Lucifer

Just finished reading the fourth trade. It's a difficult series to love, this one. Peter Gross's pencils take some getting used to, for starters. At first glance they look weirdly fluid and shapeless. You do end up falling for the dynamic way he throws his panels together -- he makes the story flow beautifully. And the story itself? Powerhouse creativity and a truly mythic tone infuse proceedings, but I get very little sense of the humanity in it. Most of the characters are NOT human, true enough, and they act the part, but that does make the story difficult to relate to. Of course, myths can resonate as symbols. But here Mike Carey is extraordinarily reticent. Flight from oppression? Freedom from history? The quest for creative originality? That's what I was getting from Lucifer's rebellion against Yahweh and his new universe. But there's loads more going on that can be difficult to find an angle on. The amazing set-pieces and the relentless rush of events will hold your interest, but I'm holding on to little else when I finish each book.