Lucifer #15: Host with the Most

I am loving this story arc so far. Last issue was a great read and had all of the things I want in a Lucifer book, mainly chaos. Lucifer #15 seems to hit those marks, too. When Constantine shows up unexpectedly to the house, Lucifer is not expecting him, but he does not seem to surprise. Constantine is not one of the invited guests, but he certainly will be treated like one. Lucifer knows exactly what he is doing, so I really enjoyed the narrative being told through Constantine. Constantine acts as a great buffer between the reader and what is happening because he has a leg planted in reality and another in the supernatural.

Constantine’s interactions with the guests were the obvious highlight of the issue. Returned to flesh, the guests quickly take advantage of their new found semi-humanity. John drinks with a German soldier, but quickly feels disgusted and finds a way to teach him a lesson– putting holy water in his drink. Another guest was the man from the hardware store that was beaten to death in Lucifer #14. He is the one that tries to escape the house, which he does, but is soon met with one of Odin’s messengers. I am not sure how it works because he is dead but still flesh, not quite a zombie, but the messenger sees him as a mortal and takes advantage. The other two guests are where the issue gets interesting. Food and drink are great advantages of being flesh, but what about the actual flesh part? The two immediately find the nearest guest room. I was pleasantly surprised when they ask Constantine to join, which he obliges.

In the end, all of this was Lucifer’s way of seeing how well the house will do sheltering the hunted. The guests, including Constantine, were his pawns in a game. It wouldn’t be a Lucifer book if he didn’t stir up a little chaos, right? This rings especially true when Lucifer sends John out with Odin’s broken horn and delivers a message to the waiting Odin. He says, “Very good luck calling your hunt tonight with this.” The pot has been stirred a little more and I love it.

The premise of this issue was interesting and it did not feel rushed or like filler. The presence of Constantine in a Lucifer book is extremely welcomed and I think it works well. If he is going to be in more issues, then Lucifer #15 was a good starting point for readers to get acquainted with him matched with Lucifer. My one gripe with this issue was the art. It was all over the place in my eyes. Some panels were gorgeous with well placed inks and colors, but others felt extremely rushed. The art has been pretty consistent in past issues so maybe this will just take some time to get used to. Nothing was too major to take away from enjoying the issue.