In Hell, dead man Christopher Rudd holds sway over dead souls and demons alike after Duma the silent angel spoke and gave him the key to Hell. Lucifer and Elaine witness the birth of Jill Presto's child, the rape baby of the Basanos. Fenris the wolf stalks the plains of Armageddon and the Archangel Michael has shed his blood into the roots of the World Tree. The powers then are all gathered, and war awaits.

I don't want to give away any more spoilers, the book is as beatifully written as ever, characters twisting and turning, fighting and backstabbing or remaining utterly loyal as their desires or dedication demands. The artwork, handled again by Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly, Marc Hempel and Ronald Wimberly, is wonderful and evocative.

The storytelling throughout has been fantastic, patient and always building towards this point, you'll find yourself thinking "Ah, so that's what was going on in book 2 (or 6, or 4, or 7......) as finally all the plots and alliances are revealed. Carey has maintained a very high level of storytelling through the entire series with all the strands weaving themselves into one vast, coherent story arc.

Also included in Morningstar is a one off featuring Gaudium in a story that serves to remind us just why Hell was so full, and what the consequences of power really are for the stupid and shallow.

Typically, the book doesn't end as you thought it might, Yahweh does make a belated appearence, many people die, some are brought to great power, The Great Power, and it might not be who you expect. The series could have ended here, on the last page of Morningstar everything seems to make a kind of sense, and it would have been no bad thing for the series to conclude as it does here, but Carey is a tidy sort of bloke, and he wants to sort out a few of the loose endings, so be prepared for this....

Lucifer : Evensong, January 2007. ( )