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LUCIFER #23
"Paradiso Part 3 of 3"
Recommended (8/10)
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DC Comics/Vertigo imprint
Writer: Mike Carey
Artists: Peter Gross & Ryan Kelly
Colors: Daniel Vozzo
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Shelly Bond
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
Well, give Carey credit for surprises, as the "Paradiso" arc ends completely differently from the way I expected. There's a lovely amount of complexity in Lucifer, with heavy references back to Sandman and previous issues, and it's clear that Carey
is spinning an epic tale here. At times, his taste for the epic and love for
well-laid clues gets a little unfriendly to new readers, but for the most part,
I appreciate the level of groundwork laid underneath his stories. On top of a
complex and manipulative story, fitting for Lucifer, the book has gorgeous
artwork from Gross and Kelly, who seem quite at home with the unusual settings
and creatures that populate Lucifer's worlds.
Now that Lucifer is about two years old, the scope of Carey's
inventions are becoming clearer. "Paradiso" has tied in just about everything
that has gone before, including the Basanos, Ellaine Belloc, the House of
Windowless Rooms and of course the gateway to another dimension. It's
interesting that the story has turned into a re-telling of Lucifer's war against
heaven, in a way, with everyone in the story choosing up sides. Unfortunately
for Lucifer, many have chosen the side against him, but that's a boon for the
readers, because in order to be taken seriously as antagonists, they need to be
seriously nasty and powerful. The demonstration this issue of the Basanos'
abilities and cruelty is quite vivid, and the dedication of Susano to his
vengeance is equally powerful.
In fairness, a lot of what
makes that come through so well is the artwork by Gross and Kelly. The level of
power that the Basanos is working on is clear, full of Old Testament fire and
blood, and the pain on Susano's face makes the words describing his suffering
really work. There's a lot of ground to cover in this series, from unreal
gargoyles and gods to fairly human looking little girls and men, and Gross and
Kelly do a fine job of making all of the elements believable.
Of course, all of this complexity and detail has a price, and that price is one of accessibility. For someone who has not been following Lucifer, the war between the Basanos, the involvement of Elaine Belloc and indeed the identity of Susano are all going to be a blur of information. Even though the context makes the basics of the conflict clear, someone coming into "Paradiso" cold would probably not get the resonance needed from those characters to truly enjoy the story. In the same way, though the end quote is probably a powerful conclusion for those who have recently read "Season of the Mists," for folks who haven't read Sandman (or just haven't read it recently, like
myself) it's not quite as effective.
Leaving aside issues of accessibility, which to be fair are covered by DC's numerous trade paperbacks, Lucifer remains an excellent series. It has the same scope and sense of magic that made Sandman a hit, but it has a different tone and style. It may earn reader attention based on fond remembrance of Lucifer in Sandman, but Lucifer stands
on its own two feet as a Vertigo title.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
