I know I've said before that my favorite issues of Lucifer tend to be the single issue tales, and "The Wheels of God," by Carey and Doran, is no exception. Using the strict celestial judge Solomon as his tie-in to the Lucifer world, Carey weaves a story of lives interconnected by corruption and weakness in Hamburg that culminates in redemption, punishment and despair for the players in it. It is almost completely disconnected from the supernatural happenings of Lucifer, and if Solomon were merely a determined cop instead of God's chosen judge, this could almost be a twisted crime narrative ala Tarantino or Ritchie. It's a nice break from the world-ending stuff going on in the main story, and its always a pleasure to see Doran's artwork gracing the comics world.
I should note right out front that Doran's work here is very different from the work I'm used to seeing from her. I tend to think of Doran as a sort of soft artist, but she mixes her realistic characters here with an edgy, gritty texture more akin to Eduardo Risso or Glenn Fabry than her usual work. There are some moments, such as Inspector Liebert's quick move with the gun, that have what look like overly strange perspectives, and others in that same vicinity of the story that seem rushed, not as detailed as the rest, but in general, Doran really captures the emotions of this story in her work. Hamburg and the inhabitants that we meet fairly radiate a sort of gentle sorrow and desperation for the faults they have and mistakes they've made.
Ultimately, this story, though manipulated from the outside by Solomon, is essentially about karma. The past catches up with some of our lead characters, and they're forced to make difficult choices about how to respond. The stories of a corrupt cop, local politician and local crimelord running together isn't hard to see, but Carey (or Solomon, as written by Carey) throws an interesting variable in with a reformed Neo-Nazi that really gives the story a lot of its power. In the end, it is the cop who makes the most direct choice to affect Solomon's plan, but the most compelling story is by far the story of Karl and Jayesh. Karl is not the easiest character to feel sympathy with, given his past, but because we only see his penitent present, it's easier to feel for him, and Carey certainly doesn't let him off easy by the end.
This story, while good, is of questionable importance to the overall story of Lucifer. Solomon's circumstances change, but that's really a one page event that could have taken place at any point. Instead, the story ties thematically into Lucifer's story, a question of how much you can do and still be worthy of redemption, of how much justice is enough and how much is too much, of how small choices can snowball into massive changes. As I said upfront, it's more a crime/city life story than a supernatural story, but it's an interesting look at relationships and the connections that people have to one another.
Lucifer has provided Carey with a structure where he can really show off his writing talents and ideas, and while the overall arc story of Lucifer is always entertaining, it is in these smaller stories that we really get a glimpse of Carey's talents. "The Wheels of God" more than anything else makes me long for a Carey story that would step free of the bounds of the supernatural and superhero for something in a more conventional, human vein, as his characterization here is terrific, and the woven narrative a thing of beauty. 8/10
