125th out of 1,496 books
—
3,009 voters
Lucifer, Vol. 1: Devil in the Gateway (Lucifer #1)
by
Mike Carey (Goodreads Author),
Scott Hampton , Chris Weston , James Hodgkins , Warren Pleece , Dean Ormston , Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author)
From the pages of THE SANDMAN, Lucifer Morningstar, the former Lord of Hell, is unexpectedly called back into action when he receives a mission from Heaven. Given free reign to use any means necessary, Lucifer is promised a prize of his own choosing if he fulfills this holy request. But once he completes his mission, the Prince of Darkness' demand shakes the foundation of...more
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
June 1st 2001
by Vertigo
(first published 2001)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
"Lucifer" is a graphic novel that's a spin-off from Gaiman's incredibly popular "Sandman" series. As such, it shares a lot in common with Gaiman's re-envisioning of mythology. In "The Sandman: Seasons of Mist", Lucifer resigned from his post in Hell, had his wings cut off by Dream, and "retired" to host a nightclub called Lux where Lucifer plays his own piano.
This book and series picks up where that left off--in a story arc called "The Morningstar Option", opening with a visit from Amenadiel, a...more
This book and series picks up where that left off--in a story arc called "The Morningstar Option", opening with a visit from Amenadiel, a...more
The art in the first half has a very painterly look to it - as if it's all been coloured in watercolour paint - which adds an airy, breezy quality to the pages. Which is a fascinating counterpoint to the menace that lies just beneath the surface of the interactions between characters.
The actual questing and action are almost beside the point in this book - or at least for me, they're not terribly compelling, compared with the mythology of heaven, hell, the world and humanity that Carey teases ou...more
The actual questing and action are almost beside the point in this book - or at least for me, they're not terribly compelling, compared with the mythology of heaven, hell, the world and humanity that Carey teases ou...more
I recently reread Sandman, and while I do love it for its own sake, I must confess that my real reason for trekking through Gaiman's epic was to get to Carey's equally majestic, albeit much-less praised, story. Frankly, I'm not sure why that is, as in many ways, I think Lucifer surpasses its origin story. Both boast rich, and mostly independent cosmologies, but whereas for a significant part of its run, Sandman exists as a framework for Gaiman to write any kind of story he wants, Lucifer is surp...more
Jan 27, 2008
joanna
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
neil gaiman fans
Recommended to joanna by:
Bro (Dave Kurimsky)
(my bro gave it to me for my b-day. gaiman's incarnation of lucifer as a piano-bar owner...classic...)
there were three stories and i liked the first one the most. then i got sort of confused (i think because there was a card-playing theme...i am befuddled by cards) i think mike carey did really well with the characterization and there were some amazing representations in the art. it's amazing how much you want to *like* lucifer when you read something like this! but you're reading happily and al...more
there were three stories and i liked the first one the most. then i got sort of confused (i think because there was a card-playing theme...i am befuddled by cards) i think mike carey did really well with the characterization and there were some amazing representations in the art. it's amazing how much you want to *like* lucifer when you read something like this! but you're reading happily and al...more
30 December 2012
Rating: * * 1/2
I really wanted to like Lucifer, Vol. 1: Devil in the Gateway more than I did. Perhaps I'm too simpleminded to grasp its appeal because it has mostly glowing reviews. Alas, I'm a dumdum and did not enjoy it as I wish I had. It sounded so promising: A spinoff of the Lucifer created by the almighty Neil Gaiman in The Sandman.
There were parts in the first and last story that were interesting, but the writing felt mostly contrived. It takes big cajones to take on the t...more
Rating: * * 1/2
I really wanted to like Lucifer, Vol. 1: Devil in the Gateway more than I did. Perhaps I'm too simpleminded to grasp its appeal because it has mostly glowing reviews. Alas, I'm a dumdum and did not enjoy it as I wish I had. It sounded so promising: A spinoff of the Lucifer created by the almighty Neil Gaiman in The Sandman.
There were parts in the first and last story that were interesting, but the writing felt mostly contrived. It takes big cajones to take on the t...more
Tam kde Gaiman "miltonovského" Lucifera v Sandmanovi zanechal (tedy po abdikaci z postu Pána Pekel), tam Carey pokračuje. A hned od počátku jasně určí pravidla, dle kterých bude celá uzavřená série v následujících knihách hrát. Mnohavrstevné příběhy vycházející z mytologie rochnící si ve filozofických rozpravách a intrikách. Příběhy uvnitř příběhů, kde vše souvisí se vším, byť mnohdy bude spojitost dlouho nejasná, ale nakonec to do sebe vždy zapadne. Carey vás záhy naučí všímat si detailů, proto...more
It takes some arrogance, worthy of the Prince of Lies himself, to claim, as this book does, that the book is based on characters created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg. I would think that, at the very least, John Milton might have some prior claim on the creation of Lucifer, the fallen angel, but in the legal shenanigans of the comic world, what that claim is actually revealing is that this graphic novel is a spin-off from Gaiman's incredibly popular Sandman series. As such, it...more
In the Sandman story "Season of Mists", Lucifer gives up the key to Hell and loses his wings to walk the world. This series now continues his story. This volume re-introduces us to Lucifer, owner of a nightclub in Los Angeles as an angel comes to him, asking for a job to be done, with any payment he wishes in return.
Lucifer is an intriguing anti-hero. He's arrogant and smug, but with good cause. You never really feel that he's in any danger as we follow him around, but that he's a source of dang...more
Lucifer is an intriguing anti-hero. He's arrogant and smug, but with good cause. You never really feel that he's in any danger as we follow him around, but that he's a source of dang...more
Aug 03, 2011
Airiz C
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Sandman fans, anyone interested in religion-related lit
LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR. Most of us know him as the Prince of Hell, formerly the angel Samael, proud Lightbringer of the Heavens. But you might as well include the first title as a thing of the past, because apparently Lucifer has resigned. Yes, folks, you heard that right: he’s quit.
That's at least according to the canon of Gaiman’s phenomenal graphic novel series, The Sandman. Establishing a continuity with Gaiman’s modern interpretation of the Devil, Mike Carrey crafts this spin-off following Luc...more
That's at least according to the canon of Gaiman’s phenomenal graphic novel series, The Sandman. Establishing a continuity with Gaiman’s modern interpretation of the Devil, Mike Carrey crafts this spin-off following Luc...more
I've been reading this series since a friend loaned the whole collection to me about three months ago. It's profoundly satisfying. Not only is Mike Carey an exceptional storyteller (I'm also a fan of his Unwritten series), but he weaves an enormous amount of diverse mythology into a complex arc. Basically perfectly. His characters are superb: sympathetic, alarming, funny, stubborn and striving for selfhood in the fiercest way. The slant on theology is fascinating. The artwork is stunning, and su...more
Holy moly, this was a great first volume to a series.
Mike Carey piqued my interest with his work on current comic "Unwritten", so I thought I should give his old opus a go. Following in the "literary comic" style of Gaiman's Sandman, "Lucifer" is a good slow burn. Every bit of dialogue, every character detail, every relationship is important. The world lives and breathes, and Heaven and Hell have never been more believable to me.
And yet, this volume couldn't be more exciting. The stakes are high...more
Mike Carey piqued my interest with his work on current comic "Unwritten", so I thought I should give his old opus a go. Following in the "literary comic" style of Gaiman's Sandman, "Lucifer" is a good slow burn. Every bit of dialogue, every character detail, every relationship is important. The world lives and breathes, and Heaven and Hell have never been more believable to me.
And yet, this volume couldn't be more exciting. The stakes are high...more
A spin-off of The Sandman, Lucifer often comes close-- closer than anyone else has, anyway-- to matching the epic grandeur of its parent comic. Lucifer makes for a terrific anti-hero, neither good nor evil, just a powerful force in the universe.
Focusing on the Fallen Angel after he's given up being master of Hell, this initial collection finds Lucifer doing Heaven's dirty work, and then engaging in a quest to reclaim his wings (which he'd had Dream cut off for him back in Sandman's "Season of M...more
Focusing on the Fallen Angel after he's given up being master of Hell, this initial collection finds Lucifer doing Heaven's dirty work, and then engaging in a quest to reclaim his wings (which he'd had Dream cut off for him back in Sandman's "Season of M...more
Before I read this volume, I read book four ("The Divine Comedy"), as well as leafing through the pages of book one. Both actions are akin, I guess, to flipping to the last page of an Agatha Christie mystery, but I knew just by looking at the artwork that I would enjoy "Devil in the Gateway" more than the more epic "Comedy".
In an online review writer Mike Carey downplays this first volume, saying he was still finding his footing and that he was attempting to write like Neil Gaiman. Both are argu...more
In an online review writer Mike Carey downplays this first volume, saying he was still finding his footing and that he was attempting to write like Neil Gaiman. Both are argu...more
I read the first six or seven volumes of "Lucifer" years and years ago, but then I couldn't find the next in the series so I forgot about it. Now I have the whole series, so I'm starting from the beginning.
I really enjoyed Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series. This is a spinoff centering around Lucifer Morningstar, erstwhile ruler of Hell, now propietor of a nightclub called Lux. It has all the thrill and humor and intelligence of "Sandman," but it doesn't require quite as expansive a knowledge of myt...more
I really enjoyed Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series. This is a spinoff centering around Lucifer Morningstar, erstwhile ruler of Hell, now propietor of a nightclub called Lux. It has all the thrill and humor and intelligence of "Sandman," but it doesn't require quite as expansive a knowledge of myt...more
I found the overall story and continuation from the Sandman to be good. Lucifer made for interesting subject matter, and the supporting cast were mixes of interesting and somewhat blah. I can see why Gaiman was in favor of this spinoff.
In the end, the frequent use of profanity in some story lines is enough to dissuade me from recommending this book generally. For fans of the Sandman, it's worth picking up. Beyond that, I'd say it's not for everyone. A few chapters were excellent, while some oth...more
In the end, the frequent use of profanity in some story lines is enough to dissuade me from recommending this book generally. For fans of the Sandman, it's worth picking up. Beyond that, I'd say it's not for everyone. A few chapters were excellent, while some oth...more
This is just a review of the first volume from someone who hasn't read the whole thing yet.
I am certainly intruiged. Mike Carey is doing a great job so far at taking Gaiman's world and making it his own, without destroying the essence of the Endless's world.
Lucifer lacks a little bit of the dreamlike quality that the Sandman had; both because nobody could do that as well as Neil, but also because it wouldn't fit here. Lucifer is a little more plot-oriented, although so far the only consistent c...more
I am certainly intruiged. Mike Carey is doing a great job so far at taking Gaiman's world and making it his own, without destroying the essence of the Endless's world.
Lucifer lacks a little bit of the dreamlike quality that the Sandman had; both because nobody could do that as well as Neil, but also because it wouldn't fit here. Lucifer is a little more plot-oriented, although so far the only consistent c...more
Suurepärane. Stoori saab alguse.
Lucifer saab Taevalt palve uurida salapärast entiteeti, kes (mis) võimaldab inimestel nende soovide täitumist, see aga kõigutab Tasakaalu. Tasuks lubatakse Luciferile ükskõik mida ta tahab. Lucifer tahab "vabat pääset", mis osutub ukseks teise dimensiooni/reaalsusesse/universumisse.
Hamburgis meisterdab vana bibliofiil (kes hiljem osutub ingliks) ülivõimsa kaartide paki, kes kutsuvad end Basanosteks. Basanostel on oma teadvus ja nad on ülivõimsad.
Lucifer otsib Basa...more
Lucifer saab Taevalt palve uurida salapärast entiteeti, kes (mis) võimaldab inimestel nende soovide täitumist, see aga kõigutab Tasakaalu. Tasuks lubatakse Luciferile ükskõik mida ta tahab. Lucifer tahab "vabat pääset", mis osutub ukseks teise dimensiooni/reaalsusesse/universumisse.
Hamburgis meisterdab vana bibliofiil (kes hiljem osutub ingliks) ülivõimsa kaartide paki, kes kutsuvad end Basanosteks. Basanostel on oma teadvus ja nad on ülivõimsad.
Lucifer otsib Basa...more
Unfortunately, I dropped out of reading comics back when this came out. As a huge fan of The Sandman, I should have been all over this series... but alas, I let it slide by. I was even a little bothered by the fact that this Mike Carey guy was trespassing in Neil Gaiman's territory. This is one of those instances where I'm glad to be wrong. Carey is rapidly becoming one of my favorite writers... Oh yeah, Lucifer!
Lucifer is one of the best characters to come out of The Sandman, and where Gaiman c...more
Lucifer is one of the best characters to come out of The Sandman, and where Gaiman c...more
this stands in for the rest of the Lucifer series as well: definitely nudges more towards 4.5 out of 5 than Sandman.
I realize it's vastly different in its goal, storytelling, artwork, etc - yet Lucifer took the world Gaiman created and made it more accessible, entertaining, and linear than its progenitor.
Don't get me wrong, Sandman is an epic benchmark in comics and deserves much of the respect it gets, but perhaps it deserves a little less of its fanaticism (i.e. too much past the point of cri...more
I realize it's vastly different in its goal, storytelling, artwork, etc - yet Lucifer took the world Gaiman created and made it more accessible, entertaining, and linear than its progenitor.
Don't get me wrong, Sandman is an epic benchmark in comics and deserves much of the respect it gets, but perhaps it deserves a little less of its fanaticism (i.e. too much past the point of cri...more
I really enjoyed Gaiman's incarnation of Lucifer in Sandman so I was glad to learn it had its own series.
"The Morningstar Option" uses much of the angel/demon mythology included in Sandman, which seems like a smart choice if you take into account most people will pick up Lucifer after Sandman. It works really well as a bridge between what we knew from Lucifer from Sandman and adds enough in "A Six-Card Spread" to leave you intrigued about what's to come. "Born with the Dead" is a nice standalon...more
"The Morningstar Option" uses much of the angel/demon mythology included in Sandman, which seems like a smart choice if you take into account most people will pick up Lucifer after Sandman. It works really well as a bridge between what we knew from Lucifer from Sandman and adds enough in "A Six-Card Spread" to leave you intrigued about what's to come. "Born with the Dead" is a nice standalon...more
I am three books short of completing the Lucifer series, but everything I have read was extremely well written.
Lucifer is a seductive character, one that can gain my sympathy even when he rarely demonstrates any care for anyone in his pursuit of his own goals. He is ruthless but fascinating. Even powerless he has power through shear force of will and a very clever mind. One character remarked that if the assassin they sent did not kill Lucifer before he opened his mouth, the assassin would fail....more
Lucifer is a seductive character, one that can gain my sympathy even when he rarely demonstrates any care for anyone in his pursuit of his own goals. He is ruthless but fascinating. Even powerless he has power through shear force of will and a very clever mind. One character remarked that if the assassin they sent did not kill Lucifer before he opened his mouth, the assassin would fail....more
The start of an excellent series.
As with The Sandman series, there are a lot of characters, plot lines, and side stories. Devil in the Gateway introduces several keys character and lays the foundation for the main storyline. While Lucifer was introduced in The Sandman: Season of Mists, but he had a limited, if interesting, role to play. Here we already get a much better feel for his character and style. I'd go so far to say he's less another incarnation of "Luficer" the literary stock character...more
As with The Sandman series, there are a lot of characters, plot lines, and side stories. Devil in the Gateway introduces several keys character and lays the foundation for the main storyline. While Lucifer was introduced in The Sandman: Season of Mists, but he had a limited, if interesting, role to play. Here we already get a much better feel for his character and style. I'd go so far to say he's less another incarnation of "Luficer" the literary stock character...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Sep 19, 2010
Clay Fernald
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of Sandman, Vertigo titles
Recommended to Clay by:
Luke O'Neil
Shelves:
trade-paperbacks
Great extension to the Gaiman Sandman universe that I didn't know about or forgot about. I got a trade/share/borrow thing going with a pal of mine, and this was his top pic to give to me. In exchange I gave him Invincible.
Anyhow, this is a great character study of human emotion, motivation, and the timeless battle between heaven and hell.
Oh, spoiler: Lucifer ain't the ruler of hell anymore, he's a retired nightclub owner in L.A. of a place called Lux. Pretty much the same gig, but with more ass...more
Anyhow, this is a great character study of human emotion, motivation, and the timeless battle between heaven and hell.
Oh, spoiler: Lucifer ain't the ruler of hell anymore, he's a retired nightclub owner in L.A. of a place called Lux. Pretty much the same gig, but with more ass...more
I'm not familiar with the Sandman comics and I will use this space to admit - Shock!Horror! - that I have never read any of Neil Gaiman's books full stop.
Yet in the beating pump that inhabits my body, shot through with scarlet, there is a place.
This special place is solely reserved for He Who Has Been Named Many, Many Times.
Who was -and is, if you incline towards those convictions- known as: Appollyon, The Accuser, Morning Star, Old Nick, the Prince of Lies, Satan, and the name used for this ser...more
Yet in the beating pump that inhabits my body, shot through with scarlet, there is a place.
This special place is solely reserved for He Who Has Been Named Many, Many Times.
Who was -and is, if you incline towards those convictions- known as: Appollyon, The Accuser, Morning Star, Old Nick, the Prince of Lies, Satan, and the name used for this ser...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Mike Carey, Lucifer: Devil in the Gateway (Vertigo, 2001)
Lucifer was always one of the more interesting characters in the Sandman universe, though he didn't get much screen time. Enter Mike Carey (John Constantine: Hellblazer), who takes the threads Gaiman left in Sandman and runs with them. Lucifer, having abdicated his throne, is now the owner of a small bar/club in Los Angeles, playing the piano and mingling with the natives with his longtime companion Mazikeen. That, however, does not stop h...more
Lucifer was always one of the more interesting characters in the Sandman universe, though he didn't get much screen time. Enter Mike Carey (John Constantine: Hellblazer), who takes the threads Gaiman left in Sandman and runs with them. Lucifer, having abdicated his throne, is now the owner of a small bar/club in Los Angeles, playing the piano and mingling with the natives with his longtime companion Mazikeen. That, however, does not stop h...more
Dec 28, 2007
Deb
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of the Sandman Series
Shelves:
fantasy-sf,
graphic_novels
This is the first volume in a graphic novel series spun off from the Sandman Series (written by Neil Gaiman).
The story picks up with Lucifer, who has stepped down from his throne in Hell (see Sandman vol. 4) and is running a piano bar of sorts in Los Angeles. Heaven has observed a building force in the world and cannot (or chooses not to) interfere, so a rather unangelic agent is sent to persuade Lucifer to take care of the problem. The story delves into Native American shamanistic journies, th...more
The story picks up with Lucifer, who has stepped down from his throne in Hell (see Sandman vol. 4) and is running a piano bar of sorts in Los Angeles. Heaven has observed a building force in the world and cannot (or chooses not to) interfere, so a rather unangelic agent is sent to persuade Lucifer to take care of the problem. The story delves into Native American shamanistic journies, th...more
Meh. I loved Gaiman's take on the character of Lucifer, but this?...Meh. This story made me feel about the way I felt while reading Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series -- there was much eye-rolling, much exasperated sighing, and much wondering why people think clumsily reversing a dynamic from a classic narrative is somehow "innovative." I read many of these during the original run, i kept trying to give it a chance, but...meh.
This was a fun continuation of a character from Sandman that you can't help but like. It took me a few issues in the volume to really get into the story (I didn't care for the first story in there) but by the end of it I was hooked. Of course, it took me a few issues in to realise that I could even read what Mazikeem was saying, which was a little disappointing (especially since I had been applauding the author for having unreadible text, in the first place, and since I didn't want to go back an...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Mike Carey was born in Liverpool in 1959. He worked as a teacher for fifteen years, before starting to write comics. When he started to receive regular commissions from DC Comics, he gave up the day job.
Since then, he has worked for both DC and Marvel Comics, writing storyli...more
More about Mike Carey...
Mike Carey was born in Liverpool in 1959. He worked as a teacher for fifteen years, before starting to write comics. When he started to receive regular commissions from DC Comics, he gave up the day job.
Since then, he has worked for both DC and Marvel Comics, writing storyli...more
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...

Loading...










view 1 comment























