I am in love with Lucifer. It’s brilliant, engaging, and I devoured the whole run within twelve hours. Perhaps.

Lucifer’s struggles are, unalarmingly, my own, only magnified to cosmic scale. I have a problem with pride, and the asociality that comes with it. I can only bear few people, and they all must be as great as Maz. I have a bone to pick with intelligent design. Of all possible sins to suffer for, I would suffer for freedom. And, like Lucifer, I don’t care for things that don’t touch me.

But aside from its relevance, Lucifer delivers. Its writing and art styles call to mind that of the Sandman series. Fantastical stories —sometimes grotesque, sometimes beautiful— are interspersed with the stories of people up close. And what people they are: fallen cherubim who have it in them to be funny, loyal and useful; a lilim With A Heart Of Gold; a deck of cards who mimic the greed of men; a girl who is not just a girl; centaurs, the holy host, demons and the damned. A pair of brothers and their father.

And all of them have their own stories. Not all angels are nice, and not all demons can be said to be evil. They are, apparently, who they have all chosen to be.

They just don’t own it. The assumption and reality of intelligent design is the crux of the matter. Angels would differ but would also label all of their actions with the holy name. Demons would inflict pain and humans would bear it under the banner of Lucifer’s will. It’s funny, because Lucifer is a story of the making and unmaking of self. But only the Morningstar, bar some exceptions, recognizes it. 

[SPOILER]

What’s even funnier is that there is only one way Lucifer’s issue with will can be resolved. In some ways, the ending of the series was inevitable. 

And lastly: the other thing I love about Lucifer, I love too about the Sandman series. It builds its own mythos, and weaves from the pantheons of known and unknown gods. It makes for a very rich thinkpiece (and art feast). Also it makes me geek out. 

For example. The flaw of god is in his perfection. 

I remembered Gaiman’s other works, American Gods and Neverwhere, when I read this panel — in a very roundabout way. Some things are powered by belief.

 

And then something about free will, which reminded me my favorite line in Gaiman and Pratchett’s Good Omens. INEFFABLE. 

I think one of the best parts of the whole series is Lucifer’s angst. It’s very rich. 

“Why do they blame me for all their little failings? They use my name as if I spent my entire day sitting on their shoulders, forcing them to commit acts they would otherwise find repulsive. ‘The Devil made me do it.’ I have never made one of them do anything. Never.”

Lucifer appeals to me in the same way bad ideas appeal to anyone. Highly recommended. Be sure not to worship him. 

P.S. I was going through the internet and I saw read through a forum decisively concluding that Batman would win against Lucifer. I am sorry to burst your bubble. Lucifer can literally destroy worlds. At the very least I saw another forum concluding that Lucifer was smarter. Ish. Some people are persistent.

P.P.S. Then I went ahead and read Sandman again (because why not), and in the process I unearthed such gems. 

When you meta way too much (is this not me, thought). 

 

Del speaks a lot of the good stuff, I think. Dream is very himself.

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This has been a scheduled post. Yesterday, I had a thanksgiving lunch with my family.

I first read Lucifer sometime around April/May.