[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Richard Kadrey
Artist: Lee Garbett & Antonio Fabela
Summary
Picking up mere seconds after the conclusion of Lucifer #17, this issue is action packed! Fending off his son as well as Michael, Lucifer brandishes his massive sword and sends his foes to….well…I don’t know and neither does he honestly. The rest of the issue reveals a number of twists as well as further deceptions or manipulations of Lucifer, depending on your point of view.
Positives
This issue featured a lot of interesting characters and events which will make the coming stories more interesting. You can feel the pieces move along the board as events unfold and Lucifer retools himself and his plan.
The art of Lee Garbett along with the colors of Antonio Fabela create some eye catching panels . They have introduced yet another very creepy character who has been rendered in a phenomenal way to make him a balance of creepy and yet subtle.
As a nerd who enjoys his behind the scenes looks, the final two pages of this issue are really fun. Todd Klein walks us through his lettering process in a very detailed manner. Often in comics not a lot of attention is paid to the letter. Typically the artists are king, followed by writers, and then inkers, after that everyone kind of forgets that the BOOM or POW is done by another person. I highly appreciated a solid lesson on how the words of our heroes come to be.
Negatives
SO the ending of Lucifer #17 had a number a fans and readers in uproar over the Game of Thrones style event that happened. Intentional or not, Kadrey has put himself in an awkward situation and it reflects in the pacing of this issue. The various “scenes” in the issue feel like they don’t connect well, or at all, while clearly trying to be apart of the same story. Each of them separately are fluid but put together they don’t mesh. This resulted in the issue feeling clunky.
Verdict
While interesting and eye catching, Lucifer #18 feels clunky and in need of refinement.
