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LUCIFER #21
"Paradiso Part 1 of 3"
Recommended (8/10)
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DC Comics/Vertigo imprint
Writer: Mike Carey
Artists: Peter Gross & Ryan Kelly
Colors: Daniel Vozzo & Jamison
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Shelly Bond
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
During the
"Dalliance with the Damned" story, this appeared to be more of a political book
than a horror book, but Carey, Gross and Kelly have tipped the scales a little
more in this latest arc, focusing on horror as much as politics. They have woven
a very complicated tapestry that requires readers to have gotten on pretty much
at the beginning, but I am beginning to see the shape of the epic that Carey
speaks of in his "On the Ledge" column. The story stretches from the new cosmos
that Lucifer has created to Las Vegas, and encompasses a variety of spirits and
players. Though there are a few too many characters to call this an ideal
jumping-on point, it is the start of a new story and a good place for
adventurous new readers to give one of Vertigo's best titles a try.
The story does have a variety
of settings and moods, from heavenly to hellish to mundane, and Gross and Kelly
handle all quite well. Their depiction of the Silver City conveys its majesty
and power, their work on the Fiorenze the sleaziness of a Vegas arena combined
with a certain upscale feeling that tells us exactly how good Jill Presto has it
and their vision of Elaine Belloc's home suitably dreary and ordinary. In
addition, the artwork depicting the various members of the cast, human and not,
is terrific. I particularly enjoyed the demon who trailed Elaine Belloc and the
creepy re-animated viscera called up by Presto.
Just as the artwork is taking
us to a lot of different places, so too is the story. Carey has a handle on the
flowery speech practiced in Heaven and Hell, but he's also quite good at mundane
dialogue, such as that of Jill or between Elaine and her friends. Each character
comes alive on the page, and though Carey does at times get a little overly
flowery in his narration, he definitely gives a sense of epic magic in his
words.
The complexity of the story
is a benefit, in that we have so many characters and subplots going on, all
converging on Lucifer's realm. However, it is also a bit of a detriment, as
newer readers would probably find it very hard to figure out the story behind
Jill Presto, Elaine Belloc and even Lucifer and his new realm if they haven't
read the prior stories. It is fortunate that DC is keeping the older stories in
print through trade paperbacks.
Though I'm not as impressed by this storyline so far as I was by the masterful "Dalliance with the Damned," I remain quite happy with Lucifer. Carey, Gross and
Kelly have taken a character who is one of the oldest in existence, and who had
been skillfully imagined by Neil Gaiman, and really made him their own.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
