Tag Archives: Mike Carey

Lucifer: Mansions of Silence

With the conclusion of Mansions of the Silence, I have completed over half of Mike Carey’s Lucifer story. And from a structural perspective, it is pretty obvious that the story is about half over. Well, I can’t say that much, but it’s at least obvious that it has reached a dividing point. That’s it’s half instead of a third or whatever, that can only be seen in retrospect. My point, anyway, is that the loose ends are rapidly being tied off. In keeping with his character, Lucifer is repaying his debts regardless of the cost to those around him.

Half the story follows his crew on a journey he himself cannot take, to rescue the soul of Elaine Belloc and clear that debt to her. And it makes for a pretty good travel-adventure yarn, sailing through the planes of the heavens on a Norse boat of the dead, built by honest-to-God[1] giants out of the fingernails of dead Vikings. Good mythical stuff, is all I’m saying. Meanwhile, the angel himself and his brother Michael take advantage of a device Lucifer recently found that can see into the mind of God, the results of which have almost certainly set in motion the second half of the story in ways that are currently well beyond my perception.

Pausing to take stock and look at the series through the Sandman lens[2], the storyline is pretty much as complex still, but the literary weight is… I’m having a hard time with it. It’s either not so much there, which is kind of reasonable, Sandman being pretty much seminal in the field of literary graphic novels. Or else, it’s there, but much weightier and a lot of it is sliding by me. Which is certainly possible. But without being too full of myself, if I’m missing it, most of the other readers are too. Anyhow, I say again: not quite living up to Sandman means you have a damn fine story happening.

[1] Er. Yeah, sorry about that.
[2] Since this seems to be my day for comparisons.

Lucifer: Inferno

Here’s an irony for you. Despite being the book I finished most recently (and wrapping up today’s spate of reviews, in fact), it’s the one I remember least. Not, I’m pretty sure, as a reflection on Inferno‘s quality, either. I know I was liking it as I read. Anyway, though, I can say a few things about it. The first of which is that it feels like the second half of its predecessor, The Divine Comedy. And, okay, eponymously speaking, that seems apparent. But I still find it noteworthy because of the regularity with which graphic novel editors make a point of having standalone collections, as far as an ongoing series can accomplish that. And given the thematic divisions that tend to accompany plot breaks in Gaiman’s work and its spinoff here, it’s more noteworthy still. Which I guess is a lot of time spent to say, “Huh, it’s two halves of the same basic storyline, and that doesn’t happen often,” but like I said, it is unusual for the format.

Thirdly[1], I have a fair amount of respect for the character evolution that Carey has been giving Lucifer. He’s always been an interesting and occasionally, briefly, likeable anti-hero. It would be hard to publish very many months’ worth of comics without that much to recommend the main character. But at some point that has crept up on me unawares, there was a tipping point to a process I hadn’t really perceived before the fact: he’s been gradually infusing Lucifer with a certain nobility of spirit[2] to match his uncompromising (albeit typically self-serving) sense of honor, to the point where now, any time things seem to be going pear-shaped, I’m not merely interested to see the story of how he twists things to his advantage and wins after all. No, at this point in the tale, I unexpectedly find myself genuinely disappointed at the idea that he might not win through. Sympathy for the devil, indeed.

Also? Mazikeen[3] has surprised me once again, and I think before very long at all she will be my favorite character in the series, and maybe even retroactively a very strong finisher in Sandman itself.

[1] I know what you are thinking. I respectfully disagree.
[2] See also the impressive To Reign in Hell, by the always impressive Steven Brust.
[3] Who I see I have never previously mentioned is Lucifer’s one-time right-hand woman, and more recently (as the newly-appointed leader of her people) one of his many grasping adversaries. Though of course it’s more nuanced than that.

Ultimate Fantastic Four: Ghosts

It’s been almost a week and an unfortunately high number of other books since I read Ghosts, but I can certainly say that I liked it. The Cosmic Cube storyline that started all the way back in God War finally comes to a head, and in such a way as to make me like that book a little better than I did at the time[1]. Basically, big bad guy Thanatos shows up to swipe the Cosmic Cube he tricked Reed Richards into making for him, which has consumed Reed’s attention for so long that all of his relationships are falling by the wayside. And as if a godlike dude with complete control over death being given a device chock-full of cosmic powers[2] isn’t enough to worry about, two threats from the communist past are also hanging around to make life tricky for our overwhelmed heroes. So, if you’ve been missing the Crimson Dynamo from your admittedly non-existent Ultimate Iron Man series[4] or the Red Ghost (who you may recall controls hyper-intelligent animals and is also sort of a ghost) from this series, Carey has got you covered! Meanwhile, brief spoilers below the break. Continue reading

Ultimate Fantastic Four: Silver Surfer

Being behind makes for subpar reviews. So, y’know. But I liked Silver Surfer more than I’ve liked the last few Fantastic Fours, even despite the fact that it was a fair bit more divergent from regular Marvel continuity than I’m used to the Ultimate universe being. Basically, Reed Richards is continuing to research the cosmic cube he was tricked into taking home a couple of books ago, and this time he accidentally summons a familiar-looking silver being riding a familiar-looking silver surfboard. And then the world kind of gets kidnapped. As usual, the FF are the most sci-fi series in Marvel, even when it doesn’t seem to match the rest of the continuity. Sometimes, that bothers me. This time, at least, it was a pretty damn cool story, albeit one with no apparent continuity impact. But I could be wrong about that, easily enough. If I find out otherwise, I’ll let you know!