Lucifer Vol. 1: The Infernal Comedy by Dan Watters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
One of four books expanding Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed Sandman Universe. The onetime ruler of Hell has gone missing. Lucifer is MIA. He finds himself imprisoned and crippled by mysterious forces who seek to torment him for their own terrible ends. He also happens to have no idea how he got there.
This is the one true tale of what befell the Prince of Lies, the Bringer of Light–Lucifer. The blind, destitute old man, who lives in a small boarding house in a quiet little town, where nothing is quite what it seems and no one can leave. He’s trapped, you see? Trapped in a bizarre prison with no memory of how he got there or why. He has no recollection of setting out to find his offspring. He also does not remember that if he does not find him it could be the end of all things. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, a cop who may have brain cancer is tasked with a mission. Find and Kill Lucifer.
Collects Lucifer #1-6 and Sandman Universe Special #1
Warnings: physical violence (including partner abuse), gun violence, torture, mutilation, body horror and gore, depictions of self-harm, terminally ill partner, animal cruelty
Another of the set of stories set in the Sandman Universe, the volume opens with a common chapter (to The Dreaming, so I am assuming for all of the four new stories) introducing the world to us, and where it is starting. In Lucifer, the story goes back and forth in time, in another world and this one, and has Lucifer trapped in a desolate place without his powers, while a police Detective is searching for the cousin that his dying wife mentioned. I will admit, compared to Dreaming, this one took a lot of time to catch on to as to what is actually going on, but that is mainly because of how the story jumps across time with no warning, which means having a timeline in your head gets confusing. Lucifer is trapped without the memory of how he got to that place, being cared for by a witch, in a small village where some famous characters through history reside, and he is being tormented by this other character called Jack. In another time, his son is approaching him to find his mother. Detective finds that metaphors may be real, as he goes to Gately House in search for his wife’s cousin, and finds the place to be more than it seems. There is a whole cast of characters whose stories intersect here, and while it takes time to connect the dots, it makes for a rich story that explains the characters and their motivations by the end. As for the story overall, it feels like there was so much of the backstory that comes towards the end, that it sort of ruins any enjoyment of earlier chapters as you are pretty much confused throughout much of it.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Vertigo, via Netgalley.
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Releases on June 25, 2019
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