Lucifer No. 6 review: A long-awaited comeuppance

The mystery surrounding Lucifer begins to clear.

Back in the nineties, Neil Gaiman created The Sandman, widely regarded as one of the greatest comics ever created. One of the characters that inhabited that fantastical world was Lucifer, who walked away from the kingdom of Hell, played piano in a nightclub, and had various adventures in a comic of his own. Recently, he had four seasons of an acclaimed television show, including a kind of resurrection of his own with the comic you’re currently reading the review of.

One of four currently running titles taking place in the Sandman universe, along with House of Whispers, Books of Magic, and The Dreaming, Lucifer has been following the torment of the Father of Lies as he attempts to escape a preternatural prison, as well as the suffering of one John Decker, a former policeman trying to understand his late wife’s mysterious past.

Written by Dan Watters, illustrated by Sebastian and Max Fiumara, colored by Dave McCaig and lettered by Steve Wands, with a cover from Tiffany Turill, the latest issue of Lucifer brings more cohesiveness to a thus-far exemplary story.

Vertigo Comics

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Lucifer fights the multitudes of damned souls, and Decker cracks skulls

Last issue, Lucifer and Sycorax, the mother of his child, Caliban, began to make their way out of the realm Stingy Jack had created in her physical skull as a form of torment, and John Decker, slowly going mad from the presence of a sliver of Sycorax living in his mind, had stolen that skull from Gately House, a place where demons resided, ruled by Caliban himself.

This issue starts out with Lucifer and Sycorax fighting off the various souls Lucifer has harrowed over the centuries, which were placed inside Sycorax’s mind by Stingy Jack. Back at Gately House, Mazikeen and Caliban prepare to track down John Decker, who has left a bloody trail after stealing Sycorax’s skull. Decker, losing his mind, makes it back to his hotel room, where he bashes the skull with a flashlight.

Vertigo Comics

Motel rooms make for strange bedfellows

After defeating the various souls out to get them, Lucifer and Sycorax climb a tower and confront Stingy Jack, who gleefully explains that Lucifer is repeating his actions over and over, due to an agreement he made with Caliban to work magicks on Sycorax’s skull. The fragment of Sycorax in Decker’s head, however, has caused him to steal the skull from Gately House, breaking the enchantments.

As the land begins to dissolve, Lucifer pushes Jack off the tower, and he and Sycorax reminisce about their brief love affair and the birth of Caliban, ending with Sycorax agreeing to speak to her son, and the two of them traveling back to the real world.

The Lucifer in the real world tells Caliban how his mother forsook him, and they head to Gately House, where they find the newly re-substantiated Lucifer and Sycorax, along with Stingy Jack and Mazikeen, all standing in Decker’s motel room. Stepping outside, they witness a host of angels descending on them, since God hates miracles done by those other than himself.

It’s great to finally see all the various threads that have been laying around this story get woven into something cohesive and understandable, because at first the mystery was quite mind-boggling. That confusion perhaps was instrumental in drawing the reader in, making them need to see the story out to its end. The Fiumara’s art is stunning, particularly the watercolor pages depicting Sycorax’s love affair with Lucifer, and Watters is a wordsmith of the highest caliber. 9.9/10, highly recommended. Let us know what you thought in the comments section below.