Lucifer #41 Review

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Reviewer: “Starman” Matt Morrison
Story Title: Sisters of Mercy

Written by: Mike Carey
Penciled by: David Hahn
Inked by: David Hahn
Colored by: Daniel Vozzo
Lettered by: Comicraft
Editor: Shelly Bond
Publisher: Vertigo Comics

Okay you stubborn little SOBs…Listen up! For nearly every month since we’ve run this little hack rag called 411 comics, I have had the dubious honor of telling you all about the monthly comic called Lucifer. Without exception, every issue of this book has been a modern masterpiece, sure to go down as one of the finest contributions made to The Art. I have gone out of my way to describe the majesty of the writing, the beauty of the artwork and assure those nay-sayers who think “This is just another lame Sandman spinoff” that it is anything but lame.

And yet, somehow, despite this… the sheer generosity and goodness of my heart… some of you, and I include the other reviewers of this magazine in this, some of you… AREN’T READING THIS BOOK?!?!

What’s wrong with you all? I mean, I thought most of you were intelligent, discriminating consumers of fine literature! Several steps above the common fools who come into my shop, ask if there are any new #1 titles or anything that has sold really well before walking up, grabbing all the copies and a pile of mylar bags and boards, to seal away the books as some sort of protection against dying old and poor, never opening those tender pages to see the work that a poor team of creators slaved away to enlighten and amuse the world…

To these people I say, fine. I’m sick of it. Go and fritter away your money on Youngblood: Genesis. You won’t be missed, unless I am inspired to the generosity to give you a warning shot with my crossbow. I’m not going to tell you about this book anymore. I wouldn’t describe one detail of what happens in this issue of Lucifer if you got down on your LOUSY, FILTHY KNEES AND BEGGED ME, LIKE THE SCUM-SUCKING, TOADING EXCUSE FOR-


The management of 411 Comics would like to apologize. Mr. Morrison is not feeling well and-

THE HELL I’M NOT! AND YOU CAN TAKE YOUR APOLOGY AND-

*THWUNK*

Ahem. Mr. Morrison has in fact been found in the broom closet, bludgeoned over the head by his evil twin Trevor, who took his place in writing the first part of this review. Mr. Morrison will resume his regular reviewing duties next week. In the meantime, the rest of this review of Lucifer #41 will be written by Mr. Morrison’s 3rd grade English teacher, Mrs. Nesbitt.


Thank you. Now when I was asked to write Matthew’s review, I wondered why. I mean, he was the best student I had last year but I hardly have any qualifications to talk about comic books, being a fictional construct being used in a humorous context in an increasingly absurdist bit of writing. All I’ve ever done as far as comics go is pulled them out of young men’s hands when they should have been studying, looked at the covers to make sure there was nothing very naughty and then held it until the end of class.

Now, the cover to this book looks very naughty indeed. The name for a start… Lucifer. Now, I certainly hope nobody would ever make a comic about The Devil, but having the name there is not a good thing for healthy young men. And I’m not too crazy about the two ghostly girls, one of whom appears to be in very great pain indeed.

And then I opened the book, breaking my usual habit, and was shocked to see a topless woman. Nicely illustrated though it is, they could just as easily draw a blouse on her as draw out nipples. Probably be easier, actually! And I don’t care if she is a centaur and this is a mature title! That’s still no excuse for nudity- If you were really mature, you wouldn’t read such filthy things such as this. Why, I remember last year when I caught Matthew reading this book called Hellblazer-


Thank you, Mrs. Nesbitt. That is more than enough. I guess it is up to me then.

*ahem*

Lucifer #41 acts as an epilogue to the previous five-issue saga. In it, two ghostly girls are given a brief chance at life by Lucifer, before making up their minds on a reward that he owes them for saving his life. The story of “what would you do with your last hours” is an old, but true one and is played quite well here. Highlights include the novel solution towards escaping a bad situation when you are going to die soon anyway and an amusing blasphemous speech by the former archangel himself about how “If you’re going to have gods, you might as well have farcical gods that command no respect.”

The artwork, by guest artist David Hahn, is much brighter than is usual with this title but it does not disrupt the usual tone of the book; resembling that of Mike Allred with a slightly darker tone. The coloring and lettering are, as always, excellent and the overall package is quite satisfying.

Oh yes. And don’t forget that the New Fall Season premiers in four days time.

He stands at the center of the universe, old as the stars and wise as infinity. And he can see the turning of the last page long before you’ve even started the book. He’s like rain and fog and the chilling touch of the grave. He is called many names in a thousand tongues on a million worlds. Heckler. The Smirking One. Riffer. The Lonely Magus. Wolf-Brother. The God of Snark. Mister Pirate. The Guy In The Rafters. Captain. The Voice In The Back. But here and now, in this place and in this time, he is called The Starman. And... he's wonderful.