Lucifer was a comic series published by Vertigo, a spin-off from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman focusing on the titular character, Lucifer Morningstar. The series continues from the story Season of Mists and Lucifer's first mini-series, Sandman Presents: Lucifer, and builds off of plot threads set up therein. The series ran from June 2000 to August 2006. It received a second volume revival beginning in 2016 that concluded in 2018, with Lucifer's story continuing into a new series within The Sandman Universe.[1]
Premise[]
The series follows Lucifer Morningstar as he tries to create a world of his own and gets involved in the affairs of angels, demons, gods, and mortals in the process.
History[]
After some ten billion years, Lucifer abandoned Hell. During his tenure, he played the various demons of Hell against each other, provided a place for dead mortals to be tormented, but at some point, he got fed up, bored with his existence. He wearied of being the blame for every sin from mortals, such as the idea that he purchased and traded for souls, which was untrue. He resented the assumption that he caused the evils humans committed - he did not, in fact, have anything to do with the actions of the mortals, he simply punished them once they were dead. He felt it an unfair his punishment for one rebellion was eternal. Lucifer finally emptied Hell before locking Hell's gates and handing over the key to Hell to Dream of the Endless. Eventually, control of Hell was handed over to two Angels, Duma, the angel of silence and Remiel, while Lucifer retired to Earth.
The series has him running a piano bar, "Lux" in Los Angeles with the assistance of his consort, Mazikeen, Lucifer is shown as sophisticated and calculatedly charming. Charismatic and handsome, Lucifer is a deadly and Machiavellian character, with little regard for human life. He is a proud, arrogant, and vindictive fallen angel who has no qualms using his powers, second only to those of his Father.
At one time, Lucifer had been described as having been the wisest, most beautiful, and most powerful of all the angels in heaven. Despite his egotistical and narcissistic tendencies, he does follow his own code of honor. He refuses to ever lie, which he considers to be both crass and undignified, he insists also on paying back debts, and keeps his word whenever it is given.
Lucifer's retirement was disturbed by a series of intrusions from his past, and eventually tried to create a universe in competition with that of his Father. This puts him on a collision course with several powerful entities that have a vested interest in the new creation and draws the angelic host into the fray - including his brother, the archangel Michael Demiurgos.
Of the few beings in the universe he respects, Lucifer's brother, Michael, and the Angel Duma rank highly among them. Just as there are very few he can be said to care about; these include the demon, Mazikeen, and his niece Elaine
Collections[]
| # | Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Book One | Lucifer vol. 1 #1-13 and Sandman Presents: Lucifer #1-3 | TBA | 978-1401240264 |
| 2 | Book Two | Lucifer vol. 1 #14-28 and Lucifer: Nirvana | TBA | 978-1401242602 |
| 3 | Book Three | Lucifer vol. 1 #29-45 | TBA | 978-1401246044 |
| 4 | Book Four | Lucifer vol. 1 #46-61 | TBA | 978-1401246051 |
| 5 | Book Five | Lucifer vol. 1 #62-75 | TBA | 978-1401249458 |
| 6 | Cold Heaven | Lucifer vol. 2 #1-6 | TBA | 978-1401261931 |
| 7 | Father Lucifer | Lucifer vol. 2 #7-12 | TBA | 978-1401265410 |
| 8 | Blood in the Streets | Lucifer vol. 2 #13-19 | TBA | 978-1401271398 |
Other collections[]
- Lucifer Omnibus, vol. 1 - Collects vol. 1 #1-35, plus Sandman Presents: Lucifer #1-3 & Lucifer: Nirvana. - WorldCat - ISBN 9781401294762
- Lucifer Omnibus, vol. 2 - Collects vol. 1 #36-75. - WorldCat - ISBN 9781779505644
Trivia[]
- The Fox/Netflix television series, Lucifer, starring Tom Ellis and Lauren German, is loosely based upon the comic, altering the character of Lucifer from blonde to brunette, and from an arrogant and alien sociopath who meddled in human affairs out of mere curiosity, to a more relatable, humanized Lucifer who simply does not understand emotions, and hides his ignorance from long habit behind a cavalier and thoughtless facade.
References[]
| The Sandman Presents & Other Stories | |
|---|---|
| The Sandman Presents | |
| Lucifer: The Morningstar Option | Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 |
| Sandman Presents: Love Street | Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 |
| Sandman Presents: Petrefax | Travels In Malegrise: Part One • Travels in Malegrise: Part Two • Travels in Malegrise: Part Three • Travels in Malegrise: Part Four |
| Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives | The Secret of Immortality, Part One • The Secret of Immortality, Part Two • The Secret of Immortality, Part Three • The Secret of Immortality, Part Four |
| Sandman Presents: The Corinthian | Death in Venice, Act 1 • Death in Venice, Act 2 • Death in Venice, Act 3 |
| Sandman Presents: The Thessaliad | The Daughters of Garm or Far Too Much About Pig • The Long Crawl, or The Trouble With Riddle Games • Necromancer, or What Ever Made You Think Ghosts Carry Money • Soul Food, or So Much for Clever Hidden Plans |
| Sandman Presents: Bast | Eternity Game, Part I • Eternity Game, Part II • Eternity Game, Part III |
| Sandman Presents: Thessaly: Witch for Hire | My Girl, or Far Too Much About Snakes • Ghostraker, or the Importance of Well-Hidden Jars • Something the Cat Dragged In, or an Even Bigger Quest Than the Last Story • The Last Full Measure, or What Are All These Dead Guys Doing in My Living Room? |
| One-shots | Sandman Presents: Merv Pumpkinhead, Agent of D.R.E.A.M. • Sandman Presents: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Dreams... But Were Afraid to Ask • Sandman Presents: The Furies |
| Other Stories | |
| The Books of Magic vol 2 | Bindings • Summonings • Reckonings • Transformations • The Girl in the Box • The Burning Girl • Death After Death • Book Eight |
| Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold | Byzantium • Black Death • Eyam |
| Lucifer vol 1-2 | Book One • Book Two • Book Three • Book Four • Book Five • Cold Heaven • Father Lucifer • Blood in the Streets |
| Navigation | |
| Core Series • Spin-offs by Neil Gaiman • The Sandman Presents & Other stories • Sandman Universe | |