Lucifer: Devil in the Gateway TPB
Story:
Art:

Written by Mike Carey
Art by Scott Hampton, Chris Weston, James Hodgkins, Warren Pleece & Dean Ormston

Published by DC/Vertigo.
Contents: Original limited series, 1-3; First story arc of ongoing series, 1-4; Foreword by Neil Gaiman

Price: $14.95

My Verdict: Ooooo. Thank you.

When we last saw Lucifer Morningstar, in the pages of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, he was the owner and chief performer of Lux, a piano bar. But can the Adversary really sit back and relax for long? Well, apparently not. He was just waiting for the right opportunity. When Heaven needs a job done and don't want to get their hands dirty--they look to Lucifer. And Lucifer's price is pretty dear, make no mistake.

DC has been looking to spinoff something from Sandman for quite some time now, or at least something that could stand up to its source material. The Dreaming had its moments, but it never really transcended, never really got as crazy as it could have, or probably should have. So when Sandman Presents was doing a three-issue series with Lucifer as the star, I'm sure a lot of people were like me--what the hell, it's Sandman, we'll give it a shot. Good thing, too.

The original limited series was brutal and taut, just like its titular character. Lucifer is exactly what you would want him to be, like I said above: the original opportunist. And the original boy scout too, since he's always prepared. Many kudos to Carey for going where few writers could go and kick ass. Hampton's artwork is just perfect, and after its style it takes a little getting used to Weston's in the ongoing series portion, but a few pages and it's just fine.

This may not be the Vertigo flagship, but that's just due to 100 Bullets being around. Regardless, it's good stuff and gives new meaning to the term "evil".